Discernment, speak from experience
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अनुभवें वदे वाणी । अंतर ध्यानीं आपुलें ॥1॥
कैंची चिका दुधचवी । जरी दावी पांढरें ॥ध्रु.॥
जातीऐसा दावी रंग। बहु जग या नावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे खद्योत ते । ढुंगाभोंवतें आपुलिया ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One should speak from experience; let the inner state match one's words. Lime-wash may look white, but it has not the taste of milk. The world puts on a color to match its nature and earns a reputation by that guise alone. Says Tuka, fireflies glow only around their own tails.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let the voice speak from experience, and let the inner state match the words. Lime-wash can look white, but it has not the taste of milk. The world puts on a color to match its nature and wins a name by that disguise alone. Tuka says: fireflies glow only around their own tails.
What it means
Tukaram tells the difference between true speech and mere appearance. Words are worth hearing only when they rise from what a person has actually lived; otherwise they are lime-wash, white like milk to the eye but with none of its taste. Most people simply wear the color of their own nature and earn a reputation from that surface show. The closing image is sharp and a little mocking: the firefly thinks it shines, but its little light circles only its own tail, a small glow with no reach. The thing to examine in oneself is whether the words have any lived light behind them, or only flatter the speaker.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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