Deliverance, waking from the dream into grace
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अवघें चि गोड जालें । मागीलये भरी आलें ॥१॥
साहय जाला पांडुरंग । दिला अभ्यंतरीं संग ॥ध्रु.॥
थडिये पावतां तो वाव । मागें वाहावतां ठाव ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे गेलें । स्वप्नींचें जागें जालें ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Everything has become sweet, for the old account of grace has been filled to the brim. Panduranga has come to my aid and given me his company deep within. When you reach the bank, the current becomes gentle; when you were drowning before, there was no ground beneath your feet. Says Tuka, all that was a dream has now dissolved, and I have awakened.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Everything has turned sweet. The old account has been filled to the brim. Panduranga has come to my aid. He has given me his company deep within. When you reach the bank, the current goes gentle. Before, when you were drowning, there was no ground beneath you. Tuka says: it is all gone now. The dream is over, and I have woken.
What it means
Tukaram is naming the moment of rescue from inside, after it has happened. Everything has turned sweet and the long-standing arrears of grace are paid in full at last. The cause is plain: Panduranga came to help and gave his own company, not outwardly but deep within. Then the river image carries the whole change. While he was drowning there was no footing anywhere, but once he reaches the bank the fierce current loses its power over him. The closing line settles it: all of that was a dream, and he has now awakened. The terror was real while it lasted, yet from the far bank it is seen for what it was, and only the sweetness remains.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
More in this theme →