New Year — a time for self-introspection
People all over the world celebrate the New Year with great joy and enthusiasm. Clubs, theatres, restaurants, and places of worship are crowded with people. While most of us get lost in the fun and festivity, some of us make resolutions to lose weight, save money, quit smoking, and so on. But has anyone given any serious thought to this celebration? Is the advent of a new year really a cause for celebration?
In reality, we are losing time with every passing year. Suppose you have 50,000 rupees in your account, and you keep withdrawing from it. You start getting worried after every withdrawal. “Oh! I only have 10,000 left. Now I have just 5000!” Similarly, our time in this world is limited, and as every year passes, we have less and less time to achieve our spiritual goal. God has given us this human life to practice devotion and attain divine happiness. How much headway have we made in this direction? How far have we gone away from the material world?
In politics, all the parties perform analysis after elections. They analyse why they lost the election and where things went wrong. Similarly, we must spend some time in introspection at the end of the year. It is time to create a statement of account and see how we have progressed in the spiritual area. We need to look into our account on humility, tolerance, practicing devotion, and so on. We should analyse where we went wrong and how we can improve.
When we evaluate ourselves in this way, we will find that we have been careless. We have spent the majority of our time engaged in material advancement but have not earned any spiritual wealth. Nevertheless, we still have a chance. We should prepare for the coming year. We need to think that we are the soul and not the body and our goal is to reach God. We need to spend more time practicing devotion and earn spiritually. This spiritual wealth will never get demonetized. We can accumulate as much as we want; there is no limit on the deposits and no scrutiny. This insurance policy even offers protection after our death:
zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi
When you start practicing devotion, you will notice that your mind will not automatically get attached to God and will go towards the material world instead. This is not surprising since you have practiced attaching it to the world so far. Therefore, you will have to practice taking it towards God. The Bhagavatam, 11.14.27 says, “If you repeatedly reflect on the material world to be the source of happiness, you will become attached to the world. If you practice thinking that there is happiness in God, you will become attached to God.”
Do not just frivolously celebrate this New Year. Introspect and reflect on your virtues and vices. Resolve to spend more time with God and progress towards your ultimate goal.
Spirituality in Daily Living, Vol. 1, p8–11
Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattvadarshan, Vedic knowledge revealed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj and presented in English by Dr Vishakha Tripathi, president of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.
https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/en/product/spirituality-in-daily-living-set-of-4
