Social criticism, speak up against the wicked
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सांडावी हे भीड अधमाचे चाळे । मद्यपीर बरळे भलत्या छंदें ॥1॥
ऐसे तंव तुह्मी नाहीं जी दिसत । कां हें अनुचित वदलेत ॥ध्रु.॥
फांटा जाला त्यासी नाहीं वोढा वारा । वेरसा चि खरा हाटो गुण ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नाहीं ज्याच्या बापा ताळा । तो देखे विटाळा संतां अंगीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Abandon the timidity that tolerates the ways of the wicked. A drunkard babbles whatever fancy takes him. Surely you are not that sort; why then have you spoken such improper words? A spoiled branch catches no breeze; its true nature shows itself everywhere. Says Tuka, one whose own father has no sense of propriety sees impurity in the saints themselves.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Drop the timidity that puts up with the ways of the wicked. A drunkard babbles whatever fancy seizes him. Surely you are not that kind of man; why then did you speak such improper words? A spoiled branch catches no breeze; its real nature shows itself everywhere. Tuka says: a man whose own father has no sense of decency is the one who sees impurity on the bodies of the saints.
What it means
Tukaram tells the listener to stop being so deferential that they tolerate evil; silence in front of the wicked is itself a fault. He compares the offender to a drunkard who blurts out whatever crosses his mind, then presses the person who has spoken badly: you seemed better than this, so why these improper words? The spoiled-branch image says a corrupt nature betrays itself in every direction. The closing line turns the charge sharpest: the man who sneers that the saints are impure is only revealing the indecency bred in his own house. The poem aims at the slandering pattern, urging the hearer not to harbor it.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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