Social criticism, the costumed devotee
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अतिवाद लावी । एक बोट सोंग दावी ॥१॥
त्याचा बहुरूपी नट । नव्हे वैष्णव तो चाट ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रतिपादी वाळी । एक पुजी एका छळी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नाहीं । भूतदया ज्याचे ठायीं ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One puts on excessive airs and makes a show of pointing a finger. He is a costumed actor, not a true Vaishnava but a sycophant but a fraud. He supports one person, worships another, and torments someone else. Says Tuka, wherever compassion for all beings is absent, there is no true devotion.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He makes a great show. He points a finger and plays a part. He is a costumed actor, not a true Vaishnava, only a flatterer. He praises one man, worships another, and torments a third. Tuka says: where there is no compassion for all beings, there is no devotion.
What it means
Tukaram is naming the gap between the show of devotion and its one real mark. The man here performs piety like an actor in costume, pointing fingers and playing favorites: praising one person, flattering another, harassing a third. None of that is Vaishnava faith, only sycophancy dressed as religion. The test Tukaram applies is simple and severe: bhutadaya, compassion toward all living beings. Where that is absent, the costume is empty, however loud the performance; and the warning is for anyone tempted to mistake religious display for the thing itself.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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