“Time and Tide waits for no man”.The value of time can never underestimated. God is described as ‘ kala swarupa” the embodiment of Time! At the same time He is called as 'kalatheetha’ one who transcends Time. Are we utilizing our time properly and effectively? While many waste their time in petty mundane affairs there are very few who realize the significance of Time and use it for their benefit. “The trouble is you think you have time” says the Buddha! It flies so fast that by the time you open your eyes everything is over! Time lost can never be got back. “The only real luxury is Time. You cannot get time back!” People react to Time according to their moods and situations. “ Time is very slow for those who wait; very fast for those who are scared; Very long for those who lament; very short for those who celebrate. But for those who love, Time is eternal!” says Shakespeare. Most of us are deceived by time. Even as we are conscious, it steals away every second of our existence on earth!
Providence has ordained that everything in Nature should happen according to time! Adi Sankara,in his Bhajagovindam, highlights the activities of nature and how they happen in a religious regimen. There is no violation of the Divine mandate whatsoever. Changes happen in a regular time bound order whether one likes it or not! Sankara says that day follows the day. Night gives in to day which again is replaced by evening in a regular and endless manner! The seasons, spring, summer, winter and autumn come every year at their fixed time regularly! Time
plays with the lives of human beings and in no time takes away their life span on earth! Sankara feels extremely sorry for the ordinary mortal because the foolish man, despite knowing these aspects of Nature, is not free from 'asha’ or desire! His hair turns white, parts of the body become loose and weak, there is muscular atrophy and he becomes old and senile. Now he has the stick for support. Even at this stage he is not free from desire!
“Where is the time for man to express his attachment to the Lord?” questions Sankara. Everyone, according to his status, is interested in the activity suited to him. Children are all engrossed in play! The youth of marriageable age are very much interested in girls. The aged and the old are all involved in their never ending worries! As such who is going to be interested in the nature of the Parabrahman? Day and night alternate. The month and the fortnight repeat themselves. The 'ayanas’, a period of six months, appear regularly. The years change as days and months pass on! But the burning Desire of man can never be quenched!
Desire is of many kinds. It can be ‘ Dhana kama’ desire for money. It can be ‘Vidya kama’ desire for knowledge and scholarship.It can also be ‘Rajya kama’ desire for regal splendor and luxury! Very extraordinarily it can be for the knowledge of the Brahman and love for God! Which of these desires is the best? Sankara says that the old man memorizing the grammar sutra is mad after knowledge since ‘Dukrunkarane’ can never save him! Everything in excess should be given up. “ati sarvatra varjayeth”
Desire for worldly pleasures shall land man in serious troubles! You have to answer the Income Tax people for the source of your income! You earn money with difficulty, save it very carefully without the knowledge of others. But when you spend or lose it, you are filled with sorrow! Then why do you desire for money that is the cause of misery for you! Too much of knowledge makes man question the existence of God! Excess of money, knowledge and power turns the head of man and he becomes arrogant leading to his downfall eventually! The only desire that can sublimate all other desires of man is his desire or love for God! Sankara suggests that man should recognize the value of time that relentlessly drags you to your end. Instead of whiling away one’s precious time, man should think of God from the beginning. Bhakti or devotion cannot sprout suddenly! One must cultivate it assiduously! It is very easy for the great Sankara to counsel man but how far is it possible is the million dollar question!!!
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