Worldly life, food ruined by poison
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आशाबद्ध जन । काय जाणे नारायण ॥१॥
करी इंद्रियांची सेवा । पाहे आवडीचा हेवा ॥ध्रु.॥
भ्रमलें चावळे । तैसें उचित न कळे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे विषें । अन्न नाशियलें जैसें ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A person bound by hope can never know Narayana. Such a one serves only the senses and covets what others possess. Bewildered and babbling, that person cannot discern what is proper. Says Tuka, it is like food destroyed by poison.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A person bound by craving can never know Narayana. He spends himself serving his senses and eyeing what others have. Bewildered, babbling, he cannot tell what is right to do. Tuka says: it is like good food that has been ruined by poison.
What it means
Craving, for Tukaram, is the thing that blocks the knowing of God. The person tied to his wants lives as a servant of his own senses and a coveter of others' goods, and in that fever he loses the simple power to tell right from wrong. The closing image is exact: such a life is good food spoiled by poison. The capacity was there, the human life could have nourished, but desire has tainted the whole dish. It is not that the man is incapable; it is that craving has poisoned the meal.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
More in this theme →