The pursuit of God is never a 9-to-5 endeavor

When we work at a 9-to-5 job that we don’t particularly like, we dislike being disturbed by office work outside office-hours. If we like our job, then compartmentalization protects us from workaholism.

However, this compartmentalizing approach doesn’t work for our devotional pursuit of God. Why not? Because God is not a compartment in our life; he is the container of our life and indeed of all of existence. He pervades everything and can be pursued through all activities by cultivating a worshipful attitude, as the Bhagavad-gita (18.46) declares. Consequently, serious devotees glorify him constantly (09.14).

If we see devotion as just one compartment in our life, that’s because of our incomplete vision: we see God not as our life’s ultimate goal, but as a means to some worldly goal. Such a vision, being divorced from reality, keeps us trapped in pursuing worldly objects, even if piously.

How is this vision divorced from reality? The Gita (10.41) explains that whatever we find attractive about any goal, all that attractiveness and more is found in Krishna. He is meant to be our life’s supreme goal.

Of course, functionally speaking, most of us can’t perform direct devotional activities constantly. But then, neither did Arjuna. After hearing the Gita, he didn’t reject his warrior’s vocation as mundane. Instead, he cultivated an inclusive understanding of Krishna’s greatness and a pervasive spirit of devotion. With his consciousness thus spiritualized, he performed his martial duty, but for glorifying Krishna.

Functionally, our life may be compartmentalized, with direct devotional activities being one compartment. Nonetheless, if during our direct devotional time we connect diligently with Krishna, then our consciousness will become permeated with a deep devotional intent. When devotion becomes the underlying intention that unifies our life’s various compartments, all our activities will take us towards Krishna.