Autobiography, no tricks with this servant
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मजसवें नको चेष्टा । नव्हे साळी कांहीं कोष्टा ॥१॥
बैस सांडोनि दिमाख । जाय काळें करीं मुख ॥ध्रु.॥
येथें न सरे चार । हीण आणीक वेव्हार ॥२॥
तुका विष्णुदास । रस जाणतो नीरस ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not try your tricks with me; I am no simple weaver to be fooled. Drop your pretenses and sit down, or go away with your face blackened. Here no fraud or low dealing will succeed. Says Tuka, this servant of Vishnu knows the real from the worthless.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not play your games with me; I am no plain weaver to be cheated. Drop your swagger and sit down, or go off with your face blackened. Here no fraud works, no cheap or low dealing. Tuka, the servant of Vishnu, knows what has flavor from what has none.
What it means
Tukaram speaks bluntly to anyone who comes to him with pretense and show. He refuses to be taken for a simpleton who can be fooled, and tells the boaster to either set down his airs and sit honestly or leave in shame. He states the rule of the place plainly: deceit and low dealing get no traction here. As Vishnu's servant he has learned to taste the real from the worthless, so performance and posturing do not impress him; only sincerity does.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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