Ecstasy, duality dissolved in the Name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चित्तीं बैसलें चिंतन । नारायण नारायण ॥1॥
न लगे गोड कांहीं आतां । आणीक दुसरें सर्वथा ॥ध्रु.॥
हरपला द्वैतभाव । तेणें देह जाला वाव ॥2॥
तुकयाबंधु ह्मणे आम्ही । जालों निष्काम ये कामीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The contemplation of Narayana, Narayana has settled deep within my chitta. Nothing sweet appeals to me now, nothing else at all. The sense of duality has vanished, and with it the body has become insubstantial. Says Tuka's brother, I have become desireless in this pursuit.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The remembrance has settled in my heart: Narayana, Narayana. Nothing tastes sweet to me now, nothing else at all. The sense of two has vanished, and with it the body has become empty. Tuka's brother says: I have become free of all desire in this.
What it means
This abhanga, spoken in the voice of Tuka's brother, names the loss of the sense of separateness. The constant remembrance of Narayana has taken root in the heart until nothing else holds any sweetness. As that absorption deepens, the feeling of duality, of self set apart from God, disappears, and the body itself seems to lose its substance. What it lands on is that once the dividing line is gone, desire goes with it, leaving the speaker wholly free of wanting.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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