Metaphor, worth borrowed from another
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आपटा संवदड रानचारा । दसयाचा होय तुरा॥1॥
तैसा देवामुळें मान । नाहीं तरी पुसें कोण ॥ध्रु.॥
मृित्तकेची ते घागरी । पाण्यासाटीं बैसे शिरी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माप जाण । दाण्यासवें घेणें देणें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The apta tree is just a wild shrub, but on Dussehra day it becomes a crown of honor. Just so, one gains respect through God's grace; without Him, who would care? An earthen pot is just clay, yet for the sake of water it is placed upon one's head. Says Tuka, a measuring vessel is valued only because of the grain it holds.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The apta is only a wild shrub of the forest. On Dussehra it becomes a crown of honor. So it is with honor that comes from God: without Him, who would ask after you? The pot is only baked clay. For the sake of the water it carries, it is set upon the head. Tuka says: know this, the measuring vessel matters only for the grain it holds.
What it means
Tukaram gives three plain images to make one point: a thing's honor is borrowed, not its own. The apta is just a roadside shrub, prized only because the festival of Dussehra makes its leaves a crown for a day. A clay pot is carried on the head only because of the water inside it, and a measuring vessel is valued only for the grain that passes through it. In each case the worth belongs to what is held or given, not to the container. So with a person: any respect we enjoy is on loan from God, and without Him no one would bother to ask after us, which is a quiet rebuke to pride in standing we did not author.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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