You may be surprised and so will every reader! Bhagwan Baniya Hai? To translate this into English – ‘God is a Businessman’. In India, Baniya is a caste, known for its business talents. Here, we are not symbolizing caste…but an activity. God is a businessman. ‘God Business’ is another business. In the name of God, we do lot of other businesses. For example, Tirupati Balaji. In the name of Lord Balaji we do our own business.
God is a salesman, more effective than a Walmart salesman. If I were to distinguish this salesman with Walmart one, Walmart salesman can give goods on credit or monthly instalments ensuring a happy easy go purchase. God as a salesman never believes in instalments or credit. Pay first and take your product. Let me put it in a better manner.
Everything the God sells – both good and bad things – for a price called labour or work. If you work for it, you get it. There is no concept – you don’t work for it you don’t get it. Not working for something is also a work, according to God. So, you work only then you get it. Labour, hard work is the price that God expects us to pay. My description of God should not deceive the reader that I am either a strong believer of God or a non-believer. That is not the point.
One of the practices that you may have observed in God business, remember Lord Balaji referred above, the pundit in the sanctum sanctorum offers sacred water with a spoon (generally a silver or a golden spoon) with reverence. You stretch your hands, take water in the palms and drink it. 2 to 3 drops, no more than that. As a child, I used to find that water very tasty, though there is no difference between ordinary and sacred water. In Christianity, Christians sprinkle the sacred water on the head as a part of purification process. In Islam the believer is expected to drink the sacred AbeZamZam water.
Then what is the water this businessman God likes? Having closely observed Him by following Him wherever He went I analysed what scared water He may love. I found out. The water He loves to receive and in return He would bestow anything that one may desire is…two drops of sweat! You give as many drops as possible to please Him more. A person who gives two drops of sweat is less dear to God than a person who gives two gallons! Probably, in all three major religions stated above, this symbolism exists. I have no idea of this symbolism and hence I leave it for the religious scholars to interpret. But I believe and agree to say, this alone can be the symbolic nature of sacred water which in the Dickensian English (Charles Dickens English = Dickensian English) or in Leo Tolstoy’s words be described as ‘The sweat of the Brow’ -a priceless sacred wonder. This sacred water God expects from everyone. This is what I found by following Him. This is not a guess…this is what I have seen.
God is a businessman. He tells the harder you work, the more you get. Here, hard work does not mean hard work as a donkey. Hard work here means intelligent hard work. If you were to carry a pin, carry a pin. You do not have the stick the pin to a log to carry. That is donkey’s work. This work is called labour. Harder the labour…sweeter the result.
Take medical terminology. Across all languages and religions, mother has a special status. Starting from virgin Mary…without affecting virginity God was born to Mary. It may look stupid from the medical angle. How can be there be virginity when you give birth to a baby?This is beyond our comprehension. Mother has been given such an exalted status in every religion and every country across the globe. Mother is an unseen attachment and an unbreakable bond. Though all child and mother relationships are strong, but the mother who undergoes the greatest labour loves her child the greatest. There are no two opinions about it. This, however, doesn’t mean that the mother who underwent less labour loves her child less. If that is your understanding then you are stupid. What I intend to say is greater the labour, greater the love. When the son of God, Jesus where to born to mother Mary, it is the god who is taking birth….it is He who decided to take birth. Hence, in all Probability, He may have granted mother Mary a boon ‘let you not have labour’. Except this exception, in all other cases god excepts price called labour for every product in His store.
You may be thinking…suddenly at a god forsaken Delhi hotel room on a Saturday this non-believer talking of God, labour and businessman? I am as religious / irreligious as I was. My intention is to present the statement that God is a businessman who sells all things at a price called labour. Whatever you want from His store has a price. And in that He keeps degrees…if you give less labour, He gives you less. If you give him no price of labour, he gives you nothing.
Thus, the Indian thinking of Nishkam karma becomes superfluous. In business, I expect price and you expect the goods wanted. How can Nishkam Karma possible which is against the basic human psychology? The way living dead is an impossibility as per medical sciences, Nishkam Karma an impossibility. When I work for something, when I pay the price call labour, I expect returns. You may ask higher price or lower price, that is a different thing. If God sells at a lower price, we call it ‘Luck’. That is a no issue here. The real issue is in the eyes of God is ‘Have you paid the correct price called labour’? If you have, then you own the God and His entire store. If you have not, you have not.
Do you understand that Walmart’s salesperson is nowhere when compared to our One?