Ecstasy, the saints have arrived
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आजिचिया लाभें ब्रह्मांड ठेंगणें । सुखी जालें मन कल्पवेना ॥1॥
आर्तभूत माझा जीव जयांसाटीं । त्यांच्या जाल्या भेटी पायांसवें ॥ध्रु.॥
वाटुली पाहातां सिणले नयन । बहु होतें मन आर्तभूत ॥2॥
माझ्या निरोपाचें आणिलें उत्तर । होइल समाचार सांगती तो ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे भेटी निवारला ताप । फळलें संकल्प संत आले ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Today's gain makes the universe seem small; the mind overflows with a joy beyond reckoning. Those for whom my jiva burned with longing, their feet have come to meet me. My eyes were weary from watching the road, and my chitta was desperate. They have brought the answer to my message; now I will hear the full account. Says Tuka, the fever of separation is cured by the meeting; the saints have arrived, and my prayers are fulfilled.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Today's gain makes the whole universe seem small; my mind is happy past all imagining. Those for whom my jiva burned with longing, their feet have come to meet me. My eyes were worn out from watching the road; my mind was desperate. They have brought back the answer to my message; now I will hear the whole account. Tuka says: the meeting has cured the fever of separation. The saints have come, and my prayers are fulfilled.
What it means
The longing breaks into joy: what Tukaram gains today dwarfs the entire universe, a happiness beyond anything the mind could plan. The ones his soul burned for have arrived, and he speaks of meeting their very feet, the saints who carry God's presence. He admits how worn down he was, eyes tired from watching the road, mind at the edge of despair. Now they have brought the answer to his message and he will finally hear everything. He names the cure plainly: the meeting itself heals the fever of separation, and with the saints' coming his every prayer is answered.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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