Faith, the real labor begins in battle
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
गौरव गौरवापुरतें । फळ सत्याचे संकल्प ॥१॥
कठिण योगाहुनि क्षम । ओकलिया होतो श्रम ॥ध्रु.॥
पावलें मरे सिवेपाशीं । क्लेश उरत ते क्लेशीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे बहु आणी । कठिण निघालिया रणीं ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Flattery lasts only as long as flattery serves; the fruit belongs to sincere resolve alone. Harder than any yoga is endurance; once you have vomited the false, the labor begins. What was attained dies at the boundary line; pain persists only for those who cling to pain. Says Tuka, much may be brought to the field, but the real hardship begins once you step into battle.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Flattery lasts only as long as flattery is useful; the fruit belongs to honest resolve alone. Harder than any yoga is patient endurance; once you have spat out the false, the real toil starts. What you reached dies at the boundary; pain stays only with those who hold on to pain. Tuka says: much can be carried to the field, but the hardship is real once you step into the fight.
What it means
Tukaram warns that the spiritual path is harder than it first appears and that shortcuts give nothing back. Flattery and show serve only for the moment; the actual fruit comes only from sincere resolve. He calls patient endurance harder than any yogic feat, and says that giving up the false is not the finish but the start of the real labor. The final image is the soldier's: it is easy to march much to the battlefield, but the true difficulty begins the instant you enter the fight, so faith is tested in the doing, not in the preparation.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
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