Longing, the devotee's sit-down protest
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां होइन धरणेकरी । भीतरीच कोंडीन ॥1॥
नाही केली जीवेंसाटी । तों कां गोष्टी रुचे तें ॥ध्रु.॥
आधी निर्धार तो सार । मग भार सोसीन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे खाऊं जेवूं । नेदूं होऊं वेगळा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Now I will become one who sits in determined protest. I will confine Him within. Until this is done with all my life's force, how can mere talk satisfy me? First comes firm resolve; that is what matters. Then I will bear whatever burden comes. Says Tuka, we shall eat and feast together; I will not let Him become separate from me.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now I will sit down in protest and not move. I will shut Him in. Until this is staked on my very life, how can mere talk please me? First comes the firm resolve; that is the heart of it. Then I will bear whatever weight comes. Tuka says: we will eat and feast together. I will not let Him become separate from me.
What it means
Tukaram threatens God the way a creditor sits at a debtor's door and refuses to leave until paid. He vows to mount such a sit-down protest, to shut God in and not be put off by words, because nothing less than staking his whole life will satisfy him. He insists the firm resolve must come first, and only then will he take on whatever hardship follows. The close turns the demand intimate: he will share his food with God and will not allow any separation between them to stand.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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