Ecstasy, dying before death
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मरणाही आधीं राहिलों मरोनी । मग केलें मनीं होतें तैसें ॥१॥
आतां तुम्ही पाहा आमुचें नवल । नका वेचूं बोल वांयांविण ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुम्ही भयाभीत नारी । कैसे संग सरी तुम्हां आम्हां ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I died before death itself. Then I did as was in the mind. Now you see this marvel of ours. Do not spend words for nothing. Tuka says: you are fear-stricken women. How can there be equal company between you and us?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I died before death came for me. After that, I did whatever was in my heart. Now look at this wonder of ours, and do not waste your words on it. Tuka says: you are women still ruled by fear. How can there be equal company between you and us?
What it means
Tukaram names the secret behind everything in this sequence: he died before dying. The self that fears disgrace and clings to its homes was let go while the body still lived. Once that death is done, nothing remains to lose, and he simply acts from the heart. So he tells the cautious women not to waste breath judging him; they are still governed by fear, and he is not. Between the fearful and the free there can be company, but not equality. They are no longer standing on the same ground.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
More in this theme →