No customers no business, what should I do?

Customers: Who Brings Them?

Questioner : I open my shop early and close late in order to attract more customers, is this right?

Dadashri: Who are you to attract customers? You should open your shop at the same time others do. If others open their shop at 7:00 a.m. and you open yours at 9:30 a.m., that is wrong. Close your shop at the same time others do. The worldly life tells you that you should observe what others do. You should sleep when others do. If you make noise till 2:00 in the morning, is that acceptable? Do you worry about how you are going to digest your food after you eat? The consequences of your eating become evident in the morning, without fail. This principle also applies to business everywhere.

Questioner :  Dada, recently I have had no customers in the business, what should I do about that?

Dadashri : If you lose electricity and you sit there waiting and pondering, 'When will the light come back? When will the light come back?' will it come back sooner? What do you do in that situation?

Questioner : I notify the company or I will go there myself.

Dadashri : Do you not call the company hundred times?

Questioner : No.

Dadashri : When this light went off, we were all singing. Did the light not come back on its own?

Questioner : Does that mean we should remain detached?

Dadashri : It is wrong to remain detached, but it is also wrong to become  attached. You just have to maintain from within, 'It would be good if the lights were to come back.' You are asked to remain calm. 'It would be good if the customers come.' Just maintain this much but do not get  excited. Maintain regularity and do not spoil your inner intent. To maintain regularity is your true effort. Do not get agitated if there are no customers and when some day there is a throng of customers, see to it that every customer is served to their satisfaction. Instead, people get angry with their employees if there are no customers. How would you feel if you were in their shoes? The poor worker comes to do your job and you tell them off. He will put up with your abuse, but at the same time, he will bind vengeance against you. You should never be harsh to your servant. He is human too! The poor man is miserable at home, and at work, you keep telling him off. Where is the poor man to go? Show him some kindness.

When a customer comes to your shop, show him your goods with love and patience, and when you have no customers, then remember God and meditate. Instead, you fret looking to see if any customers are coming and your intellect then troubles you, 'Today I am going to make a loss'. You become overcome with anxiety and then you take out your frustrations on your workers. You become engulfed in adverse meditative states. Whatever customers come to your shop, they come because of vyavasthit and only those who are meant to come will come, so do not interfere in the process. When you have customers, you can haggle over the prices but you should not allow any kashayas (anger, pride, attachment and greed) to transpire, you have to accomplish your work by appeasing them. If your arm were to get trapped under a big rock, would you break the rock by hitting it with a hammer? No because that would crush your arm. Instead, you would try to pry it out gently. If you usekashayas in your interactions, you will create vengeance and one vengeance will lead to endless vengeance. Vengeance is the basis of the world's existence; vengeance is the main cause.