Longing, mountains of passion in the way
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
काम क्रोध आड पडले पर्वत । राहिला अनंत पलीकडे ॥1॥
नुलंघवे मज न सांपडे वाट । दुस्तर हा घाट वैरियांचा ॥ध्रु.॥
आतां कैंचा मज सखा नारायण । गेला अंतरोन पांडुरंगा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे व्यर्थ मोलाचें शरीर । गेलें हा विचार कळों आला ॥3॥
नव्हे निष्ठावंत तुज काय बोल । सेवेविण मोल मागतसें ॥ध्रु.॥
न घडे भजन शुद्ध भावनिष्ठा । आपुल्या अदृष्टावरी बोल ॥ध्रु.॥
पूवाअ जाले भक्त असंख्य विरक्त । काम क्रोध अहंते निदानिळलें ॥2॥
ऐसी अंगवण नाहीं मज देवा । करीतसें हेवा भेटावयाचा ॥3॥
कृपा करोनियां पुरवीं असोसी । आपुल्या िब्रदासी राखावया ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे एक बाळक अज्ञातें । त्यासि हे पोसित मायबापें ॥5॥
अगा ये मधुसूदना माधवा । अगा ये कमळापती यादवा ।
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The mountains of lust and anger stand in the way. The Infinite One remains on the other side. I cannot cross over; I cannot find the path. This is a treacherous pass guarded by enemies. How can Narayana now be my friend? He has gone beyond my reach, O Panduranga. Says Tuka, this precious body has gone to waste; this truth has become clear. I am not a person of steady faith. What claim can I make on You? I have not served You, yet I ask for reward. Devotion and pure conviction do not come to me. I can only blame my own fate. Previous devotees, countless and detached, conquered lust, anger, and ego. I do not have such strength, O God, yet I long to meet You. Show mercy and fulfill my longing, for the sake of Your own pledges. Says Tuka, I am an ignorant infant; my parents must nourish me. O come, Madhusudana, Madhava. O come, Lord of Lakshmi, Yadava.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Lust and anger stand in the way like mountains. The Infinite One has stayed on the far side. I cannot cross over; I cannot find the path. This is a treacherous pass held by enemies. How can Narayana be my friend now? Panduranga has gone out of my reach. Tuka says: this precious body has gone to waste; this much has become clear. I am not a person of steady faith; what claim can I make on you? I ask for reward without having served. Pure devotion and firm feeling do not happen in me. I can only blame my own fate. In the past, countless devotees, free of attachment, put down lust, anger and pride. I do not have that strength, God, yet I am jealous for the meeting. Show mercy and fill up my craving, for the sake of your own pledges. Tuka says: there is one helpless infant; the mother and father feed it. Come, Madhusudana, Madhava. Come, Lord of Lakshmi, Yadava.
What it means
Tukaram pictures his own passions as a mountain range that walls God off on the far side, with no path through and enemies holding the pass. Then he turns the blame inward and confesses he has no standing: no service done, no steady faith, no renunciation, only the demand for reward. He measures himself against the old detached devotees who conquered lust, anger and pride, and admits flatly that he lacks their strength. So he drops the claim of merit entirely and asks God to act for the sake of God's own promises, taking the place of a helpless infant whose parents must feed it precisely because it can do nothing for itself.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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