Union, the soul lost in its source
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आलिंगन कंठाकंठीं । पडे मिठी सर्वांगें ॥1॥
न घडे मागें परतें मन । नारायण संभोगी ॥ध्रु.॥
वचनासी वचन मिळे। रिघती डोळे डोिळयांत ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे अंतर्ध्यानीं । जीव जीवनीं विराल्या ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
An embrace, throat to throat, a clasp with the whole body. The mind cannot turn back when Narayana is in this intimate union. Words merge into words; eyes enter into eyes. Says Tuka, deep in inner contemplation, the jiva has dissolved into its very life-source.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
An embrace, throat against throat. The whole body clasps and holds. The mind cannot turn back, not when Narayana is the lover. Word meets word; eyes enter into eyes. Tuka says: deep in the inner stillness, the soul has dissolved into its very life.
What it means
Tukaram pictures the union and lets it stand for the soul's meeting with God. There is a full embrace, throat to throat, the whole body holding on; once Narayana is the beloved, the mind has no way back. Speech answers speech, gaze sinks into gaze. The last line turns the embrace inward: in deep contemplation the jiva dissolves into Narayana, who is its own life-source. Closeness with God is not two staying two; the soul melts back into the ground it came from.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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