Longing, beyond mere knowledge
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाहीं आलें भक्तिसुख अनुभवा । तो मी ज्ञान देवा काय करूं ॥1॥
नसावें जी तुह्मी कांहीं नििंश्चतीनें । माझिया वचनें अभेदाच्या ॥ध्रु.॥
एकाएकीं मन नेदी समाधान । देखिल्या चरण वांचूनियां ॥2॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have not yet tasted the bliss of devotion in my own experience. Of what use then is mere knowledge, O God? O Lord, do not rest content with my words about non-duality. The mind will not find peace until it has seen Your feet.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The bliss of devotion has not yet come into my own experience. So what shall I do with knowledge, my God? Lord, do not be satisfied with my words about non-duality. My mind will not be at peace until it has seen your feet.
What it means
Tukaram is refusing to settle for the idea of God in place of God. He admits he has not yet tasted devotion as living experience, and so abstract knowledge is of no use to him. He even warns the Lord not to be content with his own talk of non-duality, as if correct doctrine could stand in for the real meeting. Nothing will quiet his mind, he says, except actually seeing God's feet; the longing is for presence, not for a finished thought about it.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →