Inner experience, neti neti and the natural truth
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तें हीं नव्हे जें करितां कांहीं । ध्यातां ध्यायीं तें ही नव्हे ॥1॥
तें ही नव्हे जें जाणवी जना । वाटे मना तें नव्हे ॥ध्रु.॥
तें ही नव्हे जें भोंवतें भोंवे । नागवें धांवे तें ही नव्हे ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे एक चि आहे । सहजिं पाहें सहज ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What is done through effort, that is not It. What is reached through meditation, that is not It either. What is taught to others as knowledge, that is not It. What the mind imagines, that is not It. What revolves and circles about, that is not It. What runs naked and stripped, that is not It. Says Tuka, there is only one reality. Look naturally at what is naturally present.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
It is not what you reach by doing something. It is not what you reach by meditating either. It is not what is taught to others as knowledge. It is not what the mind imagines. It is not the thing that whirls and circles around. It is not the thing that runs about naked and stripped bare. Tuka says: there is only one reality. Look, simply and naturally, at what is naturally here.
What it means
Tukaram is using a string of denials to clear away every false candidate for the truth, the way the scriptures say not this, not this. He rules out effortful action, deliberate meditation, taught knowledge, and the mind's imaginings, because each is something the seeker produces or grasps. He also rules out restless wandering, whether the mind spinning in circles or the naked ascetic running about, since outward extremity is no nearer the mark. After stripping all of these away, he points to the one thing left, which is not reached at all but already present. The instruction is to stop straining and simply see, naturally, what is naturally there.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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