Longing, the whole self turned to God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नेत्राची वासना । तुज पाहावें नारायणा ॥1॥
करीं याचें समाधान । काय पहातोसी अनुमान ॥ध्रु.॥
भेटावें पंढरिराया। हें चि इिच्छताती बाहएा ॥2॥
ह्मणतों जावें पंढरीसीं । हेंचि ध्यान चरणासी ॥3॥
चित्त ह्मणे पायीं तुझे राहीन निश्चयीं ॥4॥
ह्मणे बंधु तुकयाचा । देवा भाव पुरवीं साचा ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
My eyes long to behold You, O Narayana. Grant them satisfaction; why do You hesitate? My arms yearn to embrace the Lord of Pandhari. My mind says it will go to Pandhari, meditating ever on Your feet. My chitta declares it will remain firmly at Your feet. Says Tuka's brother, O Lord, fulfill this sincere longing.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
My eyes long for one thing: to see you, Narayana. Set them at rest. Why do you hold back and ponder? My arms ache to embrace the Lord of Pandhari. My mind says, go to Pandhari; this alone is its meditation, your feet. My heart says, I will stay at your feet, surely. Tuka's brother says: O God, fulfill this true longing.
What it means
Spoken by Tukaram's brother, this abhanga lets each part of the self voice the same single craving for God. The eyes want only to see Narayana, the arms only to hold the Lord of Pandhari, and the poet asks why God still hesitates to satisfy them. The mind has settled on one journey and one object of meditation, Pandhari and the Lord's feet, and the heart vows to stay fixed there for good. With every faculty pointed at the same place, the prayer is simply that God would make real this longing that the whole being already shares.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →