Longing, the cure rests with God alone
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जेथें माझी दृिष्ट राहिली बैसोन । तेथें चि हें मन गुंडाळातें ॥1॥
टाळावी ते पीडा आपुल्यापासून । दिठावेलें अन्न ओकवितें ॥ध्रु.॥
तुम्हांसी कां कोडें कोणे ही विशीचें । नवलाव याचें वाटतसे ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे वेगीं उभारा जी कर । कीर्त मुखें थोर गर्जईन ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Where my gaze has settled and sat down, there my mind wraps itself around. The remedy for this ache lies with You alone; food that has been stared at makes one queasy. Why should any spectacle surprise You or strike You as novel? Says Tuka, quickly raise Your hand on high, and I will proclaim Your glory with a thundering voice.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Wherever my gaze has settled and sat down, there my mind wraps itself tight. Take away this ache, it can only be removed by you. Food that has been stared at makes me sick. Why should any spectacle surprise you or seem new? Tuka says: quickly raise your hand on high, and I will proclaim your glory with a thundering voice.
What it means
Tukaram describes a mind that fastens onto wherever the eye lands and clings there, an ache he says only God can lift. His image is vivid: food stared at by hungry eyes turns the stomach, so a longing left unanswered becomes sickening rather than nourishing. He reminds God that nothing about his condition can be a surprise to the Lord who sees all. Then he offers his side of the bargain: let God only lift His hand in blessing, and Tukaram will repay it by singing God's glory loud enough to ring out.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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