Time Bound

sadananda sada at ANVIL.NRL.NAVY.MIL
Wed Jun 25 13:38:30 CDT 1997


>                                            srim
>
>Namste!
>
>I think in spiritual pursuit any activity that is time bound is futile.
>
>Assuming human span of life 100 years (not too many people live that long
>anyway) each day we spend almost 10 hours commuting and working to live
>comfortably, 6 to 8 hours rest (sleep) and remaining hours entertaining to
>relax.  Out of this 24 hours we set aside hardly an hour for spirituality.
> Something is better than nothing atleast we spend an hour remembering our
>ishta devata.  Some people say they meditate an hour a day.  How do they know
>the hour is complete unless they put an alaram clock next to them to remind.
> Under those conditions how can anybody concentrate?
>As long as there are responsibilites, self imposed or imposed by others in
>the name of society it is not possible to renounce and be detached.
>
>If one desires self realization (I konw it is not the correct phrase) one
>must renounce time bound activities.    Any of you would like to share your
>thoughts.   Sada, Iam anxious to know your views also.
>
>Shubham                                                              Nageswar
Namste!


Nagy -
Here is my understanding:
 First, any pursuit including spiritual pursuit (or sadhana) itself
involves an action, physical or mental or both,  and this includes
meditation.  All actions are time bound from physics point.  Realization is
knowledge and it is not time-bound since it ever exists.  I am that I am -
existence and consciousness and happiness that I am is eternal.  Since I
have mistaken notions about my self as that I am limited, ignorant and
unhappy, I need to re-educate my self about my self in order for me to drop
these notions about my self. Even when I am told with all the logic, I am
the subject and not an object, I take myself to be this body, mind and
intellect which are objects.  The block is caused by the impurity which
blocks my true vision about myself. These impurities called vasanas which
were accumulated by the ego-centric actions can only be removed by the
ego-centric actions - or Sadhana or spiritual pursuits
Hence to answer your question, spiritual pursuits which are time bound are
needed to purify the mind so that it will drop all the notions when it is
told that - tat tvam asi or aham Brahmaasmi etc.

You are right,  from realization point it is immediate and now and
therefore not-time bound - Recognize even time is a concept of the mind or
thought.  I am consciousness of even the time.  That means even the time is
in my consciousness like the thought is, the world is etc.

That is the glory of the advaita teaching.  Moksha is not the result of
going any where (Vaikunta or Kailaasa), doing any thing which can be gained
only after death of this physical body.  If Moksha is worth the effort, we
want it now and here not sometime in future which involves time!

>From the point of now and here, time does not exist, since to define time
you need two sequential events (can be two thoughts) with a single observer
to recognize the events.  The observer who is a conscious entity is beyond
the events or beyond the time.

>From my true nature, any pursuit is meaningless including meditation.
Dattatreya says in Avadhuta Geeta:
"aham dhyaata param dhyeyam akhandam khandate katham?"
"I am the  meditater and this is to be meditated upon - how can you divide
that which is indivisible? "

Hari Om!
Sadananda



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