Saints, guard your company
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बोलायाचा त्यासीं । नको संबंध मानसीं ॥१॥
जया घडली संतनिंदा । तुज विसरूनि गोविंदा ॥ध्रु.॥
जळो त्याचें तोंड । नको दृष्टीपुढें भांड ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देवा । तया दुरी मज ठेवा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not keep any connection, even in the mind, with one who has slandered the saints and forgotten You, O Govinda. Let his mouth burn. Keep that quarrelsome wretch out of my sight. Says Tuka, O God, keep me far from such a one.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not keep any tie, even in your mind, with someone who slanders the saints and has forgotten you, Govinda. Let such a mouth burn. Keep that quarrelsome wretch out of my sight. Tuka says: O God, keep me far away from a person like that.
What it means
A blunt prayer about company. For Tukaram, contempt for the saints and forgetfulness of God are a contagion, so he asks not merely to avoid such a person in the flesh but to keep no connection with him even inwardly, in the mind. The harsh words, let his mouth burn, are aimed at the slander itself, and the prayer is protective rather than vengeful: keep me far from this, lest it touch me. He guards the heart's company as carefully as the body's, knowing we slowly become what we keep near.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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