Tuesday, May 28, 2013

(May 28,2013) Daily routine – A program for your day

Daily routine – a program for your day
Divine Life Society Publication: Chapter 12:Everything About Spiritual Life by Swami Krishnananda

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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