The Value of TimeRead

Respecting Time Means Respecting Life

We speak easily of passing time, without noticing that our own life is passing with it. Losing time without purpose is no small matter when we could have used it to learn, listen to someone's sorrow, or fulfil a responsibility. The value of life is not determined only by how many years we live. We must also consider what we improved within ourselves and how another being benefited from our presence during the time we received.

In the explanation of verse 10.30 in Part 10 of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, the author has written, “Respecting time means respecting God.” Seeing time only in the hands of a clock does not reveal its full meaning. Change occurs within time, opportunities appear, and the consequences of action emerge. A person who respects time therefore also respects life's opportunities. Such a person does not treat today as something so cheap that it can be surrendered to any pointless attraction.

Look at your day and ask yourself what you gave your time to. Did it deepen your understanding, fulfil a responsibility, bring restraint to your mind, or support another being? If hours left you with only dissatisfaction, hostility, and fresh desires, reconsider your choices. Being busy is not, by itself, proof of a meaningful life. The direction of the work and the intention behind it also matter.

Gaining something does not mean only earning money. Clearing a misunderstanding through reading is also a gain. Sitting beside an elderly person and listening is meaningful too. Time spent serving a helpless creature also gives life meaning. Dismissing an activity as fruitless because its value cannot be counted in money reveals a limitation in our understanding. The Gita's teaching about working for the welfare of all beings presents this broader view.

This does not mean keeping the body working every moment. Part 6 discusses maintaining awareness of God in both action and rest. Necessary rest cannot be called wasted time. The concern is the carelessness in which we no longer know to whom, or for what purpose, we are giving our time. Let responsibility, study, service, and rest have a place in life; do not mistake endlessly pursuing desires for life's achievement.

Results Come in Their Own Time

Along with valuing time, we need to understand its order. In the section “Shri Radha-Krishna Darshan” of the book Krishna Ki Radha, Shri Krishna tells the deities, “Just as trees flower and bear fruit in their own seasons, the fruits of actions also appear in their own time. No fruit comes before its time, and no action remains without a consequence.” Our impatient minds need to pause and understand this.

We often want the desired result immediately. We make an effort and expect success that very moment; a desire arises and we expect circumstances to change accordingly. When this does not happen, restlessness grows. In that restlessness, we may forget the distinction between right and wrong. If the urge to obtain something quickly leads us towards deceit, anger, or harming another, we have lost more than patience: we have also misdirected our actions.

The explanation of verse 5.23 in Part 5 discusses restraining the force of desire and anger. It is written there, “In anger, a person commits acts that may be regretted for a lifetime.” When a result is delayed, we should first steady our mind. Acting wrongly out of impatience does not save time. Such an act adds a burden that must later be carried.

Results arriving in their own time does not mean sitting idle. The example of a tree's fruit teaches patience about results; it does not release us from responsibility. The explanation in Part 6 views even ploughing a field, preparing food, serving others, and reading and writing through the understanding of karma yoga. We must complete the proper work before us. In our haste for results, we must preserve the integrity of that work and the dignity of our conduct.

We therefore need to hold two things together. Do not delay beginning a good action, and do not become impatient for its reward. Study can begin today, while understanding must be allowed to deepen. Service can be offered today, without demanding recognition in return. A fault can be recognised today, while correcting it will require continued practice. This is patience that includes both action and attention to one's own mind.

Give Available Time to Understanding

While explaining the teaching of the Lord in verse 5.22 of Part 5, the author has said, “Playing games on a mobile phone or spending hours on social media is wasting time.” This warning concerns a mind that becomes enslaved to passing attractions. One item follows another, one scene replaces another, and a person loses track of time. We should stop and examine what remains within us after all of this.

Do not accept everything encountered on social media as true simply because it is shown repeatedly. We are not exercising discernment when we become entangled in false and unsupported claims, pass them to others, or remain angry because of them. Towards what achievement is time spent on such material leading us? If it only increases distraction and bitterness, we need to step away from that company.

Give some of the time available after essential responsibilities to understanding books, scriptures, and sacred texts. In the explanation of verse 5.23 in Part 5, it is clearly written, “These can also be overcome through uplifting company and the reading of scriptures.” The subject here is overcoming desire and anger. Reading is more than a means of gathering information; it can become an opportunity to examine our desires, reactions, and the direction of our life.

Becoming familiar with a book's words and giving them a place in life are different things. If we read about restraint yet remain just as impulsive, or read about compassion yet remain untouched by someone's suffering, we need to reflect again on what we read. Part 5 connects self-knowledge with a transformation of heart and conduct. Therefore, test what you read against your behaviour as well. Do not collect knowledge merely to recite it to others.

Why wait until every worldly demand disappears before beginning this study? We can start by recovering some of the time lost in pointless entanglements. Read a passage attentively, understand its meaning, and consider where it applies in your life. Do not declare that you understand what remains unclear. Study also requires patience; rushing to acquire wisdom would contradict the very lesson we are reading.

Time Given to Service Is Not Wasted

Life's spare time is not only for our entertainment. Around us are elderly people, others who need assistance, cows, and other animals and birds. Giving compassion a place in our conduct towards them is also a worthy use of time. Explaining “sarva-bhuta-hite ratah” in Part 5, verse 5.25, it is said that such wise people “find joy in the welfare of all living beings.” This feeling asks us to look beyond our own convenience.

Serving elderly people should not be treated merely as a formal family obligation. In the explanation of verse 6.31 in Part 6, it is written, “When he serves the elderly, he feels that he is serving God.” This understanding changes the meaning of service. The person before us ceases to be an interruption to our time; their need becomes an opportunity for our own action. Sitting beside them, listening, and assisting within our capacity are not activities outside life.

The same compassion should extend to cows and other animals and birds. How can we speak of the welfare of “all beings” while excluding them from our concern? Notice their needs and serve according to your capacity and proper understanding. Restricting life to our own hunger, comfort, and wishes does not develop the breadth of outlook discussed in the Gita. Sensitivity towards those who cannot speak for themselves also tests our conduct.

Do not call service fruitless because it brought no money, fame, or praise. If personal benefit stands behind every act of assistance, where is selfless intention? The truly wise do not live only for their own welfare. They also find joy in the welfare of others. If available time helped ease another's suffering, it would be wrong to describe that time as having gone empty.

Nor should reading and service be kept in separate compartments. Let scripture develop an understanding of compassion, and let service bring that compassion into action. If we read in a book that God is present in all beings and then go outside and treat a creature as worthless, the purpose of reading remains unfulfilled. This is the teaching of Part 6: devotion should extend beyond the time set aside for worship. Its influence should appear in our work, relationships, and conduct.

Why Postpone Good Work Until Old Age?

Do not dismiss these matters by saying that reading, devotion, and service belong to old age. No one can say with certainty that old age will come for them and that they will then be able to perform every good action they wish. Why surrender the opportunities of the present to an uncertain future? The explanation in Part 5 says, “This very life is the field of spiritual practice.” Apply these words to today.

Greatness does not require waiting for old age. Prahlad is an example. The explanation of verse 10.30 in Part 10 describes his fearless devotion, unwavering faith, compassion, and forgiveness even as a child. He did not abandon his faith in adverse circumstances. This religious narrative shows that becoming elderly is no prerequisite for remaining steadfast in truth and devotion.

The account of Upamanyu in chapter “20: Shiva in the Form of Indra” of Madhavshiv points in the same direction. His devotion begins in childhood, and its centre gradually shifts from his own desire to Lord Shiva. Even when temptation appears, he does not change his chosen Lord. The book describes him as later becoming a great teacher of the understanding of Shiva. That direction in his life had already begun in childhood, without waiting for old age.

These accounts do not mean that every great life completes its work at the same age. The point is that we need not wait to grow older before laying the foundations of a higher life. Prahlad's steadfastness and Upamanyu's devotion encourage us to recognise our own present opportunity. We too should begin truthfulness, study, restraint, and service according to our capacity. Discussing other people's lives becomes useful when it brings a good change in our own.

Let our resolve about time be clear. Do not waste life in entanglements that neither strengthen discernment nor serve anyone's welfare. Do not act wrongly in haste for results. Use the time available to fulfil responsibilities, read books, serve the elderly, and show compassion towards cows and other animals and birds. There is no need to summon old age before doing good. Time is before us now; our actions must honour it now.