Balancing Spiritual and Material Knowledge through Spiritual Life:

Devotional practice is the easiest way to balance spiritual and material life. By pleasing Krishna and
Spiritual Master, both Vidya and Avidya can be balanced. Below are the some of the ways.

Worshipping Krishna:

By attending everyday morning programmes and observing the diety worship attentively, we will
develop attraction for Krishna and get the same benifit as worshipping Krishna directly.

And by seeing the diety form of the lord very slowly and clearly, our all material desires will go away.

Chanting:

Chanting can be done at anytime and anywhere, there is no hard and fast rules. This is the easiest way
to get connect to Krishna. We can do our own prescribed duty and ultimately chanting the Hare
Krishna Maha mantra should go simultanuously.

Prayer or Glorification:

On daily basis, in the morning after the bath, it is the best time to glorify the lord. This is an another
easy way to get connect to Krishna. This helps us to mantain our relationship with the supreme lord.
And we always will be happy, even we will make our spiritual master happy. When we make our
spiritual master happy, then Krishna reveal the knowledge into the heart of a devotee.

Example: Attending Mangala Arati, Darshan Arati, and sandhya arati. When we attend these arati,
even if we don’t know the prayers, when we follow Kirtan leading person, then we will be successful.

Bhagavatam Discussion:

Following the Arati, if we attend Bhagavatam class, it is also very easy to get connect to Krishna. Just
by hearing the speaker attentively, we will develop attraction Krishna. And by inquiring relevant
questions from the speaker, we will get clarify on the doubts and then we can practice our devotional
service nicely.

Just simply by following all the above items regurly one can develop attraction or love for Krishna, and
when we do this morniging sadhana very strictly and our prescribed duties, our spiritual master will
become happy. Then Krishna will reveal the knowledge into the heart of a devotee. He will get all the
knowledge relating to Material and Spiritual.

Srila Prabhupada says”The culture of vidyä is summarized in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.14) in the

following words:
tasmäd ekena manasä
bhagavän sätvatäà patiù
srotavyah kértitavyas ca
dhyeyaù püjyas ca nityadä
"Therefore, with one-pointed attention one should constantly hear about, glorify, remember and
worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of the devotees."
Unless religion, economic development and sense gratification aim toward the attainment of
devotional service to the Lord, they are all simply different forms of nescience”( ISO, Mantra 11 )

Reading:

By regularly reading the vedic scriptures such as Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, Vedanta Sutra,
Upanishad, one can get the knowledge how to back home back to godhead. And one can know the
absolute truth that who is supreme and what is the relationship between him and me. To attain
blissful life in this life and in the next life after the death, one should constantly study the scriptures
Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam. Intelligent persons correcly recognizes this and engage in the study
of transcendental knowledge or Vidya. Only human beings can do this, no animal society can do this.
So we have to utilize the opportunity of Human form of life.

Srila Prabhupada says”The process by which one goes back to Godhead is a different branch of
knowledge, and it has to be learned from revealed Vedic scriptures such as the Upaniñads,
Vedänta-sütra, Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam. To become happy in this life and attain a
permanent blissful life after leaving this material body, one must study this sacred literature and
obtain transcendental knowledge.”

Personal Example:
I was doing Job in one of the investment bank, it was so hard and working for hours. It is usual to do
job for 10 hours in the out side world. So I used to come late in the evening and wake up in the
morning. I chant 16 rounds and read 1 hour daily. This was possible because I was staying in the
association of devotees. So being in the association of devotees we will do our spiritual and
material practice nicely. We can balance both.

Conclusion:

To attain the goal we don’t need to give up our family and study, we can do our job and
simultaneously study scriptures. Make the best use of bad bargain. The culture of spiritual knowledge
necessitates to help and maintain the body and soul together. We don’t need to stop our activities to
attain the goal. According to the advice of our spiritual master we can balance both material and
spiritual knowledge and attain the goal ultimately.
Srila prabhupda says”The culture of spiritual knowledge necessitates the help of the body and
mind; therefore maintenance of the body and mind is required if we are to reach our goal. The
normal temperature should be maintained at 98.6 degrees, and the great sages and saints of India
have attempted to do this by a balanced program of spiritual and material knowledge. They never
allow the misuse of human intelligence for diseased sense gratification.”(ISO Mantra 11, SP
Purport)