Social criticism, renouncing the wrong thing
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कुटुंबाचा केला त्याग । नाहीं राग जंव गेला ॥१॥
भजन तें वोंगळवाणें । नरका जाणें चुके ना ॥ध्रु.॥
अक्षराची केली आटी । जरी पोटीं संतनिंदा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मागें पाय । तया जाय स्थळासि ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If one has renounced family but not renounced anger, that devotion is filthy and will not save one from hell. If one has mastered the letters of scripture yet harbors contempt for saints within, it is all futile. Says Tuka, such a person's steps lead backward, returning to the very place from which he tried to escape.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He renounced his family, but the anger never went. So his worship is filthy, and the road to hell is not avoided. He drilled himself in the letters of scripture, but inside he carries contempt for the saints. Tuka says: such a person's feet go backward; he returns to the very place he tried to leave.
What it means
Tukaram is exposing renunciation that drops the easy thing and keeps the deadly one. A man can leave wife and household and still carry his anger intact; with that left in place his devotion is fouled and hell is not escaped. Likewise scriptural learning is wasted if it sits over a hidden contempt for holy people. The closing image is the verdict: his steps lead backward, depositing him right where he started, because he renounced the outer ties and never touched the inner faults. The poem points at the pattern of outward sacrifice masking inward corruption, asking you to look at what you are actually willing to give up.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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