Moral ideal, the pure seed
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
शुद्धबीजा पोटीं । फळें रसाळ गोमटीं ॥१॥
मुखीं अमृताची वाणी । देह वेचावा कारणीं ॥ध्रु.॥
सर्वांगीं निर्मळ । चित्त जैसें गंगाजळ ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जाती । ताप दर्शनें विश्रांती ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
From a pure seed come fruits that are lush and beautiful. On the lips, nectar-words; the body should be spent for the cause. Pure in every limb, the chitta like Ganga-water. Says Tuka, the burning departs; by their very sight, repose.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
From a pure seed come fruits that are sweet and lovely to look at. On such a person's lips are words like nectar, and the body itself is spent in good work. Pure through and through, the heart clear as the water of the Ganga. Tuka says: the fever leaves you; just the sight of such a one brings rest.
What it means
A portrait of the good person as a fruit-bearing tree. The inner purity is the seed, and everything that grows from it is sweet: nectar-like speech, a life spent in service, a heart clear as Ganga-water. Tukaram is not listing rules but describing a quality of being, one so settled that it heals others without trying. The last line is the test and the gift together: in the presence of such a person the inner fever of craving and unrest simply leaves you, and you come to rest. Their very sight is medicine.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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