Gradation of Divine Excellence in Gita & Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

In Chapter 10 of the Gita, Lord Krishna defines His Supreme Excellence in all fields.

He says:

Of the Adityas, I am Vishnu.

Of luminaries, the radiant Sun.

Of the winds, I am Marichi.

Of the asterisms, the Moon.

I am the Sama Veda of the Vedas.

And Indra of the gods.

Of the senses, I am Manas,

And Intelligence in living beings am I.

Of the Rudras, I am Shankara, 

Of the Yakshas & Rakshasas, Kubera.

Of the Vasus, I am Pavaka,

And of the mountains, Meru am I.

Know Me among horses as 

Uchchaisshravas (Seven headed white flying horse, created during Amrita Manthan);

Of lordly elephants, Airavata;

And of men, the King.

In "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", (July 15, 1885), Sri Ramakrishna appraises Narendra  (later Swami Vivekananda) like this:

Some are like lotuses with ten petals;

Some like lotuses with sixteen petals;

Some like lotuses with a hundred petals;

But among lotuses, Narendra is a thousand petalled one.

Other devotees may be like pots & pitchers;

But Narendra is a huge water barrel.

Others may be like pools or tanks;

But Narendra is a huge reservoir.

Among fishes, others are like minnows;

Narendra is a huge red-eyed carp.

Narendra is a very big receptacle

Which can hold many things.

Like a bamboo with a big hollow inside.

He is like a male pigeon;

If you hold it by its beak, 

It breaks away from you.

So does Narendra break away from

The attraction of sense pleasures.

The Relevance of Work

The only primary human needs are nourishment, clothing & shelter. The other needs can be relegated as secondary. Work also is a secondary need used to obtain the primary needs. Even though employment & money are viewed as synonymous, they are not. One can have money without employment, for example by inheriting it. Similarly employment need not be economically productive, for example philanthropic activities or activities undertaken for pure enjoyment.

Such being the case, viewing work as the "sine qua non" of human existence is a myopic vision & glorification of it is uncalled for. Lord Bertrand Russel, mathematician & philosopher wrote that a four hour workday is sufficient to take care of human needs, the rest of the day being utilised for really human creative activities. 

Josef Pieper, a 20th century philosopher, appalled at the workaholism of post-war Germany, with consequent de-humanisation, wrote in his influential book "Leisure, the basis of Culture" that only Culture redeems humans from their animal propensities & it is impossible without Leisure, i.e., Cessation from work, to engage in cultural activities including religious worship. 

More recently Dr.Zena Hitz, in her "Lost in Thought - The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life" wrote how even people in menial professions, found meaning & fulfilment in their dreary lives by entering the magnificent world of books in their free time.

The (Vegetarian Socialist) Playwright George Bernard Shaw, in his "The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism, Capitalism, Sovietism & Fascism" writes how greedy, inhuman employers wore out nine generations of human labour in one generation by overworking them to premature death.

His Fabian Society friend, William Morris, the celebrated designer, also wrote a novel "News from Nowhere" where work is undertaken in a spirit of joy, without coercion about the number of hours put in.

The visionary Robert Owen (1771-1858), though a (Welsh) Industrialist, appalled at the overworking of people in post-Industrial England, pioneered the 8 hour work day, the other 8 hours for recreation & 8 hours for sleep. He was the real "Compassionate Capitalist".

Apart from right to Life & Liberty, basic human rights include right to participate in active sports & preferred cultural activities & time to pursue them daily. This is also mandated by the International Labour Organisation by regulating that the standard working day shall not exceed 8 hours.

It is sad to see the progressive visionary ideas espoused above & even mandated by International Law, being violated with impunity & flaunted with pride & even as an exhibition of patriotism, whereas the ugly truth is that we are relapsing into a previous era of inhumanity, exploitation & barbarity.

It is small wonder that Europe (specially the Scandinavian countries) having a work-week of 35-40 hours, has the happiest people in the world.

Literary Phoenixes

William Faulkner (1897-1962) is now regarded as a celebrated American author. Though he published many books, because of his difficult style, he was not particularly popular either with the critics or readers. By the 1940's, his books began to go out of print &  he was slipping into literary obscurity. Then Malcolm Cowley, managed to publish a selection of his works in "The Portable Faulkner" in 1946. This was instantly popular & there was a resurgence of interest in his works & they began to be reprinted & appreciated. He was even awarded the Nobel Prize  in 1949. He himself said "I owe Malcolm Cowley the kind of debt no man could ever repay."

Barbara Pym (1913-1980) wrote novels in the style of Jane Austen in the 50's. They were popular but received little critical attention. Of After writing six novels, many published by Jonathan Cape, her seventh was rejected by the new editor of Cape, Tom Maschler as being outdated in 1963. She approached other publishers but with no success. In 1977, in an article in the influential Times Literary Supplement, Philip Larkin & Lord David Cecil, declared her as the most under-rated writer of the last 75 years. Interest in her works revived & publishers, including Jonathan Cape, wanted to publish her books. She had not forgotten Cape's earlier rejection & chose Macmillan to publish her books.

Probably inspired by these & to address this problem in at least children's literature, Phoenix awards were constituted in 1985 to award exceptional children's books, which had not received a major award even after 20 years of publication. An example is the winner in 2011, "The Mozart Season" by Virginia Euwer Wolff, first published in 1991, about a little girl learning to play a Violin Concerto of Mozart.