Social criticism, the hollow fault-finder
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आचरणा ठाव । नाहीं अंगीं स्वता भाव ॥१॥
करवी आणिकांचे घात । खोडी काढूनि पंडित ॥ध्रु.॥
श्वानाचियापरी । मिष्टान्नासि विटाळ करी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसा । सटवे चि ना पांचा दिसां ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He has no practice of virtue, no genuine devotion within himself. He finds faults in others and contrives their downfall. Like a dog that defiles even fine food, he contaminates everything. Says Tuka, such a person does not survive even five days.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He has no ground of right conduct, no real devotion in him. He brings about the ruin of others, the learned man, picking out their faults. Like a dog, he defiles even fine food. Tuka says: such a one does not last even five days.
What it means
Tukaram draws the figure of the clever critic who has nothing under his cleverness, no practice of virtue, no devotion of his own. What he does have is an eye for other people's faults, which he uses to drag them down and ruin them. The harsh image is of a dog that fouls good food it cannot itself enjoy; the fault-finder spoils what is good simply by touching it with contempt. The closing line says such a way of living does not last, and the warning points at the pattern of cynical fault-finding, an invitation to check that impulse in oneself rather than to scorn the person.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
More in this theme →