Balancing

Spiritual and
Material Life
 Balance means
allocating sufficient
energy to each aspect
of one’s life as per
requirement
Balance is the
backbone of creation

 If the Earth was a little farther

from the Sun, we would all have
frozen
 If the Earth was a little closer to
the Sun, we would all have burnt
 Whether it is atomic scale, cosmic
scale or individual scale – balance
exists in everything
 Laws of nature are framed on the
concept of balance
We are all
surrounded by the
need to keep
things in balance
for basic
functionality
 Balance in life
cannot happen on its
own.

On their own, things

tend to go off-track.

The balance in nature

shows that there is
someone behind,
steering the wheel of
the boat.
We all are generally out of balance in some way or another,
giving energy to one area while neglecting the other
What if balance
is not there?
 Just like a broken railway
track, if balance is not
maintained in life, the
train of life will get
derailed
 Hence, even a little
deviation from
equilibrium can cause
huge damage
The concept of balance can be
understood by comparing the
journey of life to driving a car

 The most important factor to be kept

in mind when driving a car is our
destination
 Similarly, in the journey of life it is
important to know the purpose of life
 People are generally ignorant of this
purpose not knowing where they are
headed
The reason for human existence is that we understand the purpose of
life - where are we supposed to go, intelligence to enquire about that
and determination to adopt the means to reach that goal
 As spirit souls, our purpose in life is
to serve the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa
and love Him in order to reach the
Supreme abode
 Balance in life must be linked with
a purpose. Devoid of the purpose,
balance will not make any sense
Balance means to
allocate priorities to
activities as per their
importance and
connection with the
purpose of our life.
The Art of
Prioritising

 Big stones represent spiritual

activities
 Pebbles represent other
important things in life such as
family, work, finances, health
etc.
 Sand represents unimportant
things in life such as social
network platforms Disorganised Life Organised Life
Spirituality must be our central focus, other aspects must revolve around that spiritual goal

HEALTH FAMILY

FINANCES WORK LIFE

SPIRITUALITY
SOCIETY
LEISURE
What if we give
material life priority
over our spiritual
life?
 Adopting only material
goals and sense
gratification as the
purpose of life is a recipe
for disaster
 It makes us more
conditioned and further
entangled in the web of
miseries
 It deviates us from our
true path – the true
purpose of human
existence
“Sense gratification is the root cause of material existence; therefore, unless and until one is
situated on a platform apart from sense gratification, there is no chance of being elevated to the
eternal platform of full knowledge, full bliss and full life”
~ BG 4.30
What if we only focus only
on our spiritual goals and
neglect other aspects of life?

 If we neglect our family and only

focus on our spiritual
advancement, it could lead to a
situation where the family may
end up feeling insecure and may
develop resentment towards the
process
 Other areas, such as health and
finances, might also get affected,
thereby eventually impacting our
spiritual life as well
 Therefore, a proper
balance between the
spiritual and material
life is imperative while
keeping spirituality as
the focal point
Basic Principles of Balance
 Maintaining balance requires work – There are no shortcuts to it. One needs to put
in sustained and continuous effort involving re-working
 We should not have only materialistic dreams – The focus should be on advancing
in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and addressing the need of the soul
 Simple living, high thinking – Society tries to program us to live a complicated
life to consume much more than we need. If we are not careful, we get caught in
this trap and harm our sadhana
 Key to balance - Doing things when they are supposed to be done, to the degree
they are supposed to be done, and in the way they are supposed to be done
 How to Balance?

yuktāhāra-vihārasya
yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya
yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā

He who is regulated in his habits of eating,

sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all
material pains by practicing the yoga system.
~ BG 6.17
 atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca
prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ
jana-saṅgaś ca laulyaṁ ca
ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati
~ NOI 2

 One’s devotional service is spoiled when he

becomes too entangled in the following six
activities: (1) eating more than necessary or
collecting more funds than required; (2) over-
endeavoring for mundane things that are very
difficult to obtain; …….. (6) being greedy for
mundane achievements.
 Regulated eating: In current times, people simply
eat to satisfy the tongue. The vedic scriptures
also advise against unnecessary eating
 Regulated working hours: As per acaryas, we
shouldn’t work for more than 8 hours a day so
that enough time is left for sadhana
We work hard to buy things we don’t need and
eat more than necessary to satisfy our senses.
This affects our sadhana – hence, it is imperative
to simplify life
 Regulated sleeping: Scriptures
advise us to get up early in the
morning. We should try to
complete our morning sadhana
before we leave for work
 Regulated recreation: It is
important to understand the
purpose for recreation in a
devotee’s life. A devotee engages
in recreational activities to
rejuvenate and freshen the mind
for better sadhana. Excess of
recreational activities distract us
from pursuing important activities
in our spiritual life
In conclusion, as we go ahead in our
journey, we will experience
turbulence from unanticipated
events that will try to steer us off the
course.
However, we must keep correcting
course and maintaining balance
while keeping our eyes fixed on our
end goal – to go back to Godhead.