Renunciation, nothing but the Name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मृत्युलोकीं आम्हां आवडती परी । नाहीं एका हरिनामें विण ॥१॥
विटलें हें चित्त प्रपंचापासूनि । वमन हें मनीं बैसलेंसे ॥ध्रु.॥
सोनें रूपें आम्हां मृत्तिके समान । माणिकें पाषाण खडे तैसे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तैशा दिसतील नारी । रिसाचियापरी आम्हांपुढें ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In this mortal world nothing pleases me except the name of Hari alone. My chitta is wearied by worldly affairs; the disgust sits deep within my heart like something vomited. Gold and silver are no better than clay to me; diamonds and rubies are mere pebbles and stones. Says Tuka, women appear before me as nothing more than she-bears.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In this mortal world, nothing pleases me. Nothing, except the one name of Hari. My chitta is sick of worldly affairs. The disgust sits deep in my heart, like something already vomited. Gold and silver are clay to me. Diamonds and rubies are only pebbles and stones. Tuka says: women appear before me like she-bears.
What it means
Tukaram measures everything the world values against one thing, the name of Hari, and finds it all worthless. The disgust he describes is not a passing mood but settled, lodged in him like food already thrown up, which cannot be swallowed back. He runs through the usual objects of craving, precious metal, gems, the lure of beauty, and strips each of its shine: clay, pebbles, repellent. The harsh comparison is aimed at the grip of desire itself, not at any person; he is reporting how thoroughly the longing for the Name has emptied every rival attraction of its power.
Renunciation
The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.
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