CAUTION: God at Work

I met someone recently, who had to give up work he was extremely passionate about & had to settle down for managing a shop owned by his father. This would not have been an easy choice to make!!

People share that they are into a job they are not happy about; Their hearts desire would be to travel around the world or to paint or run their own business & they feel stuck being in a job without any appreciation.

Sometimes, we are lucky enough to get opportunities that help fulfill our hearts desire & also meet our family’s duty calls & help attain financial sustainability.

The difficulty arises when one a choice has to be made between what my heart wants and what my head commands. Invariably it is the head that wins and we land up finding ourselves in places where we donot want to be.

This reminds me of a story I have heard about a great Maratha King who faced a similar predicament.

Once the King went to his Guru & said “I am so tired of war & all these conspiracies. I want peace but this appears to be a farfetched dream. I want to bring a positive transformation in the lives of people around me, but all my time is spent in war. I am tired, want to leave all this & go to the jungles & meditate. I want to find my inner peace.”

The Guru, after listening to these words gave his consent & asked the King to surrender his responsibilities.

After placing his crown & his sword at his Guru’s feet, the King felt a sigh of relief. A big load had been taken off his head.

Just before he prepared to leave, the Guru asked him ‘Before you proceed to the jungles, would it be possible to run a small errand for me?’

The King was surprised at the request & said “I can do anything for you. All my knowledge, my wisdom is because of you. It would be a pleasure to complete the task’.

The Guru picked up the crown & the sword & said to the King ‘I have this small kingdom that needs taking care of, would it be possible to manage it for me as my appointed caretaker’.

The King had given up the Kingdom and now got it back again. Earlier he saw himself as a ruler who had the limited responsibility of defending boundaries; now there was a bigger vision, a higher purpose that was added because it became his Guru’s Kingdom, and he was privileged to be its caretaker.

It is said that then on, the King ruled the kingdom even better.

I had read a small quote on my school notice board: 

“If God told you what to do, you would be happy doing it.

What you are doing right now is what God wants you to do, so be Happy” 

– Anonymous

Message for the week:

When I find myself in a situation, I am not too happy about,

When ever I am required to manage a project, I manage as if it is God's project.

Try it out: Cook, as if you are cooking for God.

Complete your office meetings or business, as if you are managing on God’s behalf.

Let us combine hundred percent self-effort with surrender & lets see what the results are like!!