Longing, homeward after many births
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
एक वेळे तरी जाईन माहेरा । बहुजन्म फेरा जाल्यावरी॥1॥
चित्ता हे बैसली अविट आवडी । पालट ती घडी नेघे एकी ॥ध्रु.॥
करावें ते करी कारणशरीर । अंतरीं त्या धीर जीवनाचा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तरि होइल विलंब । परि माझा लाभ खरा जाला ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
At least once let me go home to my true home, after so many cycles of birth. This undying love has settled in my chitta; not a single moment would I trade it. The causal body does what it must, but within it the sustenance of true life abides. Says Tuka, there may be delay, but my gain is real and lasting.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
At least once let me go home to my true home, after so many rounds of birth. An unfading love has settled in my heart. I would not trade it for a single moment. The causal body does what it must. Within it the strength of true life holds steady. Tuka says: there may be delay, but my gain is real and lasting.
What it means
Tukaram speaks of returning home like a married daughter longing for her parents' house, except his true home lies beyond the long round of births. The love that has lodged in his heart is unfading, and he would not exchange it for anything even for an instant. He distinguishes between the outer life and the inner one: the causal body keeps running its course, but the real sustenance of life holds firm underneath it. So even if reaching home is delayed, he is content, because the gain itself is already real and will not be lost.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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