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Seeking perfection in action leads to habits that turns life mechanical. The desire for perfection stems from the ego’s need to “push my will” onto situations, which leads to stress. Ego-driven desires are coloured by our limited understanding and create a cycle of dissatisfaction.
Perfection implies an inherent division: the notion that “I am bad, incomplete, and I must become good, complete.” This creates internal conflict and fuels the ego’s need for improvement, feeding into an endless cycle of dissatisfaction and stress. However, this is just a “backdoor entry” for the ego to continue its domination over the self.
The pursuit of perfection keeps the ego alive, as it always postpones satisfaction by focusing on some future achievement. The ego feels secure only when striving for this perfection, which is an indirect way of fulfilling desires. The ego creates a false sense of contentment through division, but the moment we divide life, we lose our freedom. The more we try to achieve perfection, the more the world starts to control us, rather than us living freely within it.
In contrast to perfection, wholeness embraces contradictions and the coexistence of opposites. A person in a state of wholeness does not choose one thing over another. They do not try to interfere with or alter the “total plan of schemes” in life.
Wholeness involves recognizing that both wanting and not wanting something are part of life. A wise person does not engage in the division between success and failure, pleasure and pain. This non-interference is not indifference or ignorance but a deeper understanding that all events are part of a greater plan. Acting without result orientation is key here.
Our understanding is shaped by our experiences, and often, our experience becomes our benchmark. This is what colours our perceptions and expectations. However, wholeness requires transcending this limited understanding to embrace life as it is, without the need for control or division. Vedanta states, “You are that already,” without the need for impressing or improving or achieving anything.
Wholeness is about embracing the totality of life, contradictions and all, without being swayed by desires or outcomes. Perfection, on the other hand, is ego-driven and creates internal conflict, division, and stress. The ego survives by constantly seeking perfection, which keeps it alive but also enslaves the person to perennial dissatisfaction. Wholeness is the state of acting without attachment, allowing life to flow without interference.