Social criticism, the self-appointed saint
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तरलों ह्मणऊनि धरिला ताठा । त्यासी चळ जाला फांटा ॥1॥
वांयांविण तुटे दोड । मान सुख इच्छी मांड ॥ध्रु.॥
ग्वाहीविण मात । स्थापी आपुली स्वतंत्र ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ऐसीं किती । नरका गेलीं अधोगती ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Claiming to be saved, he adopted a stiff posture, and then his mind began to wander and branch off. Without any cause, he severed the bond, seeking honor and the comforts of the seat. Without any witness, he establishes his own independent claim. Says Tuka, how many such ones have gone to hell, falling to the lowest state?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Saying he was saved, he took on a stiff pride, and then his mind began to wander and split off. For no reason he broke the bond, wanting honor and the comforts of the high seat. With no witness to back him, he sets up his own claim, answerable to none. Tuka says: how many such ones have gone to hell, fallen to the lowest state.
What it means
Tukaram traces the ruin of a man who declares himself liberated and lets that claim harden into pride. The pride untethers him: he drifts from the true path and snaps the bond of discipleship, chasing recognition and a comfortable seat of authority. With no one to vouch for him, he crowns himself a master accountable to nobody. Tukaram warns that this self-appointment is a downward road, and many who walked it have fallen to the lowest state. The danger he names is in any of us: claiming arrival as a cover for ego.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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