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Work is worship


Here is a short story from the Mahabharat that demonstrates the saying: work is worship and duty is God. Kaushika was an austere Brahmin who was well-versed in the Vedas and other shastras. Once, while he was chanting the Vedas under a tree, a crane’s droppings fell on him. Infuriated, he killed the poor bird with one angry .

Sometime later, he went around the village for alms and reached the house of a woman who was engrossed in her household duties. Kaushika saw her tending to her husband’s needs with utmost care. Only after her chores ended did she come out with alms for him, by when Kaushika’s anger knew no bounds. But the woman said gently, ‘I am not the crane, O Revered Sir, to be harmed by your anger.’ Kaushika was taken aback. On enquiry, she instructed him to go to Mithila and gain knowledge from one Dharmavyadha.

In Mithila, he came to know that Dharmavyadha was a butcher and not some hermit. To his surprise, the butcher warmly invited him to his abode and enquired about the pious woman who had sent him. Kaushika stood there stupefied. He realised that his knowledge was nothing compared to that of the humble butcher and the woman in the village. Kaushika observed Dharmavyadha serving his parents and doing his duties meticulously. The butcher then enlightened the brahmin about his dharma and how one’s duty takes precedence over all else.

Kaushika learnt his lesson and went off to execute his neglected duties. He understood that taking care of his grieving parents was to be given the foremost priority, and, as Sathya Sai Baba says, ‘Work is worship, and duty is God.’



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