There is no meaningful effort without an understanding
There is no understanding without a meaningful effort
We achieve meaningful effort only by failing and trying again
Effort teaches you to be practical
Understanding will bring trust and patience
Understanding is needed to examine WHY and WHAT
Effort is needed to achieve WHAT by doing HOW in accordance with WHY
Focusing only on effort leads to rituals as mind enjoys choosing and making single sided decisions
It will make you a machine which has only a fixed purpose
The Goal is almost forgotten and The Path becomes everything
Focusing only on knowledge of understanding lead towards hallucination and laziness as mind enjoys the imagination, you will become a pundit, a scholar.
You will excel in debates, logic, philosophy but you will fail to experience life with full potential
The Path is almost forgotten, The Goal becomes the only desire
Most of the times, the time spent in doing the effort and gaining understanding are not equal in proportion
You might have to take many meaningful steps before you arrive at certain understanding
You must do not an extra effort outside your understanding unless needed
The key here is not to identify yourself with either effort or understanding
The more directed effort you make towards your optimum subjective path to realisation less time spent in failure
If someone who already walked the path is available, Always seek an understanding
But never directly adopt the understanding, seek the method to arrive at it on your own
People who have higher understanding tend to ignore effort they made to get there
It is why they give advice of adopting the understanding directly than to preach a method to arrive at it
They should focus on both, especially a method
Effort and Understanding must embrace each other to achieve the realisation, the ultimate understanding.
After realisation, action is needed but becomes effortless.
So the balance HAPPENS it cannot be brought. It happens when you are open to both effort and understanding.
It is applicable to any area of your life, personal, corporate, social and especially spiritual.