True worship, only pure feeling counts
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चहूं आश्रमांचे धर्म । न राखतां जोडे कर्म ॥1॥
तैसी नव्हे भोळी सेवा । एक भाव चि कारण देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
तपें इंिद्रयां आघात । क्षणें एका वाताहात ॥2॥
मंत्र चळे थोडा । तरि धड चि होय वेडा ॥3॥
व्रतें करितां सांग । तरी एक चुकतां भंग ॥4॥
धर्म सत्त्व चि कारण । नाहीं तरी केला सिण ॥5॥
भूतदयेसि आघात । उंचनिच वाताहात ॥6॥
तुका ह्मणे दुजें । विधिनिषेधाचें ओझें ॥7॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The duties of the four stages of life, if not observed, bring karmic consequence. But simple, heartfelt devotion is different; for God, only pure feeling matters. Austerities that torment the senses can be destroyed in a single moment of carelessness. A mantra, if it wavers even slightly, drives one mad. Vows performed in full, if one step is missed, are broken entirely. Righteous conduct requires purity of heart; without it, all effort is wasted. Even compassion for beings, if mixed with notions of high and low, collapses into ruin. Says Tuka, all other paths carry the burden of prescribed dos and don'ts.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Keep the duties of the four life-stages, or fail to, and either way deeds bind you with their fruit. Simple, trusting service is not like that. For God, one thing alone is the cause: pure feeling. Austerities batter the senses, and a single moment of carelessness can ruin them. A mantra that wavers even a little can drive a man mad. Vows done in full are broken if you miss one step. Right conduct needs purity of heart; without it the labor is wasted. Even kindness to creatures collapses into ruin if it is mixed with high and low. Tuka says: every other way carries the load of dos and don'ts.
What it means
Tukaram lines up the demanding paths and shows how brittle each one is, to set off the one path that is not. The duties of the four stages bind you whether you keep them or drop them; austerity is undone by one careless moment; a mispronounced mantra unhinges the mind; a vow missing a single step is wholly broken; even compassion curdles when it is sorted by high and low. All of these stand or fall on getting the rules exactly right, and that is their burden. Against them he sets bholi seva, simple trusting service, where God asks for only one thing, pure feeling. The point is not that effort is bad but that without a clean heart it is wasted, and feeling is what carries no fragile conditions.
True Worship
What genuine worship looks like, beyond outward observances and images.
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