Moral ideal, the hollow show of generosity
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आलिया अतीता ह्मणतसां पुढारें । आपुलें रोकडें सत्त्व जाय ॥1॥
काय त्याचा भार घेऊनि मस्तकीं । हीनकर्मी लोकीं ह्मणावया ॥ध्रु.॥
दारीं हाका कैसें करवतें भोजन । रुची तरि अन्न कैसें देतें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ध्वज उभारिला कर । ते शक्ति उदार काय जाली ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When a guest arrives, you say 'come back later,' and your own goodness drains away on the spot. Why carry his burden on your head just to be called generous in public? How can one enjoy a meal while turning away the hungry at the door? Does food taste good under such conditions? Says Tuka, one raises a flag and holds up a hand, but has that generosity actually amounted to anything?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A guest comes, and you say, come back later; and right then your own goodness drains away. Why carry his burden on your head only to be called generous in front of people, while your deeds stay low? When you turn away the hungry calling at your door, how can the meal be eaten? How can the food have any taste? Tuka says: you raise a flag and lift up your hand; but has that generosity ever amounted to anything?
What it means
Tukaram exposes generosity that is only for show. The moment you tell an arriving guest to come back later, your real goodness has already drained out, whatever reputation you keep. He asks why anyone would shoulder the appearance of charity in public while the actual deeds stay mean, and he makes it visceral: with the hungry calling at the door, how can your own meal taste good? The closing image of a raised flag and a lifted hand is the public gesture of giving, and the question cuts it down. If the act behind the gesture is empty, the generosity is worth nothing. The poem points at the pattern of performed virtue, and asks for the real thing.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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