Abhanga 2875
True humility comes from measuring yourself against the greatness of what you praise, not against other people, so pride has no room to stand.
The verse
माझा स्वामी तुझी वागवितो लात । तेथें मी पतित काय आलों ॥१॥
तीथॉ तुमच्या चरणीं जाहालीं निर्मळ । तेथें मी दुर्बळ काय वाणूं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुम्ही देवा द्विजवंद्य । मी तों काय निंद्य हीन याति ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mājhā svāmī tujhī vāgavitō lāta — mysvāmī(master, Viṭṭhal) carries yourlāta(kick — i.e., the Bhrgu-foot-kick on Viṣṇu's chest); tēthē mī patita kāya ālōm — there — what (am) I, thepatita(fallen one), arriving (to praise)? Tīrthe tumchyā charaṇī jāhālīm nirmaḷa — (the)tīrthas(holy-waters) becomenirmaḷa(pure) at your feet; tēthē mī durbaḷa kāya vāṇūm — there — what shall I, thedurbaḷa(weak), describe? Tukā says: tumhī Devā dvija-vandya — you, Deva, aredvija-vandya(saluted-by-the-twice-born); mī tōm kāya nindya hīna yāti — and I — what (am I)?nindya(condemnable), ofhīna-yāti(low caste).
What it means
A short comparative-humility verse — likely addressing a brāhmaṇa-host or addressing-someone-of-dvija-rank during the Chinchwaḍa-visit. Mājhā svāmī tujhī vāgavitō lāta — tēthē mī patita kāya ālōm — my svāmī (Viṭṭhal) carries your kick — there, what am I, the patita, arriving (to praise)?
Key reference: vāgavitō lāta — carries the kick. This points to the Bhrgu-charaṇa-prahāra — the canonical Bhāgavata-Purāṇa story where sage Bhrgu kicked Viṣṇu's chest (to test which Deva was supreme), and Viṣṇu embraced the kick lovingly and pressed Bhrgu's foot. Viṣṇu's chest bears the Śrīvatsa mark — variously interpreted as the mark-of-the-kick. The image: Viṭṭhal (my-svāmī) carries-the-kick-of-the-brāhmaṇa-sage on his-chest as-a-mark-of-honor.
The application: my-Lord-carries-your-(brāhmaṇa's)-kick-as-honor; what-am-I, the-patita, to-praise-you-then? The bhakta argues: the Lord himself honors the brāhmaṇa-sage; I am too-low even to praise.
Tīrthe tumchyā charaṇī jāhālīm nirmaḷa — tēthē mī durbaḷa kāya vāṇūm — the tīrthas become pure at your feet — what shall I, the durbaḷa, describe? The second-image: even the holy-waters take-purity from your feet; I can-describe-nothing in your praise.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe tumhī Devā dvija-vandya — mī tōm kāya nindya hīna yāti — you, Deva, are saluted-by-the-twice-born — and I — what (am I)? — condemnable, of low-caste. The contrast: you are dvija-vandya; I am hīna-yāti, nindya.
The verse is a brāhmaṇa-praise — likely directed-at-the-Chinchwaḍa-host-brāhmaṇas during the bhojana-occasion. Tukārām, of-śūdra-vamśa, defers to the brāhmaṇa-hosts by-comparison-with-the-Lord-who-himself-honors-the-brāhmaṇa. The verse is part-of-the-cross-tradition-courtesy.
For someone today
Tukaram recalls the old story of Vitthal proudly bearing the mark of a sage's kick on his chest, turning what could have been an insult into an honor. If the Lord himself can carry an indignity so gracefully, Tukaram asks, how could his own small words of praise possibly matter? Even the holy waters become pure only by touching the Lord's feet, so what could a weak, ordinary person add by trying to describe him? The verse offers a way of practicing humility: measure yourself not against other people, but against the vastness of what you are trying to praise, and pride simply has no room to stand.
मराठी: तुकाराम या अभंगात विठ्ठलाची जुनी कथा आठवतात - एका ऋषींनी लाथ मारली, तरी तिचा मार त्याने आपल्या छातीवर अभिमानाने आणि प्रेमाने धारण केला, अपमानालाही सन्मानात बदलले. जर परमेश्वरच अपमान इतक्या सहजपणे स्वीकारू शकतो, तर तुकाराम विचारतात, माझी छोटीशी स्तुती काय कामाची? तीर्थांचे पाणीसुद्धा त्याच्या चरणस्पर्शानेच निर्मळ होते, मग एका दुर्बळ, सामान्य माणसाने त्याचे वर्णन करून काय भर घालावी? ही रचना खऱ्या नम्रतेचा मार्ग दाखवते - स्वतःची तुलना इतर माणसांशी नव्हे, तर ज्याची आपण स्तुती करत आहोत त्याच्या अथांगतेशी करावी, म्हणजे अहंकाराला उभे राहायला जागाच उरत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you're asked to speak in praise of someone you deeply admire and feel your words are too small for the occasion.
- When you catch yourself feeling proud of a compliment or honor and need a reminder of how small your part really is.
- When someone shows you more respect than you feel you deserve.
- When you're around people you look up to and feel awkward or unworthy of the company.