How to beat morning blues

Come Monday morning, how many of us feel burdened that another demanding day has dawned, and that we must again go about navigating through hectic schedules and seemingly never-ending work? The very thought that the relaxed weekend has ended and another long working week has begun often deepens gloom, giving rise to the familiar morning blues. Yet, the work at hand, when separated from expectations, is often quite manageable.

As essayist Thomas Carlyle observed, 'Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.' Every individual is born with duties uniquely assigned to them. Ram and Lakshman, during their expedition with the great Sage Vishwamitra, were gently awakened on the banks of the Sarayu River with the famous shlok, 'Kausalya Supraja Ram', reminding them that their duties awaited.

Today, the same sacred hymn continues to be rendered each morning at the Tirumala temple to awaken Sri Venkatachalapati, symbolically reminding devotees that duty is eternal.


The central teaching of Gita remains profoundly simple and timeless: 'You have a right only to perform your prescribed duty, but never to its fruits. Never consider yourself the cause of the results and never become attached to inaction.' From the Supreme Being to the smallest of His creations, everything in nature performs its immediate duty without anxiety for rewards. Should we not take a cue and beat morning blues?