Tukaram, Poem 704

Metal melts in the fire, but still continues within it; it is purified and survives as threads survive in a cloth. All false speech affects the outside alone; pride and arrogance accompany the ignorant man to his death. When the river overflows its banks, the grass, that yields to the stream, rejoices; the tree is uprooted and riven, but that weed is never crushed. The elephant’s foot crushes a hostile army, but the ant lives beneath it; who would venture to accompany the insect? You may hammer a diamond as you will, but it enters either the hammer or anvil; will flint stones hold out like this, though they be far larger? Be modest and humble; this is the secret that will take you over the sea of life. Tuka says, It is the burden men carry that makes them sink.