Do It Now! A nice article.

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Do It Now!

 

You cannot depend upon tomorrow. Whatever good you wish to do tomorrow, do it

now. Whatever noble thought you wish to think, or grand feeling you want to

entertain, or charity you wish to do, tomorrow, do it now. Whatever great, or

spiritual person you wish to meet, or whatever inspiring book you desire to

read, or whatever discipline you intend to take upon yourself in order to obtain

divine experience tomorrow, do it now. Whatever prayer you wish to say, or

whatever meditation you wish to practise, or whatever wonderful work you wish to

undertake tomorrow, do it now.

 

Because tomorrow your mind may change, or the opportunity may be lost. The dark

force, the embodiment of the negative power in the world, may quickly lead you

into some easy pleasure, or some temptation or mislead you in any one of the

thousands undetectable ways. As a rule, the dark force that destroys success in

a good thing, is exceptionally vigilant, dynamic and cunning. It may mislead you

with the best of intentions, or even in the name of God. It did not spare even

great Saints, and we form its easy victims. Even if, by some Grace of God, the

dark force fails to trouble us, by tomorrow, we may have some physical

complaint, or some misfortune, or some disability, some new development in

circumstances or find ourselves in new situations, which make it impossible for

us to do any good or think of God. There are so many of so very little

noticeable possibilities which can cut us off from all that is good or great or

wonderful. Everyday, we find in the world, instances of people who

have, by delay in doing, lost golden opportunities of attainment, and live in

regret that it is too late to fulfil the good they planned to do. We don’t lack

around us, examples of those who have passed away from the scene of life,

without bringing to a success their most cherished of wishes, ideas and plans of

doing good. We can never depend upon tomorrow. This hour is in our hand, and is

to be fully and quickly used for the noblest of things we can do. If once we

postpone a good thing , and say, ‘tomorrow’, that forms a tendency and a habit,

and we would be always saying, ‘tomorrow’, ‘tomorrow’, and that tomorrow never

comes. Therefore, all good things let us go on doing immediately. This is the

secret of progress, success, attainment.

 

A good impulse, denied immediate fulfilment, can be lost, or weakened, leaving

us poorer for it, in everyway. The good that is instantly done, awakens

something more of the latent goodness in us, strengthens the good tendencies,

and causes new and greater opportunities for doing more good, and thus makes our

life richer in resources, in wealth, in prosperity, in success, in light, in

inner power. One good leads to another. One good brings another, and thus, the

good is multiplied. One delay makes another delay, and the matters go out of

course for a long period of time, even when attempts are made to check it. The

moment a good thing is quickly done, we are at once free for doing something

other, something better, and bigger, and the circumstances for it will also

arise. When one brick is added to another, with unbroken succession, at last a

whole grand citadel stands before us. Therefore, use all your resources and

talents in doing today, now, whatever good, or grand, or noble, or

great, or right, or quite necessary, thing you wish to do tomorrow, or some

time later.

 

Whatever is not good, not divine, not grand, not right, not valuable, not quite

necessary, not conducive to evolution and growth, not correct in the eyes of the

all-seeing God, let us postpone, keep it for tomorrow. And, if it is really not

good, not grand, you can be sure the accidents of time will postpone it further,

or give you no circumstance to do it, and thus, save you from an error. If you

have to misunderstand someone, postpone it: time may show you that that

misunderstanding would have been unfounded, and harmful to yourself and your own

interests. If you have to criticise someone, keep it pending: time may show you

that that other one had never made the mistake, and your criticism would have

been most unjust. If you have to react to something negative, delay it. Time

will have washed it away, without your effort to clean it; and, you are doubly

rich; for, you have in the meantime built up something positive, something good,

something grand. And there, on the other hand,

time has served you faithfully by eliminating the negative force.

 

Do it at once, - if you have to give someone a kind word, or a generous gift, or

good news, or an act of service, or a helping hand, or the aid of a prayer, or

the gesture of best wishes. Be a builder, and let all the light, all the love,

all the joy, all the prosperity, all the glory, all the blessedness be yours. Be

uncompromisingly good: this is your great wealth, great power, great

goodfortune. Do everything good, quickly, beautifully, energetically,

selflessly, nobly. Goodness and dynamism, - these two are the secrets of quick

success, growing prosperity, attractive personality, healthy body, youthful

appearance, peaceful mind, happy life.

 

Let us not lose even a single opportunity to serve, to sacrifice, to help a

great cause, to give, to do good, or to be good, or to progress spiritually.

Whatever is good, do it now, with utmost enthusiasm. This is the first principle

of positive, dynamic, successful, happy, living.

 

 

 

 

Santharam Ramanujadasa