The restless mind, the true warrior
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मन गुंतलें लुलयां । जाय धांवोनि त्या ठाया ॥1॥
मागें परती तो बळी । शूर एक भूमंडळीं ॥ध्रु.॥
येऊनियां घाली घाला । नेणों काय होई तुला ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणें येणें । बहु नाडिले शाहाणे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The mind is entangled in trivialities and runs after them constantly. The one who pulls it back and turns it around is the true warrior, unmatched in all the world. Once it attacks, there is no telling what it will do to you. Says Tuka, this mind has deceived even the wisest.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The mind is tangled up in trifles and runs off after them. The one who can pull it back and turn it around is the strong one, the only real hero in all the world. Once it strikes, there is no telling what it will do to you. Tuka says: this mind has tripped up even the wise.
What it means
Tukaram turns the language of valor onto the inner life. The mind is forever entangled in small, trivial things and races toward them on its own. The true warrior, he says, is not the conqueror of others but whoever can rein in his own mind and turn it back. He warns that the mind attacks like an enemy whose next move you cannot foresee, and that it has brought down even the wisest people. The invitation is to examine where your own mind keeps running, rather than to look down on anyone else's.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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