Confession, the child's liberties
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नये ऐसें बोलों कठिण उत्तरें । सलगी लेंकुरें केली पुढें ॥1॥
अपराध कीजे घडला तो क्षमा । सिकवा उत्तमा आमुचिया॥ध्रु.॥
धरूं धावें आगी पोळलें तें नेणे । ओढिलिया होणें माते बाळा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे फार ज्याचा जार त्यासी । प्रवीण येविशीं असा तुह्मी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I should not speak such harsh words, for the child has taken liberties before its parent. Forgive whatever offenses have been committed and teach me the right way. A child grabs at fire without knowing it burns; when scolded, the child returns to its mother. Says Tuka, the greater the intimacy, the greater the allowance; in such matters, You are the most skilled.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I should not speak such harsh words. The child has taken liberties before its parent. Forgive whatever wrong I have done, and teach me, kindly, the right way. A child runs to grab the fire, not knowing it burns; and when it is scolded, the child only runs back to its mother. Tuka says: the deeper the closeness, the more is allowed. In this you are the most skilled of all.
What it means
Having just spoken sharply to God, Tukaram catches himself and asks pardon, recasting his boldness as a child's overstepping before a loving parent. The fire image holds the whole confession: the child reaches for what will hurt it out of ignorance, and even after being corrected has nowhere to flee but back into the mother's arms. He turns this into an argument for mercy rather than distance: intimacy is exactly what makes the liberties forgivable. The point to take inward is that drawing near to God is not earned by perfect behavior; the nearness itself is what makes our blunders bearable, and the running-back is the whole relationship.
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