Oxford University, which was established in 1163, is surrounded by lush, green lawns. Once a visiting American millionaire, who had been quite charmed by them, asked the gardener at Oxford, how much it would cost him to have the same kind of lawns around his mansion in the U.S.A. “Nothing,” replied the gardener. “How?” asked the millionaire in astonishment. “You have only to level the ground and grow the grass. Then you cut it and roll it.” “Oh, really!” said the millionaire, feeling reassured. But then the gardener went on in all seriousness, “Repeat this process for five hundred years and your lawn is ready.” Meeting the steady gaze of the gardener, the millionaire realized that not only do the English have their own special sense of humour, but that there are things which money cannot buy.
There are things for which time is of the essence. In the evening, when the sun has set, if we have a sudden desire to see the sun again, there is no way that we can do so except wait through the long night for dawn. If we plant a seed and hope to see more than just the sapling which will spring from it, we have to wait for one hundred years, before we can see the full-grown tree, in all its might and glory.
A definite span of time has been appointed for all of nature’s happenings. Nothing can come into being or fructify before that appointed time.