Moral ideal, the duty to confront wrong
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अन्यायासी राजा जरि न करितां दंड । बहुचक ते लंड पीडिती जना ॥1॥
ने करी निगा कुणबी न काढितां तण । कैंचे येती कण हातासी ते ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे संतां करूं नये अनुचित। पाप नाहीं नीत विचारिता ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If the king does not punish wrongdoers, the wicked grow bold and oppress the people. If the farmer does not weed his field, how will grain come into his hands? Says Tuka, one should never act unjustly toward the saints. Where there is sin, there is no righteousness in sight.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
If the king does not punish the wrongdoer, the wicked grow bold and crush the people. If the farmer does not pull out the weeds, how will any grain reach his hands? Tuka says: one must never do wrong to the saints. Where there is sin, no rightness can be found.
What it means
Tukaram is defending the duty to confront evil rather than let it pass. He gives two plain pictures: a king who will not punish lets cruelty spread, and a farmer who will not weed will harvest nothing. Tolerating wrong is not gentleness; it is how the wicked gain the upper hand and the innocent suffer. The sharp turn comes at the end, that one must never wrong the saints, because where sin is allowed, righteousness simply cannot stand. The call is to weed your own field too: name the wrong, do not feed it.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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