Giving Our Best Time

We always try to give that time to the Father which is no use to us at all. When we are rejected by society, by our children, by our friends, then we want to devote our time to the Father. But we have to give the best time of our life to the Father.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Why is it so hard to give the best time of our life to the Master? When we are at the prime of our life and in the peak of good health, why is it such a struggle to carve out a solid, consistent segment of the day to devote to our meditation? Everything else seems more important – our families, careers and other worldly interests. We tend to prioritize them over our meditation, many times cutting sessions in half, and completing the rest of our time later in the day. Sometimes we even forget to complete our ‘shortage’ because at the end of the day we are too tired or too distracted to sit still. The world pulls at us so strongly and so urgently that we give in to the mind repeatedly. Before long, we will find ourselves at the tail end of our lives, and in a situation where our bodies are not in the best form for meditation.

At some point in our lives as satsangis, we realize that in order to fully appreciate the gift of initiation and the great blessing of Nam, we have to make a sincere effort to change. Indeed, we have to find it in ourselves to shift from responding to the world to responding to our spiritual potential and developing true devotion. We do this by taking our meditation seriously.

Unless we discipline our mind, it will always find excuses not to sit in meditation. We have been regular in our other daily activities: “I have a time to go to the office, I have a time to go to lunch, I have a time to have a cup of coffee, I have a time to walk in the evening, I have a time to sleep” – then why not also have a time for meditation? That should become part of our life, part of our daily routine. If we discipline our mind, then every day we won’t miss meditation.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Meditation is an activity that is antagonistic to the mind’s pleasure-loving tendency. In meditation, we aspire to keep the mind still. The mind is always moving and seeking pleasure – that is its nature. This is the primary reason for our difficulty in meditation. And this is why it is so easy to rationalize to ourselves why we procrastinate and delay fulfilling this vow in favour of the million other seemingly important but actually mundane things we have to do.

Earnest dedication, sincerity and love for the Master motivate us to attend to our spiritual practice. Through meditation we connect with the Shabd, even if for long periods we feel nothing but difficulty and darkness. We must persevere and reach the eye centre – the place where all the action begins. For when we are able to taste the sweetness of Nam, even for a brief period, we will realize and experience the truth in all the teachings.

We must do our meditation honestly and with genuine commitment. Giving the best time of our day in the prime of our life to this vow, and to other spiritual activities such as satsang and seva, is essential to our spiritual life. Each activity supports and reinforces the other, keeping us in an environment steeped in remembrance of our Master.