Exhortation, hold the gain
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नका वांटूं मन विधिनिषेधांसी । स्मरावा मानसीं पांडुरंग ॥1॥
खादलिया अन्ना मासी बोलों नये । अवघें चि जाये एका घांसें ॥ध्रु.॥
जोडी होते परी ते बहु कठिण । करितां जतन सांभाळावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणें येथें न मना विषाद । निंबेंविण व्याध तुटों नये ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not scatter your mind among rules and prohibitions. Remember Panduranga within your heart. Once food has been eaten, one should not speak ill of it; a single morsel can ruin the entire meal. The gains of spiritual life are hard-won; one must carefully guard and preserve them. Says Tuka, there should be no despair here; without the proper medicine, the ailment cannot be cured.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not split your mind among rules and prohibitions. In your heart, remember Panduranga. Once you have eaten the food, do not speak ill of it; one bad word can spoil the whole meal. The gain comes, but it is very hard-won; guard it and keep it with care. Tuka says: let no despair enter here. Without the right medicine, the disease cannot be cured.
What it means
Tukaram is steadying a devotee against two dangers: scattered effort and second-guessing. Do not let the mind fragment among endless rules and prohibitions; keep it gathered on Panduranga in the heart. His image of food already eaten warns against criticizing the path once you are on it, since a single sour word can ruin the whole nourishment. The point is that devotion is a hard-won gain that must be protected, not undermined by doubt or despair. And like an illness that yields only to the correct medicine, the soul's cure comes only through this one remedy, the Name, so stay with it rather than dividing yourself.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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