Abhanga 2882
Mūngī hōunī sākara khāvī — becoming an ant, eat the sugar; nija-vastūñcī bhēṭī ghyāvī — take the meeting of the nija-vastu (true-essence).
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 the nija-vastu (true-essence). Vāḷavaṇṭī sākara paḍe — (when the) sugar falls on the vāḷavaṇṭī (sand/sand-mixed); gaja yeunī kāya raḍe — the gaja (elephant) coming, what does (he) cry-about? Jālā Hari-dāsa gosāmvī — (he) became a Hari-dāsa-gosāmvī (Hari-servant-renunciate); avaghī māyika kriyā dāvī — (he) shows (off) all māyika-kriyā (illusory-actions). Pāṭha pāṭhāntarika vidyā — paṭha (recitation) and pāṭhāntara (by-heart-memorization) vidyā; jana-rañjavaṇī sandhyā — sandhyā (twilight-prayer) for jana-rañjavaṇī (entertaining-people). Prema nasatām angā āṇī — prema being absent, (yet he) brings (it) onto (his) body; drḍha bhāva nāhī manī — no firm bhāva is 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't nivatī (rest, find-peace). Mithyā bhagala vāḍhavitī — (he) grows mithyā bhagala (false-pomp, false-display); āpulī āpaṇa pūjā ghētī — (he) takes his own pūjā (worship) himself. Tukā says: dhākuṭē hvāve — be dhākuṭā (small, little); nija-vastūsī māgunī ghyāve — receive the nija-vastu by māgunī (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
THE canonical become-ant-eat-sugar humility text. 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 provides both the positive-discipline (be-small-like-an-ant) AND the negative-portrait (the fake-Hari-dāsa). The diagnostic-test: is one growing-pomp-and-taking-own-pūjā? — fake. Is one becoming-small-and-asking-humbly? — genuine. The ant-eats-the-sugar-that-the-elephant-cannot image is foundational for Vārkarī humility-doctrine.
Where this applies
- THE canonical become-ant-eat-sugar humility text
- Anti-fake-hari-dāsa-gosāvī polemic
- Recognizing be-small-receive-nija-vastu discipline
- The ant-eats-the-sugar-the-elephant-cannot image
- Pairs with 2844-2847 (anti-fake-renunciate cluster) and 2730 (extreme-humility)