Spirituality teaches us that all beings in this relative world are diverse manifestations of an Absolute underlying reality. If this reality is compared with a coin, energy and consciousness are two inseparable sides of it.
All beings animate and inanimate are thus expressions of energy and consciousness. Energy makes us all move or act and consciousness furnishes the direction and purpose. Nothing that happens is without purposeful direction whether in the domain of the “animate” or in that of the “inanimate”.
“As for me, Oh Arjuna, I have no obligation to meet and nothing to get in the three worlds; however, I continue acting,” says Krishna (Absolute Incarnate) to Arjuna (representing humankind) in the Bhagvad Gita.
Inertia and inactivity result only in the absence of purposeful direction as a consequence of a lack of an expression of consciousness. In inanimate beings, there is an obvious lack of this medium. In animate beings, this happens when the medium of expression of consciousness is not fully developed.
It is worth noting is that in animate beings with fully developed medium of expression of consciousness, action is but natural and spontaneous without any struggle, whatsoever.
Animate beings are generally social to some extent. They all have a body maintained with food and shelter; and operated by consciousness as reflected through a mind comprised of two faculties – that of the senses and of the ego. The sensory faculty is to know and act, while the ego regulates individual behavior in the interest of the social collective. Thus, material security for survival and maintenance of the body, enjoyment of cognitive sense experience and observance of social ethics provide the direction for the active senses.
Humankind is much more than mere social animals. We also have an intellectual faculty for the expression of consciousness in reasoning, discriminating, discerning and deciding. This can be humankind’s overarching faculty that can determine the expression of consciousness through the other faculties. The exercise of this faculty determines the extent we are human as opposed to a mere social animal; being fully human means full exercise of this faculty to govern the exercise of the others.
Being human is thus the exercise of the intellect to free oneself from the tyranny of the appetites and excesses of the body, senses and the ego. This is human freedom.
Within this broad framework of human purpose, there is enough room to choose in accordance with individual nature. One must choose to nurture one’s nature. This is how duty enters the picture; the idea of doing individual duty is the nurturing of one’s nature for leading a fulfilled life.