One Day at a Time
Posted on 13. Mar, 2012 by Gopinath Chandra Das in Monk's Diary
Any great cricketer will tell that one of the secrets of the game is to play it one ball at a time. Likewise, any great celibate monk will tell that one of the secrets of monkhood is to live life one day at a time.
Stay ahead of the past, but behind the future—be here now. This outlook helps one smooth troughs, whether in cricket or in real life. It frees you from the burden of self analysis.
Some years ago, when I had newly joined the monastery, a speck of remnant of my past conditionings crept in, in the form of unholy thoughts. Seeing that arose fear—will I be able to maintain the sanctity of monkhood? My mind was clouded with shame and fear, and that affected my focus during spiritual practices. With my spiritual practices turning hollow, I started losing connection with the divine positivity that sustains monkhood. The result—more negative thoughts and more fear. I was spiraling down a vicious dark abyss.
I approached a senior monk, a disciple of Radhanath Swami, and he advised, “Live life one day at a time.” That was a turning point. Deliberately, I began every day afresh; nay, I began every event of every day afresh. When I participated in the morning prayers, I focused my mind exclusively on the Sanskrit words—I heard them one word at a time. When I sat to meditate on the holy names, I heard one mantra at a time. When I sat to study the scriptures, I was there, focusing on every word. Slowly, positivity flowed in, and displaced all the negativity. I realized that leading life this way—one day at a time, one event at a time—was not just the way to get out of negativity, but the best way to lead life in a monastery.
shyama radhika devi dasi
Mar 13th, 2012
good article. thank u.
samir paleja
Mar 13th, 2012
thank u for wonderful article.
Abhinav Mutreja
Mar 13th, 2012
Amazing!
madhura
Mar 13th, 2012
Thank you for sharing.
Dr Dhotre
Mar 13th, 2012
Very practical and useful.Thank you for sharing.
Dnyanesh
Mar 14th, 2012
Very practical advice to overcome our negative thoughts” live life a day at a time” be in present.
Thanks for sharing.
Dnyanesh
Mar 14th, 2012
Very practical advice to overcome our negative thoughts “live life a day at a time” be in present.
Thanks for sharing.
Ravi Garg
Mar 14th, 2012
Very instructive & inspirational article….thanks
umesh
Mar 14th, 2012
this is a great way based on the experience of author.
Babalu
Mar 14th, 2012
Thanks for telling secret of success.
Anil Timbe
Mar 14th, 2012
Very practical solution…thanks for sharing.
deepak bagla
Mar 14th, 2012
thanks, this is a very revealing and eye opening article
raju
Mar 14th, 2012
wonderful!!!
Bhushankumar Chaudhari
Mar 14th, 2012
This is only way to utilise the human form of life in Service of Vaishnav, Guru & Krishna.
Thank you very much for sharing.
suresh
Mar 14th, 2012
thank you pr for this inspiring article…,
Amar Solanki
Mar 14th, 2012
thanx for wonderful post
Shephali
Mar 14th, 2012
Amazing analogy. Haribol
Vidya Patham
Mar 14th, 2012
Thank you for sharing with us how to live life one day at at a time
Rajeev
Mar 14th, 2012
Thank you very very much .. seems like an eye opener where I will try my best to do the same ..
Kalpana Kulkarni
Mar 14th, 2012
Wonderful way to remove negativity from our lives. thank you for sharing this realization and advice.
Paramesvara Dasa
Mar 14th, 2012
Very Good realization. It is as complete absorption on only one activity. All glories to all monks.
Kuldeep Soni
Mar 14th, 2012
Wonderful experience thanks for sharing.
madhura
Mar 14th, 2012
wonderful article.
N. Swaminathan
Mar 14th, 2012
How true. Thank you for the thoughtful article.
Milind M Churi
Mar 15th, 2012
This is very practical narration of realization of the author.Yes I do have this experience,recalling blunders committed in life,at a time of practicing spiritual life which brings shame,fear and negativity in mind.Herein I got very nice and practical advice from the author.Thank you very much for sharing with us.
sachin a garag
Mar 15th, 2012
thank u prji
vraja bihari dasa
Mar 15th, 2012
one of the most practical advises i have ever heard on how to be happy. this is an universal principle. most people are miserable because they are never present in the present. they are always lamenting about the past or worrying about the future. this is a great tip- just be there in the present.
“past is history, future is mystery but now is a gift of god. that’s why it is called as PRESENT”
satyam
Mar 15th, 2012
very nice and inspiring
santipur nath das
Mar 15th, 2012
just inspiring!
Ujwal Wani
Mar 15th, 2012
Very nice article. Thanks for sharing
navin poojary
Mar 15th, 2012
Thank You!Somtimes life’s complicated problems are resolved by simple solutions
vani
Mar 15th, 2012
Past is history,future is mystery.To live inthe present is victory.Thank you for sharing a perfect process to be victorious in life
sajeev
Mar 15th, 2012
a great lesson for everyone
govind
Mar 16th, 2012
thank you very much prabhu for sharing wondeful article.
Umesh Prasad
Mar 16th, 2012
Wonderful community of celibate monks flourishing under the guidance of Radhanath Swami!!!
Jagannath Dham Das
Mar 17th, 2012
A very practical solutions to remain focus on our Spiritual life & continue it steadily year after year without getting diverted !
Hare Krishna !
sunil
Mar 17th, 2012
Thanks for sharing this prabhu. Very true our coniditioned mind keep on thinking of past and future, but if we focus for today every thing will flow smoothy because the way we deal today is making our destiny for tomorrow..
Sumit Sharma
Mar 18th, 2012
Thanks for sharing it.
Chetan
Mar 19th, 2012
Very wonderful realization.Thank you for sharing.
Rajendra Prasad
Mar 19th, 2012
Thanks for sharing. Doing one thing at time definitely improves concentration and chanallizes our efforts in a single direction.
Prajakta Timbe
Mar 19th, 2012
Practical spiritual solution
pravin
Mar 19th, 2012
Wonderful.
chintamani p
Mar 19th, 2012
thanx for very practical article.
Mukund
Mar 19th, 2012
thank you for sharing
anjan
Mar 19th, 2012
nice post. Many thanks for sharing
Suman
Mar 21st, 2012
Amazing article. Thanks for sharing.
Ved
Mar 23rd, 2012
This is a wonderful way of living life !
Rajesh
Mar 28th, 2012
I really liked the concept of one day or one event at a time. I feel really light now as I do not have to carry the burden of past nor the worry of the future.
Satyananda Das
Mar 29th, 2012
Prabhu,This gives lot of hope to continue.One line sutra.
Piyush Singh
Apr 2nd, 2012
Very practical advice. Thank you.
Shyam Mahtani
Apr 23rd, 2012
This is an important lesson to all of us too, who are not in the monastic life. Thank you for sharing.
Arjun K Ramachandra
May 8th, 2012
Thank you for sharing this secret of monkhood “Live life one day at a time!. I guess this is not only the success formula for monks but for everyone in any field of life.
Kalpana Kulkarni
Nov 23rd, 2012
Thank you for the simple and practical solution to live each day.
Indu Ramani
Jan 8th, 2013
A very simple analogy to explain a very subtle spiritual concept… wonderfully executed!!!
Sanjiv
Jan 9th, 2013
Hope we too are able to follow this advice!