```json
{
    "title": "Monday Morning Greetings 2026 #44 – A Sobering Meditation",
    "url": "https://wavesofdevotion.com/2026/11/02/a-sobering-meditation/",
    "datePublished": "2026-11-02",
    "dateModified": "2026-11-02",
    "language": "en-US",
    "description": "A Sobering Meditation[1] “A man goes to his spiritual master and says, ‘I’ve been trying to meditate faithfully for an hour a day, but I have a wife and three…",
    "author": "Dhanurdhara Swami",
    "publisher": "Waves of Devotion"
}
```

# Monday Morning Greetings 2026 #44 – A Sobering Meditation

**A Sobering Meditation**

[\[1\]](https://wp.me/p2zwwk-1pa#_edn1)

 

“A man goes to his spiritual master and says, ‘I’ve been trying to meditate faithfully for an hour a day, but I have a wife and three kids and a demanding job. The kids are already up when I wake up, the house is in full swing when I get home, and at night my wife and I need time together. What should I do?’

 

“The master replies, ‘Two hours a day.’”

 

— Bo Lozoff,

*It’s a Meaningful Life: It Just Takes Practice*

 

The practices of Krishna consciousness are not always easy to sustain, particularly in today’s trying world. What, then, should we do? There is only one answer: make them a priority.

 

A seriously ill person does not question whether he has time for his medicine or prescribed diet, regardless of whatever demands may arise. Similarly, one interested in advancing on a spiritual path must give those practices the importance they deserve, and as much as possible not allow other obligations to take precedence.

 

That is the brilliance of the master’s reply. It challenges the student’s premise. The problem is not simply that he is busy. His problem is that he doesn't yet value meditation enough to discipline himself to organize his life around it. It is a fact that we always try our hardest to find time for what we truly value.

 

Therefore, inevitably the real issue is faith and not time. And what is faith? Faith is precisely what we value most. In other words, if we truly valued (had faith) in the Holy Name, we wouldn’t neglect it.

 

Here is a simple test that illustrates this point. Suppose our spiritual practice, such as chanting a prescribed number of rounds, guaranteed us a long life and unlimited wealth, and we were certain of receiving these benefits. Would we allow any obstacle to prevent us from chanting?

 

Yet in our tradition, the

*Bhāgavatam*

declares that the holy name gives far more than that. It gives the highest perfection of life, love of God. Therefore, if our practice is slack, it most likely means that our faith in the

*Bhāgavatam*

, and our understanding of what it proclaims, are still not sufficiently deep.

 

Of course, different people naturally have different capacities for disciplined practice, but every spiritual aspirant has some appropriate practice according to their qualification. When they fall short it is inevitably a matter of faith. What to do?

 

Simple, faith is awakened through

*sādhu-sa*

*ṅ*

*ga*

, by hearing

*śāstra*

from advanced devotees whose realizations make its truth come alive. So, if we find we have no time for spiritual life, the remedy is not a lighter schedule but to seek the association of advanced devotees. If we have that, we should take full advantage of it. If it’s lacking, it should be the subject of our prayers.

 

A sobering meditation, “two hours a day!”

 

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My writing skills have improved, so occasionally I substantially re-write an old

*Monday Morning Greetings*

. This was originally from March 21, 2001.