Social criticism, the false guru
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
शिष्या सांगे उपदेश । गुरुपूजा हे विशेष ॥1॥
दावी आचार सोवळे । दंड कमंडलु माळे ॥ध्रु.॥
छाटी भगवी मानसीं ।व्यर्थ ह्मणवी संन्यासी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे लोभ । न सुटे नाहीं लाभ ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He gives his disciples teachings and demands elaborate worship of the guru. He displays his ritual purity, his staff, water-pot, and prayer beads. He wears the saffron robes and pretends to be a renunciant, but it is all empty show. Says Tuka, as long as greed does not leave, there is no true gain.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He gives teachings to his disciples. He demands special worship of the guru. He shows off his ritual purity, his staff, his water-pot, his beads. He wears the saffron robe and calls himself a renunciant. It is all empty. Tuka says: while greed has not left, there is no gain.
What it means
Tukaram describes a man who has all the marks of a holy teacher and none of the substance. He teaches, demands honor as a guru, and displays the staff, water-pot, beads, and saffron robe that signal renunciation. The poem names the rot at the center: he still has not let go of greed, so the renunciation is only costume. The test is not the outward gear but whether grasping has actually loosened; where it has not, there is no real gain, however convincing the show. The warning is worth turning on oneself, since the same props can dress up the same hidden greed in anyone.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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