Experience, the secret of non-separation
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
म्हणउनि जाली तुटी । नाहीं भेटी अहंकारें ॥1॥
दाखविलें देवें वर्म । अवघा भ्रम नासला ॥ध्रु.॥
हातें मुरगािळतां कान। नाहीं भिन्न वेदना ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे एकांतसुखें । अवघें गोतें गुंतलें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Because of ego, the connection was severed and the meeting could not take place. God revealed the secret, and all delusion was destroyed. When you twist your own ear with your hand, the pain is not in something separate from you. Says Tuka, in the bliss of solitude, all kinfolk are entangled as one.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Because of ego the bond was cut, and the meeting could not happen. God showed me the secret, and all my delusion broke. When you twist your own ear with your hand, the pain is not in something separate from you. Tuka says: in the joy of solitude, all my kin are gathered into one.
What it means
Tukaram tells what it was that kept him apart from God and what dissolved it. The ego had severed the connection, so the meeting never came; then God revealed the inner secret and the whole delusion collapsed. His image makes it plain: when your own hand twists your own ear, the hurt is not in some other being, because it is all you. In the same way there is no real separation between the self and God. So in the bliss of solitude he finds not loneliness but everyone, all his kin folded into the one.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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