Renunciation, weary of all but the saints
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सर्वविशीं माझा त्रासलासे जीव । आतां कोण भाव निवडे एक ॥1॥
संसाराची मज न साहे चि वार्ता । आणीक ह्मणतां माझें कोणी ॥ध्रु.॥
देहसुख कांहीं बोलिले उपचार । विष तें आदर बंद वाटे ॥2॥
उपाधि दाटणी प्रतिष्ठा गौरव । होय माझा जीव कासावीस ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे कांहीं आणीक न साहे । आवडती पाय वैष्णवांचे ॥2॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
My soul is weary of everything. Now which single feeling shall I choose? I cannot even bear to hear talk of worldly life, nor the claim that anything is "mine." Bodily pleasures and the treatments offered for the body feel like poison received with honor. The burden of obligations, prestige, and recognition make my soul miserable. Says Tuka, I can endure nothing else. The feet of the Vaishnavas alone are dear to me.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
My soul is weary of everything. Now what single feeling can I settle on? I cannot bear even to hear talk of worldly life, nor anyone calling a thing "mine." The comforts and treatments offered to the body feel like poison handed to me with honor. The press of obligations, of prestige and praise, makes my soul wretched. Tuka says: I can bear nothing else; only the feet of the Vaishnavas are dear to me.
What it means
This is Tukaram describing a total exhaustion with the world. He is so tired of everything that he can hardly choose one thing to want; even hearing about household life, or hearing anyone claim ownership of anything, has become unbearable. The honors and comforts people offer his body strike him as poison served politely, and the whole apparatus of duty, status, and praise only tortures him. The one thing left that he can stand is the company of God's devotees. The abhanga names the turning point of renunciation: when the world has gone tasteless, the feet of the Vaishnavas become the only sweetness.
Renunciation
The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.
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