Ecstasy, empty and free
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
काम नाहीं काम नाहीं । जालों पाहीं रिकामा ॥1॥
फावल्या या करूं चेष्टा । निश्चळ दृष्टा बैसोनि ॥ध्रु.॥
नसत्या छंदें नसत्या छंदें । जग विनोदें विहडतसे ॥2॥
एकाएकीं एकाएकीं । तुका लोकीं निराळा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
There is no work left, no work at all. I have become entirely empty and free. Whatever playful movements arise, I watch them as a still witness. The world wanders about in needless pursuits, amusing itself with fabricated diversions. Says Tuka, in the midst of all people, I remain alone and apart, one with the One.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
There is no work, no work at all. Look, I have become empty. Whatever moves happen now, I do them lightly, sitting still as a witness. With useless fashions, useless fads, the world wanders about amusing itself. Alone, utterly alone, Tuka stands apart among all people.
What it means
Tukaram is describing the state of one for whom doing has ended. Nothing is left that he must accomplish, so he is emptied and free, and whatever actions still pass through him he performs lightly while resting as the unmoving witness behind them. From that stillness he sees the world for what it is: people wandering through made-up pursuits and passing fancies, entertaining themselves. So he stands alone in the midst of everyone, not isolated but inwardly apart, one with the One while others chase diversions.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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