Exhortation, take your share now
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वांटा घेई लवकरि । मागें अंतरसी दुरी । केली भरोवरी। सार नेती आणीक ॥1॥
ऐसीं भांमावलीं किती । काय जाणों नेणों किती । समय नेणती । माथां भार वाहोनि ॥ध्रु.॥
नाहीं सारिलें तोंवरी । धांव घेई वेग करीं । घेतलें पदरीं । फावलें तें आपुलें ॥2॥
फट लंडी ह्मणे तुका । एक न साहावे धका । तरि च या सुखा । मग कैसा पावसी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Take your share quickly; if you delay, you will be left behind. Others carry off the treasure and the essence, while you stand with your burden on your head. How many have been thus deceived? I cannot count how many. They do not recognize the moment, bearing the load on their heads. Run, make haste while it has not yet been swept away. Whatever you have gathered into your lap is your own. Says Tuka, shame on the shameless wretch. If you cannot bear even a single push, how will you ever reach that joy?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Take your share quickly. If you hold back, you fall behind. Others have already loaded up and are carrying off the essence. How many have been fooled this way; I cannot say how many. They do not know the right moment, and they go on carrying a load on their heads. While it has not yet been swept away, run, make haste. Whatever you have taken into your lap is your own. Tuka says: shame on you, you coward. If you cannot bear even one shove, how will you ever reach this joy?
What it means
Tukaram uses the picture of a market or a harvest being divided up: the goods are God and his Name, and the time to claim your portion is now. Those who delay are deceived, and countless people lose their chance because they do not recognize the moment and waste their lives carrying useless burdens. Only what you actually gather into your own lap, your own devotion, becomes truly yours. Tuka turns sharp at the end, calling the timid soul a coward: if you flinch at one small hardship or push, you will never come through to the joy on the other side. The harshness is meant to push the listener past hesitation, not to despise him.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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