Longing, the debt of love
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तुमच्या पाळणा ओढतसे मन । गेलों विसरोन आपणासी ॥1॥
लागेल पालटें फेडावें उसणें । येणें चि प्रमाणें पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
तुमचे आवडी संबंधाचा त्याग । घेतला ये लाग जगनिंदेचा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जैसा माझा जीव ओढे । तैसें च तिकडे पाहिजेल ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
My mind is drawn to Your cradle, and I have forgotten myself entirely. The debt must be repaid in return, O Panduranga, in this very manner. Out of love for You, I have renounced all worldly ties and have embraced the censure of the world. Says Tuka, just as my jiva yearns for You, so must the same longing come from Your side.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
My mind is drawn to Your cradle. I have forgotten myself completely. The debt must be paid back in kind, Panduranga, in this very way. For love of You I have let go of every worldly tie. I have taken on the blame of the whole world. Tuka says: just as my soul is pulled toward You, the same pull must come from Your side too.
What it means
Tukaram describes love as a debt that must be matched. He has lost himself in his longing for God and has paid the full price: he has cut his worldly bonds and accepted the world's scorn for it. So he presses his claim. Love cannot run one way only; if his soul is dragged toward God, then God owes him the same pull in return. The poem names the stake of devotion bluntly: having given up everything for this love, he asks God to be drawn to him as helplessly as he is drawn to God.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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