DIGNITY OF LABOUR
When we say work is worship, we don’t mean holy work, sacred
work, religious work or white collar work. In fact, we mean that whatever we do
is addressed to God. We also mean that idleness is a wastage of time and God
does not appreciate idlers. He loves all those people who perform their duties ------
physical, mental and spiritual.
Every piece of work is dedicated to God who has blessed us with active life ---- not only a life of contemplation
but also of labour, work, exertion, industry, striving, struggle and endeavour.
No labour whether it is manual or mental or spiritual is
undignified. To quote a definition: “ The dignity of labour is the idea that
all jobs are equally respected and should not be discriminated against or
considered superior to others .. It is a philosophy that holds that all jobs,
whether physical or mental, deserve respect.”
Adopted as a policy , dignity of labour ensures social
equality and economic security. A sweeper is as much appreciated as a popular.
In this world of
varieties of work, nothing is unimportant. A bus does not run without inflation
of its tyres even when all parts of its
body are perfect. The driver of a bus is as important as its inventor was.
Given below is a song from the Gitanjali of the Indian poet
and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941).
“Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads! Whom
dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut?
Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee !
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and
where the path-maker is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and in shower,
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil !
Deliverance ? Where is this deliverance to be found ? Our
master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation : he is bound
with us all for ever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and
incense ! What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained ? Meet
him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow. “
Through this wonderful song, Tagore speaks of not only
dignity but also holiness of labour. God himself is working along with a
path-breaker on the dusty soil. He is with such labourers in sun and in shower.
To conclude , here is a dignity of
labour quote attributed to the American minister
and activist Martin Luther King
Jr.(1929-1968):
“All labour that uplifts humanity has
dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
G.R.Kanwal
9th January 2025
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