Freedom is inner, piety is a performance
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मुक्त तो आशंका नाहीं जया अंगीं । बद्ध मोहोसंगीं लज्जा चिंता ॥1॥
सुख पावे शांती धरूनि एकांत । दुःखी तो लोकांत दंभ करी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे लागे थोडा च विचार । परी हे प्रकार नागविती ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Liberated is the one who has no anxiety within. The bound one is the one attached to worldly delusion, shame, and worry. The peaceful one finds joy in solitude, while the unhappy one makes a show of piety before the crowd. Says Tuka, only a little reflection is needed, but these appearances deceive many.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The one with no anxiety in him is free. The one bound to delusion carries shame and worry. The peaceful one holds to solitude and finds joy. The unhappy one stands in the crowd and makes a show of piety. Tuka says: only a little reflection is needed; but these appearances rob many.
What it means
Tukaram is locating freedom and bondage inside, not in any outward state. The free person is simply the one with no fear or anxiety lodged in him; the bound person is the one tangled in worldly delusion, dragging shame and worry along. Real peace comes to the one who can keep to quiet and rest there, while the restless person performs his religion loudly in front of the crowd. Tukaram says the difference takes only a little honest reflection to see, yet the outward show deceives most people. The warning points at our own appetite for being seen as pious.
Renunciation
The case for letting go of worldly attachments and turning wholly to God.
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