Walking the Path That Suits You — A Single Destination Guided by Action and Intellect
We live our lives through action every single day.
In those actions, what do we aim for, and where do we direct our awareness?
Striving toward the future versus focusing on the present.
How do we harmonize these two things that seem contradictory at first glance?
Bhagavad Gita 5.5 teaches us an important perspective:
"No matter which path you choose, the destination remains the same."
What is a state of stable intellect?
Bhagavad Gita 2.51explains that when the intellect is stable, attachment to actions ceases, and attachment to life and death also fades. By doing so, one can transcend suffering.
Yoga is evenness, a state where the mind does not waver significantly, no matter what situation is placed before it.
Much of our suffering arises not from the events themselves, but from our expectations and attachment to the results.
Attachment to results and the role of the future
When we are overly conscious of the results of our actions, the mind gradually becomes unstable. This is because attachment to the future and to results becomes a cause for binding oneself.
However, thinking about the future is also necessary.
For example, when you want to build a good relationship with someone, simply wishing "I want to be friends someday" will not cause that relationship to form naturally.
If there is no meaningful communication in this very moment, that future will not take shape.
The future is merely for setting a direction, and what actually creates the future is the action taken within the time of the present.
That is why, once you have envisioned the future, you must return to the present. It is important to direct your awareness to the process you can engage in right now.
The practice of returning to the present
This world is a temporary place that is constantly changing. Despite this, we tend to live our lives with our awareness directed more toward the future than the present.
We often spend a great deal of time making plans for the future, while paying little attention to the quality of the time we are in right now.
However, we do not live alone; we live in relationships with many people. All of those relationships are born from how we interact in the "now."
It is necessary to reduce plans for the future and direct our awareness to plans for the present.
What it means to live as a human
To live as a human also means to experience suffering.
If one were a being that had transcended all suffering, there would be no attachment and no wavering. However, we are born as humans, and within that, we experience various emotions and events.
Even with positive actions, as long as there is an expectation that "because I did something good, a good result should return," attachment still remains. Therefore, it is necessary to gradually reduce attachment to the actions themselves and their results.
The reason to start from positivity
It is not realistic to let go of all attachments from the very beginning.
At first, it is necessary to direct your consciousness in a positive direction to improve the quality of your actions.
For example, yoga practice often begins with the goal of improving health or quality of life. By accumulating daily practice, changes appear not only in the body but also in your thoughts and your entire life.
And as you continue to practice over a long period, the question of "what is the original purpose" naturally arises for the first time.
Even if you try to aim for Samadhi from the start, it is difficult to imagine it concretely, and it is not easy to establish it as a habit.
That is why it is important to focus on accumulating positive actions at first, and from there, gradually let go of attachment to the results.
Stages of Mind Growth
The human mind is constantly in motion.
Therefore, in the initial stage, it is necessary to stabilize the mind through positive actions and thoughts directed toward the future. Visualizing good results becomes motivation, and the ability to observe your own state also grows.
However, as practice and habits mature, you need to take a step forward from that stage and gradually reduce your expectations for the future and your focus on results.
That said, if there were no hope or expectation for the future at the initial stage, you would lose interest in the actions themselves, and it would become difficult to grow.
That is why it is important to change how you engage according to the stage.
Example of Education and Habits
Example
When attending school, you must first place yourself within discipline and educate yourself. However, after graduation, you do not need to continue depending on that framework.
Similarly, positive actions are essential in the initial stage, but when they are established as a habit, you will be able to remain in that state naturally without consciously trying to "be positive."
At that stage, you are required to let go of even the expectation of positive results.
Bhagavad Gita 5.5
यत्सांख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते ।
एकं सांख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥ 5 ॥
yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyate
ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
The state reached by Sankhya is also reached by Karma Yoga. He who sees that these two are essentially one, truly sees.
Even if the paths are different, the destination is the same
There is more than one way to reach a destination.
For example, even if you are going to Tokyo Station, there are various options such as trains, subways, buses, walking, or bicycles. If your starting point is different, the optimal method will also change.
What is important is not 'which method you choose,' but 'where you are heading.'
Choosing your own path
Our destination is indicated in the scriptures. However, there is not just one path to get there.
To reach Samadhi, there are also
Bhakti Yoga
Jnana Yoga
Karma Yoga
Raja Yoga
Hatha Yoga
and other various approaches. It is not about which one is superior, but which one suits you right now that is important.
First, know your own state. That leads to understanding your own starting point. Everyone has a different lifestyle and way of thinking. That is why there is no need to choose the same path as someone else, nor is it something that can be decided by someone else.
Understanding, not comparing
For example, even in asana practice, what people are good at differs. Even if you imitate the practice of someone who is good at backbends, it does not necessarily mean you will get the same results.
What is important is not to compare yourself with others, but to find a method that suits you and continue at your own pace. While you may use others as motivation, there is no need to imitate them.
The power to choose
When your thinking is not yet mature, you are influenced by your parents, teachers, and those walking the same path. Through that, your perspective is refined.
However, you must decide for yourself which path to take in the end.
While receiving inspiration, you must take the final step yourself. The accumulation of those choices becomes your own path.
Just as you would choose a station close to where you are now, choose a method that suits your current state.
That is the path you can continue without strain, and as a result, it becomes the path along which you can advance deeply.
The Perspective of Sāṅkhya Yoga
Here, Krishna speaks about Sāṅkhya Yoga and Karma Yoga.
Sāṅkhya has its etymological roots in 'counting' or 'analyzing,' and it is a philosophy for accurately distinguishing and understanding the world and the self.
It perceives this world from two aspects.
Puruṣa and Prakṛti
Puruṣa
Formless existence.
It is pure consciousness, the observer, and the unchanging essence.
Prakṛti
Existence with form.
It includes everything that changes, such as the body, thoughts, and emotions.
We are in a state where these two exist together.
For example, the figure of a sleeping person is visible. However, what kind of dream that person is having cannot be known from the outside.
In the same way, much of what we perceive on a daily basis is only the aspect that has form.
To avoid losing sight of the essence
Sāṅkhya is a teaching for knowing your true self by distinguishing between Puruṣa and Prakṛti.
If you become strongly attached to your body or emotions, it becomes easy to lose sight of your true self.
For example, there is someone else's existence in the background of an encounter with a certain person. If you only look at the relationship right in front of you, you may lose sight of its roots.
In the same way, the essence within us is not always visible.
Puruṣa and Prakṛti exist simultaneously, but their roots are different.
The body is a partner for the soul and also a means to know your true self. The soul alone cannot perceive itself. Through the existence of the body, we can realize our own essence.
Example
Just as we can enjoy a meal because there is a spoon, we can experience this life precisely because we have a body.
The body is not an obstacle to reaching the essence, but an important tool for it.
What true education is
True education is knowledge that transcends this world and learning that leads to the realization of one's true self.
And the path to that realization is not singular; it is uniquely given to each of us.
Summary
We live our daily lives surrounded by many people and vast amounts of information.
It is very natural to be influenced by someone's words or to have your heart moved by someone else's choices. However, our individual states are inherently different, and neither our current locations nor our paces of progress are the same.
A choice that is good for someone else is not necessarily the best choice for you right now.
Even so, we sometimes make choices while unconsciously comparing ourselves to others or being pulled in their direction. That is precisely why it is important to pause once in a while and quietly observe what state you are currently in.
Are you feeling anxious, or are you feeling fulfilled?
Are you seeking something, or do you already have enough?
Choosing after observing that state versus choosing while being pulled by external forces changes the meaning of the same action significantly.
And another important thing is not the correctness of the choice, but whether you are convinced by it yourself. No matter how good a choice may look to those around you, if you are not convinced within yourself, doubt and wavering will arise somewhere along the way.
Conversely, choices made after understanding your current state, even if they are small, will naturally take root within you. That accumulation is what builds your own path.
As the Bhagavad Gita teaches, no matter which path you choose, the destination is the same. What is important is not to keep searching for 'which path is correct,' but to choose for yourself the step that suits you right now and to proceed with care. I believe we must not forget that this very way of being is already on the path.
2026/4/4