Work is Worship

The general view is that work is done in the office, the factory or the fields and worship is done in a temple or a church or a mosque. The feeling is that we work to earn MONEY and we worship to get the blessings of God. However, the proverb ‘Work is Worship’ combines the idea of work and worship.
Work, the dictionary says, refers to physical or mental effort spent to produce or accomplish something. And the word ‘worship’ comes from the old English word ‘worth-ship’, which means giving worth to something.So when the wise ones said ‘work is worship’, they meant doing what we do with the sense of worthiness or respect. When we understand that all work – big or small – is valuable and do it with reverence, then our work becomes worship. Work is worship, thus, speaks about the right attitude towards work.All great people accomplished noble deeds, discovered new things, invented new products only because of their right attitude towards work. Edison, for example, held a world record of 1093 patents for inventions. All these were possible because of his worshipful attitude towards his work.The mother at home works with the same attitude. Whether it is sweeping or cleaning the utensils or preparing food, she does it with love and care. Cooking, cleaning, sweeping may be lowly tasks but the mother with her worshipful outlook towards work changes daily chores into joyful jobs.In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas performed a grand ceremony called ‘Rajasuya Yaga’. Kings were invited from all over the country to attend the function. Each member of the Pandava family was assigned some work. Lord Krishna was given the task of washing the feet of the guests who came to the ceremony. He, the great Lord Himself, washed the feet of the guests with His own hands and set a perfect example.Thus, it becomes clear that work done with the sense of worthiness or respect is worship.

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine

On the surface, the proverb says that a thing that needs mending ought to be mended before it assumes serious proportions.Take for example a cloth that is a little torn. It can be easily mended with a single stitch. But if it is neglected, it requires more stitches. Further neglect may also make it useless.By extension, the proverb means that timely action helps us in overcoming problems. Prompt action at an early stage prevents serious trouble in future.Take for instance, the breach in a dam in Gujarat. It was not repaired in the early stages. This resulted in the bursting of the dam. A water sheet of twenty feet high ran across the village and thousands of people died in Marui, a beautiful city, in three minutes. It is case of delay and ‘delays are dangerous’.Same is the case of a 

student

 who falls into the habit of procrastination. He must read his lessons regularly. He must not postpone them. If he neglects to study in time he will have to strain before the examinations. He will have to ‘burn the midnight oil’. It may spoil his health and in addition there is every danger of forgetting whatever he has read. He becomes a victim of tension and fear.The popular story of the grandmother who shielded her grandson illustrates this maxim. A boy stole a pencil from a classmate and showed it to his grandmother. Instead of questioning him about it she kept quiet. The boy’s thefts went unchecked until one day he was arrested. Of only the boy had been corrected in time, he would not have become a thief. Timely action would have prevented him from falling into wrong ways.

Neglecting to replace a nail in a horse’s shoe may lose a kingdom itself. As it is said:

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost;
For want a horse, the rider was lost;
For want of a rider, the battle was lost;
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost.

Thus the saying advises us to take timely action for ” a small hole, if neglected, will sink a big ship”.

Necessity Is the Mother of Invention

The keyword in the proverb is ‘mother’. It means source or starting point.

All inventions or discoveries came into being because of their immediate demand or necessity. For when there is an urgent pressing need we try hard to satisfy it. We devote all our energies to fulfill the demand and succeed in our efforts.If one reads the story of discoveries and inventions one will come across numerous examples to prove the truth of this saying. The primitive man must have felt the need to keep himself warm and protect himself from wild animals. These needs must have driven him to discover fire and invent weapons. Similarly he would have invented the wheel to make he task of dragging huge weights easier.It is only when we need something badly that we bend all our energies and channelise all our resources for finding, tracing or inventing. Radio, television, railway, aeroplane and telephone were all thought of when necessity for recreation, quick transport and immediate communication was felt.When the Turks captured Constantinople (now Turkey) the land route to India was closed. The necessity to continue TRADE links with India arose and it resulted in the discovery of a sea route to India via Cape of Good Hope by Vasco-Da-Gama.Man needed medicines to cure ailments and he found and made miraculous drugs like penicillin and streptomycin. Today man is busy finding alternate fuels to overcome oil shortage. He is using Genetics to discover ways and means to make life better.In any field whenever need arises, man uses all his faculties to fulfill the necessity. The result is an invention or a discovery. Hence the proverb ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’.

one good turn deserves another

People go throughout their day encountering random acts of kindness in many various ways. Whether it is simply acknowledging someone who walks right past you by saying hello and smiling, or just holding the door open for someone entering behind you, kindness is everywhere. However, there are also certain people who do not openly express their kindness to others. For example, take the driver who suddenly and abruptly cuts you off when changing lanes; even though you would like to tailgate him all the way to his house to make him angry, “one good turn, deserves another.” Let the driver go, and carry on with your day. In return, the driver may feel sorry for his or her actions and perhaps one day, when you extremely need to craft a massive 5 lane change manoeuvre, someone will let you go.The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him has always preached the philosophy "Always be kind to others" to his Ummah. Once he said, “He who is deprived of kindness is deprived of goodness.” Even if others may not behave in a benevolent manner towards you, always respond with kindness.

A favour in return for a favour
That is what any man will do
A favour in return for an evil
That is what a manly man will do

Sometimes, people may be astonished by your response and feel obliged to do the same to others. In addition to it, a touch of satisfaction lies in performing good to others. There is a wonderful poem about a man who helps an old woman across the street. The woman blesses him for helping her. At the end of the poem the man expresses the fond hope that some young man like himself will help his mother when she is in trouble.To conclude, in the relay race of life, we must continue to pass on the baton of kindness to one another. If people stumble, or choose not to pass it on, we must continue pass it on because this is what makes the world run: Kindness. Therefore, one should never hesitate to do good for others. For one good turn deserves another

”where there is a will, there is a way”

We often make promise to our self everyday, I will go to gym, i will finish my work on time, i will clean the room everyday, I would study daily and what not but how often to we really put them in practices!.When we read the biographies of great people like , Albert Einstein to Edmund Hillary, we find that they had a strong will, they never gave up even in hard times. They overcame there difficulties and find the right path to success. Many of us in this generation don’t have patience we want to achieve everything super fast which is a wrong attitude.Suppose a 

student

 think to secure a first class in examination but doesn’t put any effort then he would gradually not achieve the goal but if the student makes a firm resolve to achieve his or her goal and works towards it wholeheartedly, he or she is almost certain to achieve success.Things which seem to be impossible can become possible. In past aeroplane, mobile phones, space travel were all just a fantasy which is now a part of our realities. Today we see that this thing which used to be consider as impossible have now became possible .How have these impossibilities been achieved ? By man’s will-power, determination and dedication.If we determine anything and focus on it then nothing is impossible. If we have the will to win then we would surely find our way sooner or later and  marches to ultimate victory.So let us cultivate a strong will, a keen desire and the determination to achieve our goals.If there is no way we will create one.That’s why its right said :-”where there is a will, there is a way”