In true karma-yoga, or the life of perfect action, there is proper adjustment between the material and the spiritual aspects of life. In this type of life, consciousness is not fettered by mundane and material things, but at the same

time it is not allowed to run away from everyday existence. The mind is not allowed to be immersed in the material life of gnawing wants, nor is it allowed to be merged in spiritual bliss. It is used to face and tackle the problems of life from the point of view of spiritual understanding.

Proper adjustment between the material and the spiritual aspects of life is not secured by giving equal importance to them. ... The spirit must and ever will have an inviolable primacy over matter; however, the primacy is not expressed by avoiding or rejecting matter but rather by using it as an adequate vehicle for the expressions of the spirit. ...

Owing to the multifarious cravings of the mind, matter has a tendency to assume importance for itself. ... The way to restore the dignity of the spirit is not to reject matter but to use it for the claims of the spirit.

This is possible only when the spirit is free from all cravings and is fully conscious of its own true status. ... He, [the individual] dwells in the material \ and social environment without any hankering for them and, being unattached, is able to convert them into spiritual life. ...

... No longer is there any need to run away from everyday life and its tangles. ... But when such retirement is grounded in fear of the world or lack of confidence in the spirit, . it is far from helpful in the attainment of real freedom. Real freedom is essentially positive and must express itself through unhampered dominion of the spirit over matter. This is the true life of the spirit. ...

... All the material things of this world can be made subservient to the divine game; and when they are thus subordinated, they become auxiliary to the self-affirmation of the spirit.