Loving complaint, give me what you enjoy
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आण काय सादर । विशीं आह्मां कां निष्ठ ॥1॥
केलें भक्त तैसें देई । तुझें प्रेम माझ्याठायीं ॥ध्रु.॥
काय पंगतीस कोंडा । एकांतासी साकरमांडा ॥2॥
काय एकपण । पोतां घालूनि गांठी खूण ॥3॥
काय घ्यावें ऐसें । त्या आपण अनारिसें ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे मधीं । आतां तोडूं भेद बुद्धी ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Why do You invite me only to ignore me? Why this cruelty toward us in particular? Give Your devotee what befits devotion; let Your love abide in me. Do You serve husks and chaff at the public feast while saving the sweetmeats for when You are alone? Is this what You call oneness: tying a secret knot in the purse? Why should one accept something from You that is different from what You Yourself enjoy? Says Tuka, let us now cut through this veil of discriminating intellect that stands between us.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Why do You invite me and then ignore me? Why are You so hard on us in particular? Give Your devotee what fits devotion; let Your love live in me. Do You serve husks and chaff at the public table and keep the sweets for when You are alone? Is this Your oneness, tying a secret knot in the purse? Why should I take from You something different from what You enjoy Yourself? Tuka says: now let us cut through this dividing mind that stands between us.
What it means
Tukaram complains to God like a guest who was called to the feast and then served scraps. The image is sharp: chaff at the common table, sweets saved for private favorites, a knot tied secretly in the purse. He is naming a felt distance and refusing to accept it as real love. His demand is bold: he wants exactly what God enjoys, not some lesser portion handed down to a devotee. The closing line points at the cause: the dividing intellect that makes two out of one, and he asks for it to be cut so nothing stands between them.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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