Everything is all about balance. You have all the ingredients you need. The question is, do you balance them well? Proper balance of heat and cold is required to temper steel. The subtler something is, the more delicate and elusive the process of balancing becomes.
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For example in physical fitness, diet, rest and exercise must be balanced. Even with the scale and mirror to monitor progress, this is a great challenge. Few are able to navigate those waters to achieve a great physique. Imagine an arena, where no such monitoring is readily available.
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Personal evolution is such an arena. As well as being the most subtle of endeavors, evolution requires great attention be placed upon proper balance. So many factors must be balanced.
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Two such factors are activity and rest (meditation). Balancing these two things is critical if you are to temper the steel of life.
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Those who live in the world tend to be dominated by activity at the expense of meditation. In the ashram, meditation dominates and must be balanced with sufficient focused activity. Habit must be overcome, be it the worldly habit of outwardly directed activity, or the ashram habit of the stillness within. The tail and the kite must function as one for evolution to happen.
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The bliss of the Absolute is so charming that it becomes an annoyance to have to focus in the relative aspect of life. If left unchecked, this leads to imbalance.
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Of course, the individual does not think they are out of balance. They feel they are enlightened, or at least getting there. Yet unchecked, it becomes clear to everyone else that they are becoming dysfunctional! It is the responsibility of the head of the ashram to temper the steel.
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In a case such as this, the instinct of the student is to avoid the process of integration. After all, basking in the transcendent feels so good. Why, they wonder, must it be disturbed with activity?
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However, to integrate (balance) the absolute with the relative within the physiology of the student is what evolution is all about. Yoga means union.
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If you are in the world, the opposite is true: The question becomes “How can I take time to meditate with so much to do? I can not even sit still for a moment.” Once again, yoga means union.
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Everything is all about balance.
