“Laziness erodes a person of his enthusiasm and energy. As a result the person loses all opportunities and finally becomes dejected and frustrated. The worst thing is that he stops believing in himself.”
The Sama Veda
Kabir – The couplet
कबीर सोता क्या करे, सोते जोई अकाज ।
ब्रह्म को आसन त्यागा, सोयत काल की आज॥
Transliterated:
Kabir Sotaa Kya Kare, Sote Joi Akaaj |
Brahm Ko Aasan Tyaaga, Soyat Kaal Ki Aaj ||
Translation:
Asks Kabir, why are you asleep? – asleep, you can resolve nothing (no karma)|
When Brahma (The Creator) slept, even he lost his seat of prominence at the hands of Time ||
My understanding:
Sleep is a basic requirement of the body. Just like any machine, appropriate cycles of rest are required to recharge, reenergize and repair the physical stresses that the body puts up with in all the waking moments. However, sleep for rest is different from sleep due to laziness. When you are truly tired, it is not laziness that makes you sleep – there is no physically possible way to stay awake at that moment. But when you can, but want to “relax” a little more because, well, the moment can be made to allow for it – well, that is grade A laziness.
Life may seem long, but we are given only enough time in this life to figure out, learn how to and then accomplishing the tasks set out for us. However, on discovering the “right” of independent decision making and finding that we could choose to be masters of our destiny, we promptly learn to succumb to desire, the guidance of the society around us and the habit of keeping up with the neighbor. We chart out complex courses for the journey of life, and try to find land where none really exists.
After the effort, when we do not find the promised land (conveniently forgetting that it was really us and no one else who did the promising) we claim tiredness, misdirection of others, fate and the vagaries of time, and give up. All this really does is reset the clock for us. For until we get from where we are to the next stage, there is no way to commence the next phase of the journey. So we, and no one else, is responsible for us not being able to get to that phase.
As wise men said, those who do not learn from history are forced to repeat it. And if we do not give up this laziness and stay focused instead of succumbing to desire and misdirection, that is the ‘fate’ we are condemning ourselves to!