Longing, the hidden God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पहावा नयनीं विठ्ठल चि एक । कांहीं तरी सार्थक संसाराचें ॥1॥
कोठें पाहों तुज कां गा लपालासि । कांहीं बोल मशीं नारायणा ॥ध्रु.॥
वाटते उदास मज दाही दिशा । तुजविण हृषीकेशा वांचोनियां ॥2॥
नको ठेवूं मज आपणा वेगळें । बहुत कळवळें तुजलागीं ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे भेटी देई नारायणा । घडी कंठवेना तुजविण ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let my eyes see Vitthal and Vitthal alone; let there be some meaning to this worldly life. Where shall I look for You? Why do You hide? Speak something to me, O Narayana. All ten directions feel desolate to me, living without You, O Hrishikesha. Do not keep me separate from Yourself; I long for You with great intensity. Says Tuka, grant me Your presence, O Narayana. Without You, I cannot endure even a moment.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let my eyes see Vitthal, only Vitthal. Then this worldly life has some meaning. Where shall I look for You? Why do You hide? Say something to me, Narayana. All ten directions feel empty to me, living without You, Hrishikesha. Do not keep me apart from Yourself. I long for You with all my heart. Tuka says: give me Your presence, Narayana. Without You I cannot bear even a moment.
What it means
Tukaram makes seeing God the one thing that would justify being alive at all; without it, the round of worldly life is empty. He speaks to a God who is present but withheld, and he protests that silence directly: why do You hide, say something. The complaint is not doubt but ache. The whole of space feels deserted because the one face he wants is missing. The closing line sets the measure of his need: not years or days, but a single moment is too long to spend apart from Narayana.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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