Exhortation, drop the outward badge
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
शिखा सूत्र तुझा गुंतला जमान । तंववरि तूं जाण श्रुतिदास ॥1॥
त्याची तुज कांहीं चुकतां चि नीत । होसील पतित नरकवासी ॥ध्रु.॥
बहु जालासी चतुर शाहणा । शुद्ध आचरणा चुकों नको ॥2॥
शिखा सूत्र याचा तोडीं तूं संबंध । मग तुज बाध नाहींनाहीं ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे तरि वत्तूनिन निराळा । उमटती कळा ब्रह्मींचिया ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
As long as the sacred thread and the topknot bind you as a pledge, you remain a servant of the scriptures. If you slip from that discipline even once, you will fall and become a dweller in hell. You may have become very clever and learned, but do not stray from pure conduct. If you wish to sever the tie of the sacred thread and topknot, then do so completely, and no harm will touch you. Says Tuka, only then, standing apart, will the qualities of Brahman shine through.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
As long as the sacred thread and the topknot bind you like a pledge, know that you are only a servant of the scriptures. Slip from that discipline even once and you fall; you become a dweller in hell. You may have grown clever and learned, but do not stray from pure conduct. If you would cut the tie of the thread and the topknot, then cut it completely; then no harm can touch you. Tuka says: only then, standing apart, do the qualities of Brahman shine through you.
What it means
Tukaram is pressing a hard choice on the man who wears the marks of ritual rank. As long as the sacred thread and topknot bind you, you live as a servant of rule, and a single lapse drops you, because that kind of religion is all condition and penalty. He does not soften this into mere caution; he says the way out is to cut the tie completely, not to wear it loosely. The frame left unspoken is that the outward badge is a substitute for the inward thing: only when you stand free of the badge do the qualities of Brahman show through you. The test for the reader is whether their religion is a costume that can be failed or a reality that cannot.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
More in this theme →