Longing, am I not Yours
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सांगा दास नव्हें तुमचा मी कैसा । ऐसें पंढरीशा विचारूनि ॥1॥
कोणासाटीं केली प्रपंचाची होळी । या पायां वेगळी मायबापा ॥ध्रु.॥
नसेल तो द्यावा सत्यत्वासी धीर । नये भाजूं हीर उफराटे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आह्मां आहिक्य परत्रीं । नाहीं कुळगोत्रीं दुजें कांहीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Tell me, am I not Your servant? Consider this well, O Lord of Pandhari. For whose sake have I set fire to worldly life, apart from these feet of Yours, O Mother and Father? If truth is wavering, give it courage; do not roast the diamond in the wrong fire. Says Tuka, in this world and the next, we have nothing and no one, no lineage or clan, other than You.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Tell me, how am I not Your servant? Think it over, Lord of Pandhari. For whose sake did I burn down my worldly life, if not for these feet of Yours, my Mother and Father? If the truth in me is wavering, give it courage; do not roast the diamond in the wrong fire. Tuka says: in this world and the next we have no one, no clan or kin, but only You.
What it means
Tukaram is pressing his claim on God and asking to be acknowledged. He has set fire to ordinary worldly life, and he insists he did it for one reason alone: the feet of the Lord of Pandhari. So he asks God to steady his faith when it shakes, and not to test true devotion as if it were false. The diamond image warns against ruining what is genuine by treating it wrongly. He ends by staking everything: he has no lineage, no other refuge, in this life or the next, except God.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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