Longing, the Name that has not touched me
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नामाचा महिमा बोलिलों उत्कर्ष । अंगा कांहीं रस न ये चि तो ॥1॥
कैसें समाधान राहे पांडुरंगा । न लगे चि अंगा आणी कांहीं ॥ध्रु.॥
लाभाचिये अंगीं सोस कवतुकें । फिक्याचें तें फिकें वेवसाव ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे करा आपुला महिमा । नका जाऊं धर्मावरि माझ्या ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have extolled the greatness of the Name, but no trace of that essence has entered my own being. How can there be contentment, O Panduranga, when nothing touches me within? Where there is true gain, the seeking is a delight. But a diluted effort yields only a diluted result. Says Tuka, display Your own greatness. Do not rest Your reputation upon my weak devotion.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have praised the greatness of the Name out loud. But not a drop of that sweetness has entered me. How can I be at peace, Panduranga, when nothing inside me is even touched? Where the gain is real, the seeking itself is a delight. A half-hearted effort gives only a watered-down result. Tuka says: show Your own greatness. Do not rest Your name on my weak devotion.
What it means
Tukaram catches the gap between his words and his condition: he has sung the glory of the Name, yet feels none of its sweetness reach him, and so he cannot rest. He diagnoses himself honestly, his effort has been thin, and thin effort yields a thin result. Rather than pretend, he hands the burden back to Panduranga: let God prove His own greatness instead of staking His reputation on a devotion as weak as Tuka's. It is a prayer that refuses to fake the experience it does not yet have.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →