Social criticism, who is a true Brahmin
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वेश वंदाया पुरते । कोण ब्राह्मण निरुते ॥1॥
ऐसें सांगा मजपाशीं । संतां निरवितों येविशीं ॥ध्रु.॥
असा जी प्रवीण । ग्रंथीं कळे शुद्धहीण ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे लोपें । सत्याचिया घडती पापें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Who truly deserves the name Brahmin, beyond the outward form that earns a greeting? Tell me this. I wish to lay the question before the saints for them to settle. Let such a learned one come forward and show it. Scripture itself reveals who is devoid of purity. Says Tuka, by concealing the truth, sins are made.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Who truly deserves the name Brahmin, past the outward dress that earns a bow? Tell me this. I am laying the question before the saints to decide. Let the learned one come forward and show it. Scripture itself reveals who is empty of purity. Tuka says: by hiding the truth, sins are made.
What it means
Tukaram challenges the gap between the title and the life. A costume may earn an automatic greeting, but he asks who has earned the name by what they actually are, and he submits the question to the saints rather than ruling on it alone. Let any learned person prove it from scripture, which itself exposes who lacks inner purity. The closing line is the sharp turn: covering up the truth, pretending the badge is the reality, is not neutral. It manufactures sin. The aim is the pretense, and the call is to honest self-examination.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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