Exhortation, plunge the mind into the feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
देवाचिये पायीं देई मना बुडी । नको धांवों वोढी इंिद्रयांचे ॥1॥
सर्व सुखें तेथें होती एकवेळे । न सरती काळें कल्पांतीं ही ॥ध्रु.॥
जाणें येणें खुंटे धांवे वेरजार । न लगे डोंगर उसंतावे ॥2॥
सांगन तें तुज इतुलें चि आतां । मानी धन कांता विषतुल्य ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे तुझे होती उपकार । उतरों हा पार भवसिंधु ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Immerse the mind at the feet of God. Do not let it chase after the pull of the senses. All joys are found there at once, and they never run out even at the end of an age. Coming and going ceases, and the weary wandering stops. No mountain of effort need be climbed for rest. I tell you just this much now: regard wealth and family as poison. Says Tuka, great will be the benefit, for you shall cross this ocean of worldly life.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Plunge your mind into the feet of God. Do not let it run after the pull of the senses. Every joy is found there all at once, and it does not run out even at the end of an age. Going and coming stops; the weary back and forth ends. No mountain of effort has to be climbed for rest. I tell you only this much now: count wealth and family as poison. Tuka says: the gain will be yours, for you will cross over this ocean of worldly life.
What it means
Tukaram is pressing the listener to drop the chase of the senses and sink the whole mind into God's feet. He promises that all joy is gathered there at once, a joy that does not wear out even when an age ends, and that the exhausting cycle of coming and going simply stops. He insists this is not a steep climb of effort but a resting place. The blunt instruction is to treat wealth and family as poison, not because they are evil in themselves but because clinging to them keeps the mind chasing; let them go and you cross the ocean of birth and death.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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