Make this a Perfect Day

By Sri Swami Chidananda Maharaj 

From “Ponder these truths” by Swami Chidananda
Published by The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, 2001

Beloved and blessed presence, adorable Holy Master, thou who hast drawn us into thy proximity at the commencement of this golden day! Bless us that we may live each moment and hour of this precious day, in our thoughts, our words and actions, in such a noble and divine way that sundown finds us higher, holier, happier for having entered into this day, finds us nearer to the goal of human existence, namely divine perfection through Self-realisation.

Radiant Immortal Atman! This day is a new day. It has not been before and it shall not come once again. Ponder the uniqueness of this day, its speciality in being the one and only day of its kind, never to be compared with any other day that has gone by or any other day that will dawn. It is a part of God. God is timeless eternity, and a day is a little unit in this timelessness measured by man’s limited consciousness and bound by a now and then and a here and there.

Photo courtesy of www.SivanandaOnline.org

Take this day, therefore, and make it into an ascending ladder to ever higher heights. Let not the close of this day find you the same as you were at the commencement. Wisely live this day. Go through it in such a way that at sundown you have enriched yourself by the way in which you have lived your life, have made use of the opportunities that have come your way, have responded loftily to the call of duty and have reacted ideally to things, events and beings around you. Make this day a unique one, a memorable one. Enrich the day and enrich yourself by enriching it.

Today is a gift of God. Therefore it is not something ordinary, something casual, something just by the way. It is specially proffered to you. Take it with both hands with a devout bhav. Apply every bit of your energy – intellectual, mental, emotional, physical – in making it a perfect day. Live the day with calm determination to fulfill all your ideals and principles of living without haste, without hurry, knowing that you have all eternity. But at the same time be dynamically vigorous in the process of evolving.

Knowing that you have all eternity, go through the day calmly, serenely, without haste or hurry, with a calm determination that “I am going to make the highest and best use of each moment of this day, and thus I shall progress slowly towards the Goal.” But, nevertheless, let not this idea give way to lethargy, to a tamasic attitude: “If I do not utilize today, I will utilize tomorrow better, if not in this birth, next birth… No, here and now I shall make this a perfect day. There is no tomorrow.” In this way be determined to utilize every moment of this day in the highest and best manner and at the same time with a calm serene determination. Juxtapose these two. make it a determined day, but at the same time a serene day.

A mystic once said: “Live your day as though your body is buried in the grave and your spirit has already ascended into the presence of the Divine. With this spirit live the day: “The flesh is dead. I am no longer subject to any temptation, any assailments, anything that is purely gross and physical. None of the senses bothers me. I have risen above the physical self and my spirit has ascended into the presence of the Divine. Therefore, whatever comes from me should be worthy of the Divine, be the highest, holiest.” In this way, live as though this very day your body is no more and you dwell in the presence of God.

Another mystic gives us a similar view: “Live each day a though it were your last day on earth; you will not see sunrise tomorrow.” If today is the last day given to you, how precious you would make it. How valuable you would consider it. How much you would fill it with all that is highest, best, noblest, sublime, perfect. “Let me make this day a perfect day. Let me be full of the God-quality. Let me be a centre of joy, let me manifest joy, bliss, ananda. Let me manifest peace, shanti. Let me manifest luminous wisdom, chaitanya, knowledge, jnana. Let me be a witness to the eternity of God’s existence here and now, the presence of God: sat-chit-ananda-shantih. Let it shine forth in my thought, word and deed. may I make it a day to express God in me, in every way.”

Remember these ideas given to us by these mystics as a basis of relating ourselves to this gift of each day that God unfailingly gives to us. Always this gift is there. You can depend upon it one hundred per cent and plan for it before you go to sleep: “Tomorrow I shall make my day a golden day, a divine day, an upward ascent of the spirit towards perfection and Divine-consciousness. Each moment of the day will be a manifestation of all that is sublime in everything that I do, see, hear, touch, taste, small, think, feel and act.”

Thus enter each day in a spiritual manner and fill it with everything that is spiritual and divine. This is the key to blessedness. This is a sure way to perfection. This is the secret of unfailing progress and certain attainment, sure attainment. God bless you all!

Articles By Swami Chidananda:

  1. Swami Chidananda — The Peace Within
  2. Swami Chidananda — The Necessity Of Introspection
  3. Swami Chidananda — You Are What You Choose To Become
  4. Swami Chidananda — Make This A Perfect Day