राम
गाथा 3869Renunciation

Renunciation, the forest for Vitthal

Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram

मराठी मूळ

झाडा वरपोनि खाऊनियां पाला । आठवी विठ्ठला वेळोवेळां ॥1॥

वल्कलें नेसुनि ठुंगा गुंडाळुनी । सांडी देहभान जवळुनी ॥ध्रु.॥

लोकमान वमनासमान मानणें । एकांतीं राहणें विठोसाटीं ॥2॥

सहसा करूं नये प्रपंचीं सौजन्य । सेवावें अरण्य एकांतवास ॥3॥

ऐसा हा निर्धार करी जो मनाचा । तुका ह्मणे त्याचा पांग फिटे ॥4॥

Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)

English Translation

Climbing trees, eating leaves, remember Vitthal at every moment. Wearing bark cloth and tying up the hair, abandon all body-consciousness. Regard worldly honor as vomit, and dwell alone in solitude for the sake of Vitthal. One should never practice social courtesy in worldly life but should seek the forest for solitary dwelling. Says Tuka, whoever makes such a firm resolve within the mind will have all spiritual debts cleared.

We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.

In Plain Words

Strip the trees and eat their leaves. Remember Vitthal again and again. Wear bark for clothes, tie up your matted hair, and let go of all awareness of the body. Count the world's honor as vomit. Live alone, in solitude, for Vitthal's sake. Never bother with social courtesy in worldly life. Go to the forest and dwell apart. Tuka says: whoever makes such a firm resolve in his mind, his debt is wiped clean.

What it means

Tukaram paints the extreme picture of the forest renunciant to make a point about wholehearted resolve. The hermit lives on leaves, wears bark, forgets the body, and constantly remembers Vitthal. The hardest renunciation he names is inward: to treat the world's praise as something disgusting, like vomit, and to refuse the social niceties that keep us bound. The outer flight to the forest stands for an inner turning away from honor and company. He promises that the one who fixes the mind on this with real firmness has his spiritual debt cleared.

वैराग्य

Renunciation

The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.

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