Longing, do not be a mirage
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ह्मणसी दावीन अवस्था । तैसें नको रे अनंता ॥1॥
होऊनियां सहाकार । रूप दाखवीं सुंदर ॥ध्रु.॥
मृगजळाचिया परी। तैसें न करावें हरी ॥2॥
तुकयाबंधु ह्मणे हरी । कामा नये बाहएात्कारी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You say You will reveal Your state, but do not do so that way, O Ananta. Be gracious and show me Your beautiful form. Do not be like a mirage, O Hari, appearing only to vanish. Says Tuka's brother, O Hari, mere force is of no use here.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You say You will show me Your state. Do not do it that way, O Ananta. Be gracious to me. Show me Your beautiful form. Do not be like a mirage, O Hari, that appears and then is gone. Tuka's brother says: O Hari, force is of no use here.
What it means
This is a prayer that refuses to settle for a hint of God. Tukaram's brother asks Vitthal to be gracious and reveal the full, beautiful form, not a flicker that vanishes the moment it is glimpsed. A mirage looks like water and leaves the thirsty man thirstier; he begs God not to be that to him. The closing line says force gets you nowhere here: you cannot seize this vision, you can only be given it, so the whole abhanga stays in the posture of asking.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →