Hinduism

Tukaram, Poem 1000

A monkey seizes the grain within the pot;
he does not understand that his hand is caught.
I need not explain his mistake; he does
not understand what to do for himself. A parrot
gets his feet caught in his perch; he forgets all
about his two wings. Tuka says, Some men are
just like animals; you can do nothing to help them.

Source The Poems of Tukârâma, trad. J. Nelson Fraser et K. B. Marathe, 3 vol., 1909-1915, archive.org · Contents