Exhortation, drop the faithless
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां असों मना अभक्तांची कथा । न होई दुिश्चता हरिनामीं ॥1॥
नये त्याची कदा गोष्टी करूं मात । जिव्हे प्रायिश्चत्त त्याच्या नांवें ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रभातें न घ्यावें नांव माकडाचें । तैसें अभक्तांचें सर्वकाळ ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आतां आठवूं मंगळ । जेणें सर्व काळ सुखरूप ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Now let us set aside the tales of the faithless, so that no anxiety enters the worship of Hari's Name. One should never speak of them or tell their stories; the tongue requires penance just for uttering their names. Just as one should not speak the name of a monkey at dawn, so should one avoid the names of the faithless at all times. Says Tuka, let us now remember only what is auspicious, so that all our hours may be filled with joy.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now let the mind set aside the talk of the faithless, so that no anxiety enters the Name of Hari. Never speak of them or repeat their stories; the tongue needs a penance just for saying their names. As one does not utter a monkey's name at dawn, so avoid the names of the faithless at all times. Tuka says: now let us remember only what is auspicious, so that every hour is filled with joy.
What it means
Tukaram is giving practical advice about what the mind dwells on. Brooding over the faithless and their stories breeds anxiety and disturbs the inner worship of Hari's Name, so he says to drop that subject entirely. The folk note about not naming a monkey at dawn shows his register: he treats such talk as a small inauspicious habit best simply avoided, not as a license to hate anyone. The instruction turns the attention away from grievance and toward what is auspicious. Fill the hours with the Name and with what is good, and the joy that follows leaves no room for the corrosive talk he is warning against.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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