संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4078 of 4582

Abhanga 4078

Trying to fully have both worldly success and spiritual depth at once ends in neither, leaving you pushed and defeated from both sides.

When you realize you are dividing your energy between two competing goals and mastering neither

When you keep delaying a real choice between the worldly path and the spiritual path

When you notice both areas of your life suffering because you refuse to commit fully to one

The verse

प्रपंच परमार्थ संपादोनि दोन्ही । एक ही निदानीं न घडे त्यासी ॥१॥ दोहीं पेंवावरी ठेवूं जातां हात । शेवटीं अपघात शरीराचा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तया दोहींकडे धका । शेवटीं तो नरकामाजी पडे ॥३॥

Literal translation

Prapancha-paramārtha-both — neither-at-end. Two-pēvām-hand — body-mishap. Tukā: pushed-from-both — naraka.

What it means

A 3-verse anti-saddle-two-horses text. Earning both prapancha and paramārtha together — neither one comes about in the end. Trying to put one's hands on both granaries, the body suffers a mishap at the end. He is pushed from both sides; in the end, he falls into naraka. The image dōhīm pēmvā-vari hāta (both-hands-on-two-granaries) — overreach causes the body's-fall. You cannot saddle two horses at once.

For someone today

Tukaram warns against trying to fully chase worldly success and deep spiritual life at the same time, giving neither your real attention. He compares it to reaching one hand into two granaries at once, in the end you get a bad fall instead of grain from either. When you keep pulling yourself in both directions, both sides eventually push back, and you end up worse off than if you had simply chosen one path and committed to it.

मराठी: तुकाराम सावध करतात की सांसारिक यश आणि खोल आध्यात्मिक जीवन दोन्ही एकाच वेळी पूर्णपणे पकडण्याचा प्रयत्न केला, तर कशातच पूर्ण लक्ष लागत नाही. ते याची तुलना दोन कोठारांमध्ये एकाच वेळी हात घालण्याशी करतात, शेवटी दोन्हींतून धान्य मिळण्याऐवजी वाईट पडझड होते. जेव्हा तुम्ही स्वतःला दोन्ही दिशांना ओढत राहता, तेव्हा शेवटी दोन्ही बाजूंकडून धक्का बसतो आणि एकच वाट निवडून तिच्याशी बांधील राहिला असता त्यापेक्षा तुमची स्थिती अधिक वाईट होते.

Where this applies

When you are trying to keep pursuing wealth or ambition while also claiming a serious spiritual practice
When you feel torn between two commitments and neither one is getting your full attention
When you sense you are overreaching, trying to hold onto everything at once instead of choosing
When you have avoided a real decision for a long time and things are starting to fall apart on both sides

Autobiographical