The Journey. Can the parallel & sequential co-exist?
For many of us as householders on the path, we often find it a struggle when it comes to wanting to pursue our spiritual lives more deeply but are bound by our worldly duties.
We may account for our duties as Dharmic, or for society, but little do we know how much the performance of these duties are actually laying the path for the deeper spiritual work.
How so? Because our duties, when performed in a certain way - class themselves as “karma yoga”.
Being Karma Yoga, means that by performance of them, they serve to purify the mind - a prerequisite for being able to concentrate the mind and fully realise the knowledge of the Truth of who we really are (as a pose to simply knowing it intellectually).
Before really knowing about this, we may feel that these two paths, the householder duty and spiritual pursuit, are separate. One of the material life, and one of the spiritual life.
We may find ourselves wondering which one to focus on. Wanting to perhaps spending an hour in a satsang rather than taking the kids to the park again. Feeling slightly down when you want to read that spiritual book but have a pile of dishes to wash beforehand - knowing that after completing this - your ready for bed… or the baby wakes up.
After listening to an enlightening talk on chapter 3 verse 1-3 of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Sarvapriyananda, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of what was happening in this process of confusion and appearance of two paths.
Yes, I intellectually knew that “they are one and the same” - but had I truly realised it? Not really. If I had - I would have no resistance to the householder duties.
In Verse 3 Lord Krishna says:
“lokesmin dvividhaa nishthaa puraa proktaa mayaanagha |
jnyaanayogena saankhyaanaam karmayogena yoginaam”
He explains to Arjuna that there is a two-fold path. One of knowledge and one of action.
Where Arjuna thinks he has to choose one, Krishna is in fact implying that we need both paths. But an even more deeper understanding of this is that they work sequentially and as a team - one helping the other to move on.
Swami Ji mentioned a quote, “when you have understood two contradictory things at the same time, you have understood Advaita Vedanta”
Two paths, appear to be operating in parallel - yet also sequentially.
Can the parallel and sequential both co-exist. Yes they can. As can many other contradictions in life. Such is the great mystery!
Our outer duties are ongoing - as is our pursuit of knowledge. To choose just one would be foolish.
With patience one will find that whilst pursuing the outer duties in the correct way - the path of knowledge opens up further and then becomes our vehicle to the ultimate goal of Self-realisation.
For some time in our lives, our current vehicle will be our worldly duties - then at some point further - the vehicle changes to knowledge. We must know and be aware of this - else we remain in confusion.
Whilst this touches on the deeper knowledge of these paths - I took it to a slightly more superficial level in our own day to day lives.
When it comes to making a decision about what we should do in life - we often think it has to be just one choice. Should I take the highly paid job offer or should I stop chasing material security and spend more time in meditation and teaching yoga?
What this knowledge from the Bhagavad Gita and also Swami Sarvapriyanandas lecture provided me with was a way of looking at things in a longer continuum of time.
We can in fact do both - pursue our material goals as well as spiritual - it is simply a matter of asking yourself, “What is most appropriate right now?” As a pose to a vague question of “what should I do?”.
The word “now” plays great importance here.
If there is one thing I can say from experience it is that we are always being offered an opportunity to serve or spiritualise our action. That might start with our ordinary day job (as much as we resist it!).
If we follow the teachings from this chapter of the BG, we will see that Lord Krishna goes onto counsel Arjuna to do the path of action anyway, regardless.
This, we could also all take into our lives.
Can we do the mundane as an offering to the Higher power?
Not always - but what makes it easier?
To remember that yes, the outer duties I am doing in my job, as a parent, as a daughter, these are the spiritual path also - why so? Because in performance of them in a certain way - they will be purifying my mind by dissolving my conditioning.
The way in which this is to be done is explained in the further verses.
We must remeber that our karma yoga will help us on our spiritual journey, not hinder us.
We often get into ruts in what to do with our lives - to live more aligned - to find one’s Dharma. We tend to want to jump from where we are into a big transformative spiritual purpose in life. But maybe that’s not what is needed.
Maybe, the path of karma yoga is required of us right now. Preparing us for the opportunity to go deeper on the spiritual path later.
Maybe, our journey is in stepping stones, bridges, highways, railways and over seas - requiring all different types of vehicles - all being part of one long journey.
Maybe yes, we need to just accept our karma yoga path right now and know that when done correctly, it will purify the mind and prepare us for the next step.
And so - let’s not ask ourselves, “what do I do?” - rather ask, “what’s needed of me right now?.” - and be okay with that. We can run parallel to this our path of spiritual knowledge - remembering that this path will come more into the forefront of our lives at the right time - when our mental conditioning has dissolved enough, that we can concentrate and be fully prepared for the Absolute Truth.
The journey requires preparation.
The journey requires patience.
The journey requires compassion.
And in the end we go no where - we only realise what was already there.
For further study of the Bhagavad Gita look out for the upcoming study group offering from Svāhā November 2025.