Work is Worship

Man – a part of nature

It is admitted on all hands that work is worship. It is commonly said,

“A closed mouth catches no flies.”

The whole of nature is busy. Dynamism is the law of nature. Nature abhors statics. Man is a part of nature. Then why should we hate work?

Work imparts joy

When we do a job for pleasure, we feel very happy to do it. But if we have to do the same work under compulsion or pressure or as a matter of unavoidable necessity, we feel bored and try to shirk it. Such kind of work tires us quickly. Hence, we should do every job with the spirit of sport. We should try to find a hobby-like spirit even in the most arduous and embarrassing sort of work. Then work will turn into a project of joy.

In that case, every dark night will bring a new glorious dawn to us and every enterprise will lead us on the journey of the road to the world of happiness.

Overwork should be avoided

We should work within our capacity. Overwork should be avoided. There are certain factors which sometimes dissuade even well-meaning people from working. Such is the thought of death, the fear of all-destructive war, and unpredictable calamities.

The famous Victorian poet, Tennyson, thus expresses the thoughts of lotos eaters in his poem of the same name:

“Death is the end of life; ah,

why Should life all labour be?                       

From

Lotos Eaters (by Alfred Tennyson)

We should not exercise our brains much about the past or the future. The past is past and we cannot change it. We should only learn a worthwhile lesson from it and leave it as it is. We should give up the thoughts of revenge, malice, hatred, jealousy, etc.

We should live and work in the living present. We should do deeds with the intention of doing good to others such that we are also benefited in a legitimate, legal and moral way. We should not hesitate in doing a thankless job for the good of others. After all, all the great deeds in the world are done by selfless people who neither expect nor get any thanks for their deeds.

Desireless work

We should work irrespective of the desire for the fruit of our deeds. Only our intentions must be good, positive, and constructive.

Work to be successful must be well-planned. All the necessary resources for its success must be generated. There should be transparency in every work. Duplicity is the negation of even a good deed. There should be no hesitation in getting guidance or training from others who know better to make a work successful.

Haphazard efforts

An unplanned, haphazard work, even if done with good intentions and a lot of effort, is bound to meet with failure. It is because like every organism or a perfect model or structure, work or job is also practically an existing, if not a living thing. It has its organs and limits if we visualize it carefully in our imagination. Just as every part of an organism needs attention, every minute part of work demands our full care.

Ambition and imagination

This means that we should have genuine ambition and a healthy imagination. We must have succeeded in our minds even before starting a piece of work. So, it is rightly said “Well begun is half done,” as the Chinese maxim is: “To go ten miles, we shall at least have to take the first step.”