“A man who has nothing to do with his own time has no conscience in his intrusion on that of others.” When I read this quote, some twenty years ago, I liked it so much that I wrote it in bold letters on a wall inside my hostel room. Through this I wanted to declare to my friends and other hostel residents that I consider my time precious, so please do not keep disturbing me unless there is some important work.
But now, several years later, I see how even busy people, who understand how precious time is, unscrupulously consume other peoples’ time. Over-occupied in their success march, such people end up delegating trivial tasks to their friends or subordinates and thus disregard others’ time. That’s when I came up with a modified version of the above quote: “A man who has too much to do with his own time sometimes loses conscience in his intrusion on that of others.”
People who have a significant goal in life understand how invaluable time is, and this is especially true for those pursuing a spiritual path. The Vedic scriptures inform us that this human form of life is extremely rare; even a single moment wasted is a great loss. So let us be careful about not wasting our precious time and the time of others. Let us utilize every moment for advancing towards the real goal of life.
“Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17)