Worldly life, adharma inside dharma
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भोगें घडे त्याग । त्यागें अंगा येती भोग ॥१॥
ऐसें उफराटें वर्म । धर्मा अंगीं च अधर्म ॥ध्रु.॥
देव अंतरे तें पाप । खोटे उगवा संकल्प ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे भीड खोटी । लाभ विचारावा पोटीं ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Through indulgence comes renunciation; through renunciation, pleasures return. The workings run contrary: adharma dwells in the very body of dharma. Whatever distances God, that is sin; abandon all false resolutions. Says Tuka, false shame is worthless; examine the profit in your own gut.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Through indulgence comes the urge to renounce; and through renunciation the pleasures creep back again. The mechanism runs backwards like that, and adharma can hide inside the very body of dharma. Whatever pushes God further away, that is sin; give up your false resolutions. Tuka says: false shame is worthless. Work out, honestly, in your own gut, where the real profit lies.
What it means
Tukaram warns that the inner life is tricky, full of reversals. Indulgence can breed a reaction of renunciation, and renunciation can quietly invite the old pleasures back; even apparent dharma can carry adharma hidden inside it. So he gives one clear measuring stick that cuts through the confusion: whatever distances you from God is sin, whatever its label. Drop the false resolves and the false shame that keep you performing, and instead reckon honestly, in your own gut, what truly profits the soul. The test is not the outward form but the direction: toward God, or away.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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