Exhortation, do not spoil the good
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नको होऊं देऊं भावीं अभावना । या चि नांवें जाणा बहु दोष ॥1॥
मेघवृिष्ट येथें होते अनिवार । जिव्हाळ्यां उखर लाभ नाड ॥ध्रु.॥
उत्तमा विभागें कनिष्ठाची इच्छा । कल्पतरु तैसा फळे त्यासी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जिणें बहु थोडें आहे । आपुलिया पाहें पुढें बरें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not allow faithlessness to corrupt what is already good. This itself, know well, is the gravest of faults. The rains pour down ceaselessly, but on barren land they are wasted, bringing no harvest. If a lesser person, by his own choosing, desires the portion of the greater, the wish-fulfilling tree grants him accordingly. Says Tuka, this life is very short. Look ahead to your own welfare.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not let faithlessness ruin what is already good in you; know that this itself is a great fault. The rain pours down without limit, but on barren ground it is wasted and yields no harvest. If a lesser man, by his own choosing, asks for the share of the greater, the wish-granting tree gives him just that. Tuka says: this life is very short. Look ahead to your own good.
What it means
Tukaram warns that doubt can spoil faith you already have, and he treats that spoiling as among the worst faults. His farming image makes the stakes plain: grace falls like endless rain, but a barren, faithless heart wastes it and brings in no harvest. The wish-fulfilling tree gives each person exactly what he chooses to ask for, so a small ask yields a small life; the limit is set by the asker, not the giver. Since human life is short, the exhortation is to aim high and guard the faith you have. Do not let unbelief turn fertile ground to waste, and choose your own true welfare while there is time.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
More in this theme →