Can spiritual growth and career growth go together?

Thank you. So can spiritual growth and career growth go together? Yes, if we see spirituality holistically, and we see the career in terms of spiritual vision.

If we want to see our career growth in terms of, say, I need to have more money, more power, more accumulation. I want to get this, I want to get that, I want to get that, I want to get that, then that can obsess our mind. It is said that every possession possesses us.

When I buy something, when I own something, if I am attached to it, that takes a place in my consciousness. And if we, if our, if our career growth we are defining in terms of getting more and more material trappings of success. That is also not a problem.

But if that obsesses our mind, if that becomes the sole driving force of our life, then that will not leave our consciousness available for spiritual growth. But if we see instead that we are spiritual beings on a multi-life journey, and at this junction, we have been given a particular body-mind, we have been given a particular social position, and whatever abilities, whatever resources we have, they are ultimately gifts given by the Supreme for us. And they are meant to be used as resources in our spiritual growth, in our contribution.

So, the Bhagavad Gita was spoken to Arjuna. And Arjuna was the foremost archer of his times. And although he had a great talent in terms of archery, but still, he rigorously disciplined himself, he rigorously practiced.

And he did not simply dismiss his archery skills as mundane. But he ensured that his archery skills were used for a spiritually harmonious purpose. So, if we see our talents, our resources as gifts, with which we are meant to make a contribution in a mood of service.

So, yes, I have been given some talents. And with these, let me develop those talents. Let me do justice to those talents.

Let me make a contribution that I am meant to make. So, if our vision is more in terms of making contribution rather than seeking accumulation, the two can go together also. When we make a contribution, we will also get something.

But if our vision is based on what I get externally, then we will get materially, our consciousness will get materially consumed and will not be spiritually available. But our focus is on making a contribution according to our abilities, according to our position. Then that mood of contribution is a mood of service.

Yes, I have been given some abilities and I need to do justice to them, develop them. So, then even the material success that we pursue, that can become a part of our spiritual growth. So, it is only when the material success consumes, pursuit of material success consumes our mind so much, that we have no time, no energy, no inclination even for pursuing the spiritual growth.

That is when it becomes a problem. So, if we broadly give amount of time for our spiritual growth through studying sacred texts, by cultivating some spiritual practices, having some spiritual association, because growing spiritually is not just a concept. We need periodic reminder and reinforcement of the spiritual inclination within us.

So, we need to give quality time for that. And at that time, we are wholeheartedly seeking spiritual growth directly. And other times, if we give due time for this spiritualization of our consciousness, then we will carry that spiritualized consciousness into our work also, into our family responsibilities also.

So, we can grow in our career in a mood of contribution. So, it can be said that what we are is the divine's gift to us. What we become is our gift to the divine.

So, in this way, if we see our growth as, career growth, as a reciprocation with the divine, then it can be a part of our spiritual growth.