Once there was a king named Ranacharya. He was a man with high ideals who valued honesty and hard work. The proverb “work is worship” was his belief.
One day, King Ranacharya decided to determine whether or not his subjects adhered to his ideals. So, he summoned a few of his courtiers and instructed them to “go through the kingdom and find out what jobs the people have undertaken, and whether or not they are performing their duties sincerely. Bring the individual who knows the secret of hard work to me.”
However, no one ought to be aware that I have sent you. “As you wish, you Majesty!” the courtiers said, and the king left.
“We must complete a significant task,” one of the courtiers stated. “But many people know that we are the king’s courtiers,” said another. “Let’s start right away. They might recognize us.”
Raghavan, one of the courtiers, said, “Let’s disguise ourselves as tribal men.” As a result, they all took on the appearance of tribal men and boarded a bullock cart to travel.
They first saw a large axe-wielding woodcutter cutting trees.
“Let’s speak with him,” Raghavan said. They came to a stop in their bullock cart and approached the woodcutter.
“Do you enjoy your job, woodcutter?”
With a grim expression, the woodcutter threw his axe to the side and said, “Not at all! This work has been handed down to me by my ancestors, so I do it.”
After getting on their bullock cart, Raghavan and his group continued on their way. After traveling some distance, they encountered a washerman.
Raghavan approached the washerman. He said, “Hello, dear washerman. It appears that you enjoy your work!”
The washerman got irritated and started beating the clothes harder.
“Is this work satisfying?” he responded. “For me, it’s a punishment. When I was a kid, I didn’t really care much about school. I never worked hard or listened to my parents. As a result, I was not eligible for a good job. Now that I have to do this job to feed my family, they completely depend on me.”
They got back on track after Raghavan got back into the cart. They saw a young man studying a few miles away.
“Young man, what are you doing?” inquired Raghavan.
The young man replied, “I teach. I’m reading this book to prepare for tomorrow’s class. I feel very fulfilled when I share my knowledge.”
“Do you know how hard work works?” Raghavan asked. “Yes!” The instructor responded, “Work is devotion! You must love what you do and do it honestly, no matter what you do.”
Raghavan and his group led the teacher to the king. The king rewarded the teacher and built a large school for his pupils when he heard what the teacher had to say. This incident inspired many people, and the kingdom’s people have always valued honesty and hard work.
Moral of Work Is Worship Story
Work is devotion, and one must love what they do; and do it with sincerity and dedication, no matter what job one undertakes.