Where is the time to hate…

Swami ji’s Sandesh …

Man’s behaviour, very often, is perplexing – almost a paradox. While he can be immensely self-centered at one end, he, also loves to meddle in the lives of others, at the other end. While he always prioritizes himself first ; thinks of his own welfare first; his eyes are always darting here and there and ears are perked up to figure out what others are upto. In some ways, he is neither here nor there – neither is he truly focussed on himself, nor, is he completely immersed in his fellow beings,and, thus, many a times, all he ends up doing is – waste precious time. Such is the sad story of many lives that have ended – and unfortunately could be the same – of even those who are yet to come.

समय अमूल्य है – Time is invaulable. And there is only a limited amount of time to achieve what we want to truly accomplish. At its core, any success or achievement is the result of a constant struggle to be better.The more we struggle the better we turn out to be and greater is our success. Thus, we need to understand that most of our time should be utilised, in improving ourselves. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.

People idle away time – gossiping, passing judgement, criticizing and finding faults with others. Many entertain themselves with television shows that popularize such behaviour. Social media encourages us to keep an eye on what our friends are upto. We indulge ourselves merrily in these activities and fail to discern that most of the time – there is no emphasis on ‘reflection’ and ‘self-improvement’ – in all that we do. Our time is constantly spent on the ‘external’ – on other people and other events. How can we then hope to truly improve ourselves ! How can we expect to be truly exceptional at anything ?

We must look at those – who , according to us , are successful. Do they appear to be involved with what others are up to ? Do they seem inclined to express opinions on that which does not concern them ? A closer look will reveal that successful individuals are unable to find that extra time – to waste it – in gossiping, hating , judging or criticising others, but, focus all their energy on improving themselves – their lives.They realise that time is valuable and the best would be to direct their attention towards their aim and ambition. They have a fire within them to do something worthwhile – that makes them want to improve all the time. Such is the attitude that we too need to develop.

Cherish this lifetime. Value it. Add further meaning to it ; a few more dimensions. Be passionate about improving every aspect of your life. Become so involved in bettering yourself as an individual – in strengthening your weaknesses – converting your handicaps into citations – your odes into celebrations – that you do not find time to talk ill of others. Hours that could be utilised by us to improve ourselves ; work on our incompetencies – are instead whiled away nearly everyday by back biting ; directing all our energies on hating certain people we dislike. Do we ever realise that …” Hum doosron ki burai karke , unke ‘karma’ bhi hum apne upar le lete hain ?’ The minute someone projects disagreement with us, we enter into a verbal conflict with him – are willing to face rounds of verbal duels without accepting defeat. What do we gain by such a clash of egos’ ? Precious time is lost in such petty behavior.

We must question ourselves regularly – whether we are making the best use of time or not. Even the random thoughts that arise in the mind are actually a waste of time. Why not strive to control them and centre them on God? Why indulge the mind by thinking about things that least concern us? Why waste time thinking about the future or the past, when we can collect our thoughts and focus our mind on God. A single moment, filled with the thought of God ; filled with thoughts of self-improvement – is time that has been utilised to its fullest.

If we truly are miserly about anything – then it should be about ‘time’ – the manner in which we spend it. Is it effective and efficient? Time must be used for development of the mind, body and soul. If we are greedy for anything at all – it should be only for more time – time that can be utilised to improve ourselves. To truly utilize our time well, we must raise self-awareness through meditation and self-reflection. We must be mindful of what we are doing at any time – and double check whether we are using time judiciously. With practice, we will slowly but surely, become masters of our destiny – as we will develop the skills needed to utilise time for our optimal growth.