Longing, the God who will not answer
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कां रे माझा तुज न ये कळवळा । असोनि जवळा हृदयस्था ॥१ ॥
अगा नारायणा निष्ठाय निर्गुणा । केला शोक नेणां कंठस्फोट ॥ध्रु.॥
कां हें चित्त नाहीं पावलें विश्रांती । इंद्रियांची गति कुंटे चि ना ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे कां रे धरियेला कोप । पाप सरलें नेणों पांडुरंगा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Why does my plight not stir compassion in you, when you dwell so close, right within my heart? O Narayana, O Formless and Faithful One, I have cried out in anguish until my throat is raw, yet you seem not to hear. Why has my mind not found rest? Why do the senses refuse to be still? Says Tuka, why do you hold this grudge, O Panduranga? I cannot tell whether my sins have yet been exhausted.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Why does my plight not stir your pity, when you live so close, right inside my heart? O Narayana, formless and faithful one, I have cried out until my throat is torn, and still you do not seem to hear. Why has my mind found no rest? Why will the senses not grow still? Tuka says: why do you hold this grudge, Panduranga? I cannot tell whether my sins are not yet spent.
What it means
Tukaram is praying from inside an unanswered cry, and the ache is sharpened by nearness: the God he begs from dwells in his own heart, yet seems deaf. He has worn his throat raw with calling, and still the mind will not rest and the senses will not be quiet. He even half-accuses the Lord of holding a grudge. The last line shows where he finally turns the suspicion: not on God's coldness but on himself, wondering whether his own sins are simply not yet exhausted.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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