April 10
Earthbound Time and Timeless Time
a lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York
Time: earthbound time and timeless time. When I look upward, I earn time. When I look forward, I utilise time. When I look inward, I save time. When I look backward, I waste time.
How do I use my time? I use my time serving sincere seekers. When do I use my time? I use my time when God commands my service and man, the aspirant, needs my light. There are only two things: time and life. Time is for life and life is of time. In life, we see God. In time, through time, we become consciously one with God.
Einstein, the world-renowned scientist, said something most striking: “When we sit with a nice girl for two hours, we think it is only for a minute. When we sit on a hot stove for a minute, we think it is for two hours. And that is relativity.”
In the spiritual world we come across a similar experience. When we go to a real spiritual Master and drink deep of his divine Peace, Light and Bliss for two hours, we feel we have been with him for only a fleeting minute. And when we sit on the stove of wild ignorance for just a fleeting second, we feel it is for an endless hour. This is spirituality, an eager aspirant's reality.
Bacon also said something striking: "To choose time is to save time." This is a most significant statement. Now, why do we choose time and how can we choose time? We can choose time by loving time. How can we love time? We can love time by meditating constantly on our life's promise to God. What is our life's promise to God? The promise is that God's Light Divine will grow and glow in human life.
What happens when we save time? Opportunity knocks at the door of Possibility, and Possibility knocks at the door of Inevitability. Possibility says to Opportunity while opening the door, “My child, you are wise.” Inevitability says to Possibility while opening the door, "My child, you are no longer your searching soul. Today you have become your fulfilling Goal."
“I am the mighty world devouring Time.” This message is from the Bhagavad-Gita, the Song Celestial sung by Lord Krishna. Now, we have to know what is actually devoured and destroyed — ignorance, limitation, bondage, imperfection and death. Sri Krishna has already told the human aspirant, Arjuna, why He has appeared on earth: “Whenever righteousness declines and unrighteousness prevails, I embody Myself, O Arjuna. To protect the good, to destroy the wicked and to establish dharma [the code of life], I come into being from age to age.”
In our day-to day human experience we very often feel that time destroys us. Herbert Spencer, on behalf of suffering humanity, says, "Time is that which man always tries to kill, but which ends in killing him." We try to kill time. But what actually happens is that time ultimately kills us, devours us. Our hopes are dashed, our desires are frustrated. When founded on insincerity, doubt, worries and anxieties, our aspiration unfortunately fails to bear fruit.
Earthbound time and timeless time. In our day-to-day life we use earthbound time. This time measures all our activities and can itself be measured — one hour, two hours, three hours. Again, one hour is divided into sixty minutes, one minute into sixty seconds. We can break earthbound time into pieces. We can pick the time; we can be on time. Early in the morning, at six o'clock, we will get up. At eight o'clock we shall be in the office. At eleven o’clock at night we will go to bed. Time is registering our life-activities.
But timeless time is totally different. It is like a river flowing into the sea, merging into the sea and finally becoming one with the sea. On the strength of its oneness, it becomes the boundless vast. Here the finite enters into the Infinite and loses itself. What happens when the Infinite plays its role in the finite?
"O Infinite, in the heart of the finite You are playing Your own melodies. In me is Your Revelation and Manifestation. Therefore ecstasy within, ecstasy without." India's greatest poet, Tagore, sang this.
Earthbound time. The body uses this time. The physical consciousness uses this time. The physical mind uses this time. We can use or misuse this time. But once we use or misuse it, this time is exhausted. We cannot get it back.
The soul uses boundless time. Infinity looms large in this time. And if we are consciously one with the soul, we can use the boundless time, the eternal time. We also can misuse it if we want to. But fortunately our soul will not permit us to misuse this time. And even if we do misuse it, the time still remains boundless, eternal.
In our earthbound time we observe one thing: today we have a headache, tomorrow time cures it. Today we suffer from some ailments, tomorrow we are cured. Time comes to our rescue. Similarly, our soul sees a disease in the earth-atmosphere. The soul itself has no disease, for it is beyond disease, beyond death. But in the earth-atmosphere the soul sees the most fatal disease of all, ignorance: ignorance within, ignorance without. The soul wants to put an end to this ignorance. That is, the soul feels that each human being can swim across the sea of ignorance and finally dive into the sea of the soul's infinite plenitude. The hour has to strike. When it does, it is up to us how we utilise this hour.
The Lord Buddha, teaching his disciples, was reading something from a sacred book. After a while he said, “The evening has set in,” and closed the book. Immediately his disciples realised that it was time for them to meditate, so they entered into meditation. On that particular day two newcomers, a thief and a woman of ill repute, had attended Lord Buddha’s discourse. The thief immediately decided that it was time for him to go and commit a theft. So he left the place. The woman of ill fame realised that it was time for her to go home and wait for her friends. And this she did. At the same hour a seeker of the infinite Truth enters into meditation, a thief does what he thinks best for him and a woman of ill repute does what she feels best for her.
In our spiritual life also, when the hour strikes, three different types of seekers play three different roles. There are lamentable seekers, able seekers and admirable seekers. Lamentable seekers are those who come to a spiritual Master out of curiosity, because they see that thousands of other seekers are flocking toward him. They have countless problems, and they feel that the moment they come to a spiritual Master all their problems will be solved: family problems, financial problems and other kinds of problems.
The able seekers have faith in themselves and faith in God, fifty per cent each. They feel that God is pleased with them, and showers His choice blessings on them just because they meditate. They feel that their realisation is due in part to their personal effort and in part to God’s Grace, and they are happy when they finally reach their Goal.
The admirable seekers feel that their realisation has taken place precisely because God has showered infinite Grace on them. They feel it is God's Grace that has enabled them to realise the highest Truth. Their prayer is, “O God, fulfil Yourself in and through us. If You want us to remain unrealised, unknown and imperfect, we are fully prepared. If You want us to realise the highest Truth, to enter into Infinity, Eternity and Immortality, then we are also prepared to do this. Our only prayer is to please You, to fulfil You, the way You want to be pleased and fulfilled. We reject all personal choice. It is Your Choice that we want in our life. We have one aim, one goal: to fulfil You in Your own Way, at Your own Golden Hour.”
Published in Eastern Light for the Western Mind
Madal Circus gives me the Utmost Joy
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
a Madal Circus, York College, Jamaica, New York
Dear ones, Madal Circus gives me the utmost joy, purer than the purest joy. Our philosophy is progress, progress, progress, progress. Let us not change our philosophy! I am begging you to remain young, young, young. Only the young in spirit will realise God. Remember, no matter how old you are, whether you are sixty years old, seventy years old or an octogenarian, if you are not participating, then you are not doing the right thing.
Cast aside lethargy, cast aside unwillingness! I will never, never make fun of your performance — never. That I do not do. When there are clowns we laugh, but as far as serious performances are concerned, I do not expect you to be like a Chinese circus or another professional circus. Your standard will not be examined. Your willingness is the most essential thing. Your willingness is the only thing I need. I do not expect you to be acrobats or performers of the highest order. That I do not expect. What I expect from you is only willingness, willingness, willingness — cheerfulness and willingness. If you have cheerfulness and willingness, then you have given me everything, everything, everything.
If you have already performed and you have more energy at your disposal, then please perform again! If you feel that you can do something else, then please do it, by all means. Be a flowing river! I will be very happy.
Published in His Compassion is Everything to Us
