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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir
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Atinan and Mokşa
me one with thee; I love to have precepts from thee and prohibitions. I am thy servant; thou art my lord; let there be still between us such difference of high and low..... Water cannot taste itself, nor trees taste their own fruit. The worshipper must be separate, thus alone, pleasure arises from distinction. The diamond looks beautiful in its setting; gold, when it is fashioned into an ornament..... After heat one enjoys shade; at the sight of her child the milk comes into the mother's breast - what delight there is when they meet each other ! ... I am thoroughly resolved to desire liberation no more."! Tukārāma does not demand liberation; he wants to retain their distinction and to enjoy the joy of their union. He says—“O Panduranga, grant me not liberation ! Grant me future lives wherein I may serve thy feet..... We are happy in this land of death, happy as thy slaves, O Panduranga !”? He asks God to grant him that “I” and “thou” may never pass away; he does not delight in the loss of their difference. Tukārāma wants freedom from pain and suffering, freedom from rebirth but he does not want to be absorbed in God. He wants to remain separate and enjoy the supreme joy and love of God in His company forever. He desires to rejoice in singing the songs of praise of God.
Tukārāma imagines that he is a child and God is his mother. He says --“Thou art our merciful
Fraser J. N. and Marathe K. B. (Tr.): The Poems of Tukārāma, Vol. I, 211, p. 76.
2 Ibid. Vol. II, 1692, p. 166. 3 Ibid. 1690, p. 166.
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