Show-Off

People who love to show off,
Are one thing inside, another outside.
By exaggerating everything,
They increase their social standing.

They use fake things
And never hesitate to call them real.
Even when their falsehood is exposed,
They feel no shame at all.

However short the blanket may be,
They stretch and pull it to look bigger.
Through gestures, language, and tone,
They speak with an air of pride.

Living, enduring, eating, drinking—
Even drinking ghee by borrowing money,
Following Charvaka’s great maxim
A hundred percent in life.

Not even a grain of roasted hemp at home,
Yet putting on a grand show at the doorstep;
Drinking, partying, and wandering aimlessly,
They choose a directionless path.

Even the extremely luxurious
Put on the appearance of holy men.
They deceive everyone with ease
And fill their homes with wealth.

Ravana disguised himself
As a false ascetic and committed a great crime.
But what the consequences would be,
He never thought about.

Here, through changing disguises,
Whatever deeds have been done,
Their consequences have never
Been beneficial.

By lying and deceiving,
By pretending to be officials,
They flaunt false grandeur
And seek respect, all dressed up.

Calling something worth ten
Worth fifty instead,
They keep scheming secretly
And secretly delight in their cleverness.

Stay away from pretence,
Live your life by the simple path.
Your dignity is in your own hands—
Protect your honour and reputation.

Vidya