Intimacy after union
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हासों रुसों आतां वाढवूं आवडी । अंतरींची गोडी अवीट ते ॥१॥
सेवासुखें करूं विनोदवचन । आम्ही नारायण एकाएकीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आम्ही जालों उदासीन । आपुल्या आधीन केला पति ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Now we laugh and sulk and deepen our delight; the sweetness within is inexhaustible. In the joy of service we exchange playful words, just Narayana and ourselves, alone together. Tuka says: we have become dispassionate. We have brought our husband under our control.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now we laugh, we sulk, we let the delight grow; the sweetness inside never runs dry. In the joy of serving him we trade playful words, just Narayana and me, alone together. Tuka says: we have grown free of craving, and we have brought our husband under our own sway.
What it means
After union comes intimacy, the easy play of two who are sure of each other: laughing, sulking, teasing. Tukaram makes a fine point at the end. He calls himself free of craving and in the same breath says he has brought God, the husband, under his control. There is no contradiction. It is precisely the lover who wants nothing for herself who holds the beloved completely. Detachment here is not coldness; it is what makes the closeness safe and total.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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