Want To Secure Your Job?

It was time for a quarterly business review in our office. One by one, the members of our team were going to meet the manager in his cabin to discuss their performance during the last quarter. His cabin is right in front of my seat and I could clearly see through the glass and get a hint of how the review of others was going. Rahul, my friend from the team, was the next one to go inside the cabin for his review. We all knew that Rahul's performance during the last quarter wasn't good at all. All of us could, therefore, anticipate the scenario in the boss's cabin. After his review got over, the door of the cabin opened. Just when Rahul was about to come out, the Manager made his final remark in a frightening voice– “Rahul, if you can't do your job well then start looking for another. I will hire someone else.” Though the words were uttered for Rahul, but they had almost an equal impact on all of us sitting outside the cabin. Rahul started to think as to what would happen if he had to leave. How would he be able to carry out the responsibilities of his family? After thinking about it for a long time, he realised the value and importance of his job.

Just three days later, I came across a story which somehow reminded me of my colleague Rahul. It was a story of a gardener and the owner of the house. Once, a young boy went to a nearby telephone booth and made a call to apply for a job. While the boy was making a call, the booth owner was quietly observing him. Here's the short but beautiful telephonic conversation that took place between the two:

Boy: Madam, would you please hire me as your gardener? I will keep your garden absolutely clean and green.

Lady: No, I have already hired someone sometime back.

Boy: Madam, I am ready to work at half the pay of what you are giving to the person you have hired.

Lady: But, I am completely satisfied with the way that guy is taking care of my garden.

Boy (in a yet more requesting tone this time): Madam, I would not just take care of your garden, but would also clean your house at no extra cost.

Lady (in a confident voice): I am sorry but I don't need anybody else to take care of my garden.

Boy: OK. Thank you.

The boy put the receiver down. However, instead of feeling sad about the denial of a job, he had a satisfactory smile on his face. The telephone booth owner who was observing the boy went up to him and said– “Child, I am really impressed and happy to see your dedication to work. If you want, I can offer you a job in my store and I would pay you well too.” The boy, who was pleading for a job just a minute ago, said with a smile on his face– “Thank you, Sir! But, I don't need a job.” The booth owner was utterly puzzled. He said, “Just now you were requesting that lady to offer you a job as a gardener and you said you would do almost anything to get a job.” The boy replied– “Sir, actually I was checking whether I am doing my work properly or not. I only work as a gardener for the lady I was talking to.”

Though the story was short and from altogether a different category, but I was forced to relate it to the incident that happened 3 days back in office. I thought if, like that boy, Rahul would have been proactive in determining his duties properly and if he had taken some corrective measures in time, he would not have been asked to leave the job. Had Rahul done a self-analysis in advance just like the young boy did, he would have realised that he needs to work harder in order to retain the job. Also, he could have taken steps of improvement much before his review with the manager and saved some respect for himself. Therefore, it is really important to do a self-analysis or a reality check to find out if we are giving our best in whatever work we are doing. We need to ask ourselves if there is anyone else who could do this job better than us. If we despise someone else filling in for us then we would give more than 100% of our efforts to prove that we are not just the best for this role but irreplaceable, too.

If we try to extrapolate this thought, we, as the adherents of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan, would realise how lucky we are and how kind God has been to all of us. We all know that God has chosen us as His volunteers to spread the message of Truth and to work towards World Peace. We, as His disciples, need to understand the duties laid down on us by God Himself and check whether we are doing those duties properly or not. We need to do a self-analysis whether there is someone else who can do our duties better than the way we are doing them. What if God hires someone else to do our duties and asks us to leave His abode just the way Rahul was told to leave office? Though it's true that God is not like that manager, who would ask His employees to leave the job… He is very kind and loving and would always keep us in His abode. However, it is also true that none of us would want to be like Rahul, who would only realise once the things have gone out of our hands. Where God could have selected anyone from this world to do a particular job, He has chosen us. Therefore, just like the gardener, let's do a self-analysis today and try to find out whether God is satisfied with our work or not, so that if anyone calls Him and tries to replace us, God can proudly say “No, I don't want to hire anyone else for this job. I am satisfied.”