Exhortation, the body's one use
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नरदेह वांयां जाय । सेवीं सद्गूचे पाय ॥1॥
सांडोनियां अहंभाव । धरीं भक्ती पूजीं देव ॥ध्रु.॥
थोराचिये वाटे। जातां भवशोक आटे ॥2॥
प्रल्हादातें तारी । तुका ह्मणे तो कंठीं धरीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This human body will go to waste without serving the Sadguru's feet. Abandon the ego and worship God with devotion. Walking the path of the great ones, the sorrow of worldly existence is consumed. Says Tuka, He who saved Prahlad, hold Him close to your chitta.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This human body goes to waste if you do not serve the Sadguru's feet. Let go of the ego. Hold to devotion and worship God. Walk the path of the great ones, and the sorrow of this world burns away. He saved Prahlad. Tuka says: hold that One close in your heart.
What it means
Tukaram tells you what a human birth is for and what wastes it. The body is not an end in itself; if it never bends to serve the teacher's feet, it is thrown away. The way through is plain: drop the ego, worship God with devotion, and follow the road the great souls already walked, for on that road the grief of worldly existence is consumed. He grounds the promise in fact, the same Lord who rescued the child Prahlad, and tells you to keep that Lord pressed close in your heart.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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