Answer
Your question is about qualities and engagement. You see, in our organization, we have all come with a shared understanding that Krishna is the Supreme, and our goal is to develop and revive our relationship with Him. Our Guru, our ācārya, has a mission, and that is why this institution exists. Naturally, all of us are meant to cooperate and serve that mission.
At the same time, we have to be realistic—we are not perfect, not liberated, not fully realized souls. We are sādhakas, practitioners. So within this condition, in the interest of the organization, different duties are assigned to us. As far as possible, these duties are aligned with our nature, but that alignment may not always be perfect.
In this connection, the Bhagavad Gita (as explained in its purports) helps us understand that activities in life can broadly be seen in three categories:
Obligatory duties – responsibilities we must perform as part of our role or commitment
Desired activities – services or engagements we are naturally inclined toward and like to do
Emergency duties – unexpected situations where we must act immediately, regardless of preference
Everyone’s life is a combination of these three.
As members of an institution, we have obligatory duties—these are non-negotiable because we have chosen to be part of a collective mission. Then there are desired activities, which match our interests and inclinations, and these can also be engaged in. And finally, there are emergencies, where, whether we like it or not, we have to step in and do what is required.
So practically speaking, our life unfolds in this way:
We do some things because they are required
Some because we are naturally drawn to them
And sometimes we simply respond to urgent needs
Understanding this helps reconcile the idea of “quality-based engagement” with the practical reality of serving in a dynamic organization.
