Moral counsel, the inner witness
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आपुली कसोटी शुद्ध राखी कारण । आगीनें भूषण अधिक पुट ॥1॥
नाहीं कोणासवें बोलणें लागत । नििंश्चतीनें चित्तसमाधान ॥ध्रु.॥
लपविलें तें ही ढेंकरें उमटे । खोटियाचें खोटें उर फोडी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे निंदा स्तुति दोन्ही वाव । आपुलाला भाव फळा येतो ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Maintain your own purity for a good reason; fire only enhances the luster of gold. There is no need to argue with anyone; certainty and contentment come from inner conviction. What is hidden within is revealed by a belch; the falsehood in a false man breaks through on its own. Says Tuka, both praise and blame are hollow. One's own inner faith is what bears fruit.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Keep your own testing pure, for good reason; fire only deepens the shine of gold. Then you need argue with no one; certainty itself gives the heart its peace. What you hide inside still surfaces, the way a belch gives you away; the falseness in a false man bursts his own chest open. Tuka says: praise and blame are both empty. It is your own inner faith that bears the fruit.
What it means
Tukaram urges you to keep yourself genuine, comparing the tested soul to gold, which only grows brighter in the fire of trial. If you are real within, you need not argue your case to anyone; inner certainty is its own peace. He warns that what is concealed always leaks out, like a belch betraying what was swallowed, and the falseness in a pretender finally breaks him from inside. The conclusion sets the true measure: other people's praise and blame are both hollow, and only your own inward faith actually bears fruit.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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