‘ वर्तमान ‘

Swami ji said …

Our fascination and obsession with everything expensive and exclusive that our eyes rest on – is clearly visible – as our talks and thoughts are dominated by ways and means of acquiring and possessing them. The more valuable and bankable our assets turn out to be and the weightier our bank statements – greater seems to be our sense of contentment and happiness then. We move around complacently like a Cheshire cat , twirl our mustaches and rub our hands in glee on acquiring the most expensive clothes, fancy cars and luxurious
condominiums. Any expensive item has to barely make its entry in the market – and we make a beeline towards it. ‘ I simply have to own this ‘ – we promise ourselves. The adrenaline rush that we experience while being surrounded by top brands – makes us drift away from
‘reality’ – which tries to remind us time and time again – to value the present moment… हमारा ‘वर्तमान’ – as ‘it’ alone is most expensive and valuable. No amount of money, power or penance can buy back our present time. We thus need to make our present relevant, meaningful and exemplary – without reflecting too much on the past and getting knotted up about the future.

‘ जीवन की चमक धमक मे हम यह भूल गए हैं कि, जीवन की सबसे महँगी चीज़ हमारा वर्तमान है …जो एक बार चला जाता है तो फिर सारे जग की संपत्ति भी उसे खरीद नहीं सकती है।’

The choice is ours – to either understand the immense value of every second that we are fortunate enough to breathe and witness – हमारे वर्तमान मे – by drawing a balance between ‘duties’ and ‘enjoyment’ and do so with equal joy – all the while surrendering to God’s will – or
waste away the precious seconds only in ‘sense’ gratification and pleasure – all this while the needles of the clock tick away unsparingly ; with frightful unbroken
regularity – leaving us to live in regret and repentance for the remaining days of our life – for wasting a life that could have been lived well.

The ‘time’ which truly belongs to us is the present time – now – for the better or worse. Unceasing tears and tension for ‘tomorrow’ ; the next day or the days ahead , which honestly are not guaranteed to us – but , of which strangely, we are very certain will most definitely be seen by us – in many ways take away the joy of the present moment. Although we live in the present time – we seem to constantly plan only for our future. Wouldn’t this style of functioning affect us in the present time ? Burn us out early ; tire us ; overload us and make us unhealthy in the present time ?

Quite a many of us show no hesitation in postponing our spiritual journey for a later day and ‘age’ – as we are petrified of the do’s and dont’s that this journey might entail. Why should we not begin to walk the path of self – discovery immediately and experience personally the wondrous beauty of spirituality , gain proximity to God and ‘Guru’? We create our own destiny every day we live – and thus live each day as if it were our last – to be better than we were the previous day ; have the courage to acknowledge our imperfections and work on them in the ‘present’ time on a regular basis – be aware of every deed, thought and action of ours, as we are accountable for our ‘karma’ and
brick by brick lay the foundation of a ‘nek ‘वर्तमान’ – as it is the ‘present’ which should matter the most to us at any given time.