Research & Publications
Research & Publications
A Conversation with God
Rachana Sharma
No one can go back and make a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. So I did.
I usually go to bed after chanting prayers and thinking about starting the day with love, filling the day with love, spending the day with love, and ending the day with love. I believe that this is the way to God. And then I fall asleep peacefully. I did the same thing recently, but this time I was disturbed by a knock on the door. Simultaneously, the door bell rang.
‘Who is it?’ I shouted, picking up my torch and walking to the door.
A voice came from the other side. ‘I am a guard. I have come to take you to heaven. You have an appointment with God.’ Then there was a long silence.
A little later I found myself walking down a beautiful path strewn with the flowers of heaven. I was asked to sit on a cushioned chair and wait. Suddenly, a smart, young, and handsome gentleman appeared from nowhere. I was informed that he was God. After I got over my surprise, I started chatting with God. An uncommon dialogue began a conversation with God that gave my life a new direction and a deeper meaning.
God: Hello, my dear. What do you have to say about your life?
Me: Why? Didn’t my life work out?
God: Do you really want an answer to that, or are you just venting?
Me: Sir, I am Rachana Sharma. I have recently joined IRMA as an academic associate in the OB-HR area.
I feel at home at IRMA. I love what it offers—breath-taking natural beauty, amazing weather, fantastic people, and rare flora. I have immersed myself in the atmosphere and activities of IRMA. I enjoy watching the mysterious monument Amul Carillon Chimes in the campus,especially at sunset when it is lit up by glorious colours. Indeed, IRMA has more than one . . .
God (interrupting): You look tired. Would you like a guava drink?
Me (pleasantly surprised): Sure! Thanks, sir.
God: What do you do at IRMA? What is the OB-HR area?
Me: Well, sir, I still don’t know all the details but I am learning. I provide teaching assistance for the course on IGB. It is for this term only. IGB stands for individual and group behaviour. OB-HR is an acronym for organisational behaviour human resource. That’s all.
A silence descends.
God (breaking the silence): Hmm. So you deal with yourself and with other humans (smiles).
Me (confused): No, sir. Yes, sir.
God: What else, my dear child?
Me: Sir, we deal with rural management.
God: Oh, really. What is this?
Me: Sir, the conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work. Our work is focused in rural settings.
God: Good. Have you learned how to manage yourself?
Me (after a pause): Yes. No. Maybe. No.
A silence descends.
God: Okay, leave it. Let us talk about something else. What is your favourite game or sport?
Me (smiling happily): I love chess. I admire Viswanathan Anand a lot.
God: What is the beauty of this game?
Me: Concentration, planning, and discipline.
God: Are these also part of your management and self-management teachings and practices?
Me: Yes.
God: What is your success rate?
Me: Can I take a pass on this question? I am weak in maths and finance.
God: Usually I do not permit this, but you may take a pass. I will allow it this time.
Me: Thank you, sir. I have studied Henry Fayol’s principles of management, such as the unity of command and the unity of direction. I have also studied Sigmund Freud’s writings.
God (smiling): Would you like to meet them? They are both here. Both are busy writing books on how to manage God.
Me (changing the subject): Why did you create this world?
God (smiling): Reach me, and you will understand.
Me: But I am here with you already.
God: No, you are not. Reaching me will take much more effort and much more time. Tell me, do you practise self-management?
Me: No. What is this?
God: Without this you cannot learn management. My dear child, self-management is very important. It means living by your values, honouring your own good word, being accountable for your actions, taking responsibility, adopting good habits, having a good work ethic, reading voraciously, listening to learn, sharing everything you know with others, being kind, being courteous, being self-disciplined, not being a victim, and exercising your mind, body, and soul regularly.
Me: Thank you, sir! Do you have a pen drive or a portable hard disc I could borrow? I would like to carry these great words of wisdom with me.
God: Your hard disk is your brain. Use it.
Me (upset and disappointed): Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
God: Start downloading this in your memory. The most powerful word of this century is ariven . . .
Me (shouting excitedly): Ah! This is a French word.
God: No. This is a word without boundaries. Ari means wisdom or grace. Ariven is the condensed sound and the meaning of ‘I am’ that dwells in the three dimensions of the goddess—time, energy, and space—which are united in the oneness of the infinite.
Silence.
Me: Wow! These words remind me of my school days and studying for the board exams.
God: You look tired. Are you feeling bored talking to me?
Me: Not at all, not at all! I am enjoying this discussion. I believe learning is a continuous process and it continues until we reach heaven.
A hushed silence.
The uncomfortable silence continues.
Me: What is the secret of 108?
God: Hmm. A good question. There are three facts you should know. First, the distance between the earth and the sun = 108 times the sun’s diameter Second, the distance between the earth and the moon = 108 times the moon’s diameter Third, the diameter of the sun = 108 times the earth’s diameter
Silence.
Me (thinking to myself): God is pretty good at astronomy. It seems all schoolteachers are part of one soul.
God (staring hard at me): You look bored.
Me: Oh no, sir. Please give me some management tips.
God: That you already do every day when you do a Google search.
Me: Well, yes. But you are the greatest manager in the universe. Please say something wise and profound. I want to write an article for Network, a quarterly publication of IRMA. I will put your name down as a co-author.
God: First you have to understand liberation. After you understand what liberation means, you can go in for self-realisation. When nothing is left inside, all will be managed. A conviction should be established among people that ‘I am a pure soul’. This will result in inner peace and harmony.
Me (jumping from the chair in excitement): Great! That’s a unique management quote. Eureka (but not Eureka Forbes)! Sorry, sir. Please continue.
God (continuing): The five most important human values are truth, right conduct, peace, love, and non-violence. My dear child, the material world is subject to constant changes and God alone is the pure . . .
Me: Hmm. India can overpower China and Pakistan.
God: Yes, if there is a . . .
Me: Probability (wow, I used a statistics term—my least favourite subject).
God: Speak the truth. Speak kindly and compassionately to others. And practise what you preach . . .
Me (interrupting): All this I know already. It’s there in the books; it’s on the Net. Please give me something different, something that will astonish the world.
God: Okay. Practise spirituality.
Me: But how?
God: Here is a nine-point code of conduct. Put it up on the IRMA notice board where all those passing that way can see it and learn from it.
• Daily meditation and prayer
• Group devotional singing once a week
• Participation in spiritual education
• Participation in community service work
• Regular attendance to God
• Regular study of God’s literature
• Speaking softly and lovingly with everyone
• Not speaking ill of others, especially in their absence
• Placing a ceiling on desires. Consciously and continuously striving to eliminate the tendency to waste time, money, food, and energy
My dear child, politics without principles, education without character, science without humanity, and commerce without morality are not only useless, but they are also positively dangerous.
Me: Sorry for the interruption, sir (recalling how Doordarshan used to flash this sign when transmission of the TV signal was disrupted). This is all very good and fine, but why don’t you mail me everything? It will save time and effort. (I was happy that I had used 0.5 per cent of my brain power.)
God: My server is the universe and your email id is your intuition. You look tired. Would you like some guava juice?
Me: No, thank you. But I would like a mango shake.
God: You are a poor learner.
Me (looking around while sipping the mango shake): Heaven is technologically quite advanced, just like in the movies Independence Day, Aliens, and Matrix.
God: Shall we begin?
Me: Yes, sir. Please tell me about Swami Vivekananda. I wish I had lived during his lifetime.
God: You did.
Me: Wow! Are you talking about my previous birth?
God: No. All souls are part of one divine power.
Me (without much interest): Oh really? That’s great.
God: When I took birth as Vivekananda, I said to the people, ‘See God in all.’ God is within you.
Me (thinking to myself): Yes, I am.
God: Persevere in your search for God. Trust completely in God.
Me (thinking to myself): I lose.
God: Love of God is essential.
Me (thinking about someone who is not yet part of my Orkut friends list): Love of others is also important.
God smiles.
Me: I am a big fan of Swami Vivekananda. I am also a big fan of Roger Federer.
Suddenly there was a thunderstorm and I fell from heaven and landed back on earth. I opened my eyes and found I was back in my quarter at IRMA. I found a note lying on my bedside table. It said, ‘You have lost your one chance of gaining self-realisation.’ The words disturbed me deeply. How could I be such a fool? I had spent my time with God asking silly questions. I didn’t cry, but thereafter I learned to step into the zone of silence. The conversation with God has helped put me on the path of self- realisation, so I thought of sharing it with IRMANs. Whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. I thank all of you for your patience in reading this conversation until the last line.
I have neither bondage nor liberation,
Neither shastra, nor guru.
I have gone beyond maya.
Let life go away or let the mind be attacked.
I have no misery as I am filled with joy.