Social criticism, the malicious heart
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आणिकांच्या घातें । ज्यांचीं निवतील चित्तें ॥१॥
ते चि ओळखावे पापी । निरयवासी शीघ्रकोपी ॥ध्रु.॥
कान पसरोनी । ऐके वदे दुष्ट वाणी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे भांडा । धीर नाहीं ज्याच्या तोंडा॥३॥
हनुमंतस्तुति - अभंग ४
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Those whose hearts find satisfaction in the harm done to others, know them as sinners, dwellers in hell, quick to anger. They stretch their ears to listen and then speak vile words. Says Tuka, the quarrelsome one has no patience upon his tongue.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Those whose minds grow calm and pleased when others are harmed: know them as the sinners. They live in hell already; they flare into anger fast. They open their ears wide to hear, and then their mouths speak evil words. Tuka says: the quarrelsome one has no patience on his tongue.
What it means
Tukaram gives a plain test for recognizing a corrupt heart: watch what gives it peace. The one who feels satisfied when another person is hurt is the real sinner, already a dweller in hell, quick to rage. He notices the small mechanics of it too, the ears that strain to catch bad news and the mouth that rushes to spread it. The warning points at a pattern any of us can fall into, the appetite for others' ruin and the tongue that cannot hold itself back, rather than at one named enemy.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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