Words wound; ego invites God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वचन तें नाहीं तोडीत शरीरा । भेदत अंतरा वज्रा- ऐसें ॥1॥
कांहीं न सहावें काशा करणें । संदेह निधान देह बळी॥ध्रु.॥
नाहीं शब्द मुखीं लागत तिखट । नाहीं जड होत पोट तेणें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जरी गिळे अहंकार । तरी वसे घर नारायण॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Words do not cut the body, yet they pierce the inner being like a thunderbolt. Nothing else should be endured for any reason. The body, that stronghold of doubt, is powerful. Words do not taste sharp in the mouth, nor do they make the belly heavy. Says Tuka, if one can swallow the ego, Narayana takes up residence in the home.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A word does not cut the body, yet it pierces the inner being like a thunderbolt. This above all must not be endured; why even do such a thing? A sharp word leaves no taste in the mouth, and it does not make the belly heavy. Tuka says: if you can swallow your own ego, then Narayana comes to live in the house.
What it means
Tukaram weighs a harsh word and finds it both nothing and everything. It costs the speaker nothing, no taste on the tongue, no weight in the stomach, yet it strikes the listener's inmost being like a thunderbolt, so cruel speech is the one thing he says should never be inflicted. Then he turns the knife inward: the same tongue that wounds others is driven by ego. Swallow that ego, hold the sharp word back, and the house you have emptied of pride becomes a place where Narayana can dwell.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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