Where is the time?

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Where is the time?

Source: A discourse of Swami Ramtirtha in San Francisco, on February

15, 1903.http://narotamsharma.tripod.com/mypersonalsite/id121.html

 

Once a man came to Dr. Johnson and said, " Doctor, I am undone,

undone. I am unfit for any work; I cannot do anything. What can a

man do in this world. "

 

Dr. Johnson inquired what the matter was with him. He ought to lay

down reasons for his complaint, and this man began to state his

argument in this way, " Man lives in this world for a period of a

hundred years at the utmost, and what are a hundred years compared

with infinity, eternity. Half of this age is passed in sleep. You

know we sleep everyday, and our period of childhood is one long

sleep, and our period of old age is also a time of debility and

helplessness, when we can do nothing; again our period of youth is

misspent, ill-spent in evil thoughts, in all sorts of temptations.

Again what is left to us is spent in sporting about. We play a great

deal, and what is left out of that is wasted away in attending to

nature's calls, and in eating, drinking, etc., and what is left out

of that goes in anger, envy, anxiety, troubles and worries. These are

also natural for every man. What remains still, what little is left

to us, is taken up by attending to our children, left to our friends

and relatives. What can a man do in this world? We must weep for

those that die and we must rejoice at the birth of new arrivals. All

our time must be wasted in this way. How can a man do anything

solid, anything real? How can a man spare time to realizing

his God-head? We cannot. Away with these churches, away with these

religious teachers and preachers. Tell them that people in this

world cannot spare time for religion, they have no time for

realizing their God-head. That is too much for us. " Dr. Johnson did

not smile at these words, he did not reprimand this man nor

reproached him, but only began to week and began to sympathize with

him. He said, " Men ought to commit suicide, because they have no

time for godly professions. Brother! To this complaint of your, I

have another complaint to add, I have a worse complaint to add. "

 

This man asked Dr. Johnson to state his complaint. Dr. Johnson began

to mock cry and said, " Look here! There is left no soil or earth for

me; there is left no soil or earth which will grow corn enough to

feed me, I am undone, undone. " " Well, " he said, " Doctor, how could

that be? I admit that you eat too much, you eat as much as ten men

do, yet there is soil enough on the earth to produce food for your

stomach; there is earth enough to produce corn or vegetable for your

body. Why do you complain? "

 

Dr. Johnson said, " look here, what is this earth of yours ? This

earth is nothing, this earth is looked upon as a mathematical point

in astronomical calculations. When we are calculating the distances

of stars and suns, we regard this earth as nil, as a cipher (zero),

and three-fourths of this cipher or world is occupied by water, and

what is left out of that? Mark. A great deal is taken up by barren

sands, and a considerable part is taken up by barren hills and

stones, and a considerable part is taken up by lakes and rivers:

again a considerable part of this earth is occupied by sites of big

cities like London; again roads, railroads, streets take up a great

deal of this earth.

 

What is there in earth for man out of all that. But how many living

beings are there, who want to take advantage of the insignificant

part of the soil that is left? There are many birds, so many ants,

so many horses, so many elephants, all of these want to keep

themselves on the earth that is left and is capable of producing

anything. Very little falls to the lot of man! How many men are

there in this world? Look at London, full of millions and millions

of men; look at this enormous population. All these want to feed

upon the insignificant part of this big cipher or this world. How

can the earth produce food enough for my satisfaction? My logic

leads me to this desperation, to this sad conclusion that I should

die, because I can find no earth which can produce food to feed

me. " Now the man said, " Doctor, your argument is not right; your

logic seems to be all right, but still despite this logic of yours,

this earth can keep you. " And Dr. Johnson said, " Sir, if this

complaint of mine is groundless, your complaint that you have got no

time to supply yourself with spiritual food is also groundless. If

the earth is sufficient to supply me with material food, time also

is sufficient for your purpose. It can also supply you with spiritual

food. " Thus Rama makes the same answer to this question that the

present civilization does not allow us time to get any spiritual

food.

 

This question Rama answers in the same way as Dr. Johnson answered

that question many years ago. You have got time enough even under

these circumstances to advance spiritually; you have time enough, if

you make proper use of it.

Gokulmuthu Narayanaswamy <gokulmuthu