Longing, the helpless one's only refuge
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पाहें तिकडे दिशा ओस । अवघी पास पायांपें ॥1॥
मन चि साच होइल कई । प्रेम देई भेटोनि ॥ध्रु.॥
सर्वापरि पांगुळ असें । न कळे कैंसे तें तुह्मा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कृपावंता । तूं तों दाता दीनाचा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Wherever I look, the horizon stands empty; everything lies clustered near Your feet. When will my mind become true? Grant me Your love through Your presence. I am lame in every way; do You not see this? Says Tuka, O gracious one, You are the benefactor of the lowly.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Wherever I look, the horizon is empty. Everything is gathered close at your feet. When will my mind become true? Grant me love by coming to me. I am crippled in every way; do you not see it? Tuka says: O merciful one, you are the giver to the helpless.
What it means
Tukaram looks out and finds the whole world barren; the only fullness is at God's feet, where everything he wants is gathered. His longing turns inward and impatient: when will his own mind become true, and when will God come and give him love by his very presence? He confesses he is lame in every way, unable to reach God by his own strength. So he rests the whole appeal on God's nature rather than his own merit: you are the one who gives to the helpless, and I am exactly that.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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