Experience, God as witness to truth
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
माया साक्षी आह्मी नेणों भीड भार । आप आणि पर नाहीं दोन्ही ॥1॥
सत्याचिये साटीं अवघा चि भरे । नावडे व्यापार तुटीचा तो ॥ध्रु.॥
पोंभािळता चरे अंतरींचें दुःख । लांसें फांसें मुख उघडावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नव्हे स्फीतीचा हा ठाव । निवाडएासी देव साक्षी केला ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We are witnesses of maya, without regard for obligation or burden. There is neither self nor other; both are gone. For the sake of truth, everything is endured. The commerce of loss holds no appeal. One who merely grazes on appearances while the suffering within persists must eventually open his mouth and reveal the truth. Says Tuka, this is no place for arrogance. God has been made the witness for the final verdict.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We are witnesses of maya. We carry no regard for who will be offended or pleased. There is no self and no other; both are gone. For the sake of truth, all of it is borne. The trade that ends in loss has no appeal to us. One who only nibbles at appearances while the pain inside stays alive must at last open his mouth and speak the truth. Tuka says: this is no place for swagger. God has been made the witness for the final verdict.
What it means
Tukaram is describing the stance of one who has seen through maya and so is freed from worrying about pleasing or offending anyone. For such a person the division of self and other has dropped away, and truth is held even when holding it costs dearly, since a bargain that ends in spiritual loss is no bargain at all. He warns against the half-measure of grazing on surfaces while the real inner suffering goes untreated; sooner or later that hidden pain forces the truth out into the open. The closing point is that this whole matter leaves no room for boasting or pretense. The seeker has called God himself as the witness to the final reckoning, which means the only thing that counts is what is true before God, not what looks good before people.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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