Longing, fear at the delay
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
संताचे उपदेश आमुचे मस्तकीं । नाहीं मृतेलोकीं राहाणेसा ॥1॥
ह्मणऊनि बहु तळमळी चित्त । येई वो धांवत पांडुरंगे ॥ध्रु.॥
उपजली चिंता लागला उसीर । होत नाहीं धीर निढळ वाटे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पोटीं रिघालेंसे भय । करूं आतां काय ऐसें जालें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The teachings of the saints rest upon our heads. We are not meant to remain in this mortal world. Therefore my chitta yearns greatly. Come running, O Panduranga. Anxiety has arisen because of this delay; I feel no patience, and the wait seems naked and exposed. Says Tuka, fear has entered my belly. What shall I do now? Things have come to this.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The saints' teaching rests on our heads. We are not meant to stay in this dying world. So my mind churns and burns. Come running, O Panduranga. Worry has risen; the wait grows long. I find no patience; I feel bare and exposed. Tuka says: fear has entered my belly. What do I do now? It has come to this.
What it means
Tukaram takes the saints' teaching as a command carried on his head: this mortal world is no place to settle. That conviction makes him unable to rest, and his whole mind churns as he calls for Panduranga to come quickly. The delay itself becomes torment; he can find no patience and feels stripped and exposed in the waiting. He names plainly the fear that has lodged in his belly and the helplessness of not knowing what to do, so that longing for God is shown here as something closer to dread than to calm.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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