Balancing the "Spiritual" and "Material Life"

Turning the attention of the mind inwards does not mean we have to give up on the world, which is a common misconception about raja yoga. It is true that the ancient rishis renounced normal life to dedicate their lives solely to their spiritual pursuit. The rishis meditated day and night, and their focus was totally on the spiritual.
But this is as unbalanced as a life in which the focus is totally on the material world, ignoring the spiritual. The lack of balance in both extremes is explained by Dato Sri Guruji, the current living guru of raja yoga.

Raja yoga has evolved to be accessible to everyday people, who contribute to family life and community, while wanting to attain a spiritual goal. The Master of raja yoga say that spiritual growth comes with normalising all functions of a human being. For example, unlike some earlier raja yoga systems, procreation is seen as a natural function of Nature, so celibacy is not prescribed. Instead, spiritual practice leads to the natural purpose and function of procreation being normalised. Our Master teach that it is in the world of the family that almost all human qualities are perfected, including the capacities to love, to renounce, to take responsibility, to function in a group, to tolerate, to sacrifice and surrender. Without this humanness, the spiritual practice of raja yoga can become austere and dry. Spirituality without humanity and character development is again very unbalanced. After all, we still have to lead everyday lives, and it is through the interaction with the world that we have a mirror to reflect the inner changes. To only study the old texts and practices of raja yoga does not give any idea of the evolution that has occurred in this science, especially during the last 150 years. It would be like taking an astronomy text from the time of Ptolemy, and expecting to understand modern astronomy. It would not be adequate. The only way to know about raja yoga as it is practised today is to go to the teachings of the current Master of raja yoga, and understand it in today’s world. This shows no disrespect to the ancients, whose knowledge and wisdom was vast. It simply acknowledges that evolution has occurred