Longing, the senses still only at the reply
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
यावरि न कळे संचित आपुलें । कैसें वोडवलें होइल पुढें ॥1॥
करील विक्षेप धाडितां मुळासी । किंवा धाडा ऐसी तांतडी हे ॥ध्रु.॥
जोंवरी हे डोळां देखें वारकरी । तों हें भरोवरी करी चित्त ॥2॥
आस वाढविते बुद्धीचे तरंग । मनाचे ही वेग वावडती॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे तेव्हां होतील निश्चळ । इंिद्रयें सकळ निरोपानें ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Beyond this, I cannot know my own destiny, nor what lies ahead. The message I sent may meet with obstacles, or perhaps it will prompt an urgent reply. As long as my eyes see the Varkaris returning, my chitta will find its reassurance. Waves of desire and surges of the mind keep rising in hope. Says Tuka, only when the message arrives will all the senses become still.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Beyond this I cannot know my own store of deeds, nor how it will turn out ahead. The message I sent may meet with obstacles, or it may be so urgent it is sent on at once. As long as my eyes can see the Varkaris returning, my mind keeps reassuring itself. Waves of thought keep raising my hope; the rushes of the mind fly about. Tuka says: only when the reply comes will all my senses grow still.
What it means
Tukaram admits the limit of what he can know: his own past deeds and his future are hidden from him, so he cannot tell how this will end. He watches his sent plea with two minds, fearing it will be blocked yet hoping it is urgent enough to be passed straight on. He keeps his heart steady by watching the Varkari pilgrims come back along the road, the visible sign that the way to God stays open. But thought rises in waves and the restless mind flies about, and he is honest that hope alone cannot settle it: only the actual reply from God will bring all his senses to rest.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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