Longing, the road watched in vain
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वाट पाहें हरि कां नये आझूनि । निष्ठ कां मनीं धरियेलें ॥1॥
काय करूं धीर होत नाहीं जीवा । काय आड ठेवा उभा ठेला ॥ध्रु.॥
नाहीं माझा धांवा पडियेला कानीं । कोठें चक्रपाणी गुंतलेती ॥2॥
नाही आलें कळों अंतरा अंतर । कृपावंत फार ऐकतो ॥3॥
बहुता दिसांचें राहिलें भातुकें । नाहीं कवतुकें कृवािळलें ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे देई एकवेळा भेटी । शीतळ हें पोटीं होइल मग ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I watch the road, but Hari, why have you not come yet? Why have you hardened your resolve against me? My mind finds no patience; what obstacle stands between us? Has my desperate cry not reached your ears? Where are you entangled, O Wielder of the Discus? I cannot fathom the distance that separates us, though they say you are supremely compassionate and that you listen. Our reunion is long overdue, and yet you show no tender eagerness. Says Tuka, grant me just one meeting, and then my mind will be at peace.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I watch the road. Hari, why have you not come yet? Why have you hardened your heart against me? What can I do; my soul finds no patience. What treasure are you guarding that you stand back? Has my cry not fallen on your ears? Where are you caught up, O Wielder of the Discus? I cannot see why heart has grown distant from heart, though they say you are full of mercy, that you listen. The meeting has been put off for so many days; you have not fondled me even for fun. Tuka says: grant me one meeting, just once, and then this heart will grow cool.
What it means
This is the complaint of a devotee waiting for a God who does not arrive. Tukaram keeps his eyes on the road and asks Hari outright why he has not come and why he seems to have hardened his heart. He turns the silence into questions: what is holding you, has my cry not reached you, why has heart grown distant from heart when everyone says you are merciful and that you listen. He even reproaches God for not showing the smallest playful tenderness over so many days. The whole ache narrows to one request, a single meeting, after which the burning heart would finally be cooled.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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