Longing, refusing deferred grace
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मेल्यावरि मोक्ष संसारसंबंधें । आरालिया बधे ठेवा आह्मां ॥1॥
वागवीत संदेह राहों कोठवरी । मग काय थोरी सेवकाची ॥ध्रु.॥
गाणें गीत आह्मां नाचणें आनंदें । प्रेम कोठें भेदें अंगा येतें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे किती सांगावे दृष्टांत । नसतां तूं अनंत सानकुळ ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Liberation after death, bound by worldly ties; keep us bound for now. How long shall we carry this doubt? Then what greatness remains in being a servant? Our singing and dancing in joy, our songs and celebrations; where does love arise through separation? Says Tuka, how many illustrations must I give when You, O Infinite One, are not favorable?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Liberation after death, while we stay bound by worldly ties; keep us bound, then, for now. How long are we to carry this doubt? What greatness is left in being a servant then? Singing, dancing in joy, our songs and our festivals: where does love arise out of separation? Tuka says: how many examples must I keep giving, while You, O Infinite One, will not relent?
What it means
Tukaram rejects a salvation postponed to after death. If liberation only comes once he is dead, while he stays tangled in the world the whole time he is alive, then he would rather God simply keep him bound and stop dangling the promise. Endless waiting in doubt drains all dignity from being God's servant. He insists that love is shown now, in singing and dancing and shared festival, not produced by separation and delay. The closing line is a frustrated appeal: he has offered example after example, yet the Infinite One stays unmoved. The poem presses for presence in this life rather than a deferred reward.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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