Moral contrast, the same word in two hands
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सज्जन तो शब्द सत्य जो मानी । छळी दुर्जन आणिकांसी ॥1॥
एक गुण तो केला दोंठायीं । ज्याचा त्यास पाहीं जैसा तैसा ॥ध्रु.॥
परउपकार घडे तो भला । नाठएाळ तया दया नाहीं ॥3॥
जाणीवंत तो पायरी जाणे । अधम तो नेणे खुंट जैसा॥4॥
हित तें अनहित केलें कैसें । तुका ह्मणे पिसें लागलें यास ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A noble person honors the truth of his word; a wicked one harasses others. The same quality appears in both, yet it returns to each as he deserves. One who serves others is truly good; the heartless one has no compassion. The wise one recognizes each step of the stairway; the lowly one, like a stump, knows nothing. Says Tuka, how has what was beneficial been turned into harm? Some madness has seized these people.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A good person honors the truth of his word; a wicked one torments others. The same quality shows in both, and it returns to each as he deserves. The one who helps others is truly good; the heartless one has no mercy. The wise person knows each step of the stair; the base one, like a stump, knows nothing. Tuka says: how has what was good for them been turned into harm? Some madness has seized these people.
What it means
Tukaram measures people by what they do with the same human powers. Speech can be kept truthful by the good or used to torment by the wicked; the gift is identical, but it comes back to each according to how it was used. Goodness is concrete here: helping others, having mercy, knowing how to climb step by step, while the base person stands as senseless as a tree stump. The last line is grief, not contempt: he wonders how people have managed to turn what was meant for their own good into harm, as if a madness had taken hold. The poem invites you to ask which hand you put the same powers into.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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