Renunciation, refusing to deal in wealth and praise
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
माझ्या मुखावाटा नयो हें वचन । व्हावें संतान द्रव्य कोणां ॥1॥
फुकाचा विभाग पतनदुःखासी । दोहींमुळें त्यासी तें चि साधे ॥ध्रु.॥
नाइकावी निंदा स्तुति माझ्या कानें । सादर या मनें होऊनियां ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देव असाध्य यामुळें । आशामोहजाळें गुंतलिया ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let these words never leave my mouth: that any person receive offspring or wealth. Such gratuitous dispensing only leads to the grief of downfall; both lead to the same result. Let neither slander nor praise reach my ears, nor be received with an attentive mind. Says Tuka, God becomes unattainable because of this: one is caught in the net of desire and delusion.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let these words never leave my mouth: that any person should gain offspring or wealth. Such free dispensing leads only to the grief of downfall; both ends meet in the same ruin. Let neither slander nor praise reach my ears, nor be taken in with an eager mind. Tuka says: God becomes unreachable because of this, when one is caught in the net of desire and delusion.
What it means
Tukaram refuses the role of a wonder-worker who hands out children and riches, and prays such words never pass his lips. He sees that granting these gifts only feeds the very desires that lead to a fall; giver and receiver alike are dragged down. He extends the refusal to his own ears: he wants neither blame nor flattery to enter and stir his mind. The reason he gives is the stake itself: God becomes unattainable to anyone caught in the net of craving and delusion, and gifts, fame, and the appetite for praise are the strands of that net. The poem is a deliberate shutting of doors that the world thinks of as rewards.
Renunciation
The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.
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