Abhanga 4197
A diamond keeps its true worth even when it is pawned off cheaply or hidden away in hard times; a famine cannot lower a diamond's real value, it can only hide it for a while. Tukaram says the saints who have given themselves over to Vitthal's feet are the same way: the world may look down on them, gossip about them, or dismiss them, but none of that touches what they are actually worth. If your devotion is genuine, being misunderstood or criticized by the people around you does not change your real value.
The verse
हिरा ठेवितां काळें गाहाण । मोल न तुटे दुकाळीं जाण ॥१॥
तैसे संतजन पाहीं । विनटले श्रीहरिपायीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तैसे भक्त । तयांसी जन हें निंदित ॥३॥
Literal translation
Diamond-mortgaged-cheap — mōla-doesn't-fall-even-in-duṣkāḷa. So-santa-jana — fastened-at-Śrī-Hari-pāya. Tukā: such-bhaktas — jana-blames-them.
What it means
A 3-verse defense-of-bhakta text with sharp economic image. A diamond kept in a dark place / pawned-cheap — its price does not break even in famine, know. So too the santa-jana — see — they are fastened at Śrī-Hari's feet. Tukā says: such bhaktas — the common-people blame them. The economic-image: diamond's intrinsic value persists even under duress — santas similarly maintain intrinsic value under public-blame. Pair with 4178 (worldly-relative's-lament about bhakta-child), 4189 (nindaka-as-paropakārī).
For someone today
A diamond keeps its true worth even when it is pawned off cheaply or hidden away in hard times; a famine cannot lower a diamond's real value, it can only hide it for a while. Tukaram says the saints who have given themselves over to Vitthal's feet are the same way: the world may look down on them, gossip about them, or dismiss them, but none of that touches what they are actually worth. If your devotion is genuine, being misunderstood or criticized by the people around you does not change your real value.
मराठी: हिरा गहाण ठेवला किंवा स्वस्तात विकला तरी दुष्काळातही त्याची खरी किंमत कमी होत नाही, फक्त ती काही काळ झाकली जाते. तुकाराम म्हणतात, श्रीहरीच्या चरणी रुजलेल्या संतांचेही असेच आहे. लोक त्यांची निंदा करोत, त्यांना कमी लेखोत, तरी त्यांची खरी किंमत तसूभरही कमी होत नाही. तुमची भक्ती खरी असेल, तर इतरांच्या टीकेने किंवा गैरसमजाने तुमचे खरे मूल्य बदलत नाही.
Where this applies
- When people mock or belittle you for your faith or your quiet devotion
- When you feel undervalued at work or at home despite knowing your own worth
- When hard times make you doubt whether your inner values still matter
- When someone spreads gossip or criticism about your character