Devotion, quarrel only for truth
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भांडावें तों हित । ठायी पडा तें उचित ॥1॥
नये खंडों देऊं वाद । आह्मां भांडवलभेद ॥ध्रु.॥
शब्दासारसें भेटी । नये पडों देऊं तुटी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आळस । तो चि कारणांचा नास ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One should quarrel only for the sake of truth; settle matters where they properly belong. We must not let the debate be interrupted, for our very capital is at stake in this difference. Let the meeting match the word; do not allow a rupture. Says Tuka, laziness is the destruction of all worthy causes.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Quarrel only when it does good. Settle things where they truly belong. Do not let the debate be cut off. Our very capital is staked on this difference. Let the meeting match the word. Do not let it break apart. Tuka says: laziness itself destroys the cause.
What it means
Tukaram treats his striving with God as a dispute worth keeping alive on purpose. A quarrel is justified only when it leads to good, and matters should be put to rest on their right ground, not dropped or fudged. He will not let the argument lapse, because everything he has, his whole capital, is wagered on this very point of difference between himself and God. The closing line names the real enemy: not God's resistance but the devotee's own slackness, for laziness is what wrecks any worthy effort.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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