Great men said, ‘Work is Worship’. It is certainly true that when we work and keep our mind busy, we keep ourselves free from the evils of idleness. We feel happy and peaceful.
The well- known scientist Louis Pasteur said that he finds peace either in his library or the laboratory. You are so engrossed and engaged in work that you simply don’t have time to indulge yourself. You become your ‘master’. Nothing can deter you from your path.
Swami Vivekanand has said,
“The mind is like a spoilt child. As the spoilt child is always dissatisfied so too the mind is always dissatisfied. That is why you must keep it in control.” But is very difficult to control the mind. As a matter of fact we must never let it remain without work and use our mind and body to keep engaged in some task or the other.
We can make use of our body in two ways – physically and mentally. All the work in which we use our mind or brain is mental work and all the work that we do with our body is physical work. Since mind controls all our activities, we cannot do any physical work even without applying our mind to it.
The mind is always full of thoughts and ideas. Ideas and thoughts are born in the mind. As a fertile field yields good crops if you sow good seeds, the mind yields good result if you entertain good thoughts only.
Physical strength is no power at all. Mental strength is true power. Our mind is a very powerful instrument. The mind can command the body to jump into fire, hang from a rope and encounter a lion in the forest. The fact is that the mind is really ‘You’.
The best way to keep yourself from getting distracted is to ‘be busy’.
An idle mind is a devil’s workshop’ so don’t let your mind idle away. Keep yourself busy all the time. If your body is working all the time, it remains healthy. In order to have a healthy mind, keep it busy in something useful. You’ll find it very rewarding. You will never feel worried and bored. On the contrary, you’ll feel happy and peaceful.
Once a person asked Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England, if he ever Got Worried. Churchill laughed and replied,” I work 18 (eighteen) hours a day. I have to work so much that I do not have time to worry.”
Only people with strong mind can react like this. Such people are like a mountain that remains firm in its place in all circumstances. People like Winston Churchill have a mind that is strong as the mountain.
The following quotation gives the qualities of mind;
“The mind is as still as the mountain. The mind is as wavering as a tree. The mind is like a blade of dry grass – It is carried aloft by the gentlest breeze.”
Some people have a mind as wavering as a branch of a tree. They keep swinging from this side to that they can’t decide what to do and when to do and how much to do. But such people have to try hard to become steady.
However, those who are like the blade of grass are fickle-minded. They give in to all the temptations and distractions of the world. A student must learn to be firm – minded. If he keeps getting distracted it is clear that he will take a long time to learn anything. Therefore. You must learn to keep your mind under control by doing useful work.
You should take your work as ‘Worship’. You must put all your mental and physical energy in your work. If you keep steady and develop a work- culture, i.e., doing something useful all the time you’ll gain materially also.
If your parents and teachers guide you to take your studies seriously and devote your mental energy in learning all your subjects well, you must act on this advice. Aim high and read your books well so that you can learn well. This does not mean that you can’t enjoy the good things of life.
It must be remembered that play, exercise and entertainment are not part of idleness. They are useful to health as they refresh the tired body and mind and prepare you for work again. No evil can enter a mind that is fruitfully engaged in useful work, be it play or studies.
Chesterfield, a great thinker, once said, “Idleness is only the refuge of weak minds and the holiday of fools.”
Another thinker said about work and work – culture in the following beautiful words;
“Life is a short day, but it is a working day.”
So, learn to love your work for peace and happiness in life.