sri sri guru gauranga jayatah!
Issue 15, Fortnightly Centennial Edition
Posted: 26 January 2022
In honour of the centennial appearance year of
nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
Dedicated to and Inspired by
nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Māhārāja
Nāma-bhajana and Time Management
Excerpts from the upcoming book A True Servant, A True Master, a collection of letters from
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
Appearing in English for the first time
Know that if you can gain rapt absorption in śrī nāma, that is total perfection. “Niḥśvāse na hi viśvāsaḥ – there is no certainty in breath.” Time carries on. Using this time properly is imperative.
26/6/1975 (Letter 26)
Gradually, you should strive to perform every activity with conviction. Śrī Bhagavān will surely assist you. Time management is a special virtue particular to the devotees; they inhale and exhale to the pace of the ticking clock and practice śrī nāma. In the aṣṭa-kālīya yāma-sevā (service throughout the eight periods of the day), this has been specially explained.
26/6/1975 (Letter 26)
“Goṇā dina phurāiyā gelo – my days, numbered, have been exhausted.” Even though the time to feel this has not come, from time to time the cautionary words or warnings of Śrī Bhagavān, who is insurmountable destiny itself and the subduer of death, play like an alarm signal in our ears. That ear-splitting warning enters our hearts and creates an unspoken burning sense of awareness. “Uṭho re uṭho re bhāi, āra to’ samaya nāi – get up, get up, brother. There is no more time.” This statement echoes forever in the ears of our consciousness. Then the high-pitched call to advance on the path of spiritual life rings in our hearts, stubbing out the murmur and ruckus of the social, materialistic world. Hence, giving up all worldly duty and responsibility, we must move on to the path to Nava-vana, to Vraja-vana.
7/9/1975 (Letter 27)
Though I do not know your daily sādhana-bhajana routine, I am writing that you can get up early, at around 4 o’clock in the morning, bathe, and if possible, after bathing, complete your morning āhnika and then do maṅgala-ārātika of the deities. Later, after finishing your duties in the deity room, as time permits, you can chant some harināma – at least 25,000 [names]. If you have time before bathing, you can complete some [harināma] then too. If you can finish your deity worship early on in the morning, you will have a lot of free time, so you can appease your hunger before it’s too late, and then use this time to study a bit from some granthas. In the afternoon, after bhoga-ārati-kīrtana and ārati and putting the deities to sleep, you can rest a little. You could study a sacred text for a little while at this time as well. If that chance does not present itself, then after waking the deities and offering a cooling snack, you can study granthas without any worry. Then again, after sandhya-ārāti and after offering the deities their evening meal and putting them to sleep, you can rest. Those who are in the habit of getting out of bed as the sun is rising or during brāhma-muhurta have plenty of time to chant śrī nāma, worship the deities, and study devotional scriptures. Utilizing one’s time properly in this manner is the special routine of the sādhaka or sādhikā. If one who longs to perform hari-bhajana can follow this, all good fortune lies in store. I have written a rough outline. You can plan your services and time as is suitable for you.
20/8/1994 (Letter 119)
Translated by Rays of The Harmonist team
