Moral ideal, truth costs nothing
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
खरें बोले तरी । फुकासाठीं जोडे हरी ॥1॥
ऐसे फुकाचे उपाय । सांडूनियां वांयां जाय ॥ध्रु.॥
परउपकार । एका वचनाचा फार ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मळ । मनें सांडितां शीतळ ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If one speaks the truth, Hari is gained for free. Such costless remedies exist, yet people abandon them and waste their lives. The gift of a single sincere word to another is a great act of charity. Says Tuka, when the mind releases its impurities, coolness and peace descend.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Speak the truth, and Hari is won for nothing. Such free remedies lie ready, yet people throw them away and waste their lives. One sincere word given to another is a great act of kindness. Tuka says: when the mind lets go of its filth, coolness comes.
What it means
Tukaram points to remedies that cost nothing yet are constantly squandered. Simply speaking the truth, he says, wins Hari without any price, and a single sincere word to another counts as real charity. The waste he names is human, not God's: the means lie ready and free, and people still let their lives run out without using them. The closing image makes it bodily, when the mind releases its accumulated filth, a coolness and peace settle in, so the whole counsel turns inward toward cleaning one's own mind.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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