Srila Prabhupada writes that the seekers of the Absolute Truth are never allured by unnecessary engagements in sense gratification, because the serious students seeking the Absolute Truth are always overwhelmed with the work of researching the Truth.
Does that resonate a little bit? “I have so much service to do, there is no time.”
But sometimes we find that there is so much service to do that there is no time for sadhana (personal meditation). That’s not good. Sadhana is giving us the strength and the inspiration to do so much service. So the situation shouldn’t be that there is so much service that there is no time for sadhana.
But, in the category of sense gratification, there is no time or no place. Being engaged in sadhana is not just a matter of having things to do, because that mood is part of the mode of passion. Nor is it like people generally think, “Stay busy so you stay out of trouble.” Rather, our sadhana is specifically about inquisitiveness; when doing a service, consider, “How is this going to connect me to my eternal loving relationship with Krishna?” In our hearing, chanting our rounds, seeing the Deities, coming to mangala-arati, offering our food,etc., the mindfulness behind the activity is necessary. That’s protection from our residual tendency for sense gratification.
From a lecture by HH Romapada Swami titled "Six Questions, Six Answers Part 3", Seattle, November 2010
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