Confession, the long-broken homeward tie
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बहु दिस नाहीं माहेरिंची भेटी । जाली होती तुटी व्यवसायें ॥1॥
आपुल्याला होतों गुंतलों व्यासंगें । नाहीं त्या प्रसंगें आठवलें ॥ध्रु.॥
तुटातें तुटतें जडती जडलें । आहे तें आपुलें आपणापें ॥2॥
बहु निरोपाचें पावलें उत्तर । जवळी च पर एक तें ही ॥3॥
काय जाणों मोह होईल सांडिला । बहु दिस तुटला तुका ह्मणे ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For many days I had no meeting with my true home; the connection was broken by worldly occupations. I was absorbed in my own pursuits; those moments of grace were never recalled. What was broken kept breaking; what was joined kept holding. That which is truly mine remains with me. Much correspondence has been exchanged, yet the other side remains near. Says Tuka, I do not know whether attachment has finally been abandoned; the separation has lasted long.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For many days I had no meeting with my true home; worldly work broke the connection. I was absorbed in my own pursuits, and in all that I never remembered those moments of grace. What was breaking kept breaking; what held kept holding. What is truly mine stays with me still. Much word has passed back and forth, yet the other side is near, near as one thing. Tuka says: I do not know whether the attachment is finally let go. The separation has lasted long.
What it means
Tukaram confesses a long silence between himself and his maher, his true home in God. Worldly occupation cut the line, and absorbed in his own affairs he simply stopped remembering grace. He watches two things at once: what is false keeps falling away, while what is genuinely his own holds fast and stays with him. Messages have gone back and forth, yet he senses the other side is not far at all, as close as a single thing. He ends honestly unsure whether his worldly attachment has truly dropped, only certain that the separation has gone on too long.
Confession and Sin
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