On speech, slander fills the tongue with hell
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
स्तुती अथवा निंदा करावी देवाची । अधम तो वेची व्यर्थ वाणी ॥1॥
आइकोनि होती बहिर हे बोल । वेचूनि ते मोल नरका जाती ॥ध्रु.॥
इह लोकीं थुंका उडे तोंडावरी । करणें अघोरी वास लागे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माप वाचेऐसें निकें । भरलें नरकें निंदेसाटीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Whether one praises or blames God, at least the tongue is engaged with Him. But the wretch who wastes his speech on idle talk gains nothing. Those who hear sacred words yet remain deaf, spending their hearing on worthless things, are bound for hell. In this world, spit flies in the face of the slanderer, and the stench of his wicked deeds clings to him. Says Tuka, no vessel is as fine as the tongue; yet through slander, it fills itself with hellfire.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Praise God or blame God: at least the tongue is busy with him. But the low one wastes his speech for nothing. They hear holy words and stay deaf. They spend that gift on worthless things and go to hell. In this world spit flies in the slanderer's face; the stench of his foul deeds clings to him. Tuka says: no measure is as fine as the tongue, yet through slander it is filled up with hell.
What it means
Tukaram weighs how speech is spent. Even blaming God keeps the tongue turned toward him, which is better than squandering it on empty chatter that earns nothing. Worse are those who hear sacred words and stay deaf to them, wasting the gift of hearing and bringing ruin on themselves. He drives the point home with disgust at slander, the spit and the stench that mark the slanderer, but the warning is about the habit, not contempt for any one person. The tongue is the finest vessel a person owns; turn it to slander and you pack it with hell.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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