Right on God

The concept of God is perhaps as ancient as human existence. At all times, God has been conceived in numerous ways. Some consider Him to be a very benevolent entity that can be easily pleased by prayers both genuine and not so genuine while others consider Him to be a tough ruler of the Universe who can inflict any punishment on anyone in anger. Thus, all try to please Him in their own ways. Yet it is difficult to say as to how many trust Him, forget how many think about what is right on God’s part. 

I have contemplated a lot on the subject of God and this has been possible on account of the blessings of many enlightened saints. What I learnt from all of them is that God is the name given to the power of Nature, which is manifested in all its creations both sentient as well as insentient. This way, we all are essentially divine but unaware of it. The purpose of life is to seek divinity within us so that we regard ourselves as a part of God or in other words, children of God. Once we realise this, all our misgivings about God disappear and we lead a carefree life, like a child in the company of her mother. We can also have a rightful claim on Him provided we obey Him and live in accordance with His laws. 

I have an interesting experience to narrate which reinforced my faith in God. As commissioner of Lucknow, a great responsibility was entrusted upon me and my team for arranging unemployment allowance distribution to more than fifty thousand youths coming from different parts of the division. It was a huge task with no previous experience of its kind. It included huge tents, transport arrangement, food arrangements and many other logistics. The time given for all this arrangement was very short. The Chief Minister was personally interested in perfecting the programme and was monitoring it closely. The programme was to be held in the mid of June when there is a good likelihood of rain. 

Given the context, we all set ourselves to make the arrangements. One problem after the other was coming before us but with a strong team spirit and support from the higher officials, they were also being sorted out. Within a few days we became confident that the programme would be successful. The only missing thing was that a rainproof tent could not be arranged for the whole area. The contractor could provide that only for the VIP area. It was his physical limitation and no amount of temptation or threat was of any help. 

When the final review of the arrangements was done at the Chief Secretary’s level, this point also came up for discussion. While the Chief Secretary was convinced that nothing could be done at that point of time and it should be left to chance only, the Home Secretary took a rigid stand and insisted on the rainproof tent to cover the entire area. He also proposed that if it was not possible, the CM should be advised to change the date. The Chief Secretary, though not convinced by his proposal, kept silent. However, I took a firm stand. I said that we also have some right on God and it was time to exercise that right.

Immediately, we took the CM into confidence, who understood our limitations and asked us to go ahead with the arrangements. Eventually, it turned out to be a memorable occasion with everything going the perfect way. The Chief Minister was extremely pleased and praised the whole administration. The fact that it did not rain and nor was it so sunny, was certainly a blessing of God. 

Rakesh Mittal I A S