Moral warning, the unsteady mind
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जळालें तें बाहए सोंग । अंतर व्यंग पडिलिया॥1॥
कारण तें अंतरलें । वाइट भलें ह्मणवितां ॥ध्रु.॥
तांतडीनें नासी । तांतडीनें च संतोषी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे धीर । नाहीं बुिद्ध एक िस्थर॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Outward appearances are worthless when the inner being is flawed. The essential thing has been lost, even as one claims to be good. Such a one flares up in a moment and calms down just as quickly. Says Tuka, there is no patience in him, no steady intellect.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Outward show is burnt to nothing when the inside is flawed. The thing that matters has been lost, even while one is called good. Such a person spoils in a moment and is pleased again in a moment. Tuka says: there is no patience in him, no single steady mind.
What it means
Tukaram weighs a person by what is inside, not by appearance. An impressive outward display counts for nothing if the inner being is defective, and the essential thing can be missing even in someone the world calls good. His test is steadiness: the flawed person flares into anger and then is appeased just as fast, swinging with every moment. The pattern he points to is the restless, reactive mind that has no patience and never settles into one fixed resolve, and that instability, not any outer failing, is the real defect to examine in oneself.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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