Abhanga 4435
If even the mightiest beings cannot fully grasp God's greatness, ordinary people can approach with humility rather than pretending to have all the answers.
The verse
गणेश सारजा करिती गायना । आणि देवांगना रंभे ऐशा ॥१॥
तेथें आम्हीं मानवांहीं विनवावें तें काय । सुरवर पाय वंदिति जेथें ॥ध्रु.॥
ज्याच्या गायनासी तटस्थ शंकर । त्या हि परि पार न कळे तुझा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आम्ही किंकर ते किती । इंद्राची हि मति नागविशी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Gaṇēśa-Sārajā-sing — devānganā-Rambhā. Mānavās-can't-pray — sura-vandi-pāya. Śankara-tatastha — pāra-not-known. Tukā: kinkara-how-much — Indra-mati-bewildered.
What it means
A 3-verse self-effacement text. Gaṇēśa, Sarasvatī sing your praise; devānganas like Rambhā too. There — what can we humans even pray — when sura-vara bow at your feet? He whose singing makes Śankara stand-motionless-on-the-bank — even so, your limit is not known. Tukā says: how-much are we servants? You bewilder even Indra's intellect. The hierarchical-self-positioning: Gaṇēśa, Sarasvatī, devānganas, sura-varas, Śankara, Indra — all-cosmic-figures cannot fathom-the-Lord; the human kinkaras (servants) are then even-more-tiny. Pair with 4180 (Yama-Brahmā-don't-know-svarūpa).
For someone today
Tukārām points out that even great celestial figures, Gaṇēśa, Sarasvatī, and heavenly dancers like Rambhā, sing God's praise, and mighty gods themselves bow at his feet. If beings that powerful can't fully express or grasp who God is, Tukārām asks, what could ordinary humans possibly say in prayer? Even Śankara, whose own singing leaves him awestruck and still, cannot find the limit of God's greatness, and God bewilders even Indra's intelligence. So Tukārām concludes that if beings of such stature are humbled, then people like him, simple servants, are smaller still. This isn't despair, it's a clear-eyed humility that puts your own importance in perspective.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की गणेश, सरस्वती आणि रंभेसारख्या स्वर्गीय अप्सराही देवाची स्तुती गातात, आणि मोठमोठे देवही त्याच्या पायावर नतमस्तक होतात. एवढे सामर्थ्यवान जीवही देवाला पूर्णपणे व्यक्त किंवा समजू शकत नाहीत, तर मग सामान्य माणसे प्रार्थनेत काय बोलू शकतील, असा प्रश्न तुकाराम विचारतात. ज्याच्या गाण्याने शंकरही थक्क होऊन स्तब्ध राहतात, त्यालाही देवाच्या महतीचा अंत सापडत नाही, आणि देव इंद्राच्या बुद्धीलाही चकित करतो. त्यामुळे तुकाराम म्हणतात की एवढे मोठे जीवही नम्र होतात, तर आपल्यासारखे साधे सेवक तर त्याहून लहानच आहेत. हे निराशा नाही, तर स्वतःच्या महत्त्वाला योग्य ठिकाणी ठेवणारी स्पष्ट नम्रता आहे.
Where this applies
- When you feel pressure to have impressive words or achievements before you can approach something sacred
- When you compare yourself to people far more accomplished and feel small
- When you realize even experts and highly skilled people don't fully grasp the biggest questions in life
- When you want a healthy sense of humility instead of either arrogance or despair