Award or Reward
Last week I got a call from my dear friend. She was chosen to be among the many for a prestigious award in the corporate marketing world. There was just a problem she discussed about this that she had just quit her job and at present was not yet employed elsewhere. Her friends in the corporate sector advised her to maintain silence about this while she was to register herself giving all her details to the award committee, as they were of the opinion that this could jeopardise her receiving the award as she was technically unemployed. When she told these friends that she would be lying indirectly which she was not comfortable about, they pooh-pooh her honesty and told her to be worldly – wise instead. But she was not totally convinced and her intense spiritual quotient and sincerity pricked her conscience and her commitment to Truth, come what may. Her friends thought she was crazy to entertain these thoughts. One of them even went to the extent of telling her that whenever this ‘moralistic’ thought arose, she should call her and she would do the needful to demolish this ‘devil.’
The next day my friend called me and said that now she was breathing easy and relaxed after a night of inner conflict. She had just called the award committee and confessed the Truth. And the member said that she appreciated her honesty and that it would not make any difference in her deserving this award. In fact, it would open so many windows for her unasked of companies coming forward with an offer for her. I asked her how she would have felt if the award was withdrawn by her confession of the Truth. She promptly said that the peace she experienced now was far more fulfilling than the happiness/joy she would ever get based on falsity. I stood amazed by the confidence in her voice at that moment.
While we may be hasty in diluting the significance of the above event it needs a sincere self-introspection to realise how many of us would make this choice, especially when we are told that this could impact adversely our entire career-graph. Our honesty is tested only in a situation where dishonesty promises a rich dividend. She won a far more important reward in her inner world, which would by-far offset the transient joy she would have enjoyed by any award in her outer world of achievement. The peace we experience within is real, while the pleasure or joy we experience outside is only its weak shadow. Her inner, spiritual evolution enabled her to experience this Truth first-hand.
Congratulations to you, my dear!
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