“In the tender age of childhood, when everyone is bewildered, one passes ten years. Similarly, in boyhood, engaged in sporting and playing, one passes another ten years. In this way, twenty years are wasted. Similarly, in old age, when one is an invalid, unable to perform even material activities, one passes another twenty years wastefully.” (Prahlada Maharaja, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.6.7)

Download this episode (right click and save)

मुग्धस्य बाल्ये कैशोरे
क्रीडतो याति विंशतिः
जरया ग्रस्त-देहस्य
यात्य् अकल्पस्य विंशतिः

mugdhasya bālye kaiśore
krīḍato yāti viṁśatiḥ
jarayā grasta-dehasya
yāty akalpasya viṁśatiḥ

1. Running

“Sorry I missed your call. I was out running this morning. The area is perfect for such exercise. No one was on the roads. The cool, crisp air benefits the lungs, if you ask me. Don’t worry, I will still have plenty of energy to accomplish tasks during the rest of the day. We are still on target to hang out later.”

2. Joining a club

“Sorry I missed your call. I recently joined a book club. We meet twice a week. It is nice to get out and socialize. Yes, the family is okay with it. They do not mind. I like spending time with others, who are peers in a sense. My daily life is too stressful to stay at home all the time.”

3. Drinking at the tavern

“Sorry I missed your call. We were at the usual hangout spot. I had not been there in several weeks. People began to worry. They sarcastically threatened to have the police put out an APB. Anyway, perhaps we can meet up sometime next week to talk.”

4. Traveling around the world

“Sorry I missed your call. I was actually out of the country. I went to visit that relative of ours. They send their regards. It was nice to visit a new place, to feel invigorated by taking in sights.”

5. Working around the house

“Sorry I missed your call. I was doing some work in the backyard. It took the entire day. I am so tired now. Yes, this is the weekend. Why do you ask? I am sure not going to do this during the weekdays. I am otherwise too occupied.”

…

You are attending the funeral of a person you grew up with. They are around the same age as you, and their departure is described as both sudden and unexpected. The only difference is that these sudden departures seem to be occurring more and more frequently. Perhaps people should begin to expect them, to anticipate the possibility in advance.

Amidst the sadness and shared grief, you can’t help but review aspects which immediately preceded the departure. These are aspects of daily life. These are the struggles, the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, the retrospectives, and the concerns that every person deals with.

That is, only while a person is alive. Once life is over, do any of these matter anymore? That long-term planning involving a vacation. That proposed future meeting with friends. The amount of money earned from the occupation. Occupation itself, in choosing what to do for a living. The petty arguments which tear apart friendships and families.

None of those matter any more. Since you are keenly aware that the same fate awaits every single person, in the guaranteed nature of death, you can’t help but ponder along the following lines:

“Does any of that stuff matter? If it no longer matters right now, after my friend has departed, why did it matter when they were alive? I am living right now, but perhaps these things I am focused on are also lacking value. Is it a good use of time to invest so many resources into that which has short-lived relevance?”

The bhagavata-dharma tradition of spirituality already accounts for such a review. The entirety of the typical life experience is put into something like a pie chart. A certain slice for eating. Another slice for sleeping. Playing and enjoying.

We can create a similar pie chart dividing the various stages of life, such as childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age. The idea is that we already have so much over which to contemplate. It is not difficult to occupy the time. The time will certainly pass, but where is the attention to spiritual life?

Why is not at least one slice reserved for such contemplation? If we think about it, spiritual life is the most important issue to ponder. This is the verdict of Prahlada Maharaja, and it aligns with common sense, logic, reasoning, and history as it has thus far been charted.

But who will listen? Who will take notice? We see from the above review that we can further divide the activities in play into so many categories. I am desperate to tell my friends and relatives, wishing them well, about the need for genuine spiritual life, for contemplating on the afterlife, for considering that which has endurance over that which does not.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः ।
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ॥

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)

The problem is that they will not listen to me. I have no stature of which to speak. What secret to life do I know about? Why should I be taken seriously? Hiranyakashipu did not listen to his own son. Prahlada was only five years old, but he tried to get the father to turn in the proper direction.

It is for such reasons that acharyas find ways to distribute their influence. This is to keep the chain going, which has a link to the Almighty. It is Divine wisdom, passed down in the manner of the transfer from Krishna to Arjuna, as noted in Bhagavad-gita.

The people to whom I wish well may not have the time to listen. They may be so busy in this affair and that. It is like they refuse to sit still. They have no peace of mind, but if they even accidentally stumble upon sacred wisdom, as found in Vedic literature and kindly distributed for the benefit of mankind, then everything can change for the better.

In Closing:

“Don’t bother me, bro,
Still mad respect though.

Kinda occupied right now,
Relevant is religion how?”

The acharya still breaking through,
Distributing their influence to.

Those desperate alike,
Before time’s final strike.

Categories: the five

Tags: god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, procrastination, religion