Social criticism, the false guru
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तो चि लटिक्यामाजी भला । ह्मणे देव म्यां देखिला॥1॥
ऐशियाच्या उपदेशें । भवबंधन कैसें नासे ।
बुडवी आपणासरिसे । अभिमानें आणिकांस ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिक नाहीं जोडा । देव ह्मणवितां या मूढा ॥2॥
आणिकांचे न मनी साचें । तुका ह्मणे या श्रेष्ठांचें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He alone is a good man among liars who says, 'I have seen God.' How can the bonds of worldly existence be destroyed through the teachings of such pretenders? Puffed up with pride, they drag others down along with themselves. Says Tuka, there is no equal to the folly of those who wish to be called God, nor should one trust the words of such self-proclaimed leaders.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Only one liar among them is good: the one who says, 'I have seen God.' How can such teachers cut the bonds of this world? Puffed up with pride, they drag others down along with themselves. Tuka says: there is no folly to match these fools who want to be called God; and you should not trust the words of these so-called great ones.
What it means
Tukaram is turning his scorn on the self-appointed spiritual teacher who claims to have seen God when he has not. He calls such a man the worst kind of liar, because his lie is dressed as the highest truth. A teacher still bound himself cannot loosen anyone's bonds; swollen with pride, he sinks and pulls his followers down with him. The test the poem implies is honest self-examination: do not chase the man who advertises his own greatness, and do not crave that title yourself.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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