time management - post 1

[Guest guest]

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Many a times in the office as well outside, we say 'I do not have time to do

that, I can not do this for I do not have time etc'. But what we do is to waste

the time in doing certain useless things besides a host of good and useful

things. Particularly when it comes to do sandhyaa vandhanam for 10 minutes in

the evening, we offer this excuse, I am tired, I do not have time, I have to

attend to that this etc. Perhaps that '10 minutes time' we waste in seeing a TV

serial or some such thing.

 

On the other side, when it comes to doing certain important things, we are under

pressure to do these things within a certain time frame. Thereby this working

under pressure leads to physical plus mental stress. Then for we are forced to

do the same work within certain limits. That leads to inefficiency, less

productivity etc further adding to the stress and pressure.

 

This wasting of time on one side and then doing things under pressure both are

ruining the mind and creates lot of stress on the physical body. Once this

stress builds up other ways for relieving that is being resorted to. This is the

urban scenario.

 

On the other hand the rural or semi-urban scenario is, people have lot of time

to do things and there are not enough things to do. So they resort to playing

cards, thaayam, pallanguzhi etc, watching TV, which is not offering any kind of

physical exercise but a simple time killer.

 

That is why a 'management topic - viz. TIME MANAGEMENT, is introduced and lots

of people are trained in classrooms, workshops, seminars. It is also a fashion

nowadays that such management topics are being conducted by many a 'swamys'

whose names end in aanandhaas, having 'kaashaayam' robes. [Please do not be

surprised, for I have physically and mentally attended one such series in

Ahmedabad, and now I get regular invitation from that place]

 

Finally when it comes to the results, what they teach in these 'hifi' workshops

is to

* form simple habits [it is taught - managing your time is also a habit, not

managing your time is also a habit]

* prioritize your immediate tasks on hand for the day

* note all tasks what all you have to do in a day and then check back at the end

of the day whether all are done or something is remaining

* for each task assign a time and see that you finish that within that allocated

time

* have some cushion of time for unexpected things cropping up during the day

etc.

 

Dear bhakthaas, please do not think whether I am, also, conducting a Time

management workshop through the list. I do no think this is big vEdhaantha to be

taught by a swamy named --- aanandhaa.

 

Now read an aazhvaar saying how he manages his time.

 

thariththu irunthEn aagavE thaaraa gaNap pOr

viriththu uraiththa ven naagaththu unnai - theriththu ezhudhi

vaasiththum kEttum vaNangi vazhipattum

poosiththum pOkkinEn pOdhu. - 63 - naanmugan thiruvandhaathi

 

pOdhu - time

[this word pOdhu also has meanings of a flower bud, come

* pOdhu means a bud about to blossom,

* come - vaa - Eval vinai in tamil]

 

pOkkinEn pOdhu - I spent time

how

act no. 1 - unnai theriththu - learnt about you

act no. 2 - ezhudhi - started writing about you

act no. 3.- vaasiththu +um - reading about you [please note here the um - means

additionally, also - besides doing the above two additionally this reading also]

act no. 4 - kEttu + um - hearing about you - after doing above three, this also

act no. 5 - vaNangi - bowing to you

act no. 6 - vazhipattu + um - doing many prostration - added to the list above

this also.

act no. 7 - poosiththu + um - doing poojaas - continuously chanting your

sthuthi, sthOthrams, slOkams, and naamaas etc [after doing all these above six].

 

Now dear bhakthaas, just think whether any time will be left out in the day or

will be sparable by this person who does all these. Now you also check whether

this person who does all these manages his time properly.

 

For the words used here are 'pOkkinEn pOdhu' - sounds as though time is spent

just like that - or wasted. Is it really wasted? For, in general, when this

'pOkkinEn' word is used in that sense of 'wasting' or spending without any

result - with an aluppu - an in-built fatigue in whatever is said as next

kaaryam - work.

 

But when aazhvaar is doing THE RIGHT thing, can it be said 'pOkkinEn pOdhu' -

perhaps it implies, that, this is the way you have to spend the time, and not

with that usual 'aluppu'. On the other side see another aazhvaar saying on the

same pOdhu - time.

 

pOdhellaam pOdhu koNdu un ponnadi punaiya maattEn

theedu ilaa mozhigaL koNdu un thirugguNam seppa maattEn

kaadhalaal nenjam anbu kalandhilEn adhu thannaalE

EdhilEn arangarkku, ellE, en seivaan, thOnRinEnE. --- 26 thirumaalai

 

My dear ranganathaa, oh my lord, I will not do in 'time' whatever the other

aazhvaar said he is doing in 'time', even though I also have same available time

- pOdhu ellaam koNdu - as he has - any how I am also born. What I will not do

is a big list.

[that we will see translated in next post]

 

See what a 'contrast' in managing the time. Is it really? We will see more

points on these two verses in next.

 

Dhasan

 

Vasudevan m.g.