Moral ideal, bow to all, break no peace
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आपुल्यांचा करीन मोळा । माझ्या कुळाचारांचा॥1॥
अवघियांचे वंदिन पाय । ठायाठाय न देखें ॥ध्रु.॥
नेदीं तुटों समाधान । थांबों जन सकळ ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे झाडा होय । तों हे सोय न संडीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I shall gather together all my own traditions and ancestral ways. I shall bow at everyone's feet without seeing high or low. I shall not let contentment be broken, and I shall steady everyone around me. Says Tuka, until the final clearing comes, I shall not abandon this path.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I will gather together all my own family ways and the customs of my line. I will bow at everyone's feet, seeing no high and no low. I will not let anyone's contentment be broken; I will steady all people. Tuka says: until the final reckoning comes, I will not give up this path.
What it means
Tukaram lays out a personal rule of conduct. He will honor the good ways of his own people, and he will bow before everyone alike, refusing to rank people as high or low. His care extends outward: he will not disturb anyone's peace, and he will work to settle and steady those around him. He binds himself to this for life, vowing to hold the path until the final clearing of accounts. It is a quiet ethic of humility and unbroken goodwill toward all.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
More in this theme →