Adoration, the worth of the master
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धिग जिणें त्याचा स्वामी हीन वर । मरण तें बर भलें मग ॥1॥
ऐका जी देवा ऐसी आहे नीत । काय तें उचित सांभाळावें ॥ध्रु.॥
देशोदेशीं धाक जयाच्या उत्तरें । तयाचें कुतरें परि भलें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे हें कां सुचलें उत्तर । जाणोनि अंतर ओळखावें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Cursed is the life of one whose master is degraded. Better then is death. Listen, O God, this is the rightful order. What is fitting must be honored. In a land where a great king's word commands awe, even his dog is treated well. Says Tuka, why has this plain truth come to mind? Knowing this, may You recognize what I am to You.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A life is a curse when its master is low. Better to die than to live like that. Listen, O God, this is how it rightly works; what is fitting must be honored. In a land where a great king's word strikes fear from country to country, even his dog is treated well. Tuka says: why has this plain truth come to me? Knowing it, know in Your heart what I am to You.
What it means
Tukaram measures the servant by the master, and makes God measure Himself the same way. A servant of a degraded lord lives a wretched life; better to die. But a great king's reputation lifts even the lowest creature in his household, so that even his dog is honored. Tukaram presses the point home: he is God's servant, so let God see what that makes Tukaram, and treat him as belonging to a great Lord. The argument is also a prayer, asking God to honor the bond by honoring the one who depends on it.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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