Longing, the absent Lord
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जेविल्याचा कैसा अनुभव अंतरीं । ह्मणतां मांडे पुरी काय होतें ॥1॥
नाहींनाहीं गेली तळमळ दातारा । कां जी हरिहरा चाळविलें ॥ध्रु.॥
पत्रीं कुशळता भेटी अनादर । काय तें उत्तर येइल मानूं ।
अंतरीं सबाहएीं कां नाहीं सारिखें । धरूनि पारिखें वर्त्ततसां॥2॥
आलों आलों ऐसी दाऊनियां आस । वाहों बुडतयास काय द्यावें ।
तुका ह्मणे अहो चतुरा शिरोमणि । किती माझी वाणी तुह्मी कोठें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What is the inner experience of one who has truly feasted? Does merely saying the names of sweets and breads satisfy hunger? No, no, the anguish has not departed, O generous Lord. Why, O Hari, have You led me astray? Letters may convey skill, but meeting brings only indifference. What answer should I expect then? Why is there no consistency between the inner and the outer? You act as a stranger. You show hope by saying you are coming, but what should be offered to one who is drowning? Says Tuka, O crown jewel of the wise, how far can my words reach, and where do You stand?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
How can the feast live as an experience inside you? Does saying the names of breads and sweets ever fill the belly? No, no, the anguish has not left me, O giver. Why, O Hari, O Hara, have you led me on? A letter can carry kind words, but the meeting itself is cold. What answer am I supposed to take from that? Why is there no match between your inside and your outside? You hold yourself off like a stranger. You raise my hope, saying, I am coming, I am coming. What is that worth to a man who is drowning? Tuka says: O crown jewel of the wise, how far can my poor words reach, and where are you standing?
What it means
Tukaram is crying out at a God who seems near in word but absent in fact. Naming the dishes does not feed you; reciting the divine names has not stilled his torment, and he feels he has been strung along. He presses the complaint as if reading a letter that sounds affectionate while the actual meeting stays cold, and asks why the Lord's inner promise and outer conduct do not agree. The drowning man is the stakes: a vague I am coming is useless to someone going under now. He ends not in despair but in appeal, calling God the crown of the wise and asking where He is hiding while a devotee's words fall short.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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