Spirituality At Work: Attune Your Work With Righteousness  

By William and Debra Miller

Spirituality At Work: Attune Your Work With Righteousness  

In this article, we will explore righteousness, the second of five human values (truth, righteousness, peace, love, and non-violence) found in all spiritual traditions. "Righteousness" is one of the most common translations of the Sanskrit word "dharma," which in essence means to act in accord with divine law, moral principles, and the unity of all life.

Righteousness, from a spiritual basis, is acting in harmony with the Divine nature that is inherent in yourself and all creation. This spiritual basis of righteousness is well expressed by Dena Merriam, Vice-Chairperson of Ruder Finn, an internationally prominent public relations firm:

Spirituality is attunement with a universal spirit. It is being so in tune with that spirit that you are not acting from a place of ego... you are acting from a place that is on behalf of the welfare of the totality.

This is different from people who act "righteously" in their work - those who elevate their beliefs of right and wrong above all others', with little regard for anyone who might disagree. These are people who work "righteously" from an egoistic, self-centred basis - who have qualities such as:

¥ Rigid views of what is right and wrong

¥ Harsh judgments toward anything they consider wrong

¥ A desire to seek jobs that allow them to enforce their views

On the other hand, have you known people who made careers for themselves that were perfectly suited to their inner sense of purpose and their natural talents? And while they had strong moral principles, their attitudes were inspiring and created harmony around them? This is indicative of righteousness at work - where their work is naturally aligned with:

¥ Their essential Divine nature, spiritual purpose and values

¥ Their natural gifts, talents and duties

¥ The universal laws of how everything works in harmony

Righteousness, we have found, is a distinctive spiritual quality of the excellence, duty, and virtue that each person naturally possesses. It includes following your own sense of a "right path" in your career and expressing "right conduct" in your words and deeds.

Dena Merriam shared with us this experience of right conduct in not terminating a client relationship:

I was struggling with a client relationship that had suddenly gone amiss. I originally interpreted all of this difficulty to the fact that they were disorganized and unprofessional. I was at the point where I was ready to end the contract, and they were also ready to sever the relationship too.  

Then I realized what a tragedy this would be. Whenever there are human beings involved, there are going to be communication issues. I came to the place where I felt such a need to continue with them because of the love I felt for them and for what we were doing together.  

So I had that turnaround in my own heart and I initiated a conversation with this client. To my surprise they had had the same turnaround. We both acknowledged there were communications issues and that we saw this as a long-term commitment to each other.

Dena also shares how her work is aligned with her spiritual purpose and values:

Most people in my type of business don't use the word love - they use client service. For me the dedication that is required in my client relationships is love. There is just no other word for it.

You might notice how righteousness is inextricably linked with the other four human values. For example, if Dena had not begun to feel her genuine love for the client, she could not have acted "righteously" - in harmony with her own and her client's essential nature.

Also, you can see how the strength of righteousness can bring out the other human values in yourself. When you act morally from the wisdom of your true spiritual purpose and values, you will bring out your natural ability to be trustworthy (truth), contented (peace), helpful (love), and cooperative (non-violence).

So, ask yourself: How am I ensuring that my work is attuned with my spiritual purpose, values and natural talents? How am I acting in accord with the universal laws of unity and harmony?

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More from same authors see: William and Debra Miller

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