Impatient prayer, why the delay
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तुह्मी साच नुपेक्षाल हा भरवसा । मज जाणतसां अधीरसें ॥1॥
कासया घातला लांबणी उद्धार । ठेवा करकर वारूनियां ॥ध्रु.॥
सुटों नये ऐसें कळले निरुतें । कां घ्यावें मागुतें आळवुनि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तुह्मी सभाग्य जी देवा । माझा तुह्मां केवा काय आला ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I trust that You, being true, will not neglect me. You know me as one who is impatient. Why has my liberation been deferred so long? Set aside this friction and resentment. It has become clearly known that there is no escape. Then why must I keep being called back again? Says Tuka, You are fortunate, O God. What urgency of mine has come to You?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I trust You. You are true; You will not pass me by. You know how impatient I am. Why has my deliverance been put off so long? Set this friction aside; stop the endless quarreling. I see it clearly now: there is no escape. So why must I keep being called back again? Tuka says: You are fortunate, O God. What loss is it to You to take charge of me?
What it means
Tukaram presses Vitthal on a promise he believes is owed and overdue. He starts from trust, then turns it into a complaint: if God is faithful, why is liberation deferred and why all this back and forth? He says he already knows there is no other way out, so being thrown back into the world makes no sense to him. The closing line is pointed almost to the edge of cheek: God risks nothing by saving him, so the delay is God's to answer for. It is the prayer of a soul that loves enough to argue.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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