Longing, vision over learning
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न लगती मज शब्दब्रह्मज्ञान । तुझिया दर्शनावांचूनियां॥1॥
ह्मणऊनि तुझें करितों चिंतन । नावडे वचन आणिकांचें ॥ध्रु.॥
काय ते महत्वी करावी मान्यता । तुज न देखतां पांडुरंगा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तुज दिधल्यावांचूनि । न राहे त्याहूनि होइन वेडा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have no use for the knowledge gained through mere words alone, without the vision of You. That is why I contemplate You ceaselessly. The words of others hold no appeal for me. What greatness should I honor when I cannot see You, O Panduranga? Says Tuka, until I have given myself to You, I will not rest. Beyond that, I shall go mad.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have no use for knowledge that is only words, not without the sight of You. That is why I keep thinking of You without stopping. The words of others do not appeal to me. What greatness should I honor when I cannot see You, O Panduranga? Tuka says: until I have given myself to You, I will not rest. Beyond that, I will go mad.
What it means
Tukaram refuses the prize that scripture-learning offers, the word-knowledge of Brahman, because without the direct sight of God it is hollow to him. He sets the stakes between two things only: erudition he can recite, or the face of Panduranga he longs to see, and he wants only the second. Every other voice and every honored greatness mean nothing while God stays hidden. He ends by binding himself to a single outcome, that he will not rest until he is wholly given over, and short of that he will lose his mind with longing.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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