Certainty, crossed to the far shore
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उतरलों पार । सत्य झाला हा निर्धार ॥1॥
तुझें नाम धरिलें कंठीं । केली संसारासी तुटी ॥ध्रु.॥
आतां नव्हे बाधा । कोणेविशीं कांहीं कदा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कांहीं । आतां उरलें ऐसें नाहीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have crossed over to the other shore; this conviction has become reality. I have held Your Name in my throat and severed all ties with worldly existence. Now nothing can harm me, from any quarter, ever again. Says Tuka, nothing at all remains to be done.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have crossed to the other shore. This is settled now; it is true. I have held Your Name in my throat. I have cut myself loose from this world. Now nothing can harm me, from any side, ever. Tuka says: there is nothing left to do.
What it means
Tukaram is reporting a thing already finished, not a thing he hopes for. He holds the Name in his throat and with that one act severs his ties to worldly life, and the crossing is done. Because the crossing is done, he says no harm can reach him from any quarter again. The poem ends in the strongest possible rest: nothing at all remains to be done. The whole life of effort closes in the single grip of the Name.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
More in this theme →