Warning, pride is a golden chain
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मायबापें जरी सर्पीण बोका । त्यांचे संगें सुखा न पवे बाळ ॥१॥
चंदनाचा शूळ सोनियाची बेडी । सुख नेदी फोडी प्राण नाशी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नरकीं घाली अभिमान । जरी होय ज्ञान गर्व ताठा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If one's parents are like a serpent or a cat, the child will find no happiness in their company. A stake made of sandalwood or a chain made of gold will still take your life and never give comfort. Says Tuka, pride casts one into hell, even if it is dressed up as knowledge and rigid resolve.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
If a child's own parents are a serpent and a cat, the child finds no happiness near them. A stake can be carved from sandalwood, a chain can be made of gold; they still pierce you, still kill you, and give no comfort. Tuka says: pride throws you into hell, even when it is dressed up as knowledge and stiff resolve.
What it means
Tukaram is warning that what looks fine on the surface can still destroy you. A sandalwood stake and a golden chain are precious things, yet a stake is still a stake and a chain is still a chain; the beauty does not change what they do. So it is with pride. Pride that wears the costume of spiritual knowledge and firm willpower looks respectable, but it still casts you into hell. The poem asks you to examine the part of yourself that feels learned and unbendable, because that is exactly where this golden chain hides.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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