Longing, come quickly and embrace me
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
क्षणक्षणां जीवा वाटतसे खंती । आठवती चित्तीं पाय देवा ॥1॥
येई वो येई वो येई लवलाहीं । आिंळगूनि बाहीं क्षेम देई ॥ध्रु.॥
उताविळ मन पंथ अवलोकी । आठवा ते चुकी काय जाली ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माझ्या जीवींच्या जीवना । घाला नारायणा उडी वेगीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Moment by moment the jiva aches with longing, and Your feet, O God, arise in my mind. Come, come, come quickly, embrace me in Your arms and give me the joy of reunion. My eager mind scans the road ahead. Was there some mistake in my remembrance? What has gone wrong? Says Tuka, O life of my life, O Narayana, leap forth and come to me swiftly.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Moment by moment my soul aches; Your feet, O God, keep rising in my mind. Come, come, come quickly; take me in Your arms and give me the joy of meeting. My restless mind keeps watching the road. Remember, was there some mistake of mine? What went wrong? Tuka says: O life of my life, Narayana, leap up and rush to me at once.
What it means
Tukaram is in the steady ache of separation, where every passing moment brings God's feet back to his mind and deepens the want. He cries out three times for God to come, and asks not just for arrival but for embrace, for the felt joy of reunion. His mind keeps scanning the road for any sign, and then turns anxious and inward: has some fault of mine caused this delay? The poem ends by calling Narayana the very life of his life and begging Him to abandon dignity and leap into motion, to come without a moment more of waiting.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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