Longing, pleading with the life of the universe
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वारंवार तुज द्यावया आठव । ऐक तो भाव माझा कैसा॥1॥
गेले मग नये फिरोन दिवस । पुडिलांची आस गणित नाहीं ॥ध्रु.॥
गुणां अवगुणांचे पडती आघात । तेणें होय चित्त कासावीस ॥2॥
कांहीं एक तुझा न देखों आधार । ह्मणऊनी धीर नाहीं जीवा ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे तूं ब्रह्मांडाचा जीव । तरी कां आह्मी कींव भाकीतसों ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I keep reminding You again and again. Hear the nature of my devotion. Days once gone do not return; there is no counting on the future. Blows of fortune and misfortune strike constantly, making the mind restless. I see no sign of Your support anywhere, and so the jiva has no courage. Says Tuka, You are the life of the universe. Then why must we keep pleading for Your compassion?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Again and again I keep reminding You. Hear the nature of my devotion. Days once gone do not come back; the future cannot be counted on. Blows of good and bad fortune keep falling, and the mind is left in distress. I see no sign of Your support anywhere, and so the jiva has no courage. Tuka says: You are the life of the whole universe. Then why must we keep begging You for Your compassion?
What it means
Tukaram presses his case to God with growing urgency, asking Him to hear how he truly feels. He names the pressure of time: spent days never return, the future is uncertain, and the constant strokes of fortune leave the mind in turmoil. Worst of all, he sees no visible sign of God's support, and without it the soul loses heart. The closing line carries a near-complaint with deep faith inside it: if God is the very life of the universe, it should not take so much begging to win His mercy. The stakes are the ache of a devotee who believes utterly yet feels left without any felt assurance.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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