Social criticism, the counterfeit saint
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
संतचिन्हें लेउनि अंगीं । भूषण मिरविती जगीं ॥1॥
पडिले दुःखाचे सागरीं । वहावले ते भवपुरीं ॥ध्रु.॥
कामक्रोधलोभ चित्तीं । वरिवरि दाविती विरक्ती ॥2॥
आशापाशीं बांधोनि चित्त । ह्मणती जालों आह्मी मुक्त ॥3॥
त्यांचे लागले संगती । जाली त्यांसी ते चि गति ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे शब्दज्ञानें । जग नाडियेलें तेणें॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
They put on the outward marks of saints and parade their ornaments before the world. Yet they have fallen into the ocean of sorrow, swept away by the flood of worldly existence. Desire, anger, and greed fill their chittas while they display detachment on the surface. With their minds bound by the noose of desire, they declare themselves liberated. Those who kept their company met the very same fate. Says Tuka, by mere verbal knowledge, the world has been deceived.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
They put on the marks of saints and parade the ornaments before the world. Yet they have fallen into the ocean of sorrow, swept away in the flood of worldly life. Desire, anger, and greed fill their minds, while on the surface they show detachment. Their minds are tied in the noose of craving, and still they say, We are free. Those who kept their company came to the same end. Tuka says: by mere word-knowledge, the world has been deceived.
What it means
This names the gap between the outward show of holiness and the inner state. The marks and ornaments are real to look at, but underneath sit the same desire, anger, and greed that bind everyone else. The sharp point is the claim of freedom: a mind still caught in the noose announces itself as liberated, which is the deception. Tukaram calls it word-knowledge, learning that stays in the mouth and never changes the heart, and he warns that the followers inherit the teacher's bondage. The examination he invites is honest: is the detachment lived, or only displayed.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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