Moral ideal, the vow that guards His feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
लागों नेदीं बोल पायां तुझ्या हरी । जीव जावो परि न करीं आण ॥1॥
परनारी मज रखुमाईसमान । वमनाहूनि धन नीच मानीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे याची लाज असे कोणा । सहाकारी दीना ज्याची तया ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I will not let any stain touch Your feet, O Hari, even if my life should depart. I regard another's wife as equal to Mother Rukmini, and I consider wealth more vile than vomit. Says Tuka, who should feel shame before such a vow? Only the one whom God Himself supports in his hour of need.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I will not let any stain touch Your feet, Hari, even if my life leaves me. Another man's wife is to me the same as Mother Rukmini. Wealth I count lower than vomit. Tuka says: who should feel shame before such a vow? Only the one whom God Himself upholds in his hour of need.
What it means
Tukaram binds his conduct to his devotion: he will guard against any disgrace that could be charged against the God he serves, even at the cost of his life. He names the two great snares plainly. Another man's wife he regards as he would Mother Rukmini, beyond all desire, and wealth he holds more disgusting than vomit. These are not boasts but vows, and he says no one can stand by such vows alone. Only the person whom God Himself supports in the testing hour can keep them; the purity is real, but its strength is borrowed from grace.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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