Moral counsel, keep your own ground
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चित्ता मिळे त्याचा संग रुचिकर । क्षोभवितां दूर तों चि भलें ॥1॥
ऐसी परंपरा आलीसे चालत । भलत्याची नीत त्यागावरी ॥ध्रु.॥
हो कां पिता पुत्र बंधु कोणी तेही । विजाति संग्रहीं धरूं नये ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे सत्य पाळावें वचन । अन्यथा आपण करूं नये ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The company that agrees with the mind is pleasant; when it provokes, it is best kept at a distance. Such has been the way passed down through ages: one must renounce whatever crosses one's path of goodness. Be it father, son, or brother, one should not harbor the company of those of contrary nature. Says Tuka, one must keep one's word of truth and never behave otherwise.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Company that suits your mind is pleasant; when it provokes you, it is best kept far off. This is the way handed down through the ages: turn away from anyone who crosses your path of good. Be he father, son, or brother, do not keep close company with one whose nature runs against yours. Tuka says: hold to your word of truth, and never act otherwise.
What it means
Tukaram gives practical counsel on the company one keeps. Good company steadies the mind; company that agitates it should be kept at a distance, and this, he says, is the wisdom passed down through generations. He pushes the rule to its hard edge: even father, son, or brother is no exception if their nature pulls you off the path of goodness. Kinship does not override the soul's direction. The closing measure of the whole thing is simple integrity: keep your word, stay true, and never let circumstance bend you into acting otherwise.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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