Between Your God and Theirs and Doing a Job Well

No one understands God as much as the little boy begging for food outside a place of worship. He sees God in every person who offers him alms.

God is in goodness and kindness. There are no different Gods. Therefore, my God cannot be better or worse  than their God. God is a philosophy, a way of life. God is loving life and nurturing nature.

I see God in my parents who have given me life and in everyone else after, who have made my life a little easier at every step. I think of them everyday with gratitude and keep them in my prayers. They are a part of my 'God world'.

I refuse to think of God in any color or ethnicity and in my mind I'm sure that God, does NOT help in winning elections - that is religious propaganda and human greed that triumphs based on our own fear in the 'supernatural'.

If God's a vigilante, then I'd have chosen Superman in a blink, he's an alien do-good-er who does not seek power. If God was a religious teacher, I'd be spoiled for choices, I take a little from each one of them (irrespective of religion) to understand God. If God was a war hero, I'd be pushing for the innumerable soldiers who risk their own lives to save others'. But personally, I think God is a bit of all those and more. Much more.

So, what is God?

According to Mahatma Gandhi, God is in doing your Karma or your job (the Hindu meaning) where you continue performing your best and that is the best form of worship. Be true to your profession. If I were a cobbler, it would be my pride to be the best. It is the philosophy and core of The Gita. It clearly asks you to do your duty and not worry about the result at the onset. In its own way, it actually asks you to not even worry about God when there is a task at hand. Just perform your duty. The same teaching is there in almost all religious scriptures but, coated in different tales.

This idea of treating work as worship makes good business sense and keeps you focused. It keeps you together. It keeps you sane.

The idea that pleasing God is doing your job well also ensures that you deal with everyone around you with compassion. Job itself is also not confined to just shifting papers on your desk or whatever it is that you do to make ends meet.

Job also includes nurturing lives, your children, pets, plants in your garden. It also includes making life easier for others, doing mundane chores like, dusting, cooking and cleaning at home, in ensuring proper education for your children. It includes, taking care of your neighbors and feeding the hungry and leaving water for birds during summers.

My mother was telling me today how her mother used to do the "eye roll" if she saw a kitchen where the cook would be cooking with the condiments lying around in shopping bags. She'd say, "this will make Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth and prosperity) go away."

I can imagine how that worked. A sloppy kitchen shows that the cook's not clued-in or happy doing the job. There's no love and pride for what's happening in there and thus, it would be a situation of 'Godlessness'.

The best way to get near God is perhaps by following your heart. If you do not like cooking then hire a cook and channel your efforts into doing what you want to do - it could be anything. Only you know best. Maybe you'll find your God if you stop cooking and being miserable doing it everyday. It could hurt your relationships and dull your lust for life.

It should be our earnest endeavor to be happy because your happiness ignites happiness in those around you. It is far better to move on leaving behind a bad career choice or relationship and pursuing something that perhaps, everyone but you feel is important. Get in touch with yourself and let your decisions be guided by passion. Trust your instincts. Follow your dreams and make them come true. Add value to what is already there around you.

God, according to most of the world's leading religions, is there inside you and in everything around you, living or non-living. It is very easy to seek out God but equally easy to get lost in the way. The trick is in staying tuned and to put in an honest day's work.

Seek God in your heart that cries whenever someone else is hurt. Seek God in the tree that gives shelter to you in the Summer even after you meticulously pruned it in Autumn. There are innumerable Gods and each is tailor-made to fit your expectation. They are all unique just like you are and there is a God in everything around you. Just open your eyes and look beyond the propaganda, beyond the chaos. Strive for peace, inside and out, and God will come to you bearing prosperity.

To Die is to Live Again

'To live is to die a little everyday. But, I love the resurrection part. Death is all the strength I need to rebuild life from scratch.' This thought stuck me recently and made everything clear.

Struggling through life is a norm for most people. We fall flat on our faces and then, like new born calves, try again and again till we are finally able to stand erect supporting our weight on our own two legs. But, it does not end there. Each time we hit a road bump, there we go falling flat on our faces once more.

In my last post, I wrote about famous people who had fallen but, rallied back to great success. This time I want to share the result of my own introspection on failures. 

It is pretty frustrating to fall. I know because, I am constantly slipping and falling both physically as well as in life. However, a very strong realization hit me recently as a result of the critical introspection that I had been doing of my personal and professional failures to understand, 'what was I doing wrong?'

It is an exercise I started last year and today, I am glad to share my understanding because it shattered a few of my own precious myths.

First thing I understood was, 'why?' 

In certain cases I slipped because I was not looking, I was careless. However, these were outnumbered by situations where I fell because I was too focused and too cautious. The learning - 'sometimes it is fine to follow instincts and react - we all have great instincts'.

One thing that shone through this period of introspection was the ability to almost always adapt to and bounce back, no matter how bad the situation. I keep flowing with the tide till my feet find ground once more. This was good news!

In my single-minded determination to pursue goals I fail because I become blind to everything else. It confines my dreams. At times it also makes me selfish and insensitive to other peoples' points of views. It is more often than not, a cause of downfall because I end up working in isolation. Sometimes I even withdraw because I'm worried that others will steal my ideas and at others, I am scared to share because I worry about the butt of joke I'd become if my endeavor fails.

I realize that to win, I need to improvise at every step and seek partnership. There are hardly any achievements that have been won in isolation. Everyone needs a team or at least a partner who has their back.

Sometimes I also lost despite a team/partner because I was not paying enough attention. I was so busy working on my plan that I never knew what was happening around. Sometimes, it pays to be in touch with everyone, to keep a finger on the pulse of those around you. Maybe they are trying to tell you something that would have acted as the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle or perhaps, they are not looking out for us at all, instead are busy in something else hence, leaving your back unattended. Often, I have been saved from trouble because I was constantly in touch with the team but, sometimes, either due to work pressure or some other reason when I did not, I'd found myself in a situation that pulled me down.

I also learnt that whatever happens, a learner never fails. S/he reinvents and strikes back. This is only possible by keeping our hopes alive and strongly hold on to our faith in self.

The key to success is to believe in your dreams. If I cannot dream I'll cease to exist. In my dreams I am unlimited and unvanquished. I am a winner already! At times it seems outright impossible. This makes me feel helpless, hopeless but, this is when I remember that this is not the end, the end is far from it.

I was recently watching the film, 'The Pursuit of Happyness' starring Will Smith. It is the real life story of a single dad's struggle to care for his 5-year-old and go after a dream that makes him start from scratch, live out of bags, even spend a night in a public toilet but, he does not give up. He despairs but, does not allow it to effect his performance and in doing so, turns over a new leaf in the story of his life and that of his son.

We all need to follow our dreams, whatever they may be, no dream is silly or small. They all have the potential to change our lives and that of those around us. We must hold on to them and improvise whenever we hit a road block. Every time we fail to make our dream a reality we die a little, but, each time we need to brush off that feeling of death and resurrect it in a new blue print. Never stop improvising, never stop adding.

I have bounced back every time and kept my sanity because, I have always lived my dreams. It is what has kept me floating.

This is great story by a life coach that I read today. It simply speaks about a person in deep despair because he'd lost his confidence and had sought out the help of the coach. This is the conversation that took place:

"Mentor: What was the strongest emotion you felt recently and how recent was it?

Person (after an incredulous pause): I was very angry just six hours back when my car was stuck in a jam.

Mentor: So, what happened to that anger? Where did it go in the last six hours after the incident?

Person (after an even longer pause and a smile at the end of it): It's there inside me..."

Yes, it never goes away, your dreams are always alive and right there inside you. Don't you ever forget that. Go make them real!

You are whatever you want to be and no one can steal your dreams unless you give them up without a fight.