Work is worship

In the first place, the Founder is strong of opinion that the world, any nation, community, family or an individual cannot be happy without religion, or to be put in Founder’s words, without religiosity. 

Of course, the word “religion” has to be very widely interpreted in much a wider sense than what we have till now. It should not mean any individual religion, nor should even the belief in a God be an indispensable qualification for a religious man. It should be enough if he loves and serves mankind with a universal mind. The belief of God’s existence may dawn later. A belief by itself is nothing unless it prompts and controls you to be acting best with your brothers and sisters or rather Mother’s children.

Exemption from the belief of the existence is only a compromise and a concession. That there is an Invisible world, a life after death, a providential arrangement of Invisible helpers and help etc., that there is the final-most  Beneficent Divine Mother who helps guides and saves Her devotees – is the personal experience of the Founder which he has narrated. It is an experience which has come down to us since the world began, actually to so many blessed few, who have tried with that conviction to set the world straight. They have well-nigh succeeded. The process of regeneration and degeneration of the world is constantly at work, just as any house since the time it is constructed gets dirty from time to time and has to be cleared by efficient well wishing philanthropic able workers.

The Founder wants to make the first exterior form of a religion, to be as simple as can be acceptable by any beginner, so that, to start with, everyone has an admission at someone stage or another, and is not left to be groping in the dark. Subtleties may follow, as the aspirant shows his worth and solid progress. Like the primary education, whether you have an aptitude for study or not, whether you are dull or bright, whether you love mechanical, artistic, or scientific training, you must have been admitted into some school. It does not matter if the work in the primary class is simply eating sugar pills and gradually learning the counting of their number. Lower the depth from which you begin cement filling, surer is your foundation and safer is your whole costliest construction thereon.

The highest emphasis that the Founder has to lay upon is “Nothing can be achieved or attained unless you die for it.“ None can eat for you to satisfy your hunger. There he is a bit different from the usual routine mentality of hand-folded seating. He says, prefers being worn out, to being rusted. Even a failure or a deafest is more glorious than the luke-warm deadness and inactivity, expecting others to do what you yourself can do. The Founder is not a pessimist or a fatalist.  He is extremely optimistic and believer in Mother’s Grace which can overturn the whole working of the world, if She desires. But here too, there is the difference in belief and a reminding is necessary. God and Guru will help you. Without their Grace, you cannot move an inch, but it is you who have to lay brick over brick to construct your own sheltering place.

The Founder is extremely hard on this point. Granting that it is God who does everything, and you too believe like that, even then, you are not to sit hand-folded.

Even if you are a worthless head clerk and your boss works your things he expects you to be busy at least making an appearance that you are helping him to work and remain in his presence.

While God is doing something for you, you must be in his waiting, and gratefully, and with a true humility which shows you are sorry at heart that you are putting Mother trouble, because of your incapacity. “Work is worship”, the Founder says,” You have to be active willing hands and feet and head and heart of God. ”  

EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK: MAI-ISM

AUTHOR: MAI SWARUP MAI MARKAND

MAI NIWAS, SARASWATI ROAD END, SANTA CRUZ WEST MUMBAI 400054 INDIA