The Paradox of the Half-Hearted Seeker: Why the Middle Path Does Not Lead to the Summit

 There is a common denominator in the following statements:

(1) I want to be dry and wet at the same time;

(2) She is going northwards while continuing in the direction of the south;

(3) Edward drinks water and breathes in deeply simultaneously;

(4) My father wants a hirsute chest that is glabrous.

They are not paradoxical. Their utterers are utterly confused.

One must choose between diametrically opposed options. One cannot have the cake and eat it too, as the hackneyed saying goes. When one stands at the crossroads, one must make a prompt decision as to what one intends to pursue—this is especially true in matters of spirituality, the spiritual life, and the dedication of oneself to self-realisation. One cannot run with the hare of material sensuality and sense gratification and hunt with the hound of longing for self-realisation. Such a venture is not only futile but also deeply hypocritical.

Choosing, in the material world, how best to satiate the senses is far easier than deciding between the world and its Creator. When one is subject to the whims of the senses—those which seek affirmation through empirical evidence—making a decision between conflicting options is often not a formidable task. Whether to drink at a pub or to enjoy one’s beverage in a park, to spend the weekend in the company of friends or with cousins at a club, or whether to have lobster or crab for dinner—these are not difficult decisions to make. 

People find it particularly trying when confronted with a choice between satisfying Trishna or Krishna, Kama or Rama. It is then that they attempt to discover the possibility of a middle path between these two extremes: can one be spiritual and yet indulge in occasional bouts of pleasure? What is wrong with pampering the body as opposed to performing rigorous austerity? Is there not a way to placate the vagaries of the mind whilst remaining committed to the ideals of spiritual living which promise self-realisation?   

Those who seek merely a mean between the two options are akin to those who “want to be dry and wet at the same time,” who “wish to go northwards while continuing in the direction of the south,” who endeavour to drink water whilst simultaneously breathing in, or who desire a chest that is both hirsute and glabrous.

In the Bhagavad Gita 2:44, God warns that it is impossible for one to pursue sensual enjoyment and self-realisation simultaneously:

bhogaiśwvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛita-chetasām

vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate

Translation: With their minds deeply attached to worldly pleasures and their intellects bewildered by such things, they are unable to possess the resolute determination for success on the path to God. 

Swami Mukundananda, in His commentary on the verse, has said, "People whose minds are attached to sensual enjoyment concern themselves with bhog (gratification), and aiśhwarya (luxury). They engage their intellects in enhancing their income and contemplating how to increase their material possessions and maximize their enjoyment. Bewildered in this manner, they are unable to develop the firm resolve required for traversing the path to God-realization."

The same point that the spiritual path demands exclusivity and commitment has been emphasised in Kathopanishad 1:2:2, 

śreyaśca preyaśca manuṣyametaḥ

tau samparītya vivinakti dhīraḥ .

śreyo hi dhīro’bhi preyaso vṛṇīte

preyo mando yogakṣemādvṛṇīte

Translation: Both the good and the pleasant present themselves to a man. The calm soul examines them well and discriminates. Yea, he prefers the good to the pleasant; but the fool chooses the pleasant out of greed and avarice. 

This verse directly supports the argument that one must choose—between śreyas (the path of lasting good or spiritual benefit) and preyas (the path of sensory pleasure). Both paths cannot be pursued simultaneously.

In response to those who contemplate the so-called "middle path", Sri Krishna, in Bhagavad Gita 9.30–31, underscores the impossibility of such a path between sensual indulgence and spiritual realisation: even one who was formerly sinful must turn wholly to God. Ananya-bhāk denotes “without diversion”; there is no middle ground..

The scriptures all underline the fundamental incompatibility of simultaneous material indulgence and spiritual attainment. The Middle Way, in Hindu dharma, is not compromise between vice and virtue. One must choose between placating the senses, which are determined to keep us rooted to this material plane, and satisfying the soul, whose sojourn on earth is to discover its constitutional position in relation to God.