Living Twenty Four Hours a Day
Prof. Hazara Singh
Living 24
hours a day implies to make the best use of available time through proper
co-ordination of work, rest and leisure.
It often ensures greatness in pages of history. Those unable to extend their routine beyond
eating, roaming and sleeping become either a source of nuisance or a burden on
society.
The qualities
which make one’s work productive, the rest recuperative and the leisure
fruitful are regular habits, methodical nature, imaginative mind, clear head
and co-operative attitude. The antitheses get inflicted through indolence,
casualness, unsteadfastness and narrow mindedness. Let us illustrate these observations.
A boy was
given to grumbling that he did not have enough time to attend to various
assignments. His father advised,
“Make your day longer.”
The son shot back,
“The day consists of twenty four hours only.
It can’t be stretched like a rubber band.”
The experienced elder observed,
“If you get up early, the day will get longer
correspondingly.”
The son
learnt a valuable lesson. He gave up
lolling in bed. He would start his work
with a fresh mind. He was able to
attend to his studies with a sense of achievement. This earned a pat from his parents and a smiling nod from
teachers. The self-confidence lent him
steadfastness. He could spare time to
take part in extra-curricular activities also and, thus, learnt the value of
team-spirit. What a change in his
growing up! From a lad doomed to become
a delinquent, he rose to be a promising offspring.
Hence the
first moral of a full life: ‘Idleness retards, earnestness rewards’.
Many people
waste a lot of time in offering excuses that they could not do this or that for
paucity of time, unfavourable weather, indisposition, etc. Methodical approach to work saves a lot of
time. Where there is a will, there is a
way. Hence, it does not hold that
inclement weather or a slight indisposition could stand in the way of attending
to an obligation. It had been mainly
due to casual attitude or the habit of putting off till next day what could be
done on that very day, rather that very moment, which resulted in cutting a
sorry figure before friends. Stray
actions constitute irregular habits, which develop into an unsteady
character. As time and tide wait for
none, persons given to indolence and casualness seldom rise to the
occasion. They are looked down upon as
men of straw. Those who catch time by
the forelock keep rising high on the ladder to success with a sense of
gratification for themselves and also become a source of inspiration for
others.
Hence the
second moral: ‘The opportunities not availed of reflect a wasted life’.
Nature has blessed every creature with
certain innate qualities. Strive to
discover those inborn gifts and leave no stone unturned to develop them into
excellence. Once, a clear idea gets
formed about the goal, the imaginative mind acts like a fountainhead of energy,
patience and fortitude. H.G. Wells lost his father during infancy. His mother, who supported him by working as
a house maid, could only think of getting him trained as a shop assistant with
a cloth merchant. Wells aspired to
become a science teacher. He weighed
the pros and cons. His mother had
deposited her hard earned money for his apprenticeship charges. In case he did not pursue the training, the
fees aid would go waste to her bitter disappointment. If he abided by her wishes, an uneasy feeling would continue to
gnaw his mind that he was destined for some other position in life. On receiving encouragement from one of his
teachers, he gave up that training for pursuing education. Sobs of the windowed mother did not weaken
his resolve. Poverty did not deter him,
because God helps those who help themselves.
He rose to be a distinguished man of letters who innovated science
fiction. As a founder member of Fabian
Society, he popularised scientific temper, which shows the path to people at
large for discarding superstitions, re-evaluating the myths and re-appraising
the old beliefs for enriching human life.
Abraham Lincoln, another benefactor of humanity, by dint of qualities
mentioned afore, rose from Log Cabin to White House. The world would have been poorer in thought and deeds, had
persons like Abraham Lincoln and Wells not heeded to their inner voice and been
lulled, instead, to a life of ease by ordinary achievements.
The third
moral:‘Resolve to leave the world nobler and richer than the one in which you
were born by developing your innate qualities through precept and practice’.
The Indian
society would have been still stagnant and slave had there not been reformers
like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, gifted with the
qualities of head and heart.
‘Work is
worship’ is a golden saying. But
worship must have a purpose; lofty and noble.
Lord Buddha preached that ignorance was the worst sin. Louis Pasteur exclaimed that selfless
service of mankind was a sublime form of worship. Bhagat Puran Singh, Mother Teresa and Baba Amte, the conscience
keepers of resurging India, have upheld this gospel. Strive to lead a full life, but learn to share its fruit with the
needy through social service by helping the cause of education, health-care
rehabilitation of the displaced, etc.
Even if you are leading a retired life, find time to counsel the
wayward, cheer the gloomy and comfort the distressed. This mode of service is more redeeming than seeking renunciation
for individual salvation. The concept
of a welfare state calls for the collective improvement of present. Never let
the feeling enter your mind that a single swallow cannot make the summer. It is likely that a few people may ridicule
your sense of service. The greatest
quality of a social reformer is his faith that talent and experience, when
shared increase in quantity and improve in quality. Hence the last moral in this context:
‘If nobody responds to your call,
Keep marching alone on your path of duty.
Your own people may ridicule you.
Do not worry about that’.
Remember that the scientific age would not have set in, if a few fearless research workers had not braved the wrath of Roman Catholic Church and consequent ridicule by the mob. Stick to your tryst with destiny with faith and hope for imparting glory to human life.