Social criticism, the true guru
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
शिष्यांची जो नेघे सेवा । मानी देवासारिखें ॥1॥
त्याचा फळे उपदेश । आणिकां दोष उफराटे ॥ध्रु.॥
त्याचें खरें ब्रह्मज्ञान । उदासीन देहभावीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे सत्य सांगें । योत रागें येती ते ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The guru who does not demand service from his disciples and treats them as he would treat God: his teaching bears fruit. For all others, the result is the opposite. His is the true knowledge of Brahman, for he is indifferent to all body-identification. Says Tuka, I speak the truth, though it angers those who hear it.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The guru who takes no service from his disciples, who treats them as he would treat God: his teaching bears fruit. For all the others, the result runs the other way. His is the true knowledge of Brahman, for he is unmoved by body-feeling. Tuka says: I speak the truth, though those who hear it grow angry.
What it means
Tukaram measures a guru by one test: whether he demands service from his disciples or honors them as he would honor God. The teacher who takes nothing and reveres his pupils sees his teaching bear fruit; the one who feeds on their service produces the opposite. The reason is inward, the true guru is free of body-identification, so his knowledge of Brahman is real and not a pose. Tukaram knows this judgment stings those who live off their followers, and he says it anyway, the criticism aimed at the pattern of exploitation rather than at any single name.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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