Shrii Shrii Anandamurti said:
“Encourage everyone to build their career in a nice way. Let none get the opportunity to think that their life has become useless.” – Ánanda Púrńimá 1963
Yes, this is a birthday vanii (message) what has immense significance.
He also said in a New Year’s message:
“Your ideal is represented by your conduct. Your learning, your social or economic status have nothing to do with your ideal.” – 1 January 1961
And on the spiritual path, it is essential to follow a moral code – the code of Yama and Niyama.
Taking all these into consideration, we can develop ‘career hints’ of a moral and psycho-spiritual nature. These are sorely needed today. Here are some ‘career hints’, which can constitute good advice on your chosen career path.
Having a good career is not just for your advantage, but also for the public good and well-being of your fellow citizens (in its broadest sense). Every successful person has relied upon the immense majority and so has a moral obligation to raise the material and intellectual circumstances of all, to the best of their abilities.
The advantages or powers enjoyed in a career require your good behavior. The basis of their conferment is that the community wants your talents and work, and so grants you rewards in order to stimulate you, give you incentives, to make maximum effort to use your capacities, since it is in the public interest that they should be used to their fullest extent.
Remember in your career that success presupposes fairness. Of course, you are entitled to fair rewards, but this assumes that as a beneficiary of such rewards you exercise moderation, self-restraint and consideration for others in opportunities that come to you. It is they who also helped you exert your ability.
Bring to your career high and honorable ideals. These should not be scorned in the commercial world or in any arena of work – they should not be put away to win success. They will and must be valued. Even your entire skill set and learnings are less important, less a guarantee of success, than a sense of honor and probity in your dealings and how you work.
The unfortunate person is one who in the world is without any idea of what services to render, what skills to develop and attain, or what goal to achieve that benefits both the individual and the collective through application of a skill set. So, help inspire all for a career that thrives with life and one in which the work they do leaves the world in good condition.
It is often the case that the ‘perfect job’ is not likely to be attained by everyone or even by most people. But that should have no effect on your ideals. Be strong in your ideals in all circumstances. Remain content – it is an essential moral principle.
Ideals have power over our lives. In youth, they energize and direct our first steps into the world of work and career. Human life motivated by ideals must be counted as a real force and kept positive.
However, as per time, place and person, the characteristics of positive ideals also change over time, but human desire to achieve ideals do not. Let youth start with motive-power to achieve in work and career. Even if ideals are not accomplished decades later, and so there can be disappointment, still no-one wants to wipe from their memory what inspired their benevolent ideals. So remember that benevolent ideals, whether achieved or not, will always benefit the mind.
Remember, many other persons in this world have worked all their lives, with much effort, but may not have succeeded in raising themselves even above mundane existence, because opportunities have not been available to them or harnessed by them for whatever reason, be it their skill level or because of many other circumstances. So, exercise self-restraint and make ample allowance for their point of view and for the feelings of others. Be patient, helpful and conciliatory – this must always be remembered.
Your attitude must be judicial so that your mind is fixed upon truth with no room for prejudice. This applies to your workplace and your career as well. Do not discriminate against persons based on their attributes, be it race, ethnic origin, sex, disability and so on. Human rights are the superstructure of ideals for the groundwork of social equality. There is no progress without such ideals. Social calamity arises when sentiments are not guided by the principle of social equality. Carry out regular personal reflection in order to gain further inner knowledge and develop real human values so that you can exercise your human rights to which you are entitled.
Weaknesses though are found in all areas of human endeavor, mistakes will be made and failings will even occur, which naturally means some scrutiny and control is required over all occupations. Adhere to the code of conduct of your occupation – it should generally be benevolent and be interpreted benevolently. Treat it as a gift for your personal development. If there is anything irrational, unfair or inequitable in any code of conduct, make every effort to remedy and amend the code.
Never let your feelings, aspirations and sympathies become hardened or narrowed; lest you become estranged from your fellow workers, you fellow men/women. With this in view remain approachable, seek and welcome contact with the work-a-day world and remain part and parcel of it. This will maintain and improve your harmony with your fellow workers. Always work in the spirit of coordinated cooperation.
See to it that your enterprise, your workplace, falls into line with the spirit of the age and keep it in line with progressive changes. That enterprise is responsible not only for its commercial affairs or other objectives, but is in actuality a trustee for the welfare of others. It’s participants are to cultivate and demonstrate cohesion and discipline, and there must be some submission of one’s self in the furtherance of the common cause.
Over time, their always arises the need to heed the call for change of methods of utilization in industry and workplaces, in enterprises and commerce. This occurs when methods and ways become unsuitable to the time and out of keeping with rationally, progressive development. So, give timely aid and advice in a constructive way in your workplace towards realizing just and wise modifications to the existing order of things. Your leadership traits will flourish when doing so.
There can be many other hints. Your own inspiration will develop more for you.
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Several of the ideas came from a speech titled ‘High Finance’ by Otto H. Kahn and were adapted accordingly. The speech was given on 27 April 1916 at Waldorf-Astoria, New York and was delivered to the American Newspaper Publishers Association at its annual dinner.
