Based on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 04, Text 24
“Everything that devotees do is spiritual, so even their material life is spiritual,” we may hear statements like these in devotee circles. Naturally, we may wonder: are they correct
Gita wisdom indicates that they are correct in principle, but not always in practice — especially for aspiring devotees. To understand why, let’s first clarify basic terms: “spiritual” refers to that which is made of sat-cit-anand, whereas “spiritualized” refers to that which is made of material elements but is used for a spiritual purpose. Our material life cannot become spiritual, but can become spiritualized. The Bhagavad-gita (4.24) states that everything material becomes spiritualized for those who work in a spirit of selfless sacrifice (yajna) for the Absolute Truth or Krishna.How much we have internalized this spirit can be known only by Krishna — and occasionally and partially by us when we are in a clear-thinking, introspective mode.