Abhanga 4457
Real humility before those wiser than you doesn't mean staying silent, it means speaking honestly while admitting how small and dependent on grace you actually are.
The verse
तुम्ही साधु संत कैवल्यसागर । मोक्षाचे आगर तुम्हां घरीं ॥१॥
तेथें मतिमंद काय बोलों वाणी । अमृताचे धणी पाणी कां घ्या ॥ध्रु.॥
कोटी भानु तेजीं खद्योत बापुडें । तैसा तुम्हांपुढें काय बोलों ॥२॥
तुम्ही अवघे चिंतामणि कल्पतरूचीं वनें । त्यापुढें धांवणें मषकांनीं ॥३॥
वाराणशीक्षेत्र गंगा वाहे कोड । का तेथें पाड कोकणाचे ॥४॥
पल्लवाचा वारा हिमकरीं काय । गगनावरी छाय कोण करी ॥५॥
समुद्राची तृषा हरी ऐसा कोण । जगाची जी तान्ह निववितो ॥६॥
मेरूचा पाठार अवघी ते क्षिति । मषकाचे हातीं मुष्टि फावे ॥७॥
सिंहापुढें काय जंबूक आरोळी । मोतियांचे वोळी कांच काय ॥८॥
कापुरासि काय लावूनि उटावें । काय ओवाळावें दीपकासि ॥९॥
तैशी तुम्ही निरे ज्ञानाचे भरींव । तेथें म्यां बोलावें पाड काय ॥१०॥
कृपानिधि तुम्हीं बोलविलें बोला । सुखें न्याय केला तुमचा मीं ॥११॥
अज्ञान मी वेडें म्हणवितों बाळ । माझा प्रतिपाळ करणें तुम्हां ॥१२॥
बोबडें बोलणें न धरावा कोप । क्षमा करा बाप कृपासिंधु ॥१३॥
तुका म्हणे तुम्ही संत बापमाय । भयें धरिले पाय कृपानिधि ॥१४॥
Literal translation
Sants-kaivalya-sāgara — mokṣa-store-at-home. Stupid-me-what-speak — amrta-owners-why-take-water. Koṭi-suns-light-firefly-pathetic — before-you-what-speak. You-all-Chintāmaṇi-kalpataru-forests — before-them-mosquitoes-run. Vārāṇasī-Gangā-flows — Kōkaṇa-of-what-consequence. Leaf-breeze-for-moon-what — sky-shadow-who-makes. Ocean-thirst-remover-who — cools-world's-thirst. Mēru-pāṭhāra-all-earth — mosquito-hand-fistful. Lion-jambūka-roar — pearls-glass. Camphor-paste — dīpaka-ōvāḷaṇē. You-full-of-pure-jñāna — me-what-padam-to-speak. Krpā-nidhi-you-made-me-speak — judgment-yours. Ignorant-fool-baby — protection-for-you. Bobaḍa-bolaṇē-don't-be-angry — forgive-bāpa. Tukā: sants-bāp-māya — fear-grasped-feet.
What it means
A canonical 14-verse extended sant-bāp-māy + autobiographical-humility text. You sādhus, sants — are the liberation-ocean — the storehouse of mōkṣa is at your home. There, what shall stupid-minded-me speak — the owners of amrta — why should they take water? Before crores-of-suns of light — the firefly is pathetic — so before you, what shall I speak? You — all are wish-fulfilling-gems, forests of wish-trees — running before them is by mosquitoes. In Vārāṇasī the Gangā flows in eddies — of what consequence is the Kōkaṇa there? Of what use is leaf-breeze for the moon — who can put shade on the sky? Who is the one who quenches the thirst of the ocean — the one who cools the thirst of the world? Mēru's plateau — all the earth — in the mosquito's hand a fistful gets found. Before the lion, what is the jackal's roar — before rows of pearls what is glass? What is to be paste-rubbed upon camphor — what is to be waved before a mere lamp? So, you are full to the brim with pure knowledge — what is my worth to speak there? Treasure-of-grace, you have made (me) speak through (me) — gladly, the judgment was yours. I am ignorant, fool, call-myself baby — my protection is for you to do. For my babbling speech do not hold anger — forgive, O father, ocean-of-grace. Tukā says: you sants are father-mother — with fear, I have grasped your feet, treasure-of-grace. The 11-image-cluster of self-deprecation is the rhetorical-spine: firefly-before-suns / mosquito-before-kalpa-trees / Kōkaṇa-before-Vārāṇasī / leaf-breeze-for-moon / shadow-on-sky / ocean-thirst-remover-only-the-cloud / mosquito-fistful-of-Mēru / lion-vs-jackal-roar / pearls-vs-glass / camphor-paste-(camphor-doesn't-need-paste) / waving-dīpaka-before-dīpaka. The disclaimer-of-authorship: krpā-nidhi-you-made-me-speak — judgment-was-yours — companion to 2940 (sāḷunkī-Lord-speaks-through-me). Pair with 2887 (sant-pūjā), 2810 (saints-list).
For someone today
Tukārām pours out a long string of images to describe how small he feels next to true sants: a firefly next to a million suns, a mosquito running after wish fulfilling trees, a leaf's breeze offered to the moon, a jackal's cry next to a lion's roar, glass next to a string of pearls. He says the sants already hold the whole ocean of liberation in their own home, so what could his stumbling, ignorant words possibly add? Yet he still speaks, and he's honest about why, he says it isn't really his own cleverness, it's grace working through him and making him speak, so he asks forgiveness in advance for his clumsy words. In the end he calls the sants father and mother, and says he holds onto their feet the way a frightened child holds onto a parent. The lesson is that real humility doesn't mean staying silent, it means speaking anyway while being honest about how small and dependent you actually are.
मराठी: तुकाराम खऱ्या संतांसमोर स्वतःला किती लहान वाटते हे सांगण्यासाठी अनेक प्रतिमा वापरतात: कोट्यवधी सूर्यांसमोर एक काजवा, कल्पवृक्षांच्या मागे धावणारा डास, चंद्रासमोर पानाची झुळूक, सिंहाच्या गर्जनेसमोर कोल्ह्याची आरोळी, मोत्यांच्या माळेसमोर काच. ते म्हणतात संतांच्या घरीच मोक्षाचा संपूर्ण सागर आहे, मग त्यांच्यासमोर आपले अडखळणारे, अज्ञानी शब्द काय कामाचे? तरीही ते बोलतातच, आणि याचे कारण प्रामाणिकपणे सांगतात, हे माझे स्वतःचे शहाणपण नाही, ही कृपाच माझ्याकडून बोलवते आहे, म्हणून आपल्या बोबड्या बोलण्याबद्दल आधीच क्षमा मागतात. शेवटी ते संतांना आई-वडील म्हणतात, आणि घाबरलेल्या मुलासारखे त्यांचे पाय धरून राहतात. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की खरी विनम्रता म्हणजे गप्प बसणे नव्हे, तर स्वतः किती लहान आणि परावलंबी आहोत हे मान्य करूनही बोलत राहणे.
Where this applies
- When you feel too unqualified or small to speak in front of someone far more accomplished or wise
- When you want to honor a teacher or mentor without pretending you have anything close to their depth
- When you're about to share something and want to admit it isn't purely your own cleverness at work
- When fear of getting it wrong makes you want to stay completely silent instead of speaking humbly