24 - Maxim Of Life

Once a teacher was absent. Bhai went to take his class. Students were making noise in the class. They became quiet looking at Bhai. Bhai announced, ‘Today, your teacher is on leave. I will teach you in his place.' A student got up. He told Bhai, ‘Sir, today we do not want to study’. Bhai asked, ‘what do you want to do?' He replied, ‘Anything else, but we do not feel like studying. Is it possible that you do not teach us this one period?' Bhai promised, ‘Why not! If you do not feel like studying, it's Ok, we shall talk and discuss some other interesting topics, right?’ They answered in one voice, ‘Yes sir, right.’ Bhai warned them, ‘You should not make noise. That is the condition. The students of other classes should not be disturbed.’ The students agreed, ‘We would not make any noise.’

A student requested, ‘Sir, please tell us a story.' Bhai asked, ‘Today, can we talk about spirituality?' All of them consented. Bhai said, ‘I will ask you a few questions and you must raise your hands to answer.’ He asked, ‘Who worships God every day?' A few students raised their hands. Bhai said, ‘Very good. Why do other students not worship God?' A student replied, ‘I do not know how to worship.' Another one said, ‘I do not have time.' The third one said, ‘It takes a lot of time to worship God. My father worships God for one hour. I feel bored. Therefore, I do not sit with him to worship.

Bhai repeated, ‘No time, do not know, takes a lot of time. These are all excuses. Today, I will teach you the simplest method. Early morning, you should have bath and have Darshan of God. You should read five Shlokas from either Shikshapatri or some other religious book. And then you should recite God’s name for five rosaries. It takes ten minutes to do this.’ The students asked, ‘Only ten minutes?' Bhai confirmed, ‘Yes, only ten minutes.' A student said, ‘I can worship God for ten minutes daily. I can always spare ten minutes.' Bhai encouraged him, ‘I like this attitude of yours. Now all of you should worship God every day. Always remember God before doing anything. Then we must begin the work. Therefore, God also joins us to do the work. And the work is performed very well. We enjoy doing it and the outcome of that work looks very good.' The students asked, ‘How is it possible.' Bhai explained, ‘It is very simple. Before drinking water we must remember God, while having food we must remember Him. When we sit down to study, first of all we must remember Him. While writing exams also we must remember Him. So that God joins us in writing exam and we can pass the exams with very good marks.' The students said, ‘If we follow this, all the time we would spend for God only. Then how could we study or work.' Bhai said, ‘We do not have to do this for a long time!’. The students asked, ‘You asked to remember God for ten minutes.' A student complained, ‘If we spend ten minutes during writing exams, we may not finish the question paper.’ Bhai clarified, ‘No, not that way. In the morning you should worship God for ten minutes. Afterwards, before doing anything, you must remember God only for four or five seconds.’ The kids were relieved. ‘Only four to five seconds! That’s all? That is very simple.’ Bhai explained, ‘You must tell God, O God, please join me in doing this task. Therefore God would join you and you will not feel bored. You will not find it difficult to perform. You will enjoy your work. Tell me, would you do this?’ All the children spoke in a single voice, ‘Yes sir, this is very simple. We have to remember God only for five seconds. You have made it so simple!’ A student confessed, ‘I used to think, it is very time consuming to worship God. Therefore, I never used to worship God. Sir, you have taught us a very simple method.' Bhai said, ‘You must remember this through out your life. Will you do that?’ The kids were very happy. They spoke in chorus, ‘This is very simple. We will certainly remember this.

Bhai gave the children the most important key for lifetime. He did this in a very simple manner. This key was going to be helpful for their spiritual progress.

Difficult words:
Maxim - Principle
Spirituality - Related to God
Rosary - A string of beads used to recite the name of God
Outcome - Result
Time consuming - A task which takes a long time to complete

Points to ponder:
- Bhai teaches us that we must remember God while performing each and every task.
- By remembering God before starting any work, we get accustomed to remember God frequently.
- Bhai teaches us to remember God right from childhood, so that it can result into beneficial habit when we grow up.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:
1. According to Bhai, for how long should one worship God?
2. What reasons were given by the children for not worshipping God?
3. Which important key or clue had been given by Bhai to the children, which was going to be helpful for their entire life?
4. According to Bhai, for how long should one remember God before starting any work?

Fill in the blanks:
1. No _____________, do not know, waste of time etc. These are all _________.
2. I can worship God everyday for ____ minutes.
3. Before starting any work, we must remember _________.
4. We must remember God only for __________ seconds.
5. We must tell God ___________ please join ___________ in performing this task.
6. During simple conversation, Bhai gave an important ________ for their entire _______.