Ecstasy, devotion over liberation
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
डौरलों भक्तिसुखें । सेवूं अमृत हें मुखें ॥1॥
संतसंगें सारूं काळ । प्रेमसुखाचा कल्लोळ ॥ध्रु.॥
ब्रह्मादिकांसी सुराणी । तो हा आनंद मेदिनी ॥2॥
नाहीं वैकुंठींचा पांग । धांवे कथे पांडुरंग ॥3॥
मुक्त व्हावें काशासाठीं । कैची येणें रसें भेटी॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे गोड । हें चि पुरे माझें कोड ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am drunk with the joy of devotion; let me drink this nectar with my own lips. I shall spend my days in the company of saints, in a flood of blissful love. This joy that fills the earth is envied even by Brahma and the other gods. Vaikuntha makes no claims; Panduranga Himself runs to attend the kirtan. Why seek liberation at all? What meeting could match the sweetness of this devotion? Says Tuka, this sweetness is enough; this alone fulfills all my desires.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am drunk with the joy of devotion. Let me drink this nectar with my own mouth. I will spend my days in the company of the saints, in a flood of the joy of love. This joy that fills the earth, even Brahma and the gods envy it. Vaikuntha makes no claim on me; Panduranga himself runs to the kirtan. Why should I want liberation at all? What meeting could come from it that matches this taste? Tuka says: this is sweet; this alone is enough to satisfy my whole desire.
What it means
Tukaram is praising loving devotion as higher than the goals other paths chase. He says the bliss of bhakti, drunk in the company of saints, is something even the gods and Brahma look on with envy. He sets it above heaven and above release: he does not need Vaikuntha, since God himself comes running to where the singing is. Then he asks the radical question plainly, why want liberation, when no reward it offers could equal the present sweetness. For him the devotion itself is the fulfillment, and he asks for nothing beyond it.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
More in this theme →