Turning the tables, the path of selfhood
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी बळकट जालों फिराउनी । तुमच्या वचनीं तुह्मां गोऊं ॥1॥
जालें तेव्हां जालें मागील तें मागें । आतां वर्मलागें ठावीं जालीं ॥ध्रु.॥
तोडावया अवघ्या चेष्टांचा संबंध । शुद्धापाशीं शुद्ध बुद्ध व्हावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे आह्मां आत्मत्वाची सोय । आपण चि होय तैसा चि तूं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We have grown strong again, having turned back. In Your own words, we shall now ensnare You. What happened then, happened; let the past be past. Now the vital point has become known to us. To sever the connection with all strivings, one must become purely awakened beside the Pure. Says Tuka, for us there is the path of atmatva. You Yourself are just exactly that.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We have grown strong again, having turned back. With your own words we will now bind you. What happened then is done; let the past stay in the past. Now the vital point has become known to us. To cut the link with all our strivings, one must become pure and awake beside the Pure. Tuka says: for us there is the way of the Self. You yourself are exactly that.
What it means
After the wounds and complaints, Tukaram comes back stronger and turns the relationship around: he will hold God to God's own promises. He lets the painful past go and points to what he has now grasped, the vital secret. The way forward is to sever the tie with all anxious effort and stand clean and awake beside the Pure. The closing names the heart of it, the path of atmatva, selfhood, where the devotee realizes that God is not other but is exactly what he himself is.
The Necessity of Experience
Why direct experience of God, not mere learning, is the only path.
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