Moral ideal, the Lord in all beings
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
परपीडक तो आह्मां दावेदार । विश्वीं विश्वंभर ह्मणऊनि॥1॥
दंडूं त्यागूं बळें नावलोकुं डोळा । राखूं तो चांडाळा ऐसा दुरि ॥ध्रु.॥
अनाचार कांहीं न साहे अवगुणें । बहु होय मन कासावीस ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माझी एकविध सेवा । विमुख ते देवा वाळी चित्तें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One who torments others is my adversary, for I see the Lord of the universe in all beings. I will punish such a one, shun him, and refuse even to look at him; I will keep that wretch at a distance. My chitta cannot endure misconduct or cruelty of any kind. Says Tuka, my devotion is singular; one who turns away from God, I dismiss from my chitta.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
One who torments others is my enemy, for I see the Lord of the world in every being. I will punish such a one, I will cast him out, I will not even let my eyes rest on him by force; I will keep that wretch far away. My heart cannot bear misconduct or any cruelty; it grows deeply troubled. Tuka says: my service is of one kind only. One who turns away from God, I cast out of my heart.
What it means
Tukaram draws his one hard line from his deepest tenderness. Because he sees the Lord of the universe in every living being, the person who torments others becomes his own adversary, and he refuses such a one his company, his glance, his nearness. His point is not personal hatred but a heart that cannot stay at peace in the presence of cruelty. He names his devotion as singular and undivided, so the one place he draws back is from those who turn their backs on God by harming what God indwells. The severity here serves the same vision of God-in-all that makes him gentle everywhere else.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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