Confession, done with bad company
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कां होती कां होती । देवा एवढी फजीती ॥१॥
मुळीं वर्म नसतों चुकलों । तो मी ऐसें चित्तीं ॥ध्रु.॥
होणार होऊनि गेलें । मिथ्या आतां खंती रे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पुरे आतां । दुर्जनाची संगती रे ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O God, why was there such disgrace? In my chitta I know that I was at fault from the very root. What was destined to happen has happened; it is useless to grieve over it now. Says Tuka, enough now; let the company of the wicked come to an end.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Why was there, why was there, O God, such a disgrace? Deep in my mind I know I was at fault from the very root, that the error was mine. What was bound to happen has happened; it is empty to grieve over it now. Tuka says: enough now, enough of the company of the wicked.
What it means
Tukaram is owning a humiliation instead of complaining about it. He asks God why such a disgrace fell on him, but does not stop at the question; in his own heart he admits the fault was his from the root, not someone else's doing. Then he refuses to wallow: what was destined has already happened, and grieving over it now is hollow. The resolve he draws is practical and aimed at himself. The disgrace grew out of keeping bad company, so he ends that company for good. The poem points at the pattern, the company we choose, rather than at any person to despise.
Confession and Sin
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