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Nidrá tandrá bhayaḿ krodha álasyaḿ diirghasútratá;
Śad́adośáh puruśeńeha hántavyáh bhútimicchatá.

Those who want to prosper in life must destroy these six defects in themselves: nidrá [sleep], tandrá [drowsiness], álasya [lethargy], bhaya [fear], krodha [anger], and diirghasútratá [procrastination].

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It is said, “Those who long for their well-being, who very much wish for their all-round development, will have to give up these six bad habits. A person desirous of welfare must necessarily be free from these defects, otherwise one’s progress is bound to be impeded, retarded.”

Nidrá [sleep]. A person who is given to too much sleep can never perform big things in life. A person who sleeps too long spends half of his or her lifetime in sleep only. So how will he or she find time to do noble deeds? Human life, after all, is not very long; and of that short span of life, if half is wasted on sleep only, then there will hardly be any time left for doing noble deeds. That’s why it is said, a person who is given to too much sleep can never aspire to attain the peak of progress in life. Sleep is necessary for health, but many people wrongly think that the more one sleeps, the better it is for health. That is wrong. Human beings go to sleep because they want to work more. While working for long periods the body gets tired, and then only does one take sleep, just to get back fresh energy for work.

Tandrá. Tandrá means “inertness” or “inertia”. For various reasons, this inertia develops in human beings. For instance, in some persons, this inertness grows out of a lack of self-confidence. Before starting any work, such persons think inwardly, “Shall I be able to do it? Perhaps I shan’t.” Out of this sort of hesitation or diffidence, a person develops inertia, the lack of mobility. There are still others who lack courage, who don’t dare to take up any work, who hesitate to take the responsibility of initiating any work. This also leads to inertness. Again, there are some people who have the capability to work, who do not work due to lack of initiative. They sit inactive because of lack of self-confidence. A person who is a victim of this sort of inertness can never attain progress in life.⁽¹⁾

That is why I say, whenever there is a desire to do any good deed, do it immediately, without bringing it to my notice, and in case of bad deeds, kill time as much as you can.⁽²⁾

In order to make progress, in order to perform noble deeds, you must give up these six defects: excessive sleep, indolence, fear, anger, laziness and procrastination. And then you will be strong enough to broadcast the ideas and ideals of Ananda Marga to the nooks and corners of the globe.

Footnotes

(1) Some words were not clear here in the original magazine publication of this discourse. The author may have told the story of Ravana, mythological king of Lanka, who wished at his death that he had done good deeds immediately and postponed bad deeds. –Eds.

(2) The original magazine publication of this discourse may not have been complete. The author may have discussed here others of the six defects mentioned in the opening shloka. –Eds.