REFLECTIONS ON TIME

REFLECTIONS  ON TIME

Time is considered as very precious! We cannot afford wasting our time.There are three things that cannot be recovered or recalled in life: the word after it is said, the moment after it is missed, and the time after it is gone. You cannot heal the heart that is wounded by your words.The moment missed can never come once again. The time gone is gone for ever! It is time that swallows up everything in the universe along with it.”Kalo jagad bhakshakaha”. God is called the embodiment of time--Kalapurusha! In that form He creates, protects and destroys the entire creation!Time is free. You cannot say that you own time. But it is priceless and you can keep and spend it. Once lost, it does not come back! Time management is a very important aspect in the life of every individual.Time gains its significance according to on what we invest it or spend.Time is the greatest gift that can be bestowed on someone.This means that you are parting a portion of your life that you will never get back!

There is nothing in this world that can resist the inexorable sweep of relentless Time. Ages, civilizations, kingdoms, dynasties, emperors have disappeared in the womb of Time. Our history  is an example of the ravages of time and the rise and fall of civilizations and man! “ The trouble is , you think you have time” says the Buddha! Man is foolish to think that he has time to achieve this in the world! He does not realize that time is stealing every second of his life silently and steadily! Birthdays are celebrated with pomp and paraphernalia without realizing that many years of one’s life are already gone and that he is progressing towards the evening of life! Caught in the web of this material life, man fails to remember his essential purpose of life! He thinks he has ample time to do so. By the time man opens his eyes, he has spent nearly three fourths of his life, full of vicissitudes, in the cycle of samsara. His existence has become a waste as he has not turned to God or spirituality! He has filled his life with silly, transient pleasures mistaking them for everlasting joy or bliss! He has not realized himself! He has identified himself with the body but not the Spirit or Soul! This is the tragedy of the modern man!

The pity is that under our own eyes we see our longevity diminishing day by day but do not realize or bother about it! After boyhood and childhood youth arrives and next old age and senility! Man wakes up suddenly to the impermanent realities of life when it is already late! Days that are lost do not come back again! Life itself is like the  sudden flash of lightning for a moment and total darkness later! “If you want Time you must make it” says Charles Buxton. Otherwise you cannot find it.“Time and tide wait for no man.” It can never be stopped. The story is said of king Cannute that in his pride and arrogance he ordered the waves of the ocean to stop beating against the shore! The poor king thought that his authority would prevail over Nature!

Do not waste time lest it wastes you! Stop wasting time on people who don’t deserve your attention! Time spent with people who care about you is priceless. Your success or failure is determined  by the value and respect you afford to Time in all your deeds. There is no meaning in people saying  that they have no time to  do things! Time is not their private property! It is common to everyone in the world. The same twenty four hours are available to one and all. It is the talent and alertness of the individual to make the best use of time available to him. People who abuse their precious time in useless pursuits are similar to criminals and do not deserve  any sympathy.There is a Time for every activity in life and those who fail to act accordingly are the losers who may have to the for it!

How do people spend their valuable and precious time generally?  A candid and correct description is given by Adi Sankara in his classic ‘Bhajagovinda’ stotra. “ Balastavat kridasaktaha tarunstavat taruni saktaha vrudha stavat chinta saktàha parebrahmani kopi na saktah.” Child and boyhood are spent in play; precious time of youth is spent on thinking of women and marriage; In the ripe time of old age Time is wasted in all types of needless worries! Then where is the time for man to think of the Parabrahman asks Sankara! Man is under the delusion that he can turn to spirituality and God in his old age! But  life is so uncertain that anything can happen at any time! Spirituality and thoughts on God cannot come suddenly or by magic! They have to be assiduously cultivated from early life. Let us understand the significance of Time and spend it prudently to the best of our advantage!!!