Time and Tide Wait for No Man

Time and tide indeed wait for no man. The relentless wheel of time goes rolling on pulverizing everything in its path. Great civilizations come and go. Mighty hero's names are vibrated on every street corner and then they vanish into oblivion never to be heard of again.

But yet we desire eternality. Why is that?

Because we are eternal. Because we are part and parcel of the eternal Supreme Person, we share His same quality of eternality. This is confirmed in the Katha Upanisad as follows:

nityo nityanam --"There is a singular eternal amongst the plural eternals."

While our material identity is being eroded at every second by the influence of time, our spiritual identity can never be destroyed. Therefore instead of trying to find the eternality we desire in this material existence (a foolish waste of time), we should realize our eternal nature on the spiritual platform, the plane of our actual existence, by engaging ourselves in our natural constitutional activity of devotional service to the Lord.

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: How to Fully Enjoy Krishna's Blessings?...

Let me tell you of my case in particular, so that by your experience I can see things clearly and I can engage my actions in life properly.

I have two jobs and I am practically gone from home for 12 hours a day. I live with my wife and two beautiful children ages 2 and 7.

A few years ago, Krishna came into my life when a devotee sold me a copy of the Bhagavad-gita. At that time a wonderful light dawned in my life, and I have been reading the Bhagavad-gita and other writings of Srila Prabhupada ever since.

But the daily routine and the burden, the economic problems and the stress that is produced from all this, even though it doesn't draw me away from Krishna, it doesn't allow me to enjoy fully His blessings.

I would like you to guide me in my path, keeping in mind my life's activities which I cannot renounce (i.e. family, work).

I thank you for your illumination. Hare Krishna.

Your student

Answer: Use Every Spare Minute in His Service...

There is no question that your difficult material situation can prevent from experiencing fully the Lord's blessings. A devotee experiences everything, both pleasant and unpleasant, as the Lord's blessings. You simply how to see how Krishna has put you into a difficult situation in this material world to remind you that this is not your actual home, that your actual home is with Him in the spiritual sky. If you will fully utilize every spare second of the free time you have now to engage yourself in Krishna conscious activities, such as reading, chanting, and visiting your nearest ISKCON center, you will be amazed at how Krishna will give you more and more free time to engage directly in Krishna conscious activities. In this way you can gradually completely purify your consciousness and become a fully self-realized soul.

Are you chanting japa regularly and strictly following our regulative principles? They are: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat eating, and no gambling. They must strictly be avoided by all those desiring to achieve spiritual perfection.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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