JOIN USAll of us know that the world is presently riddled with umpteen number of problems. If we want to redress them, no single person, team or organisation can hope to claim success. If we have to bring about a radical change in the world, we must do it unitedly. Everybody without exception must contribute his or her mite for the mighty cause.
In other words, team work is the panacea for all our ills.
The Vishnu Purana catalogues the importance of coming together despite differences in order to achieve a common goal.
The natural enemies, Devas and the Asuras were hankering to become immortal. They were keen on consuming the nectar which was at the bottom of the ocean.
They were aware of the colossal work involved, hence they decided to work on the project together and share the yield. They approached Lord Maha Vishnu and apprised him of the situation. They worked on a strategy to churn the ocean.
Accordingly, Maha Vishnu would metamorphose into a tortoise and form the base, the Mandara mountain would be placed on him as the churning pole, Vasuki, the celestial serpent would serve as the rope, the Devas and Asuras would assemble on either side to churn the ocean. And churn the ocean, they did.
They were rewarded with divine invaluable gifts at regular intervals. Nevertheless, the team continued to churn away till they roused the toxic gases of the sea.
Though they were famished, they were reluctant to give up before they achieved their set goal. They invoked Lord Shiva for help.
The lord appeared and consumed the poisonous fumes and cleared the air for them. The team was rewarded with the much-sought nectar after another bout of energetic hard work. That Maha Vishnu intervened in the imbalanced distribution of the nectar is another story.
The takeaway from this episode of Kurmavataram happens to be thus: Whenever we take up a micro or a macro project, we must make sure that each one of us puts aside our differences and work with complete commitment.
We must ensure that we are in a harmonious equation with Mother Nature, lest we are shaken up rudely for our apathy.
Remember, how the representatives of nature mountain and the serpent chipped in to help out? If obstacles come our way, they should be handled practically and confidently, for, we will turn into losers if we buckle down to the hassles.
When we consider our work to be worship, no impediment can stop the blessings of the Almighty to percolate down to us and ensure our success.