Our time is among our most wanted resources. Our fast-paced culture places so many demands on us that fitting all the items on our to-do list into a twenty-four-hour day is something like fitting a roomful of objects into a suitcase. It seems impossible because it is impossible.
The only way ahead is to shortlist. Even in our abbreviated list, the sequence of filling is important. If we put the big objects in the suitcase first, then we can fit in the smaller objects in between. However, if we put the small objects first, then we just can’t fit in the big objects later. Similarly, if we allot time for our big to-dos, those things that require substantial and quality time, then we can fit the smaller to-dos in between. However, if we allot time to the smaller to-dos first, then we will have no time left for the big to-dos.
As aspiring devotees, we consciously know that our devotional activities like chanting and studying scripture are big to-dos. Yet while allotting time, we tend to subconsciously place these activities last by thinking: “I will do these whenever I get time.” This thought implies that we are treating Krishna as a filler in between our other more-important priorities. Moreover, as ‘whenever’ includes the possibility of ‘never’, we end up treating him as an optional filler.
The Bhagavad-gita (11.55) urges us to make Krishna our supreme goal and our foremost priority (mat-parah). This may seem impractical initially. But if we just try to start by taking a modest leap of faith, Krishna will reciprocate in many unexpected ways by giving us the intelligence and the ability to adjust and accelerate other things. That divine reciprocation, indeed, is the magical dynamism of Krishna consciousness.
“My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being – he certainly comes to Me.”
Leave A Comment