Social criticism, the absent listener
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कुचराचे श्रवण । गुणदोषांवरि मन ॥1॥
असोनियां नसे कथे । मूर्ख अभाग्य तें तेथें ॥ध्रु.॥
निरर्थक कारणीं । कान डोळे वेची वाणी ॥2॥
पापाचे सांगाती । तोंडीं ओढाळांचे माती ॥3॥
हिताचिया नांवें । वोस पडिले देहभावें ॥4॥
फजीत करूनि सांडीं । तुका करी बोडाबोडी ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The crooked one's hearing is base; his mind dwells on the faults and virtues of others. Though present at the sacred katha, the foolish and unfortunate one is truly absent. He wastes his ears, eyes, and speech on worthless matters. Companions of sin, their mouths are filled with the filth of the unrestrained. In the name of welfare, they are hollow, emptied out by body-identification. Says Tuka, expose them, shame them, and have done with the wrangling.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The crooked man's listening is mean: his mind runs on other people's faults and merits. He sits in the holy telling and is not there at all; the fool, the luckless one, is absent in his own seat. He spends his ears, his eyes, his speech on worthless things. Companions of sin, their mouths are full of the dirt of the unbridled. In the name of doing good, they are hollow, emptied out by clinging to the body. Tuka says: shame them, expose them, and have done with the wrangling.
What it means
Tukaram describes a person who is physically present at the sacred story but spiritually absent, because his mind is busy auditing everyone else's faults and virtues instead of listening. Such a one wastes the very faculties given for devotion, ears, eyes, and tongue, on worthless chatter, keeps the company of the reckless, and lets his mouth fill with their filth. He looks as if he is pursuing the good, but he is hollowed out by attachment to the body. The blunt close, expose and shame and be done, points at the pattern of distracted, fault-finding hearing; hold it up to yourself and stop the endless quarreling that feeds it.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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