Essence of Time

क्षणशः कणशश्चैव विद्यामर्थं च साधयेत् |
क्षणे नष्टे कुतो विद्या कणे नष्टे कुतो धनम् ||

kShaNasha-ha kaNashashchaiva vidyaam-arthaM cha saadhayet
kShaNe naShTe kuto vidyaa kaNe naShTe kuto dhanam

Meaning: Knowledge (vidyaa) and wealth (artha) are procured with every moment (kShaNa) and every grain (kaNa) (respectively). How can knowledge come (if even a) moment is wasted? How can wealth come (if even a) grain is wasted?

'Boond boond se saagar bhartaa hai', every drop counts. There is so much waste in our life that we do not even realize. I remember a time when we as students used to carry a small pocket notebook with us always. And we would note down the start time and end time of every activity that we did from the time we woke up till we lied down at night; and we also noted the idle time between each activity. The results were astonishing. There is so much time that we wasted. And that was at a time when we had no worldly responsibilities, except studies. There is so much scope for more efficiency in our lives.

Every moment is a potential investment! Every breath of life is an opportunity, a gift of God. Every breath of life means that we are not yet dead. Yes, we are not yet dead... but are we alive ?

Most of these potential opportunities go down the drain like the hundreds of drops of water drained down in our showers every morning. The most frequent complaint or remark that we hear from anyone is, इतना सारा काम है, पर टाइम ही नही मिलता (there is so much work, but I don't find time). And we are all happily watching lousy soaps on TV while hearing this comment. Students complain about lack of time to finish homework, and adults complain about lack of time to finish their paperwork & housework and what not. And in all this, almost nobody has time left for God or His work.

I know of students, who carry their homework with them, and complete it wherever and whenever they get bits & pieces of time. I know of people who are getting things done while in a car or even sitting at restaurants. Every second is important. We can make use of it, if we want to, and only if we want to.

While this shloka mentions only knowledge and money, I think, it pertains to wealth as a whole; it pertains to wealth as explained in the Shree Sukta of the Vedas. We can become richer & wiser in all aspects only if we are alert enough not to waste even a single moment. Life, with all its attractions and distractions, is always pushing us down, and if we wait to rest for even a moment, we start sliding down. We should constantly be alert, assiduous & enthusiastic as regards our progress, our development; and more importantly, we should be enjoying it. Rather than a chore, it should be a pleasure—if so, it would self-propel us further in the process, with increased acceleration.

May we realize the value of the limited time that we have at our behest, and make the fullest use thereof for our all-round development!