The Tea Shop

A group of fifteen soldiers led by their Major Sahib were on their way to the post in Himalayas where they would be deployed for next three months. Another batch, which will be relieved, would be waiting anxiously for their arrival so that they could fall back to safer confines of their parent unit. Some would proceed on leave and meet their families. They were happy that they were to relieve a set of comrades who had done their job.

It was a treacherous climb and the journey was to last till the next evening.  Cold winter with intermittent snowfall added to the torture.

If only someone could offer a cup of tea, the Major thought, knowing completely well that it was a futile wish.

They continued for another hour before they came across a dilapidated structure which looked like a small shop. It was locked.

It was 2 o'clock in the night and there was no house close to the shop where the owner could be located. In any case it was not advisable to knock any doors in the night for security reasons.

It was a stalemate. "No tea boys, bad luck" said the Major.

The Major told the men to take some rest since they had been walking for more than three hours now.

"Sir, this is a tea shop indeed and we can make tea. We will have to break the lock though."

The officer was in doubt about the proposed action but a steaming cup of tea was not a bad idea. He thought for a while and permitted for the lock to be broken. The lock was broken.

They were in luck.

The place was a shop indeed and had everything required to preparing tea and also a few packets of biscuits.

The tea was prepared and it brought great relief to all in the cold night. They were now ready for the long and treacherous walk ahead of them and started to get ready to move.

The officer was in thought. They had broken open the lock and prepared tea and consumed biscuits without the permission of the owner. The payment was due but there was no one in sight. But, they are not a band of thieves. They are disciplined soldiers.

The Major didn't move out without doing what needed to be done. He took out a INR. 1000/- note from his wallet and kept it on the counter, pressed under the sugar container, so that the owner sees it first thing when he arrives in the morning.

He was now relieved of the guilt and ordered the move.

Days, weeks and months passed. They continued to do gallantly what they were required to do and were lucky not to lose any one from the group in the intense insurgency situation.

And then one day, it was time to be replaced by another brave lot. Soon they were on their way back and stopped at the same shop, which was today open with the owner in place. He was an old man with very meager resources and was happy to see fifteen of them with the prospect of selling at least fifteen cups of tea that day.

All of them had their tea and spoke to the old man about his life and experiences in general, selling tea at such remote a location. The poor, old man had many stories to tell all of them, replete with his faith in God.

"Kya Baba, yadi Allah hota to kyaa aap ke jaisa 'Allah kaa bandaa' is haal main hota?" said one of them, moved by his poverty and faith in God.

"Nahin Sahib, aise mat kaho, God actually exists. I got the proof a few months ago."

"I was going through very tough times because my only son had been severely beaten by the terrorists who wanted some information from him which he did not have. I had closed the shop early that day and had taken my son to the hospital. There were medicines to be purchased and I had no money. No one would give me a loan from fear of the terrorists. There was no hope, Sahib. And that day Sahib, I had prayed to Allah for help. And Sahib, Allah walked into my shop that day. When I returned to my shop that day and saw the lock broken, I thought someone had broken in and had taken away whatever little I had. But then I saw that 'Allah' had left INR. 1000/- under the sugar pot. Sahib, I can't tell you what that money was worth that day. Allah exists Sahib, He does. I know people are dying every day here but all of you will soon meet your near and dear ones, your children, and you must thank your God Sahib, he is watching all of us. He does exist. He walked in to my shop that day and broke open the lock to give me the money I desperately needed. I know He did it."

The faith in his eyes was unflinching. It was unnerving. Fifteen sets of eyes looked at their Major and read the order in his eyes clear and unambiguous, 'Keep quiet.'

The Major got up and paid the bill and hugged the old man.

"Yes Baba, I know, God does exist and yes the tea was wonderful."

Fifteen pairs of eyes did not miss the moisture building in the eyes of the Major, a rare sight.

And the real truth is that any one of us can be a God to somebody.

Spirituality is the essence of life. All of us are endowed with that untapped goldmine we call spirituality. It is our being that determines our thinking and personality even as very few among us are aware of that deep fountain of ambrosia within us that constantly guides us. Most of us however, rarely heed to it or respond to it. Tap that source and you are well on a growth trajectory - personal, financial, emotional, and spiritual.

Spirituality and your career are intricately intertwined. However, most of us might fail to go along the spiritually guided career. Some of us realize mid-way that we are ordained for a different career and make career change. Others are not as fortunate. There are some spiritually conscious among us who made the right career choice since their beginning.

There are few things that all of us might have noticed in personal life that go on to show the manner in which your guardian angel constantly prepares you for career and career change.

You might have noticed that you constantly aspired for a job that didn't come easily even as you and the others thought you were highly competent there. However, the offers came pouring in sectors you thought you were not competent enough. And in this very sector you excelled without much effort. You hated the job that you thought was forced upon you but came to love it ultimately. You loved the job that you always aspired for but came to hate it ultimately.

These are no accidents as there are no accidents in the universe. These were guiding steps designed by your guardian spirits for your learning and experience no actual university can give you. As your psychic ability develops you might know it rather easily.

There might have been difficult moments when you needed a job badly but didn't get any. You thought the world was a cruel place ruled by a cruel God. Much later, when you were in some profession you realized on reflecting back, how well everything fell into place. You might have considered even fortunate for not having landed with the job that you needed so badly when you were going through a tough phase.

The story of Swami Vivekananda, the great religious leader from India who made a deep impact at the Parliament of Religions, Chicago in 1893 can be quite illustrative here. Swami Vivekananda was known as Naren before taking to monk-hood. His father died when he was in Presidency College, Calcutta. He was the eldest son in the family that was suddenly burdened with grave responsibilities. His father hadn't left any money for the family. He wandered with his bio-data from one office to the next in the hope of finding a job, but he got none. This was despite the fact that he had graduated with excellent scores and even his professors were awed by his academic excellence.

His spiritual master Ramkrishna. Paramhamsa had foretold that Naren would be a great spiritual master who was not meant for any ordinary job.

Isn't it quite reasonable to assume that the job we look after in vain is not meant for us? On the contrary, we are meant for something else or a different job. Rather than stressing our nerves in a futile attempt at finding a job, it would be more reasonable to let it slip and go by as smoothly as we pass stations without stopping in our journey.

It would be more reasonable to delve deep into our inner consciousness to discover what might rightfully belong to us. It is then that we feel more at peace and more in command of our true being. Some of us are endowed with that psychic ability while most of us learn it gradually. You can use your inherent psychic ability to enhance your self spiritually. It might then be possible for you to know the right job for you or whether you need a job change.

There are, however, some signs that might tell you whether or not you are moving in the right direction in your search after a job or career.

Think and visualize a job. If you feel an inner joy and satisfaction that job is probably meant for you. Visualize the job in terms of activities involved. Do you see yourself cheerful? Do you see yourself energetic and vibrant? If yes, the job is meant for you.

Do you remember your friends, family and even strangers telling, "You will make an excellent..." (Social worker, nurse, teacher, counselor, etc.). Nature is sending you messages. Sit quietly in a room or somewhere no one can disturb. Close your eyes. Let the images of different jobs pass through your mind. Notice them closely. Which among the images was the most vivid and clear? That is probably the job you are meant for.

Do you keep your dream diary? If not, you would do well to keep one. For a month from today start writing your dreams as much as you can remember on waking up. After a month or so, read and analyze whatever you have written. You can maintain your dream diary for even a long period or for as long a time as you want. Reading the content at a periodic interval might give you some sign or some hint at what you have been aspiring for. Your guardian angel might have put those hints and signs for you to decipher.

Since your career is an extension of your personality, being and spirituality, career change will probably come easily with the spiritual exercises should you feel your present career is not for you. A little contemplation and imagination will add to your psychic abilities to reckon the desirable direction of career or career change.

As a man walked a desolate beach one cold, gray morning he began to see another figure, far in the distance. Slowly the two approached each other, and he could make out that it was a local native who kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he hurled things into the ocean.

As the distance between them continued to narrow, the man could see that the native was picking up starfishes that had been washed upon the beach and one at a time, was throwing them back into the water.

Puzzled, the man approached the native and asked what he was doing. “I’m throwing these starfishes back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfishes have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”

“But there must be thousands of starfishes on this beach,” the man replied. “You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are just too many and this same thing is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish and as he threw it back into the sea he replied, “Made a difference to that one!”