‘Aalas’

Swamiji says …

” Do not waste your life by letting lethargy and laziness get the better of you.”
” ‘Aalas’ humey deemak ki tarah jakad leta hai aur hum uske shikaar ho jaate hain ! ‘

” Laziness… Lethargy … Dullness… Inactivity ! The whimsical desire to do nothing ; nothing at all, at times, rises strongly within us. It is but natural and normal for each one of us to be engulfed by this inexplicable feeling of not wanting to do anything at all. ‘No , I can’t do it right now. I don’t want to do anything at the moment. I don’t feel like doing anything!’ – we complain.There is nothing wrong in feeling lazy at times. We could be tired to the bones after a long , gruelling day that might have sapped us of all our energy and strength, and the mere thought of moving a limb, even fractionally, appears to be a monumental mission.”

” And thus we procrastinate ! Postpone things for a later day and date. How we love to convince ourselves of the sense of satisfaction, mental peace that can be derived by us due to that ‘one’ extra day – those ‘few’ extra hours – during which we will not work – to complete an unfinished task or meet a deadline. We think of every possible reason and excuse for not attending to something that requires our attention, immediately. We are willing to sit idle and bear the constant weighty burden of the unfinished job – but the haze of dewy pleasure of lazing around and not completing the task at hand, encloses our mind, and we submit to those few carefree moments of lethargy with utmost delight. What happens to our sense of responsibility then! Does it blow away with the first breeze of wily laziness that tempts us to capitulate to its promises of rest , respite and recoup.This is nothing but an escapist measure ! Why dilly dally and postpone a thing for tomorrow when we know we have the time to do it at that very moment ! What will we gain by postponing it for another day? Won’t it lead to further tension?”

” It is here that we need to be careful and not allow our mind to become a slave to the frequent calls of ‘surrendering to laziness’ ; a demand transmitted to the mind by the tired body; and before long we commit the offence of postponing things for the next day or later without thinking of its repercussions. We need to fight and ward off these bouts of laziness which, otherwise, could within a short period, make procrastination settle comfortably within us, tantalize us with promises of restful, joyous moments and have us completely at its mercy …’ Aalasya humey deemak ki tarah jakadd leta hai ! ‘ It is too late, at times, for a person to change himself, as by then he has fallen prey to the inviting moments of rest, comfort and impassivity – which unfortunately start taking precedence over everything else. His duties, obligations and commitments take a back seat as his misplaced priorities disallow him to do anything gainful , fruitful ..’aur woh aalas ka shikaar ho jaata hai.’ And before long, he reaches a stage in life when he is unable to do anything , even for himself. A task as simple as getting a glass of water or a plate of food for himself, appears to be a task so laborious, that he either postpones it or just sits waiting for someone to get him some water to drink and forgoes his meal, until someone serves him food.”

” Yeh jeevan anmol hai ! ‘ This life that we have been blessed with is God’s greatest gift to us and it should have a purpose, meaning and direction. We cannot afford to wear a cloak of indolence and sluggishness, get lost within its folds, close our eyes and since we have nothing to do, we sleep for hours at a stretch, be it morning , noon or night…’ Aur dheere dheere hum naastik hotey jaate hain…!’ We have to stop ourselves, at all costs, from succumbing to the immediate returns of laziness and get rid of this habit immediately.We should aspire to live a life that is meaningful – has a purpose, so that we are able to help others, support and benefit them and take them along with us.”

” Remember, first and foremost, we have to love ourselves, and the moment we start doing that, we will unfailingly see the appalling manner in which we are wasting our life, and, also, the abyss of disaster that we are plummeting into. We can always make an effort to correct and improve ourselves – ‘aur humey apna aacharan achcha karna chahiye’ – and live a life based on principles of morals and values. Believe me , before it is too late , everything will work out fine for us.”