You cannot depend upon tomorrow.
Whatever good you wish to do tomorrow, do it now. Whatever noble thought
you wish to think, or grand feeling you want to entertain, or charity you
wish to do, tomorrow, do it now. Whatever great, or spiritual person you
wish to meet, or whatever inspiring book you desire to read, or whatever
discipline you intend to take upon yourself in order to obtain divine
experience tomorrow, do it now. Whatever prayer you wish to say, or
whatever meditation you wish to practise, or whatever wonderful work you
wish to undertake tomorrow, do it now.
Because tomorrow your mind may
change, or the opportunity may be lost. The dark force, the embodiment of
the negative power in the world, may quickly lead you into some easy
pleasure, or some temptation or mislead you in any one of the thousands
undetectable ways. As a rule, the dark force that destroys success in a
good thing, is exceptionally vigilant, dynamic and cunning. It may mislead
you with the best of intentions, or even in the name of God. It did not
spare even great Saints, and we form its easy victims. Even if, by some
Grace of God, the dark force fails to trouble us, by tomorrow, we may have
some physical complaint, or some misfortune, or some disability, some new
development in circumstances or find ourselves in new situations, which
make it impossible for us to do any good or think of God. There are so
many of so very little noticeable possibilities which can cut us off from
all that is good or great or wonderful. Everyday, we find in the world,
instances of people who have, by delay in doing, lost golden opportunities
of attainment, and live in regret that it is too late to fulfil the good
they planned to do. We don't lack around us, examples of those who have
passed away from the scene of life, without bringing to a success their
most cherished of wishes, ideas and plans of doing good. We can never
depend upon tomorrow. This hour is in our hand, and is to be fully and
quickly used for the noblest of things we can do. If once we postpone a
good thing , and say, 'tomorrow', that forms a tendency and a habit, and
we would be always saying, 'tomorrow', 'tomorrow', and that tomorrow never
comes. Therefore, all good things let us go on doing immediately. This is
the secret of progress, success, attainment.
A good impulse, denied immediate
fulfilment, can be lost, or weakened, leaving us poorer for it, in
everyway. The good that is instantly done, awakens something more of the
latent goodness in us, strengthens the good tendencies, and causes new and
greater opportunities for doing more good, and thus makes our life richer
in resources, in wealth, in prosperity, in success, in light, in inner
power. One good leads to another. One good brings another, and thus, the
good is multiplied. One delay makes another delay, and the matters go out
of course for a long period of time, even when attempts are made to check
it. The moment a good thing is quickly done, we are at once free for doing
something other, something better, and bigger, and the circumstances for
it will also arise. When one brick is added to another, with unbroken
succession, at last a whole grand citadel stands before us. Therefore, use
all your resources and talents in doing today, now, whatever good, or
grand, or noble, or great, or right, or quite necessary, thing you wish to
do tomorrow, or some time later.
Whatever is not good, not divine,
not grand, not right, not valuable, not quite necessary, not conducive to
evolution and growth, not correct in the eyes of the all-seeing God, let
us postpone, keep it for tomorrow. And, if it is really not good, not
grand, you can be sure the accidents of time will postpone it further, or
give you no circumstance to do it, and thus, save you from an error. If
you have to misunderstand someone, postpone it: time may show you that
that misunderstanding would have been unfounded, and harmful to yourself
and your own interests. If you have to criticise someone, keep it pending:
time may show you that that other one had never made the mistake, and your
criticism would have been most unjust. If you have to react to something
negative, delay it. Time will have washed it away, without your effort to
clean it; and, you are doubly rich; for, you have in the meantime built up
something positive, something good, something grand. And there, on the
other hand, time has served you faithfully by eliminating the negative
force.
Do it at once, - if you have to
give someone a kind word, or a generous gift, or good news, or an act of
service, or a helping hand, or the aid of a prayer, or the gesture of best
wishes. Be a builder, and let all the light, all the love, all the joy,
all the prosperity, all the glory, all the blessedness be yours. Be
uncompromisingly good: this is your great wealth, great power, great
good fortune. Do everything good, quickly, beautifully, energetically,
selflessly, nobly. Goodness and dynamism, - these two are the secrets of
quick success, growing prosperity, attractive personality, healthy body,
youthful appearance, peaceful mind, happy life.
Let us not lose even a single
opportunity to serve, to sacrifice, to help a great cause, to give, to do
good, or to be good, or to progress spiritually. Whatever is good, do it
now, with utmost enthusiasm. This is the first principle of positive,
dynamic, successful, happy, living.
- Swami Omkarananda