Abhanga 2882
Like an ant that can eat sugar mixed into sand while an elephant cannot, only a humble, small heart can truly receive spiritual truth, not one performing greatness.
The verse
मुंगी होउनि साकर खावी । निजवस्तूची भेटी घ्यावी॥१॥
वाळवंटी साकर पडे । गज येउनि काय रडे ॥ध्रु.॥
जाला हरिदास गोसांवी । अवघी मायिक क्रिया दावी ॥२॥
पाठ पाठांतरिक विद्या । जनरंजवणी संध्या ॥३॥
प्रेम नसतां अंगा आणी । दृढ भाव नाहीं मनीं ॥४॥
ब्रम्हज्ञान वाचे बोले । करणी पाहातां न निवती डोळे ॥५॥
मिथ्या भगल वाढविती । आपुली आपण पूजा घेती ॥६॥
तुका म्हणे धाकुटें व्हावें । निजवस्तूसी मागुनि घ्यावें ॥७॥
Literal translation
Mūngī hōunī sākara khāvī — becoming an ant, eat the sugar; nija-vastūñcī bhēṭī ghyāvī — take the meeting of thenija-vastu(true-essence). Vāḷavaṇṭī sākara paḍe — (when the) sugar falls on thevāḷavaṇṭī(sand/sand-mixed); gaja yeunī kāya raḍe — thegaja(elephant) coming, what does (he) cry-about? Jālā Hari-dāsa gosāmvī — (he) became aHari-dāsa-gosāmvī(Hari-servant-renunciate); avaghī māyika kriyā dāvī — (he) shows (off) allmāyika-kriyā(illusory-actions). Pāṭha pāṭhāntarika vidyā — paṭha (recitation) andpāṭhāntara(by-heart-memorization)vidyā; jana-rañjavaṇī sandhyā — sandhyā(twilight-prayer) forjana-rañjavaṇī(entertaining-people). Prema nasatām angā āṇī — prema being absent, (yet he) brings (it) onto (his) body; drḍha bhāva nāhī manī — no firmbhāvais in (his) mind. Brahma-jñāna vāche bōle — Brahma-jñāna — (he) speaks with (his) mouth; karaṇī pāhātām na nivatī ḍōḷe — looking at (his)karaṇī(doings) — the eyes don'tnivatī(rest, find-peace). Mithyā bhagala vāḍhavitī — (he) growsmithyā bhagala(false-pomp, false-display); āpulī āpaṇa pūjā ghētī — (he) takes his ownpūjā(worship) himself. Tukā says: dhākuṭē hvāve — bedhākuṭā(small, little); nija-vastūsī māgunī ghyāve — receive thenija-vastubymāgunī(asking, requesting-humbly).
What it means
THE canonical 7-verse become-ant-eat-sugar humility text. The most-famous mūngī-vs-gaja (ant-vs-elephant) image in the Tukārām corpus, framing a polemic against fake-Hari-dāsa-gosāvīs.
Verse 1 (the image): Mūngī hōunī sākara khāvī — nija-vastūñcī bhēṭī ghyāvī — become an ant, eat the sugar — take the meeting of the nija-vastu. The famous-instruction: be small-like-an-ant; then you can eat-the-sugar (= attain the nija-vastu). The image-logic: only the small can eat-the-sugar; the big-cannot.
Dhrūpada (counter-image): Vāḷavaṇṭī sākara paḍe — gaja yeunī kāya raḍe — when the sugar falls on sand — the elephant coming, what does he cry? The counter-image: if the sugar falls on sand-grit and gets mixed-with-grit, an elephant cannot eat-it (because his mouth is too big for fine-separation); only an ant can. Hence: the ant can eat what the elephant cannot. (Practically: the small-bhakta can taste the nija-vastu that the proud-paṇḍita cannot.)
Verses 2-6 (anti-fake-hari-dāsa polemic): Tukārām describes the fake-Hari-dāsa-gosāvī. He: - jālā Hari-dāsa gosāmvī — became a Hari-dāsa-gosāvī (claims the status) - avaghī māyika kriyā dāvī — shows all illusory-actions - paṭha-pāṭhāntara vidyā; jana-rañjavaṇī sandhyā — recitation-vidyā; sandhyā-prayers for entertainment - prema nasatām angā āṇī; drḍha bhāva nāhī manī — prema absent but acted-out; no firm bhāva in mind - Brahma-jñāna vāche bōle; karaṇī pāhātām na nivatī ḍōḷe — speaks Brahma-jñāna; but looking-at-his-actions, eyes can't rest - mithyā bhagala vāḍhavitī; āpulī āpaṇa pūjā ghētī — grows false-pomp; takes his own pūjā himself
The portrait of the fake-Hari-dāsa is precise — pairs with 2844-2847 (anti-fake-renunciate cluster).
Verse 7 (close): Tukā mhaṇe dhākuṭē hvāve — nija-vastūsī māgunī ghyāve — Tukā: be dhākuṭā (small) — receive the nija-vastu by humbly-asking. Two operative-words: dhākuṭā (small, child-like) and māgunī ghyāve (receive-by-asking, beg-and-take). The opposite of the fake-Hari-dāsa who grows-pomp-and-takes-own-pūjā.
For someone today
This is the canonical text with the ant-and-sugar image of humility. Becoming an ant, eat the sugar — take the meeting of the nija-vastu. (When) sugar falls on sand, what does the elephant coming, cry-about? Became a Hari-dāsa-gosāvī — shows all illusory-actions. Paṭha-pāṭhāntara vidyā; sandhyā for entertaining-people. Prema absent but brought-onto-body; no firm bhāva in mind. Brahma-jñāna spoken with mouth; looking at his doings, eyes can't rest. Grows false-pomp; takes his own pūjā. Be small (dhākuṭā) — and receive the nija-vastu by humbly asking. The verse offers both a positive discipline and a negative portrait. The positive: become small like an ant, and only then can you taste the sugar — the sugar that has fallen into the sand, which an elephant, for all its size, cannot pick out and eat, but an ant can. The negative: the false renunciate who puffs himself up, performs learning and prayer for an audience, speaks of the knowledge of Brahman without feeling it, and ends up worshipping himself. The diagnostic test: is someone growing in pomp and claiming their own worship, or growing small and asking humbly? The ant that eats the sugar the elephant cannot is the foundational image for Vārkarī humility teaching.
मराठी: हा मुंगी आणि साखरेच्या रूपकातून नम्रता शिकवणारा प्रसिद्ध अभंग आहे. मुंगी होऊन साखर खावी — निजवस्तूची भेट घ्यावी. वाळवंटी साखर पडली, तर गज येऊन काय रडतो? हरिदास-गोसावी झाला — सगळी मायिक क्रिया दाखवतो. पाठ-पाठांतराची विद्या; जनरंजनासाठी संध्या. प्रेम नसताना अंगावर आणतो; मनात दृढ भाव नाही. ब्रह्मज्ञान वाचेने बोलतो; करणी पाहता डोळे निवत नाहीत. मिथ्या भपका वाढवतो; स्वतःचीच पूजा स्वतः घेतो. धाकुटे व्हावे — आणि निजवस्तू मागून घ्यावी. हा अभंग एकीकडे सकारात्मक शिस्त आणि दुसरीकडे खोटेपणाचे चित्र असे दोन्ही देतो. सकारात्मक बाजू : मुंगीसारखे लहान व्हावे, तरच साखर चाखता येते — वाळूत मिसळलेली साखर जी हत्तीसारख्या मोठ्या प्राण्याला वेगळी करून खाता येत नाही, पण मुंगीला मात्र खाता येते. नकारात्मक बाजू : खोटा साधू जो स्वतःचा भपका वाढवतो, विद्या आणि प्रार्थना लोकांसमोर दाखवण्यासाठी करतो, ब्रह्मज्ञानाच्या गप्पा मारतो पण ते प्रत्यक्ष अनुभवत नाही, आणि शेवटी स्वतःचीच पूजा करून घेतो. खरी कसोटी अशी : कोणी भपका वाढवत स्वतःची पूजा मागत आहे, की लहान होऊन नम्रपणे मागत आहे? हत्तीला न मिळणारी साखर मुंगी खाते, हे रूपक वारकरी नम्रतेच्या शिकवणीचा पाया आहे.
Where this applies
- When you're impressed by someone's polished religious performance but their actions don't add up
- When you catch yourself performing devotion for an audience rather than feeling it inwardly
- When you're tempted to build your own reputation or following through spiritual status
- When you want a simple way to tell real humility apart from showy piety