“Hard work is equal to prayer”

“Hard work is equal to prayer” was a motto of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister of India (1964-66). Shastri believed that hard work was a religious article of faith, and his saying has been cited in print since at least 1964. The saying is popular in India and among people from India who reside in the United States and other countries.
 
   
Wikipedia: Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (pronounced [laːl bəˈɦaːd̪ʊr ˈʃaːst̪ri]; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was the Second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a leader of the Indian National Congress party.
 
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Newsweek
Volume 63, Part 2
1964
Pg. 39:
“Hard work is equal to prayer,” is one of Shastri’s mottoes, and in the sweltering capital he regularly works eighteen hours a day.
     
Google Books 
A Study of Lal Bahadur Shastri
By B. S. Gujrati
Jullundur: Sterling Publishers
1965  
Pg. 13:
“Hard work is equal to prayer,” is one of Shastri’s mottoes, and in the sweltering capital he regularly works eighteen hours a day.
 
Google Books
Lal Bahadur Shastri
By D. R. Mankekar
New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India
1973
Pg. 224:
Lal Bahadur’s constant advice to his sons was: “Never hanker after money. Be honest and hard working.” Another of his favourite mottos was: “Hard work is equal to prayer.”
 
Google Books
Tales from the Heart:
The Art of Living for Young and Old

By Antony Alaharasan
Worcester, MA: Ambassador Books
2001
Pg. 19:
Lai Bahadur Shastri, the Prime Minister of India, had constant advice for his sons: “Be honest and hard working. Hard work is equal to prayer.”
 
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Lal Bahadur Shastri was deeply influenced by the political teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. “Hard work is equal to prayer,” he once said.
2:55 AM - 2 Oct 2011