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Hare Krishna to all the Vaishnavas,

Please accept my humble obesiances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

The following is an excerpt from the lecture of HG Gopinatha Chandra Prabhu. I find it useful to share. Although we know all the principles of bhakti, but sometimes what we lack in our life is proper discipline and time management. And because of that our progress in bhakti hampers. So, this is a very useful lecture.

Time management techniques

A teacher entered a classroom with an empty jug and then filled the jug with big rocks. And asked the students whether it is full or not. Students repiled that it is full. Then the teacher brought smaller stones and they occupied the space between the rocks. Then again asked that whether it is full or not? The students replied that yes it is full. After that the teacher pour sand and the sand occupies the smaller gaps between stones. And then students said that actually now it is full. Then the teacher pour the water and the jug could not hold the water. Then the teacher said that now it is actually full. Then teacher asked the students what will happen if we do this process in reverse i.e putiing the big rocks at the last? Their will no space for the rocks. Then the teacher asked that what do you learn from this? The students said that this is the time management class.

So, what is the lesson to be learned. The lesson is If we compare the jar with the total amount of time that we have in our lives and we compare the different commodities that is pt into the jar to the different activities we perform in our time. Then what is to be understood is depending upon the order in which we place our activities. Depending upon how we plan our activities with in the time that we have to that extent we will be able to manage our time very nicely. We can fit into more activites into same amount of time and achieve more in this life.

Now in what order the activities has to be fixed in the jar of time? Just like when the big rocks where put into the jar first, the jar could be filled up with more number of things. But when the big rocks where kept towards the end, the jar could not be filled up with all the things. So, similarly time managements expert says that we have to identify the most important activity in our life first and rest of the activities can be scheduled.

Another very interesting concept which comes in time management is Time management metrics. All the activities we perform can be divided into 4 quadrants.

1) Urgent activities and important activities: For example a student having the exam next day. For him studying is the most urgent and important activity.

2) Not urgent but important: Student going to study for exam which is 1 month later. So, here studying is not urgent but important.

3) Activities that are urgent but not important: For example a phone call is coming, it is urgent to pich up the phone, but may be not important call. Practically billboards in Mumbai are promoting urgent but not important activities. That is the whole propaganda of advertisement industry. A new movie has come in the market and there is an urge that I have to see as soon as possible. It seems to be very urgent. A person addicted to ciggarate, feels smoking as urgent. Most activities of the modern civilization can be categorised into this quadrant i.e. those which are urgent but not important.

4) Not urgent and not important: Sleeping unnecessarily. Time pass. People like to hang out. Now a days so many new activities are coming like internet is promoting activities like orkut and facebook. Not urgent and not important.

Now, the whole time management involves bringing our activities more and more into Q2 quadrant. That means the more we perform activities that are not urgent but important the more the quality of our life will improve. A simple example:

A student who studies regularly, his studies are not urgent but important. In this way he can perform well in long run. But if he does not perform not urgent but important activities but happens is he will find himself in urgent and important quadrant. He will find exam very close and he has to hurry up.And he has to do kind some fix study which won't bring best out of him.Similarly, a working professional int this world if he doesn't identify these kind of activities which dont seem to be urgent but are important and does not allot time for these activities first what happens is very soon he finds life in mess.

Doing a project on time may not seem to be an urgent activity but its an important. But the general tendency is to procrastinate. Let me do later. Until we feel it is urgent we do not want to solve the problem. Until we feel it is urgent, we can solve the problem but we cannot solve the problem in the best possible way. That is always the case. So, if you want to make a change in our life time management says that we have identify not urgent but important activities. Once we allot time for these first and then allot time for other activities later then in due course of time we will find that the quality of our life slowly improving. These are the big rocks. The most important things which dont seem to be urgent immediately. Its a common thing in hospital especially student is studying and a friend comes to him and he said to him why are you studying now exams are one month later. Come lets have fun. Lets go out, and the tendency is to succumb to such temptations. So, more we identify activities that are important in our lives but may not be seem to be urgent activities. We have to identify these activities and give priority to these first. And then other activities can be adjusted for the remaining amount of time.

Time management experts have given triple S formula:

1) Shrink activities in Q1 quadrant: Try to reduce the activites that are urgent and important activity. This can be done by doing activities on time. Otherwise it seems that we are always in urgency. We are not able to lead the satisfactory life.

2) Say no to Q3 activities: Say no to activities that seems to be urgent but not important. Most of the time in activities that seems to be urgent but are not important because of the propaganda going on around us. If easy access to internet is there then students have syndrome to check the mail. They check mails in every 2 hours. They feel uneasy if they dont check the mails. One has to restrain his impulsive behaviour. In this world impulsive behavior is becoming popular more and more. Minds say something and we do immediately. If a student sits for studying and the mind says check the mail. It seems to be urgent activity, but actually its not important. So, say no to instincts.

3) Slacker activities should be avoided: Those activities comes in Q4. Time pass activity. Not urgent, not important. Time killing. Like sitting in front of internet and browsing through different web pages. What is means that identify the most important things in your life and spend your time in important activities.

But how can we apply this practically? Effective time management can be done if we understand the principle of Bhagvad Gita.

Quadrant 1 activities are those to be in hurry. Procrastinate things. A person who postpone the things and when a deadline comes then he is busy in doing urgent activities. " I will do this later." They cannot lead happy, satisfactory and peaceful life. Procrastination is a symptom of person in "tamo guna". From Bhagvad Gita point of view, for effective time management one has to rise above tamo guna. Come out of tamo guna. Bhagvad Gita says people who are confused about what to do and what no to do are in tamo guna. One has to rise above tamo guna. Among triple S, two can be achieved by rising above tamo guna. And 3rd S is say no to Q3 quadrant activities. Rise above the instinctive nature. That is mode of passion. One has to come to the mode of goodness. What is goodness? Doing right activities at right time. If we combine Time management and Bhagvad Gita together then we manage our time. In order to implement practically in our life we have to learn the principles of Bhagvad Gita. Bhagvad Gita is the book giving the guidelines, how to come above lower modes and situate in the mode of goodness. Time management experts lacks how to practically apply triple S in our life. Understand the dynamics of guna. That can be understood by understanding and applying Bhagvad Gita. One can actually make changes in forth coming year if he tries and implements the principles of Bhagvad Gita slowly but surely. Otherwise he will keep wondering why nothing happening. Life will remain same as long as we will not understand how to manage our life properly. Time management experts goes giving seminar, but it is not practical unless one does not understand the dynamics of guna. Bhagvad Gita is a perfect book, people in corporate world are recognizing it. If we don't make serious attempt what Bhagvad Gita has to say, then time just passes by and wonders how time slips away. Every year man makes new year resolution, but does not know how to apply practically these resolutions in forth coming year. We do not know the secret of how to make the change. Secret lies in sacred literature i.e. Bhagvad Gita. Krishna towars the ends of Bhagvad Gita says to Arjuna that one who studies this conversation of ours worships me with perfect intelligence. It is the perfect book required to transform and mould our lives.