Longing, the Name put to shame
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
लाजती पुराणें । वेदां येऊं पाहे उणें ॥1॥
आह्मी नामाचे धारक । किविलवाणीं दिसों रंक ॥ध्रु.॥
बोलिले ते संतीं । बोल वायांविण जाती ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देवा । रोकडी हे मोडे सेवा॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The Puranas are put to shame, the Vedas seem diminished. We who bear the Name appear pitiable and poor. The words the saints have spoken seem to go in vain. Says Tuka, O God, this living devotion is being broken before our very eyes.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The Puranas are put to shame; the Vedas look diminished. We who bear the Name appear pitiful and poor. The words the saints once spoke seem to go to waste. Tuka says: O God, this living devotion is breaking before our eyes.
What it means
Tukaram protests that the bhakta's hardship does not just hurt him; it discredits the whole tradition. If those who carry the Name end up looking pitiful and poor, then the Puranas and Vedas that promised refuge seem shamed, and the saints' assurances seem spoken in vain. The complaint is on behalf of the path itself: the credibility of devotion is at stake in how the devotee fares. By saying the living devotion is breaking before everyone's eyes, he is urging God to act so that faith is vindicated rather than mocked.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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