Social criticism, holiness out of place
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अभक्ताचे गांवीं साधु म्हणजे काय । व्याघ्रें वाडां गाय सांपडली ॥1॥
कसाबाचे आळी मांडिलें प्रमाण । बस्वणाची आण तया काई ॥ध्रु.॥
केळी आणि बोरी वसती सेजारी । संवाद कोणे परी घडे येथें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे खीर केली काहेळ्याची । शुद्ध गोडी कैची वसे तेथें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What is a saint in a village of the faithless? It is like a cow trapped in a tiger's pen. In the lane of butchers, what weight does a vegetarian's oath carry? A banana tree and a thorny bush may live side by side, but what dialogue can take place between them? Says Tuka, if you make kheer from bitter gourd, what genuine sweetness can possibly be found there?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
What is a saint in a town of faithless people? A cow caught in a tiger's pen. In a butchers' lane, what weight does a vegetarian's vow carry? A banana tree and a thornbush may grow side by side, but what talk can pass between them? Tuka says: if you cook kheer from bitter gourd, where will real sweetness come from?
What it means
Tukaram is naming what happens when a holy life is dropped into surroundings that despise it. Each image is a mismatch with no possible meeting: prey among predators, a vow of restraint among the indifferent, a sweet tree beside a barbed one. The point is not contempt for the people, but a clear-eyed warning about company; a nature stays true to itself, and you cannot draw sweetness from a bitter source. He asks the listener to weigh honestly where they place themselves and what they expect to grow there.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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