In India, for proper progress of the nation, we need to give importance and respect to hard work like we do with truth and adopt the words shram eva jayate (hard work alone triumphs) as the motto phrase on the pattern of satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs). This movement is in accord with India’s rishi tradition. Labor is neglected by only those who cannot grasp the truth of life. Those who understand ‘truth’ consider hard work as essential and a virtue that augments the glory of life.
In our culture, God is considered Satchidananda (sat-chit-ananda). Sat is that which is real, noble, and eternal. Chit means conscious, energetic, and active. By incorporating these two attributes, ananda is achieved. Success and victory in material and spiritual spheres are attained through these very means. Satyameva jayate, i.e., only the one who understands sat and gives importance to the true underlying bases of life, marches ahead and reaches the goal. On the other hand, one who as wrong and wrong as right only wastes his life running after illusory charms of oases and, in the end, becomes a victim of disappointment and remorse.
The irony is that most people consider the above sutra as correct in principle but not feasible in practice. They want to take the easy route to achieve their goals by merely showing truth rather than sadhana of truth. They treat truth and honesty not as a rule but only as a policy of convenience. Such people do not believe in the principle of satyameva jayate.
Most people do not understand what exactly is satya or truth. Instead of trying to understand its true meaning, they keep trying with all their energy to establish their own perception or thinking as the truth. To understand truth, one has to refine both -one’s sense of discrimination and courage. Param Pujya Gurudev has explained the meaning of truth in the second volume of Pragya Purana – “Truth is not confined to mere words; it inheres in emotions and objectives.” To illustrate this, he gave the following example-
“Two thugs (cheats) befriend a person. At an opportune moment, one thug picks the person’s purse and puts it in the pocket of the other thug. When the victim asks where his purse is, the first thug replies – “I swear in the name of god it is not with me.” The other thug also says – “I too swear that I have not even touched it.” Now, judging by the words superficially, both are speaking the truth, but it is not ‘the truth’ because both intend to cheat the person. They both know the reality. Still taking recourse to semantics, they are avoiding speaking the truth; rather, they are killing the fact.
In contrast to this, a doctor, in order to buoy up a patient, tells him that the operation would be simple even though it is not so, or a guardian pacifies an obstinate child with pleasant but false promises. The words of both these persons might not be true in the narrow sense of the term, but their intention and purpose being noble, they too are seekers of truth.
Hence, if satyameva jayate has to be ensconced in life, the resolve to know its real meaning and the courage to adopt it in life both have to be awakened. One who understands the truth of life will understand the importance and glory of labor. Otherwise, he would merely make a show of both truth and labor and later discard them.
The clarion call for truth and labor is therefore necessary. If the foundation of life is sat (truth), the spontaneous nature of life is chit (conscious or animate). Inanimate is inactive; animate is active. Therefore, the essential attribute of this world is consciousness or activity. The Upanishad has an illustrative anecdote about the origin of the world:
– “Intending to create the world God did tapa, tapa led to sweating, and the world arose from this sweat.” In other words, this world is born of human endeavor (purushartha), and it is hard work through which it succeeds. Why has labor been called tapa here? We can understand this based on the thoughts of Param Pujya Gurudev.
If hard work has to be meaningful, the sadhaka should have three qualities: (1) respect towards work, (2) sufficient capability to do work, and (3) creativity in work. All these three qualities are associated with the word tapa. One may look down upon labor as petty, but the generation of honor and respect with tapa is spontaneous.
Tapa is practiced continuously till the objective is achieved. This points to the capacity element of labor. Tapa is done to accomplish some noble purpose; hence the creativity aspect of work too is attached with it. That is why the Upanishadic rishi has expressed work as a tapa. If we have to make labor honourable, we will have to look at it with the same feeling of piousness and reverence as we do with tapa. Unfortunately, today labor has begun to be seen as low and dishonourable work. We will have to change this mindset and awaken a feeling of respect towards labor.
It has been said in Ishawasyopnishad– “Kurvanneveha karmani jijivishet shatam samah.” [ Meaning – Let us resolve to live for hundred years doing work]. Why did not the rishi of the Upanishad talk of living hundred years while resting or indulging or doing nothing? Because in the absence of work, the right to relax or enjoy or even live a hundred years is taken away from us. We forfeit these entitlements. It is with work that life unravels its myriad layers of greatness and riches. If we want fulfilment in life, we have to engage in labor. Swami Vivekanand has said – “Work is life. A society which does not give importance to work soon degenerates.”
The American billionaire Henry Ford writes – “Our work not only provides us with the means of life, but it gives life itself.” It is our work that inspires us to march ahead and opens up the door to immense possibilities of life. Labor forms the solid foundation of a developed life and bright future. Barton writes – “Labor is a powerful magnet which pulls whatever is good and lofty towards it.”
Many people would say cynically:
– “We have labored hard all along, but what did we get?” The answer to this is that if labor is done with the attitude of sadhana, it gives many things to the doer. Labor bestows joy and happiness. Dr. Vishweshwaraiya has said – “Labour promotes physical and mental health; it gives contentment and happiness.” Labor means joy, while indolence means suffering and problems. A laborious person can be more contented and happy. On the other hand, laziness takes a person onto a life of dullness and negativity. Only the person who realizes the importance of labor will become devoted to working and be blessed with the divine gifts of the presiding deity of labor.
The gifts of labor are immense. The doer easily and automatically gets some of the most precious gifts of life, such as a healthy body. Only the laborious are seen to be healthy and disease-free. The shirkers are immersed in ailments despite all the medical facilities and medicines available.
Labor wins outright when it comes to keeping different diseases or generating health benefits at bay. Rest is, of course, soothing and immensely enjoyable, but this pleasure comes only to those tired after a hard day’s work. Taking rest without first getting tired, even lying on thick spongy beds in air-conditioned rooms gives no pleasure; the sleep remains patchy. Many have to take sleeping pills, but the hard worker can enjoy deep sleep anywhere and on any surface. When he gets up, he feels charged and energetic.
There is no pleasure to match the joy of good food. But this pleasure again is felt only by those who feel deep hunger. This type of hunger is related to hard labor. People indulge in so many things to generate artificial appetite. However, food does not give them the level of satisfaction and joy that a laborious person gets routinely in simple food.
Labor refines talent. The value of contentment and joy has been explained in the context of the lives of great personalities. The person who does work in the spirit of sadhana easily receives all those boons. Often the intellectual type of persons do not want to waste time in physical labor and give priority to their specific work. But the cerebral persons, too, who have realized the truth of life enhance and refine their mental and physical abilities by doing some physical labor. Keeping this truth in view, it was normal in ancient times for the children of even kings and nobles to do physical work alongside receiving formal education.
The saint, reformer, and litterateur of Russia, Leo Tolstoy, too has experienced this truth and has written- “For the first forty years I concentrated on writing work only, but later realized the importance of labor.” He further writes – “Whatever work I did in 40 years could easily have been achieved in 14 years on the strength of the enhanced capability acquired through physical labor.”
It is well known that Sant Kabir was a weaver, Raidas was a cobbler, Nanda was a barber, and Namdev did tailoring work. Shyonak was a cleaner, and Raikya rishi was a porter of goods. These labor-intensive work did not lower their greatness; rather, it increased their merit and public esteem.
Lord Krishna explained this fact through his teaching of karma (duty) and said that everybody, whoever he might be, who does his duty is entitled to salvation. Not only this, to establish the respect for this duty and labor, Shri Krishna himself did every kind of work in his life — tended the cows as Gopal (shepherd), worked as charioteer to Arjuna, cleaned the floor in Rajsuya Yagya, even removed leftover pattals of guests, washed their feet, and along with all these also gave invaluable teachings of the Gita to humanity. He tried to negotiate peace between Pandavas and Kauravas, and when the need arose, he even took up arms on the battlefield. He remained a yogi even while following the grihastha dharma. Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Sant Vinoba, and many others followed this path of Shri Krishna and attained greatness. Why should we hesitate then in walking this path?
Maintaining a balance in labor is also necessary. Labour should include mental and physical exertion, diligence, attentiveness, enthusiasm, and readiness. Unfortunately, those who do physical work often avoid mental labor. Hence they are called rustic and foolish. On the other hand, the educated persons, for lack of physical labor, mostly remain weak and prone to diseases.
We should realize the importance of balanced labor. Our lives should be developed in all respects. If we can awaken interest in the progressive development of both qualities, thinking power and physical activity, we would be amazed to see the accruing benefits. The whole personality could be transformed. This is a kind of Jeevan Sadhana and is a magical vidya which gives direct and visible fruits.” Labor should, therefore, be considered at par with ‘truth’ in life.
Akhand Jyoti Magazine 2022 Mar-Apr
