Worldly life, the grip of Maya
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मायेचा मारिला अंगीं नाहीं घाव । दुःखें तरी लव धडधडी ॥1॥
न पवे धांवणें न पवे चि लाग । न चलती माग धरावया ॥2॥
भेणें तरि अंगा लावियेल्या राखा । परी त्यासी वाखा करीतसे ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे नेदी हाका मारूं देवा । लोकापाठी हेवा लागलासे ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Maya has struck, yet there is no wound on the body; still, the slightest pain makes one tremble. One cannot keep up with it, cannot catch it, cannot trace the path to subdue it. Out of fear, one smears ashes on the body, yet Maya keeps taunting. Says Tuka, Maya does not even let me cry out to God; I am caught up in jealousy and the ways of the world.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Maya strikes, yet no wound shows on the body; still the least pain makes one tremble. You cannot run fast enough to escape it, cannot catch it, cannot trace its track to pin it down. Out of fear a man smears ashes on his body, yet Maya keeps mocking him. Tuka says: Maya will not even let me cry out to God; I am caught up in envy and the ways of the people around me.
What it means
Tukaram describes how illusion holds a person without leaving a mark. Maya wounds but draws no blood, so the hurt cannot be located or fought; you cannot outrun it, seize it, or follow its trail. Even the outward gestures of renunciation, ashes on the body, do not free a man, because the bondage is inward and keeps taunting him. The cruelest part is named last: Maya's tightest grip is that it crowds out the one thing that could break it, the cry to God, by keeping the mind busy with envy and the opinions of others. The self-examination is direct, where does my attention actually go.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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