Srila Prabhupada's teachings throw new light on a bygone incident
During college, my father gifted me a wrist watch. The gift packet also carried a contest form to be completed and returned to the company with a slogan: "Why I prefer this brand?" I posted the form. About three months later, the postman arrived with a gift from the company a brand new wrist watch! My slogan was chosen amongst the ten best slogans received that month. I had written: "Time is money and this brand gives me good value for my time." When I wrote the slogan it was a thought just out of the hat, but today fifteen years later, only after reading Srila Prabhupada's books do I understand what it actually means to apply this slogan to my life. These days one can practically buy everything at the click of a mouse, except a few items like time. It is something which even any stock market or commodity market cannot sell. It is not available even if a billionaire is willing to pay his entire wealth. But most of us very casually in our daily lives say, "Oh I have no time!"
The Vedic scriptures proclaim that this human form of life is very rare and the time available to us in this body has to be most effectively used for attaining the goal of life, i.e. to be eternally happy. The Bhagavad gita clearly outlines the formula for being happy.
One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krsna consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace? (Bg. 2.66)
A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the Srila Prabhupada's teachings throw new light on a bygone incident ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries. (Bg. 5.29)
Human life has the prerogative to solve all the problems of life. The animals, trees, and aquatics do not have this privilege. That is why Srila Prabhupada, the founder acarya of ISKCON has said, "The highest form of himsa (violence) is to keep in darkness the human being who is in his developed consciousness of life."
If we look at our daily lives we spend so much of our time in gossipping, reading, backbiting, unnecessarily surfing and chatting on the Internet and a host of other activities that do not add any value to our life. The next time we look at our watch, we must be aware that time is running out, so let us plan our lives so we rub out these futile activities and add value to our lives
by reading the Bhagavad Gita and understanding its import.
The author is based in Mumbai.