Time has come for living
…only for You
Time has come for living
Glorying through each day
Living as though you meant it
Living as though you care
Time has come for dancing
Time has come for singing
Time has come for dreaming
Time has come … for You
Time has come
to stand still
….and watch me love You
There was this other cartoon I saw of a monk (of a different faith) mowing the lawn outside his monastery, writing this on the grass with his lawnmower…
“God, I’m Bored.”
Sometimes we get so caught up in all the rituals, the ceremonies, the mile long list of do’s and don’ts…
But is that it? Is that all there is to religion? I tend to agree with the monk, it gets a bit tedious.
I heard someone comment to a really religious person that while he (the religious dude) was worried about being eternal, other people were carefree, enjoying life. There’s definitely a point where philosophy and depth cannot sustain a person, if there ain’t no fun.
God-fearing people make all their decisions out of fear of hell or retribution from God, or rejection from family, friends and society. Their lives are full of restrictions and things they “don’t do.” If they slip up in a small way, an uneasy guilt creeps in. Religion ends up being just about the rituals, and the endless duties.
The God-loving folk make all their choices because they spontaneously want to do something special for God to express how much they appreciate Him. Instead of constantly doing what they “ought to”, their every day is new and fresh with potential. As such, their lives are natural and full of joy; every step is a dance and every word is a song!
One of the names of God is Krishna, which means “the all-attractive person.” So its just a matter of finding out about God from scriptures like Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Srimad Bhagavatam, or those of other religions. Because when we know more about Him, we’ll be attracted to Him (He’s “all-attractive”). When you’re really attracted and interested in someone, you begin to have a desire to have a loving relationship with that person. And when we begin to love God, He will reciprocate in an amazing way. There’s no question of boredom. We’re made to love and be loved.
God-loving people never treat God like an order-supplier or some kind of Santa Claus, by praying to Him to constantly give them money, a new house, a girlfriend/ boyfriend, a first kiss, popularity, a first-class pass, to make their mothers let them go out with friends, etc etc… That’s not love. Love is about giving and receiving, not constantly taking and demanding more.
This concept of loving God is there in all religions, however I personally am wholeheartedly indebted to Srila Prabhupada, who is the founder acarya of ISKCON. He brought Vedic culture from the East to Western countries, and taught us how to learn to love God. He taught us to offer a flower to God from the heart, to cook for Him, to chant His holy names which describe His qualities, to dance for Him, to hear about Him, and to live a life full of joy and gladness. Just for the sake of it. Not for getting any material benefit in return.
I’m still learning how to love God, but even at my (very) immature stage in spiritual development, the Krishna conscious life that Srila Prabhupada gave is about an irrevocable gladness, that remains in the heart, hidden from the world like a treasure.
