Question: My son studied chemistry and now he wants to open a health food shop. Do you not feel that he should use his talents in a higher profession?

Sri Chinmoy: God is all joy. He wants to give us joy in our own way. If someone gets more joy by working in a restaurant instead of becoming a great doctor or lawyer, then God will say, “Do what gives you joy. If this is what you want, then do it.” Again, there are many lawyers and doctors who are extremely happy in their profession because they wanted that profession. But, who knows, perhaps there are some who are very unhappy because they made the wrong choice.

If your son does not get happiness by working as a chemist, and if he receives tremendous joy by working at a health food store or in some other field, then I feel he should do what gives him joy. Otherwise, even if he becomes a great chemist, he may be very unhappy.

Our mind may think that a shopkeeper is inferior to a doctor or lawyer. In God’s Eye, we are all one. In a drama, somebody plays the role of a king, somebody else plays the queen, and somebody else is a servant. If everybody plays the role of a king, and there are no ministers or servants, then there is no play.

Whether I am a doctor or a shopkeeper, what really matters to God is whether I am a good person. If I am a good person, then no matter what I do, I am far better than a bad person. If I follow the spiritual life, it does not matter whether I am a businessman or a doctor or a lawyer or a school principal. All that matters is that I am getting joy. If I get joy by being a businessman, then I am doing the right thing. If I get joy by being a doctor or a lawyer, then I am doing the right thing. God only wants us to be happy.

The whole world loves and adores the Saviour Jesus Christ. Why? Because he gives boundless inner joy, peace and love to everybody. Does it matter that earlier in his life he was only a simple carpenter? Not in the least. In India also, there are many spiritual figures who came of humble origins, but still they are loved and worshipped. Sri Ramakrishna, for example, came of a very, very poor village family. Later he worked as a priest in a small temple. But the world remembers him and spiritual Masters like him because of who they were and what they did spiritually, not because of their profession. If someone is a good person and loves God, whatever job gives him the most joy is the best.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Sri Chinmoy answers, part 33, Agni Press, 2002
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/sca_33