Longing, the soul's lone journey
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
एकली वना चालली राना । चोरुनि जना घराचारी॥1॥
कोणी नाहीं संगीसवें । देहभावें उदास ॥ध्रु.॥
जाउनि पडे दुर्घटवनीं। श्वापदांनीं वेढिली ॥2॥
मार्ग न चले जातां पुढें । भय गाढें उदेलें॥3॥
मागील मागें अंतरलीं । पुढील चाली खोळंबा ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे चित्तीं यासि । हृदयस्थासी आपुल्या ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
She set out alone into the wilderness, stealing away from her household and family. No one is with her as companion; she is indifferent to the body's concerns. She enters a dense, impassable forest, surrounded by wild beasts. The path ahead will not yield to her steps; a great fear has arisen. Those behind have fallen far away; the way forward is blocked. Says Tuka, at such a time, let this soul call upon the One who dwells within its own chitta.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
She set out alone into the forest, into the wilds, stealing away from household and family. No one goes with her. She is indifferent to the body and its concerns. She comes to a dense, trackless forest, ringed by wild beasts. The path ahead will not yield as she goes on. A great fear has risen. Those behind have fallen far away. The way forward is blocked. Tuka says: at such a time let this soul call, in its heart, on the One who dwells within its own chitta.
What it means
Tukaram tells the soul's journey as the tale of a woman who slips away alone from home into the wilderness. The flight from family and the indifference to the body mark a turn away from worldly attachment; she wants God enough to leave everything. But the path grows dark and impassable, wild beasts close in, what she left is gone for good and what lies ahead is shut, the exact terror of one who has renounced the old life and not yet reached the new. The resolution is inward: with every outward road blocked, the only way left is to call on the One already dwelling within her own heart.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →