The seal of Vithoba over caste
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
प्राक्तनाच्या योगें आळशावरी गंगा । स्नान काय जगा करूं नये ॥1॥
उभी कामधेनु मागिलें अंगणीं । तिसी काय ब्राह्मणीं वंदूं नये ॥ध्रु.॥
कोढियाचे हातें परिसें होय सोनें । अपवित्र ह्मणोन घेऊं नये ॥2॥
यातिहीन जाला गांवींचा मोकासी । त्याच्या वचनासी मानूं नये ॥3॥
भावारूढ तुका मुद्रा विठोबाची । न मनी तयांचीं तोंडें काळीं ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If the Ganga flows toward a lazy man by destiny, should one not bathe in it? If a wish-fulfilling cow stands in the backyard, should a Brahmin not bow to it? If a touchstone turns something to gold in a leper's hand, should one refuse it as impure? If a of lowly station man becomes the village headman, should his command not be obeyed? Says Tuka, the seal of Vithoba is upon me, borne aloft by faith. Those who refuse to honor it have blackened faces.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
If by destiny the Ganga flows up to a lazy man, should the world not bathe in it? If the wish-granting cow stands in the back courtyard, should a Brahmin not bow to her? If gold is made by a touchstone held in a leper's hand, should you refuse it as impure? If a man of low birth becomes the headman of the village, should his word not be obeyed? Tuka says: the seal of Vithoba is set on me, and faith holds me up. Those who will not honor it, their faces are blackened.
What it means
Tukaram piles up four cases to break the rule that worth follows birth or status. If the Ganga reaches even a lazy man, the wish-cow stands in a back yard, a touchstone turns iron to gold in a leper's hand, or a low-born man rises to headman, the gift and the authority are real no matter the vessel that carries them; only a fool refuses them as impure. He turns this on himself: the seal of Vithoba is stamped on him and faith lifts him up, so his own low standing in the world's eyes counts for nothing. The closing line says those who scorn that mark for the sake of his birth are the ones disgraced, their faces blackened. Honor the divine wherever it appears, not the social label on the one who bears it.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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