Social criticism, the showy ascetic
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
लांबवूनि जटा नेसोनि कासोटा । अभिमान मोटा करिताती ॥1॥
सर्वांगा करिती विभूतिलेपन । पाहाती मिष्टान्न भक्षावया ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे त्यांचा नव्हे हा स्वधर्म । न कळतां वर्म मिथ्यावाद ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Growing long matted locks and wrapping themselves in loincloths, they strut about with great pride. They smear ash all over their bodies but look around for fine food to eat. Says Tuka, this is not their true calling. Not knowing the secret, they live in falsehood.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
They let their matted locks grow long and wrap the loincloth tight, and they carry themselves with great pride. They smear ash over their whole body, then look around for fine food to eat. Tuka says: this is not their true calling. Not knowing the secret, they live in falsehood.
What it means
Tukaram describes the ascetic who has perfected the look of holiness, the long matted hair, the loincloth, the ash on the skin, and made it an occasion for pride. The tell is the wandering eye for good food: the body that performs renunciation still serves its appetite. He says this is not their real path, because they have taken hold of the outward marks while missing the inner secret that alone makes them true. Read inward, the warning is that an identity built on looking spiritual, with pride underneath, is simply a lived falsehood.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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