Excellence and integrity sow the seeds for blessings

Excellence and integrity sow the seeds for blessings

“Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for excellence; and, of those striving for excellence, some rare one reaches the goal.”—Bhagavad Geeta 7:3

A person of excellence and integrity goes the extra mile to do what is right, what conforms to Dharma. He keeps his word even when it is difficult. “Speak the Truth, walk in Righteousness,” the Veda says. God blesses excellence. The Lord says: “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation, whatever you bestow as gift, whatever you do as penance, offer it all to Me.”  (Gita 9:27)

Notice, whatever we do, we should give it our best effort and do it as if we are doing it for God. If we will work with that standard in mind, God has promised to reward us. If you want to live your best life now, start aiming for excellence and integrity in your life, doing a little bit more than you are required to do. People of excellence, for example, have respect for time. They arrive at work on time. They give their employers a full day’s work. Go the extra mile.

But you say, “Everybody is doing it. Everybody gets to work late at my office. Everybody plays on the Internet when the boss is gone. Everybody takes extra-long lunch breaks.” Maybe so, but you are not like everybody else! You are called to live a life of excellence. You are a representative of the Almighty God. How you live, how you do your work, or how you conduct your business whether you are on time or not, is all a reflection on your God.

Whether we realize it or not, people are watching us. They are watching how we dress, how we take care of our homes, how we treat other people. What do they see? Are we good representatives of God? Are we striving for excellence?

God wants us to be people of integrity, people of honour, people who are trustworthy. A person of integrity is open and honest. He is true to his word. He keeps his commitments. He does not need a legal contract; his word is his bond. People of integrity are the same in private as they are in public. They don’t go out and treat their friends and co-workers kindly and then go home and ill-treat their families. No, when you have integrity, you will do what is right whether anybody is watching or not.

God’s blessing will be upon those who walk uprightly. When you refuse to compromise, He will be guarding your path. If we sink down to the level of other people and do what everybody else is doing – lying, cheating, back-stabbing. We may think we are gaining, but in the end we will be the ones to suffer. In the end we will be the ones to lose out.

There is the story about a wealthy man whose friend was a carpenter. This carpenter was finding life a bit hard since he hadn’t much work lately. So the wealthy friend felt sorry for him and decided to help him out. He gave him a Building Plan and a cheque for twenty million dollars. He said, “I want you to build me a new house. I don’t have the time to keep checking on it. You make all the decisions. I trust you. If you do a good job, I promise to pay you well.”

This carpenter was so excited. He felt that he could start making some money. But he started to think, If I cut a few corners here and there, maybe I could pocket some of that twenty million dollars. So he went out and bought the cheapest material he could find. Some of them were bent and warped and crooked, but he didn’t care. They were going to be hidden behind the walls. Nobody would ever see it. He did the same thing with the plumbing, the electrical work, and so on, cutting corners and saving money. When the house was completed, he had saved nearly $1,000,000, which he discreetly deposited in his own bank account.

He then called his wealthy friend to come and take a look at the house. The friend was quite impressed. On the surface, the house looked beautiful. He never guessed that the carpenter had cheated, compromising the integrity of the whole house. The carpenter was ecstatic as he noted the pleased expression on the wealthy friend’s face. He couldn’t wait to see how much he was going to be paid.

As the wealthy man walked to the front door, he turned with a twinkle in his eyes and said to the carpenter, “You know, I don’t really need this house. I already have a beautiful home. I was just trying to help you out and do you a favor.” He then handed the carpenter the keys, and said, “This is for you. You have just built yourself a brand-new home.”

That carpenter nearly passed out. He thought, If I had known that it was going to be my own home, I would have built it a whole lot better!

The truth is, whether we realize it or not, we are all building our own homes. We may cut corners here and there, but it is not hurting anybody except ourselves. Those poor decisions will weaken our foundations, causing all sorts of problems in the future. Everything may look fine on the surface, but what really counts is what is going on within or behind the walls, behind closed doors. What do we do when nobody is watching? Are we watering down our foundations because of a lack of integrity? Are we cheating people, compromising right and left? What kind of materials are we putting into our own homes?

This carpenter got into his new house and three months later, he was having foundation problems. Six months after that, cracks appeared on the walls. The plumbing wouldn’t work right. It cost him far more than the $1,000,000 he had ‘saved’ to fix all those problems. If he had the house to build over again, he would surely do it right the first time.

In the same way, when we compromise to get ahead, we may think we are gaining, but in the end it will bring nothing but problems. We will suffer dire consequences. We have to live in our own homes. I can’t build your home; you can’t build mine. No, we have to take responsibility for our own decisions. I don’t know what you do behind closed doors. You don’t know what I do. But as people of integrity, we should have the same character in private as we do in public. We don’t put on our Sunday morning face in Mandir and then go out and compromise all during the week. It is not enough to talk the talk. We have got to walk the walk.

When you make a commitment to excellence and integrity, God will reward you. When you are committed to doing what is right, you are sowing seeds for God’s blessings.

(Pandit Ramdial Balbadar is a prominent Aachaarya (Teacher) of Hinduism in Guyana. He is the compiler and author of many titles and has over 30 years experience in Pandits’ Training across Guyana. He is currently the President of the Sanatan Vaidic Dharma Pandits’ Sabha, Region 3).