Social criticism, the Brahmin who scorns the Name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ब्राह्मण तो नव्हे ऐसी ज्यासी बुिद्ध । पाहा श्रुतीमधीं विचारूनि ॥1॥
जयासी नावडे हरिनामकीर्तन । आणीक नृत्य न वैष्णवांचें ॥ध्रु.॥
सत्य त्याचे वेळे घडला व्यभिचार । मातेसी वेव्हार अंत्यजाचा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे येथें मानी आनसारिखें । तात्काळ तो मुखें कुष्ट होय ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He is no true Brahmin who holds such notions. Look into the scriptures and consider carefully. One who does not love the kirtan of Hari's name, and does not love the dancing of the Vaishnavas: at the very moment of his conception, his mother committed adultery with one cast out by society. Says Tuka, whoever thinks otherwise about what is said here, let leprosy appear on his face at once.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He is no true Brahmin who holds such notions. Look into the scriptures and think it through. One who does not love the kirtan of Hari's name, who does not love the dancing of the Vaishnavas: at the very moment he was conceived, his mother lay with an outcast. Tuka says: whoever thinks otherwise about what is said here, let leprosy break out on his face at once.
What it means
Tukaram takes the proudest claim of birth, Brahmin status, and stakes it entirely on love of God rather than on lineage. The pattern he attacks is the man who wears the rank yet feels no love for Hari's kirtan and no joy in the dancing of devotees. Against him Tukaram hurls the most violent insult available in his world, denying the man's very pedigree, and tops it with a curse on anyone who would soften the claim. The intensity is deliberate provocation: he is shattering the assumption that the sacred thread makes a man holy. What makes a Brahmin, he insists, is not blood but a heart that loves the Name.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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