Daily routine – a program for your day
There is a very interesting
secret about the first and last words of the Bhagavadgita. It starts with the
word dharma: dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre (Gita 1.1). The first word
of the Gita is dharma; the last word is mama: nītir matir mama
(Gita 18.78). If you join them together, it is mama dharma. So, the
Bhagavadgita tells you mama dharma: your duty. Don’t you think it is
interesting? Mama dharma is the subject of the Bhagavadgita.
You should have a daily
routine, a program for your day. Sri Aurobindo has written that you have to
divide the whole day into four parts – six hours for meditation, six hours for
work, six hours for sleep, and six hours for other things. Sometimes we have to
work for more than six hours; this is the fate of the people working in offices
these days. But, if it is systematically done, and the arrangement of the work
is computerised in a beautiful manner without any kind of pressure, perhaps in
six hours you may finish the work of the day. Six hours you sleep; very good.
Six hours of meditation is a wonderful thing. Very few people are able to
meditate like that for such a long time. And we have other titbits, for which
he has allotted six hours: you have to take bath, to go for a walk, to eat, to
take rest, to meet visitors, to read the newspaper or go somewhere; that you
have to do within six hours.
Though it looks very fine, you
feel you cannot get on like that. Why? Think it over for yourself. Firstly, the
debility is in the duration of work; you have to work for eight hours, at
least. Sometimes, officials even work till midnight. They carry on till late
hours, and sometimes have to work at home also. It is up to you. Though
Aurobindo’s idea was very good, you can have your own program. You have to
sleep well. You should not cut short your sleep due to any kind of enthusiasm.
Yuktāhāravihārasya yuktaceṣṭasya
karmasu, yuktasvapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkhahā (Gita 6.17), says the
Bhagavadgita: moderate eating, neither in excess, nor to the point of
starvation; vihara: a diversion, a little change for your health also is
necessary – activity in a moderate manner – neither being excessively active
like a busy-body, nor a do-nothing; svapnavabodha: necessary sleep –
neither you oversleep, so that you may become dull and lethargic, nor you cut
short your sleep. That is to say, the sign of good sleep is that when you wake
up in the morning, you feel refreshed. If you have good sleep, you will wake up
refreshed.
The feeling at the time of
waking up from sleep is the indication of the condition of your health. When
you wake up in the morning, don’t jump up from your bed. Make it a point to sit
quietly for a few minutes. Close your eyes. The tamas of sleep has
ended, and the rajas of activity has not yet commenced. You are in the
middle, between the tamasic condition and the rajasic condition.
So, you may say, it is a flash of sattva that is available in the early
morning when you wake up.
The meditation should be along
the lines we have discussed. Actually, the quality of your thinking at the time
of your meditation is what is important. It is like a spark of fire. It is only
a momentary phenomenon, but yet it is radiant enough and sufficient for
igniting your enthusiasm.
With your determination,
coupled with proper understanding, you may be able to organise your day,
allotting enough time for sleep, for work, for diversion and some recreation,
and for meditation.
How do you improve the quality of your meditation?
Continue to read:
The Trident of the Sadhana Process - Chapter 12:Everything
About Spiritual Life by Swami Krishnananda
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