Social criticism, false piety
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कलिधर्म मागें सांगितले संतीं । आचार सांडिती द्विजलोक ॥1॥
ते चि कळों आतां येतसे प्रचिती । अधर्मा टेंकती धर्म नव्हे ॥ध्रु.॥
तप व्रत करितां लागती सायास । पािळतां पिंडास गोड वाटे ॥2॥
देव ह्मणऊनी न येती देऊळा । संसारा वेगळा तरी कां नव्हे ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे मज धरितां गुमान । ऐसे कोणी जन नरका जाती ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The saints foretold the ways of the Kali age: the twice-born abandon righteous conduct. That very thing is now plain in practice. They incline toward irreligion; this is not dharma. Austerity and vows require effort, and feeding the body feels more pleasant. They call themselves religious yet do not come to the temple. If they were truly devoted, why would they not stand apart from worldly life? Says Tuka, those who carry such conceit go to naraka.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The saints foretold the ways of the Kali age: the twice-born would abandon right conduct. That very thing can now be seen in practice. They lean toward what is unholy; this is not dharma. Austerity and vows take effort, while feeding the body feels pleasant. They call themselves devout, yet they do not come to the temple. If they were truly given to God, why would they not stand apart from worldly life? Tuka says: those who carry such conceit go to naraka.
What it means
Tukaram measures the religious people of his day against what they claim to be. The saints predicted that in the Kali age even the high-born custodians of dharma would drop right conduct, and he sees it happening: they choose comfort over discipline, feeding the body rather than keeping vow and austerity. The test he applies is simple. A man who calls himself devout but will not even come to the temple, who clings to worldly life, is wearing the name without the thing. The warning at the end is aimed not at birth or title but at that conceit, the self-deception of claiming a devotion one does not live.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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