Longing, arrived at last to settle accounts
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
फावलें तुह्मां मागें । नवतों लागें पावलों ॥1॥
आलों आतां उभा राहें । जवळी पाहें सन्मुख ॥ध्रु.॥
घरीं होती गोवी जाली । कामें बोली न घडे चि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे धडफुडा । जालों झाडा देई देवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You had it easy before; I had not yet arrived. Now I have come. Stand still and face me. I was caught up in household affairs, and speech could not flow freely. Says Tuka, now I have become decisive. Give me a clear account, O God.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You had it easy before, while I had not yet come; now I have arrived. Stand still and face me; let me see You close, before me. There were entanglements at home; the work kept me from speaking freely. Tuka says: now I have become plain and ready. I have come to settle the account. Give it to me, O God.
What it means
Tukaram speaks like a man who has finally cleared his obligations and arrived to face God directly. While he was tangled in household duties, God had it easy and could keep His distance; now that he has come, he asks Him to stand still and be seen face to face. He calls himself decisive and demands a clear reckoning, a settling of the account between them. The stakes are the moment of full presence: the devotee will no longer let domestic distraction or God's evasions postpone the meeting.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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