10 Leadership Sutras from
Bhagavad-gita Chaitanya Charan
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
VOICE invites readers interested in this book to correspond at the following address: Sales Manager: Krishnakishore das A-102, Bharati Vihar, Katraj, Pune – 411 046 Phone: +91-98224-51260 Email: krishnakishoredas@gmail.com First Printing: Dec 2014, 2000 Copies Š All rights reserved with the author.
Reviews
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Reviews “I have been reading the Bhagavad-gita for many decades, but rarely has it been presented as a book for leaders in today’s context. Seeing its profound wisdom here condensed into practical sutras that address contemporary concerns is a matter of pleasure and pride. I heartily recommend it to all leaders and all those who aspire to be leaders.” - Hrshikesh A Mafatlal Chairman, Arvind Mafatlal Group
“As leaders in today’s stress-filled work culture, we can benefit immensely from the timeless spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavadgita with its potential to provide peace and perspective. Yet that wisdom is often not easily accessible to us due to its philosophical nature and our fast-paced lifestyle. 10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita resolves this dilemma by presenting the Gita’s essential wisdom in an eminently accessible format – through an engrossing conversation centered on easy-to-remember sutras. The book is a pleasure to read and a power to tap.” - S. Ramprasad CEO, Xpanxion, India “The Bhagavad-gita is often regarded even by those who venerate it as a book that is either too complex to comprehend or too philosophical to be practical. The 10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita competently dismantles such misconceptions by showing how the Gita is relevant and pragmatic in that concern which is of foremost importance for our individual and social destiny – leadership.” - Dr. Rajesh Jalnekar, Director, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
“Many books talk about leadership, but what makes the Gita’s wisdom on leadership outstanding is the synergy it brings with our deeper, spiritual side. Marshaling research from cutting edge science, observations from the corporate world and penetrating insights about human behavior, the author of 10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita explains coherently and convincingly how the Gita’s insights can be relevant and empowering for today’s leaders.”
- Murali Thundi, IIM (Ahmedabad), General Manager, D J Young Pty Ltd, Australia
“The presentation of the Bhagavad-gita’s insights on leadership in contemporary language is excellent. The sutras seem familiar at first glance, but when illumined with the Gita’s wisdom they shine with a whole new light that deepens our understanding of leadership and expands our contribution as leaders.” - Jayaraman Krishnasamy, CEO, GE-RAM Soft-Tech, Australia
“A very insightful book that brings out key leadership principles from the Bhagavad-gita. As an IT professional, I think these principles will be very relevant in navigating through uncertain, stressful and extremely competitive industry environment. Since every person is a leader in some capacity, these principles are universally applicable.” - Niranjan Pendharkar, Award-winning Innovator, Distinguished Engineer, Symantec Software
Dedication
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Dedicated to HDG A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of ISKCON, Whose ‘Bhagavad Gita As It Is’ presented brilliantly the essence of the Gita’s timeless wisdom & To all those who wish to empower themselves with time-honored wisdom
Contents
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Contents Introduction...................................................... 1 Setting the Scene.............................................. 7 The Universe is a University............................. 9 Redefine Success............................................ 21 Be concerned, not disturbed........................... 39 Mind the mind................................................. 61 Assume accountability .................................... 73 Words shape worlds – watch your words ...... 91 Life determines our problems - we determine their size....................................................... 103 Work as worship ........................................... 113
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
Retreat within to treat without................... 129 Never lose heart........................................... 143 Appendix - Quoted Gita verses...................... 154 References.................................................... 162 Acknowledgements........................................ 164 Books Published by VOICE............................ 165 About the Author........................................ 168
Introduction
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Introduction “The Bhagavad-gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.” - Aldous Huxley “You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within.” - Bob Nelson Building the fire within others has to begin with building the fire within us. People learn far more from others’ actions than their words. Unless we are ourselves inspired, we can’t inspire others. It takes one flame to light another flame. This book is about lighting the flame within us.
Personal leadership – The foundation of public leadership
Authentic leadership is not a matter of designation – it is a matter of disposition. People may get positions, but those make them only nominal leaders. Without the right disposition, such leaders remain at best ineffective leaders, unable to channelize the resources and talents entrusted to them. At worst, they may become disastrous misleaders, who take themselves and their subordinates to ruination. What is the right disposition that brings authenticity to the position of leadership?
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
The right disposition has many features, but they all need to be founded in one essential feature: self-mastery. This feature of leadership is often called personal leadership, as contrasted with public leadership. Whereas public leadership requires a gamut of talents that may or may not be present in everyone, personal leadership is within the reach of everyone.
This brings us to the oft-raised question, “Are leaders born or are they made?” The question often overlooks the reality that all of us just by being born are made into leaders, even if informally in our social circles. In his book Developing the Leader Within You, leadership consultant John C Maxwell writes, “Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted individual will influence ten thousand other people during his or her lifetime!”
Whether our public leadership role is formal or informal, we will succeed sustainably in it only when we are successful in our personal leadership.
Only when the blinders and distorters resulting from our biases, hang-ups and moods are removed can we inspire and direct others effectively. Those without self-mastery will end up under-using, if not abusing, their own talents and resources as well as those of their subordinates. To the extent we have learnt to discipline our own impulses, to that extent we will be able to see clearly and act wisely – both critical capacities for sound leadership.
The Gita’s approach to leadership
The Bhagavad-gita offers an inside-out approach to leadership, for it counsels a conflicted leader to go deep within to the core of his self and find therein the wisdom to shoulder the demanding
Introduction
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responsibilities of leadership. It clearly positions personal leadership as the foundation of public leadership.
The Gita’s bearing on leadership is evident from its setting itself. It is a conversation between two leaders on a leadership issue of momentous consequence. Krishna, who is the main speaker in the Gita, is a leader par excellence, having established himself as the foremost leader of his times. Rising from the obscurity of birth in a prison and childhood in a pastoral village, he rapidly rose in his early teens to the echelons of power by outwitting a tyrant who had repeatedly tried to assassinate him. He was widely acknowledged as the wisest of thinkers and the smartest of warriors – both qualities that naturally marked him as a leader. Yet he chose to keep his leadership unofficial, accepting the responsibilities of leadership without its facilities. Rather than becoming the king in his dynasty, as he was rightly entitled to, he chose the humble station of an advisor to the king. Even in the Kurukshetra war, prior to which the Gita was spoken, he voluntarily chose the menial role of a charioteer – something like a chauffeur in today’s context. For an age with a surfeit of leaders who want to enjoy the privileges of position without discharging its responsibilities, Krishna is an excellent example of a leader who put contribution above position. Tradition considers him to be God himself descended to the earth to guide humanity. Arjuna, the seeker in the Gita, is also an influential leader. He is a prominent prince in one of the most powerful ruling dynasties of the times. His claim to leadership stems not just from his dynasty but also from his virtuosity – he is the foremost archer in an age of formidable archers, the champion among champions. At one level, the Gita’s approach to leadership is top-down, for it is
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spoken to a state ruler to remind him of his responsibilities. In fact, the Gita (3.21)1 explicitly emphasizes the role of leaders as social torchbearers and it (4.1-2)2 states that its knowledge was learned and applied by leaders since time immemorial. And yet at another level, the Gita’s approach is bottom-up, because despite its intent to reorient a leader, it doesn’t get into the intricacies of politics and statecraft. Instead it goes straight the to universal heart of all issues: the spiritual substance of our character. The Gita indicates that harmonization with our spiritual side comprises the strongest character-builder. By such harmony, we relish a profound nonmaterial fulfillment that insulates us against the pressures and lures that jeopardize our capacity to lead.
The Gita is a discussion between two leaders about the right course of action, and more importantly, about the basis for deciding the right course of action. Leadership centers ultimately on decision-making and, going deeper, on the conceptual framework based on which decisions are made. Some lucky hunches might grant a few successes here and there, but lasting success comes only from principles that are rooted in reality.
Book overview
In the Gita, Krishna outlines a magnificent worldview that offered Arjuna a profound yet pragmatic basis for making decisions. While 1 Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues. 2 The Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Krishna, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvāku. This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.
Introduction
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the specifics of the Gita’s worldview are complex and commentators have explicated them for millennia, its broad patterns are easy enough to discern – and they are what will concern us here. As the Gita is a discussion, I have presented this book based on the Gita as a discussion – a discussion between two corporate leaders, as is explained in “Setting the Scene.” In keeping with the tradition of presenting essential wisdom in condensed sutras, I have tried to phrase the Gita’s principles relevant to leadership as ten sutra-like English statements. To ensure the smooth and natural flow of the conversation and to keep it accessible for those not comfortable with Sanskrit, I have desisted from quoting the Gita’s Sanskrit verses in the discussion, except for occasionally quoting parts of a few verses. In the discussion, I have included only the verse numbers with the adapted translations integrated into the thought of the sentence. The full verse translation is provided as a footnote, and the Sanskrit verses with translations are provided in the appendix. The chapters of this book, which correspond to the ten sutras, are structured to serve a dual purpose: understand preliminarily but progressively the worldview espoused by the Gita and understand thereby principles relevant for becoming better leaders. 1. 2.
3.
“The universe is a university” looks at how the Gita both exemplifies and teaches the principle that learning opportunities are present in every situation.
“Redefine success” helps leaders to see out of the box of stereotyped definitions of success that choke the human potential and to thereby tap the complete range of abilities at their command.
“Be concerned, not disturbed” explores the scientific
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
4. 5.
6. 7. 8.
9.
soundness and practical relevance of the Gita’s foundational teaching that our real identity lies beyond our body.
“Mind the mind” turns the spotlight inwards to look at how our own mind, through moods and impulses, can sabotage our plans, and how we can discipline the mind. “Assume accountability” analyzes a fundamental Gita teaching, karma, and how understanding this can guide leaders towards more responsible and transformational leadership.
“Words shape worlds - Watch your words” focuses on tapping the power of words to ensure that our words build bridges, not walls. “Life-determines our problems – we determine their size” explains how leaders can, by tapping into their inner resources, choose their battles and let minor irritants pass.
“Work as worship” delves into how leaders can redefine their work so that it can become an integral part of an inspiring sacred vision of life, thereby making the work socially and spiritually fulfilling. “Retreat within to treat without” explicates how we can rejuvenate ourselves by taking breaks to connect with the infinite reservoir of strength at the core of our being.
10. “Never lose heart” concludes with how awareness of the presence and power of spiritual love can enable us to face obstacles and reversals with hope and strength. - Chaitanya Charan
Setting The Scene
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Setting the scene Oberoi is a management post-graduate who has worked in leadership positions in several companies, including over a decade as a CEO of a prominent company. Seeing the need for ethical strength and spiritual depth in today’s leadership, he embarked on a serious study of scores of contemporary self-help and leadership books, as well as many of the world’s time-honored wisdom literatures. Finally he stumbled on the Bhagavad-gita and found its insights so empowering for himself and his colleagues that he decided to become a leadership consultant, presenting the Gita’s wisdom in contemporary idiom. He is frequently invited to speak in many reputed leadership forums. It is after one such talk that Mittal approaches him for the first time. Mittal is the CEO of a rapidly growing start-up. With a management post-graduate degree and a drive to achieve, he is on the fast track. He found Oberoi’s talk about the Gita’s insights on leadership intriguing and their brief post-talk discussion even more stimulating. Seeking a systematic understanding of the subject, he asks several thoughtful questions.
Appreciating Mittal’s serious interest and intelligent enquiries, Oberoi invites him to join in a retreat. Though Oberoi had planned to take a break and gather his thoughts for a future writing project, he decides that a discussion with Mittal will serve as a good sounding board for his book’s ideas and Mittal grabs the opportunity to question and learn through a long, undistracted discussion over a weekend.
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
The retreat features among other things a swimming pool, a gym and a natural healing center. During the weekend, Oberoi and Mittal avail of these facilities, but they focus on their discussion, which starts in a picturesque cabin surrounded by greenery. Having arrived at the retreat on Friday evening, they are up early on Saturday morning to begin their discussion.
The Universe Is A University
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The Universe is a University
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
Seated on comfortable chairs outside the cabin, with the sounds of birds chirping nearby, a clear blue sky overhead, a fresh wind warming their hearts and sharpening their heads, Oberoi and Mittal dive deep into a discussion on leadership principles based on the Bhagavad-gita.
Mittal: How is the Gita relevant for leaders?
Oberoi: Let’s begin with one of the fundamental insights of Gita
wisdom – the insight that things happen for a purpose ultimately the purpose of our education and our growth. This insight can especially help leaders respond to adversity with maturity. When things go wrong, as they frequently do in life, it’s a natural human response to feel agitated, irritated or disappointed. But we also have intelligence by which we can regulate our emotions and choose the right response. It is this intelligence that the Bhagavadgita empowers. Guided with its wisdom, leaders can not only counter the negativity, but also seek the good in the bad and find the opportunity in the adversity. Mittal: Sounds good, but it’s all abstract.
A battlefield turns into a classroom
Oberoi: Yes, but the Gita itself offers a demonstration by transforming a battlefield into a classroom. Krishna deals expertly with a crisis that threatens to wreck his vision for the world. He is the mentor of the Pandavas and their unofficial leader in a war meant to restore moral and spiritual order in society. Just when the war is about to start (1.46)3, his top man, the champion archer 3 Sanjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.
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Arjuna, suffers an emotional breakdown and cops out, refusing to fight .
Far from getting flabbergasted, Krishna resourcefully transforms the battlefield into a classroom. He sees in the adversity an opportunity to share timeless wisdom for enlightening not just his mentee but also all of humanity. Speaking impromptu, he delivers not some pep talk but profound insights about life and living that have guided millions for millennia. Thus Krishna demonstrates extraordinary expertise in using experiential learning methods. He adopts the ultimate experiential learning method, using a real-life experience, in fact, one of life’s most intense experiences: a battle. With the war about to start, the battlefield atmosphere is bound to be frenzied. However, Krishna’s tone is neither frenzied nor hurried. His words are precisely reasoned; his demeanor, unflappably composed. Actually, the physical battlefield is the less distracting of the two battlefields that Krishna transforms. The bigger battlefield is Arjuna’s consciousness, where the battle between emotion and reason has already started and emotion has caught reason in a stranglehold. The more Arjuna contemplates the imminent fratricidal war, the more emotion strangles reason. In despair, he turns to Krishna: “Help!” Krishna, by his presence and presentation, lifts Arjuna out of both the outer and the inner battlefields. The supreme teacher takes his student to magnificent summits of wisdom that the world has rarely scaled before or after. By the end of this tour de force, Arjuna is intellectually illumined, spiritually strengthened and emotionally enlivened. Intellectually, the cloud of darkness and dejection that
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had enveloped his consciousness is dissipated by the sun-like wisdom of the Gita. Spiritually, Arjuna’s spirit to gallantly answer the demanding call of duty is restored by the Gita’s empowering wisdom. Emotionally, the tide of sentiments that was dragging him away from duty is turned around by Gita’s oceanic wisdom and his emotions become not opponents, but assistants in his discharge of duty. Mittal: Sounds impressive, but how does that relate with the universe being a university?
Learn to learn from life
Oberoi: By thus transforming a battlefield into a classroom, Krishna demonstrates that we can utilize every circumstance as a setting for educating us. And the wisdom he has provided through the Gita can enable us to similarly redefine the various battle-like situations that confront us in our daily life. If we accept Krishna as our teacher by learning the Gita, he will use the unlikeliest of settings to impart the most unforgettable of lessons, transforming our life-journey into an adventure in ever-increasing wisdom. Learning from life will become the living and enlivening reality of our life.
Knowledge, like life itself, is not static – it is dynamic. So leaders need to keep upgrading their learning not just by being aware of the latest technologies and techniques, but also by learning from the events unfolding in front of them in life. Mittal: Well, I have heard this saying often enough, “Learn from life.” And I agree that we all can learn by thoughtfully observing our own life, the lives of those around us, and the world at large. Yet not everyone seems able to learn from life. For many, life appears
The Universe Is A University
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to be just a random, even chaotic, sequence of events that they can barely cope with, leave alone learn anything from. So I have this question: Is there something actually there to learn in life’s events? Or are those events in themselves disorderly, but some people are creative enough to extract lessons from them?
Oberoi: No, learning from life is a feature of universal reality, indicates Gita wisdom. Whatever happens actually happens to stimulate our learning. There is a higher order to life’s events. The world we live in is an arena for our spiritual evolution. The universe is essentially a university. Every moment is an opportunity to grow in wisdom and love. Indeed, learning from life is not just a feature of life – it is the purpose of life. Mittal: Purpose of life – aren’t we becoming too philosophical here?
Oberoi: Yes, but what’s wrong with becoming philosophical when we are discussing a philosophical book? Mittal: But we are discussing the Gita’s leadership insights, not its philosophy. Oberoi: Yes, and the two are inseparable. That there is an order in nature is not just some abstract philosophical belief – it is the foundational faith of science.
The common faith shared by science and spirituality
Mittal: Science? But science is based on facts, not on faith.
Oberoi: Not exactly; the bedrock of science is not facts, but faith. Science doesn’t progress merely by observing facts of the natural world. It progresses by first assuming on faith that these facts
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have an underlying order and then seeking to discover that order. Newton discovered gravity not just by observing the fact of the falling fruit, but by his faith that a rational order in nature had caused the fruit to fall. Noted physicist Paul Davies acknowledges, “Even the most atheistic scientist accepts as an act of faith the existence of a law-like order in nature.” Spirituality just takes this scientific faith to its next level by identifying the person behind the order. That person, the Bhagavadgita (9.10)4 declares, is God, Krishna. Mittal: But isn’t that sectarian?
Oberoi: No, if we look broadly at the attributes of God described in the various theistic traditions of the world, they are largely similar and Krishna has those attributes. So the same God who is known by names such as Jehovah or Christ or Allah in different traditions is known as Krishna in the Gita.
Mittal: OK, but my main concern at this stage is about your inference to the divine, not about the identity of the divine. The laws in nature might just be there – why do you need a God to have made those laws?
Oberoi: The more science fathoms the laws of nature, the more their intricacy and inter-relationship insists that they couldn’t have come by chance. The precision of the laws points to the prescience of the lawmaker. Many eminent scientists hold this inference to be not just reasonable but essential. Reputed Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan stated, “An equation for me has no meaning, 4 This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.
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unless it represents a thought of God.�
Mittal: Intriguing. I will have to think about that. Anyway, I guess if I am to understand the Gita, I will need to tentatively accept some of its foundational ideas such as the existence of God.
Oberoi: Yes, exactly. And the Gita explains that God is not just some remote being staying somewhere out there in space. He is present right in our heart to assist us in such learning. From that strategic vantage point, the Bhagavad-gita (18.61)5 indicates that he directs our wanderings through the world. He orchestrates events externally and provides guidance internally to further our spiritual evolution. Thus, the universe is a university with God as the committed teacher who stays round-the-clock in our heart to stimulate our learning. We can tune our consciousness to his frequency by cultivating a learning mood and a devotional disposition. The resulting alignment will enable us to hear his illuminating inner voice and learn the lessons he is teaching through life. Some of us may by nature be more observant and contemplative, and so be more adept at learning from life. But all of us can increase our native capacity to learn by understanding our Supreme Mentor’s message given in the Gita and tuning in to his voice in the innermost core of our being.
Neither violence, nor silence, but transcendence
Mittal: You know, one question has always bothered me about the Gita. Is its battlefield setting metaphorical? How can it be literal? Is the Gita a book calling for violence? 5 The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
Oberoi: Important question. And it’s related to our theme of learning from life. The Gita is essentially a book of neither violence, nor silence, but of transcendence. It uses the battlefield setting to demonstrate dramatically that its call for transcendence is practical, responsible and dynamic. Mittal: Go ahead.
Oberoi: Many people feel that spiritual knowledge is too otherworldly and so is impractical or irrelevant given the urgent practical demands of this world. Leaders especially are often under much more pressure than others. To address such concerns, the Bhagavad-gita’s spiritual message is delivered in a setting that is eminently this-worldly and calls for the most urgent practical action. By showing how its spiritual wisdom solaced and empowered a responsible head of state, the Gita illustrates poignantly the universal applicability of its teachings. If a person on a battlefield spared time for gaining its spiritual wisdom and found it relevant, practical and empowering, then no one needs to doubt the practicality of the Gita’s message and no circumstance needs to warrant relegating that message to the “to be done later” category. Investing time in Gita wisdom protects leaders from staying stuck as managers. Managers ensure that things are done right; leaders ensure that the right things are done. Managers check if the team climbs up the ladder properly; leaders check if the ladder is leaning against the right wall. The Gita expands the vision of leaders and helps them see the big picture, thereby protecting them from the pitfall of getting caught in the immediate at the cost of the ultimate.
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Socially responsible spirituality Mittal: You may say that the Gita is practical, but isn’t it too otherworldly? Doesn’t its spiritual message make people just renounce the world or become apathetic to it? Oberoi: No, the answer can be seen in the effect of Gita wisdom on its original student – a leader inclined towards renouncing responsibility re-embraced responsibility.
Mittal: But why would a spiritualist return to worldly affairs such as ruling a kingdom? Oberoi: Because the Gita is concerned about establishing dharma, a sociopolitical order that fosters moral and spiritual integrity.
When the ruling heads of state are morally and spiritually depraved, as they were before the Kurukshetra war, assertive action is essential to prevent people from being exploited. The Mahabharata sections preceding the narration of the Gita describe vividly: a.
The multiple injustices and atrocities committed by the ruling heads of state, the Kauravas,
c.
The utter disdain with which the Kauravas dismissed all attempts for reconciliation, thus making a peaceful solution impossible.
b.
The repeated efforts of the victims, the Pandavas, to restore justice and morality peacefully,
For those victimized by blatant injustice, a passive spectator role reduces noble pacifism to impotent and suicidal utopianism. No wonder the Gita advocates pragmatic assertive action for protecting basic human rights.
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Mittal: Yes, you know one of my favorite quotes is by the British statesman Edmund Burke, “The only thing needed for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.” Nice to see the Gita echoing that theme. Oberoi: Yes, and the setting stresses that violence should be the last expression of such assertiveness – and never anything other than the last. This is illustrated by the exhaustive peace efforts that preceded the Gita. The very fact that globally acclaimed champions of non-violence such as Mahatma Gandhi found inspiration in the Gita’s message demonstrates that violence is not its core message.
The battlefield – a metaphor or more?
Mittal: But didn’t he consider the Gita’s battle metaphorical?
Oberoi: Yes, those who find the battlefield setting discomforting have tried to explain it (away) in metaphorical terms, but such an explanation undoes the intrinsic pragmatism that makes the Gita’s message of transcendence so appealing. By delivering this message on a battlefield, the Gita illustrates that even those who consider life’s ultimate goals to be otherworldly have a this-worldly responsibility to assist in preserving society’s moral and spiritual fabric.
The Gita’s example of unsentimental assertive action can inspire leaders to assertive action when the situation warrants. Of course, most leaders are unlikely to be in position of having to literally fight a war, and unlikelier still against relatives. But the very unlikeliness of the Gita’s setting underscores the universality of its essential message. If a leader confronted with such an extreme setting could subordinate sentimentality to responsibility, we in our lesser
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leadership dilemmas can too.
The bigger the positions leaders hold, the more is at stake with their every decision. That’s why when corrupt elements within an organization try to misappropriate resources and victimize innocent people, leaders need to firmly take disciplinary action without succumbing to nepotism or favoritism or other such sentimentally induced partialities. Mittal: So are you saying that the Gita’s setting is not metaphorical?
Winning the inner war
Oberoi: It’s literal, but it can also be seen metaphorically to illustrate the inner dynamics of spirituality. The metaphorical interpretation of the Gita’s setting is a supplement to – not a substitute for – its historical context. In addition to its historicity, it represents our internal consciousness that features the battle between our lofty aspirations and our petty weaknesses. Leaders may be inspired by a glorious vision for making a positive change, but such a vision is often choked by negative thought processes such as inertia (“I won’t be able to do so much work”), paranoia (“Everyone will oppose me”) and cynicism (“Things will never improve”). Each of us needs to win our inner battle if we are to play our part in making a positive difference. Inner victory means that our aspirations overcome our inhibitions. Even when our inhibitions outnumber our aspirations, as was the case with the ungodly Kauravas outnumbering the godly Pandavas, the Gita’s setting conveys the morale-boosting reassurance: when we harmonize our aspirations with God’s will, his omnipotence will empower us to attain inner victory.
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Mittal: That’s deep. So you are saying that the universe is a university and the Gita’s battlefield setting is a classroom in that university. Oberoi: Yes, precisely.
Mittal: OK, but what has that got to do with leaders?
Oberoi: Knowing that there’s always something to learn can help leaders face adversities with maturity. When we face adversities, it is easy to get disheartened, even overwhelmed, by negativity – either from outside or from inside. Pessimistic prognosis by others can sap our morale. Even more debilitating can be our own gloomy mental chatter that obsesses and despairs over problems. Negative self-talk can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, wherein the mental energy that we unwittingly invest into our fears fuels their actualization. Leaders are especially vulnerable to attacks of negativity because so much is at stake with their every decision that they may feel tempted to play safe and let the status quo continue. At such times, it’s vital that leaders have a ready source of positivity at hand. The Bhagavad-gita is just such a source, filled as it is with timeless truths that can dissipate the gloom of negativity and illumine us with spiritual optimism.
Mittal: But what if I am not facing any adversity? What if I am happy with my life, pursuing my worldly goals? Why do I need the Gita? Oberoi: Important question. Shall we discuss it as we walk through the retreat? Mittal nods and they rise to begin their morning walk,
Redefine Success
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Redefine Success
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10 Leadership Sutras from Bhagavad-gita
Oberoi and Mittal are on a walk through the retreat’s scenic natural pathway. Birds are chirping gently in the trees overhead and the greenery all around adds to the serenity of the setting. They breathe deeply, taking in the air, the aroma, the atmosphere. After a few moments of silent absorption …
Mittal: Shall we continue our talk? You left off at how, to learn
from life, we need to redefine success, to expand our definition of success.
Oberoi: Yes, the Gita demonstrates the need for such redefinition through Arjuna’s example. At the start of the Gita, Arjuna is caught in a heart-wrenching dilemma. To win the war, he will have to lose his near and dear ones, especially his grandsire and guru. To save them, he will have to abdicate his duty as a martial protector of society and let anti-social elements continue in power. Neither option is acceptable.
The Gita doesn’t address Arjuna’s dilemma at his level of reality – rather, it raises his conceptions to a higher level of reality that broadens his definition of success. His dilemma originates in a material conception of life that naturally gives rise to a material definition of success. The Gita resolves Arjuna’s dilemma by illumining life’s spiritual side, thereby expanding his definition of success to include the spiritual dimension. Speaking through Arjuna to everyone, especially leaders, the Gita invites us to evaluate whether we too might benefit by expanding our definition of success. We often don’t realize that our present definition of success is not necessarily our own – it is imposed on us by the popular culture.
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Mittal: Imposed? I don’t see any such thing imposed on me.
Oberoi: Yes, if the imposition were done so obviously, we would all resist it. The definition of success on us is foisted on us so subtly that we often don’t even think that our definitions of success might not be our own.
The Imposed Definition of Success
Mittal: Not our own?
Oberoi: Yes, it may not have originated in things important to us, things that will make a real worthwhile difference in our life.
Consider a young manager in a leading company having a good functional cellphone. A device-manufacturing giant launches a new expensive cellphone and promos appear all over the media – a smart smiling young man proudly parades it, with a cute girl glancing admiringly, while a colleague glares enviously. The manager’s heart burns with desire for this new gadget, which, he fantasizes, will bring him the respect and admiration that he feels he deserves, but doesn’t get. Though he doesn’t need the new gadget, he still purchases it. As he shows it off, causing heads to turn and eyebrows to rise, and as people admire his gadget (him?), he feels “Now, I am a success.” However, his success is agonizingly short-lived – soon another new gadget arrives in the market and steals all the hype away from his piece. Craving for the same attention again, he buys that new gadget and enjoys another spell of feeling successful – till the next gadget arrives and becomes the symbol of success. Thus the cultural hype keeps imposing an evermoving definition of success. Mittal: The example’s a bit simplistic, but I get the point. I have
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noticed that I sometimes feel impelled to buy a new gadget even when I don’t need it.
Oberoi: Yes, leaders are especially susceptible to the pressure of such imposed definitions. Mittal: I would have thought they would be the least susceptible – they are at the top, aren’t they?
Oberoi: Yes, they are. But the culture often pressurizes them to demonstrate that they are at the top by having the top things. And of course, the culture whispers, the top things are the latest ones, and leaders must have them to be recognized as leaders. Oscar Wilde dissected this deception of fashion poignantly, “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to change it every six months.” Mittal: That’s insightful at one level but at another level isn’t it going a bit overboard? A new gadget can increase convenience and save time.
Oberoi: Yes. The problem is not buying the device; the problem is buying into the underlying definition of success. If we don’t question that definition, it may well consume the time we had saved – it will impel us to spend that saved time in looking for newer gadgets in a never-ending cycle. Mittal: Granted that this makes sense, but what has all this got to do with leadership?
Oberoi: Yes, I was coming to that. Buying uncritically into glamorized definitions of success can erode not just our bank account but also our leadership potential. These definitions push us towards
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impulsive action, whereas leadership requires the ability to subordinate impulse to purpose. Let’s consider one among several surveys that suggest this.
Grabbers vs. resistors
In the 1960s, psychologist Walter Mischel and others started a study of four-year-old children at a preschool on the Stanford University campus. The four-year-olds were offered a proposal involving getting a marshmallow: If they could wait for about twenty minutes till the person giving the candy returned after doing a small task, they would get two candies. If they couldn’t wait till then, they would get only one candy – but they would get it instantly. Most of the children impulsively grabbed the candy even while the experimenter was leaving the room. A few tolerated the seemingly endless wait by covering their eyes so as to not see the temptation, resting their heads in their arms, talking to themselves, singing, playing games with their hands and feet, even trying to go to sleep. Mittal (with a smile): I can imagine my kid trying to do that. He would have a tough time and would probably imagine playing cricket. Oberoi (smiling too): Yes … The determined resistors eventually got their two candies. Fast-forward to over decade ahead and the difference between the two groups of adolescents was dramatic. The resistors were: • •
Less likely to go to pieces, freeze or regress under stress More able to pursue challenges instead of giving up
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•
More self-reliant and confident
•
Still able to delay gratification in pursuit of their goals
•
More trustworthy and dependable
In contrast, the grabbers were: •
Easily upset by frustrations
•
Prone to be mistrustful and resentful about not “getting enough”
•
• •
Prone to think of themselves as “bad” or unworthy and become immobilized by stress Likely to overreact to irritations, thus provoking arguments and fights Still unable to put off gratification.
When they were again tracked down while finishing high school, the resistors turned out to be far superior as students to the grabbers. According to their parents’ evaluation, they were better able to: •
Put their ideas into words
•
Concentrate on the work at hand
• • •
Use and respond to reason
Make plans and follow through on them Learn new things with eagerness
Mittal: I get your point – the resistors had much more leadership qualities. Oberoi: Yes, summarizing the results of this study, psychologist
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Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence remarks, “There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse.” So delaying impulse is a vital psychological skill for leaders. And yet delaying impulse is antithetical to the contemporary culture, whose operational mantra seems to be “Buy now” or “Just do it.” Mittal: But are all impulses to be resisted? What room would such resistance leave for ambition in life? Oberoi: The point is not to eliminate ambition – the point is to eliminate misdirection of our energy. Misdirection from the things that are actually important for us to things that the culture glamorizes as important. Mittal: Ok.
Life’s necessity is not life’s purpose
Oberoi: One such prominent misdirection is the reduction of the quest for happiness to the quest for money. Mittal (holding his hand up): I hope you are not launching into a moralizing lecture on the evils of money. I have heard enough of those in my life. Oberoi: No. We certainly need wealth to live with. But what we live with can’t take the place of what we live for. Mittal: Hmmm …
Oberoi: The culture’s definition of success lifts wealth from being life’s necessity to becoming life’s purpose – a fundamental category
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mistake. Food is our necessity, but we don’t make the pursuit of food our life’s purpose. Yet many people unwittingly make wealth their life’s purpose – they equate becoming wealthy with becoming successful and happy, life’s ultimate purpose. But does wealth bring happiness? Many surveys have shown consistently that greater wealth does not correlate with greater happiness. Mittal: Yes, I have heard about them, but I never paid much attention to them.
Oberoi: Yes, we tend to brush aside whatever doesn’t fit into our worldview. The idea that wealth is the gateway to happiness, even the only gateway to happiness, is often so deep-rooted in our psyche that challenging it requires going to its root: a materialistic worldview. Materialism has always been prevalent in human history, but in recent times it has become increasingly fanatical.
Fanatical materialism
Mittal: Fanatical?
Oberoi: Yes, by insisting that only those people are deemed successful who worship at its altar by getting more and more material things. Indeed, the advertising industry aims to convert all of us into right-wing worshipers who bow down to no other god except materialism. Such materialist extremists dismiss as unsuccessful anyone without materialism’s trappings of success. Mittal: Hearing anti-religious jargon used against anti-religionists is entertaining.
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Oberoi: And the show is not over. Materialism is a false god – it doesn’t fulfill the promises it makes. Mittal: What promises are you talking about?
Oberoi: The promise that material improvement will bring happiness. Consider the extensively researched book The American Paradox – Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty by David G Myers. He compared American statistics indicative of overall well-being across nearly half a century from 1960 onwards – a period that corresponded with high material prosperity. These were his findings: •
The divorce rate has doubled.
•
The recorded violent crime rate has quadrupled.
• • • •
The teen suicide rate has tripled.
The prison population has quintupled.
The percentage of babies born to unmarried parents has sextupled.
Depression has soared—to ten times the pre–World War II level.
Mittal: I had heard about sociological problems in American society, but this sounds quite grim. Still, so many things work so much better in America than here in India that I can’t even begin counting them. What is the point you are making by all this? Oberoi: My point is not to compare America and India, but to draw attention to materialism’s limitations in promoting human happiness.
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Mittal: So are you saying that we should reject materialism because it is, as you put it, a false god?
Oberoi: No, my point is not that we reject materialism but that we refuse to grant materialism monopoly over our definition of success. The spiritual dimension is an essential dimension of our being, just as water is essential for fish. A fish out of water remains miserable, no matter how comfortable the couch on which it is placed. Similarly, we remain discontent when our spiritual side is not nourished, no matter how successful we become materially. Mittal: I sure can’t visualize prosperous people to be like fish out of water. Oberoi: Yes, that’s because the fish suffers physically whereas obsession with materialism makes us suffer psychologically.
Mittal: Hmmm… So are you saying that adding a spiritual dimension will remove this suffering? Oberoi: Yes. It minimizes, if not eliminates, such suffering by providing higher wisdom and deeper fulfillment. Mittal: You expect me to believe that?
Mercedes for plowing?
Oberoi: No – I expect you to just withhold judgment till you have heard the case. Mittal: Ok, fair enough. What exactly is your case?
Oberoi: Can you visualize a Mercedes used for plowing a field?
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Mittal: What? What’s that got to do with anything?
Oberoi: Humor me for a moment. Just visualize what I am saying. Mittal: Ok (closing his eyes)… Here we go. Oberoi: What’s your instinctive reaction? Mittal: What a stupid waste.
Oberoi: Yes – and that’s my case. When we live unspiritually, we are like using a Mercedes for plowing. Mittal: How are you going to prove that?
Oberoi: I can’t prove that – proof in such things is a matter of individual judgment. But I can offer supportive evidence. What would happen if a Mercedes were used for plowing? … Two things: the car would get spoiled and the field would get spoiled. Let’s see if something similar happens if we live unspiritually: do we hurt ourselves and do we hurt the ecology? Mittal: Hmmm.
Oberoi: Let’s begin with ecology. The world is facing the threat of many impending ecological disasters. To understand what role we humans have played in this, let’s look at what role we play in general in the ecology.
Biologist E. O. Wilson, among many other scientists, has studied the complex interdependence among various species in the biosphere. He found that every species makes some constructive contribution to the ecology. For example, if vegetation decreases, herbivores suffer. If herbivores decrease, carnivores suffer. But one species
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doesn’t contribute to the ecology – the human species. If humans became extinct, there would hardly be any problems for any other species or for the ecology. In fact, human extinction would solve most ecological problems. Mittal: That’s intriguing – and totally impractical.
Oberoi: Yes, obviously. But this analysis does raise a sobering question. The human species is arguably the most intelligent species on the planet. Normally in a class, the more intelligent a student, the more he or she would be expected to contribute positively. Then why do we humans contribute to the ecology not the most positively, but the most negatively? Might we be meant to be contributing at a level higher than the physical – at the spiritual level? Mittal: Are you asking my opinion or are you speaking rhetorically? Oberoi: I am asking you to consider the possibility while I make a case. Mittal: Ok, go ahead.
Spirituality improves health, mental and physical
Oberoi: The second result of using a Mercedes for plowing is that the car gets spoiled. So are we hurting ourselves by being unspiritual and unidimensionally materialistic? A pointer to this could be the spiraling mental health problems. The WHO has declared that mental diseases – stress, depression, addiction and psychosomatic problems – will be the greatest health hazard of the current century. Worse still, WHO statistics show that over one million people commit suicide every year. That’s more than
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the total annual deaths from wars and crimes combined. And this figure is only the reported number of suicides. WHO calls suicide as “a tragic social health problem” and states that there is no proven cure for it. Mittal: Wait a minute … mental disease and suicide can have many causes. What has that got to do with spirituality?
Oberoi: Yes, but underlying those many causes is a common factor: frustration in achieving one’s goals, whatever they may be. When this frustration becomes acute and hopeless, one feels one’s very existence to be an agony. And ending one’s existence seems the only solution. Why do we modern humans commit suicide in such alarmingly high numbers? Could the definitions of success society sets for us be so incompatible with our core selves that they lead to mental health problems and ultimately suicide? Mittal: Anything ‘could be.’ How would you find if it is true?
Oberoi: One way could be by investigating whether those who nourish their spiritual side have better mental health than those who don’t. In the highly acclaimed Handbook of Religion and Health, published by the Oxford University Press, Dr.. Harold G. Koenig along with a team of researchers carefully reviewed no fewer than two thousand published experiments that tested the relationship between religion and everything from blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and stroke to depression, suicide, psychotic disorders and marital problems. They found that: •
People who attended a spiritual program at least once a week lived on an average seven years longer than those who didn’t attend at all.
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•
•
Religious youth showed significantly lower levels of drug and alcohol abuse, premature sexual involvement, criminal delinquency and suicidal tendencies than their nonreligious counterparts.
Elderly people with deep, personal religious faith had a stronger sense of well-being and life satisfaction than their less religious peers.
Koening’s conclusion was, “A high SQ (Spiritual Quotient) faithfulness to God appears to benefit people of all means, educational levels and ages’.”
Spiritual but not religious?
Mittal: Interesting … But there’s a questionable mixing of terms here. You started by talking about spirituality, then quoted from a book that has ‘religion’ in its title and then again came back to spirituality while quoting the book’s conclusion. I don’t think the two words ‘spiritual’ and ‘religious’ are interchangeable. If I ever chose to explore this dimension of life, I would be spiritual, but not religious. Oberoi: Yes, the two terms are not exactly interchangeable. But then they both have many connotations. So, before we get into their difference, let’s first specify what we are talking about. What do they connote to you when you prefer to self-identify as spiritualbut-not-religious? Mittal: Well … A ‘spiritual’ person seeks experience of the higher, deeper aspects of life, whereas a ‘religious’ person sticks to the beliefs and rituals given in a specific tradition. Spiritualists are openminded because they are open to higher experience, whatever way
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they get that experience. But religionists are close-minded because they claim that their way is the only way and they reject the ways given in other religions. I would never want to be sectarian like that, so I would choose to be spiritual-but-not-religious. Oberoi: That’s an excellent analysis. You have thought deeply about this, haven’t you?
Mittal: Yes, I have given this some thought. But I would like to know what you have to say about this.
Oberoi: Let me quote from the Gita (9.2)6. This verse contains many points, so let’s stick to the one relevant to our discussion – we can experientially verify the Gita’s philosophical knowledge by practicing the religious process it delineates. So we could say that spirituality runs on two rails: philosophy and religion. Let me show this.
Reaching for his phone in his pocket, Oberoi deftly opens a slide and shows it to Mittal.
6 This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.
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As Mittal peers at the image, Oberoi explains.
Oberoi: The philosophy aspect of spirituality involves intellectually understanding the nature of reality: what is material reality and what is spiritual reality. And the religion aspect involves following certain rules that refine our consciousness so that we can experience spiritual reality.
A higher dimensional science
Mittal (pointing to the left half of the image): What is science doing here?
Oberoi: The philosophy and religion aspects of spirituality are strikingly similar to the theory and experiment aspects of science. Science’s theoretical aspect involves formulating hypotheses to explain the observable phenomena within the universe – it is similar to spirituality’s philosophy aspect. Science’s experimental aspect involves following certain rules for regulating the laboratory environment to verify the theory – it is similar to spirituality’s religion aspect. So, spirituality is like a higher-dimensional science – higher-dimensional because it deals with a reality higher than that dealt with by material science. Mittal (looking up from the slide): So are you saying that one can’t be spiritual without being religious? Oberoi: Literally yes, essentially no.
Just as science requires some kind of experiment to be complete, spirituality requires some kind of religion to be complete. That is, spiritualists who want higher experiences need some process to get those experiences consistently. And that process would be their
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religion. So, to be spiritual, one would have to be religious in some way or the other, for spiritual is a state of awareness and religion is the means to attain that awareness.
In essence, however, the desire to be ‘spiritual-but-not-religious’ is, as you mentioned, the desire to be ‘open-minded-not-closeminded.’ Gita wisdom acknowledges that there are various ways to gain spiritual experiences, culminating in the experience of divine love. The Bhagavad-gita (4.11)7 asserts in an extraordinarily inclusive spirit that all people are on the path to divinity. The Gita’s philosophy helps us see the various great religions as authorized ways of progressing towards spiritual awareness. So, although Gita wisdom asks sincere spiritual seekers to be religious, that is, follow some religious practices, it doesn’t mandate close-mindedness. To the contrary, it fosters open-mindedness. Mittal: I am not sure how I feel about being told that I am literally wrong, but essentially right. Still you are making sensible points that I will ponder … But anyway, how does all this relate with leadership?
Oberoi: Yes, we were discussing how leaders can benefit from expanding their definition of success to include the spiritual.
Effective leaders tap all the resources at their disposal and thus optimize their performance. If they discover that a team member has a latent talent, unleashing that talent may turn out to be a game-changer for the team’s performance. So too is discovering the power of our spiritual faculty the ultimate game-changer in our life. Gita wisdom explains that at our core lies a reservoir of power, intangible but indestructible. Connecting with it gives us the inner 7 As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pritha.
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calm and clarity to best use our outer resources.
Many past leaders have for millennia seamlessly blended their material and spiritual sides in their life and their leadership. Their spirituality formed the foundation for their stellar material contribution. They saw success holistically as including material achievement and spiritual enrichment. The current culture’s over-emphasis on materialism has allured us into marginalizing our spiritual side, leading to distress, disorder and even disaster. Leaders have the opportunity and the responsibility to correct this wrong by leading boldly on the path towards a holistic balance. If they can incorporate into their leadership repertoire not just cutting edge scientific technologies but also timeless spiritual insights, they can become leaders par excellence. Gita wisdom beckons us to become such leaders.
They have been strolling through the greenery while talking and have now reached the river that flows on the outskirts of the retreat.
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Be concerned, not disturbed
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Oberoi and Mittal are seated facing a river, drinking in the sights on the other bank. A lush-green mountain meets the bluish sky upwards and slopes downwards towards the river. A comforting breeze blows onto their face.
Mittal: I am feeing so calm and peaceful here.
Oberoi: Yes, that’s what coming close to nature does to us. If coming externally close to nature can calm us so much, then you can just imagine how much coming internally closer to our spiritual nature can calm us.
Mittal: That sounds good, but I am not sure it makes much sense. I come to a calm place, I feel calm. What has spirituality got to do with it? Oberoi: A lot. Realizing our spiritual nature enables us to find within ourselves an unchanging core that becomes our shelter amidst the changing world all around us. Mittal: Interesting.
Oberoi: We live in a world of constant change – change that is often unstoppable, uncontrollable and unpredictable. Such changes and the demands they place on us induce stress. Nowadays, as life becomes busier and change becomes faster, stress levels become dangerously high. Indeed, stress is the biggest health hazard in today’s workplace. And stress-related problems can become especially acute for leaders, whose heavy responsibilities and hectic schedules often take a huge toll on their mental energies. Mittal: But stress can have many different causes such as excessive workload, poor time management and uncooperative colleagues.
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And each of these will need their specific solutions. Again I don’t see what spirituality has to do with it.
Oberoi: Underlying the various causes of stress is one foundational cause – a disproportionate focus on external things. The everchanging nature of those things aggravates our anxiety, just as walking on slippery floor increases our apprehension of falling. Mittal: But leaders have to think about external things – that’s where they need to bring about positive changes.
Oberoi: Yes, but they don’t need to let externals monopolize their thinking. Such monopolization will erode their inner stability and consequently their outer effectiveness. If they cultivate an inner resting place for their thoughts where they can retreat and be rejuvenated, then they can deal with external ups and downs far more effectively – they can be concerned about changes without being disturbed by them.
Mittal: Be concerned, not disturbed – that sounds good. Can you explain the difference?
Don’t just change perception – change perspective
Oberoi: To be disturbed by events means to feel personally threatened by them. To be concerned about events means to be actively interested and involved in events without feeling personally threatened by them. Here’s an example. Suppose you stood at the foot of a volcano – how would you feel? Mittal: Threatened.
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Oberoi: Yes, precisely. But if you were in a plane flying above the volcano, then it would not appear so immediately dangerous. The volcano remains the same, but your perception of it has changed. And, this is important, your perception has changed not because you did some mental adjustment but because your perspective, the position from which you observe, has changed. Mittal: Interesting – you are talking here about something different from positive thinking, aren’t you?
Oberoi: Yes, it’s much more. Attempting to change our perception without changing our perspective is often an exercise in imagination. As long as we are at the foot of the volcano, we can’t see it as non-threatening. Many self-help books urge us to change our perception and think positively, but as long as they don’t guide us to change our perspective, their helpfulness remains limited. Mittal: I suppose you are going to say that the Gita changes our perspective.
Oberoi: Yes, that’s the first thing it does. It changes our position by lifting us in our self-understanding above the things and events around us. The Gita (2.13)8 helps us understand that we are at our core indestructible souls, spiritual beings who are different from and above everything material. Mittal: But I am my body – if my body gets hurt, I feel pain.
Oberoi: That’s because we misidentify with our body. Actually however, we are not our body – it is a temporary covering on the 8 As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
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soul, like a dress, as the Gita (2.22)9 states.
When we are flying in a plane, we know that the disturbances on the ground below don’t threaten us because we are above them. While a plane may still be threatened by the lava erupting from the volcano, the soul is under no such threat because it can’t be destroyed by anything material. The Gita (2.24)10 declares that the soul is beyond fragmentation, incineration, dissolution or desiccation. Indeed, none of the things that can destroy the material body can even scratch the soul. No external change, however threatening or devastating it seems, can harm our essence. Mittal: Again this sounds good, but how does knowing about our indestructible essence make any practical difference? We still have to face external problems.
Oberoi: Yes, but we can do so without feeling personally threatened. Meditating on our invincible core brings a sense of inner security that equips us to respond maturely to external problems.
And though we aren’t disturbed by externals, we are still concerned about them because we live and act in the world. Due concern about them helps us to think calmly and respond intelligently. But if we become unduly agitated, then our knee-jerk reactions often aggravate the problems. The Gita, by lifting us above our problems, enables us to be concerned without becoming disturbed. Without such a spiritual self-understanding, merely exhorting ourselves to stay calm amidst threats is like exhorting ourselves to believe that 9 As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. 10 This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
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the volcano is harmless while staying at its foot. By changing our perspective of the things around us, the Gita enables us to tackle the inner insecurity that lies at the root of most stress. Mittal: The idea of an indestructible soul may make us feel secure, but it could well be just a feel-good belief, couldn’t it? Oberoi: Valid point. Let’s consider this question intuitively. Mittal: Ok.
The unknown knower
Oberoi: When we refer to the parts of our body, we say “my hand”, “my legs”, and so on, not “I hand”, or “I legs”. This suggests that “my hands” and “my legs” are different from ‘me.’ Who is the I? Mittal: I am the body.
Oberoi: But we also say “my body”, not “I body”.
Mittal: Come on, you are quibbling over words now.
Oberoi: No, the difference between “me” on one hand and “my body”, “my hands” and “my legs” on the other is not just a matter of semantics. It’s a matter of practical experience – we feel ourselves to be the owner of our body and its parts. Just as your pen can be held in front of you and you would say that you are different from the pen, being its owner, so too could, say, a person’s cut hand be held in front of him and he would say that he is different from it, being its owner. If the person is different from the hand when it is disconnected from the body, then that won’t change just because the hand is connected with the body. The same could hypothetically
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be done for the heart and the brain. Mittal: Hmmm.
Oberoi: The question, then, still remains – who is the “I” that claims owners’ rights over the body and its parts? Mittal: Good question. Go ahead.
Who’s gone?
Oberoi: When someone dies, the way we speak about the deceased is telling. We say, “He has passed away” or “She’s gone.” But who passed away? What’s gone? Mittal: Now you are surely quibbling over words. We may also say, “He’s no more.”
Oberoi: Yes, and it could well mean, “He’s no more here.” Again, we need to go beyond the expressions to the feelings they convey. The body of the person we knew is still lying there; it has not gone anywhere. And yet we feel an acute sense of loss, as if our loved one has gone away. Our feeling of loss is not unfounded – the person we cared for is certainly gone. Mittal: Hmmm.
Oberoi: So the question remains – who or what has gone? When that thing – the essence of the person – was there, the body was alive. But now that essence is gone, the body is dead. Could that essence be something independent of the body?
Mittal: Couldn’t it just be a phenomena arising from the bodily chemicals while they were in a functioning order?
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Are you watery? Oberoi: Ok, let’s consider this. Your body is made up of various chemicals – carbon, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sulphur…Does that sound like you? Is that the stuff that comprises your personality? Mittal: Not really.
Oberoi: Further, the primary component of the body is water. When you think about who you are, do you think of yourself as watery? Between birth and death, thousands of gallons of water will go into and out of our body. The water comes and goes, but you remain. Mittal: You have got a point there.
Oberoi: Additionally, if you analyze which chemicals make up the human body, measure the amount of each one, and then calculate their cost, the total comes up to just a few dollars. Is that your net worth? Mittal: Maybe. I try not to have an inflated opinion of myself.
Oberoi: Humility doesn’t mean being blind to reality. What you charge your company for a single day of service would be several times more than the cost of the bodily chemicals. ... Ok, let me put this another way. Suppose your son was kidnapped – God forbid such a thing happening, but just suppose it happened – what would you be ready to pay to get him back safe? Mittal: Whatever it takes.
Oberoi: Why is he so valuable when his bodily chemicals are worth
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no more than a few dollars?
Mittal: Because of my love for him?
Oberoi: Your love is certainly a factor. But do you mean to say that if you didn’t love him, he would have no value? Mittal: No, of course not. He is a precious person in his own right.
Oberoi: Yes, so who is that precious person? And there’s another way to understand that person is different from his body. If say someone dies at a particular and we measured the bodily chemicals a few moments before death and a few moments after death, we would find that the chemical composition of the body remains the same. And yet something essential changes. What? Could it be that the source of life, the soul, has departed from the body? Mittal: Hmmm.
The changing body, the unchanging who?
Oberoi: Another key question– when the body changes, who is the I that remains the same? Mittal: What do you mean by the body ‘changes’? It’s just growing, not changing.
Oberoi: Yes, it appears to be merely growing to us. But let’s look at it scientifically. You can read from cardiologist Dr.. Pim Van Lommel’s book The Science of Near-death Experience. I have the ebook in my phone. Oberoi opens the file and hands it over to Mittal who starts reading haltingly.
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Mittal: “Our cells may be seen as our body’s physical building blocks, yet every day some fifty billion cells in our body are broken down and regenerated. This is the equivalent of 500,000 cells per second. Every two weeks all of the molecules and atoms in our body’s cells are replaced… And yet we experience our body as a continuity. How can we explain this experience of continuity of the ever-changing body?” That’s interesting. Oberoi: Yes, the question raised by Dr. Lommel is profound: How is it that, despite such constant and total changes in our body, our sense of identity, or ‘I’-ness, remains unchanged? Your body changes, but you remain yourself. How?
Mittal: This seems to be not just subjective intuition, but serious scientific reasoning, isn’t it? Oberoi: Yes – and there’s a lot of serious scientific work going on. How much scientific intricacy are you comfortable with?
Mittal: I always had a head for science, so I think you can go ahead and I will let you know if the water becomes too deep. But be warned – my scientific questions may put you in deeper water than what you are prepared for. Oberoi: Sure, I empathize with your attitude. I myself didn’t accept the idea of the soul till it made sound scientific sense to me, so I think I should be prepared enough for your questions. I will begin with the experiments that are relatively easier to understand and then later go into the theory.
Mittal: You mean there are experiments demonstrating the existence of the soul?
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Oberoi: Not exactly – the soul being spiritual can’t be directly perceived by any material experiment. I use experimental in the loose sense of empirical evidences in cases of past-life memories and near-death experiences. Let’s begin with hypnotically induced past-life memories.
Xenoglossy
Mittal: Doesn’t sound particularly confidence building. Hypnosis is not the most reliable method for gaining knowledge, is it? Oberoi: Yes, it has its problems. But can I make my case? Mittal: Sure.
Oberoi: Trained hypnotists can help people to recollect their past, by taking them back to their childhood, infancy and earlier. Research has shown that more than 90 percent of all hypnotizable persons furnish memories that indicate previous lives.
Mittal: I have heard of this stuff – but it’s highly romanticized, where lovers from past life get re-united. It’s the stuff of movies, not of science. Oberoi: Yes, much of it is. So I will focus on some special cases, where the hypnotically regressed people exhibit xenoglossy, the ability to speak fluently foreign languages with which they have had no contact in this life. A few of them even exhibited xenography, the ability to write those languages. Mittal: Interesting.
Oberoi: Dr.. Joel Whitton, a professor of psychiatry at the
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University of Toronto Medical School, is a pioneer among several rigorously scientific hypnotists, who have spent thousands of hours recording and investigating the information that people furnish under hypnosis. In his book, Life Between Life, Whitton recorded subjects speaking and writing in archaic languages that were incomprehensible to most people. Those languages could not even be identified by anyone except super-specialist linguists, who recognized them to be Old Norse and a Mesopotamian tongue extant between A.D. 226 and 651. Mittal: Amazing – how did they learn those languages?
Oberoi: Yes, that’s a question with no answers within a materialistic worldview. As those languages are not spoken by anyone at present, these people could not have learnt them from anyone else. Moreover, they themselves could not normally speak or write those languages before or after hypnosis. Then how were they able to do so during hypnosis? The most logical explanation is that they themselves had been living in an earlier life during the time when those languages were spoken and had learnt them at that time – and the hypnotic regression had activated their dormant memory of that language. Mittal: Hmmm.
Past-life memories
Oberoi: Another, even more scientifically rigorous research is the investigation of spontaneous past-life memories among children. Mittal: Why children?
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Oberoi: Generally the memories occur spontaneously in the childhood years. And children have less capacity to organize a fraud involving many people at different places. Mittal: Ok.
Oberoi: The late Dr. Ian Stevenson, Director of the Department of Personality Studies, University of Virginia, focused on children whose past-life memories arose unsought and could be verified by historical research. He investigated scrupulously the spontaneous past-life memories of over three thousand children for over four decades and across five continents. Mittal: That’s a lot of work.
Oberoi: Yes. The care and caution of his research work has won critical acclaim in prestigious scientific journals like The American Journal of Psychiatry, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, The International Journal of Comparative Sociology and The Journal of the American Medical Association. He found that usually the children were between the ages of two and four when they spontaneously started talking of a previous lifetime. Often their memories were so detailed that Stevenson was able to track down the identity of their previous birth and confirm the particulars. Sometimes he even took the children, or rather the children took him, to the precise spot about which they had talked to him and investigation had uncovered a person who had lived and died exactly as the children had described. The children led the way through a locality they had never visited before and correctly identified their previous home, family members, friends and possessions. While recollecting their past lives, they would
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often say something like, “I was big then, but I am small now.” Mittal: Remarkable.
Oberoi: Yes, very much. Stevenson found correlations not only between memories and historical facts, but also between historical facts and present phobias. More than a third of the children who had past-life memories also had phobias that corresponded to the exact mode of death of the past life. For example, the child had hydrophobia when the previous life death had been caused by drowning and the child had a phobia for knives when the previous life death had been caused by stabbing.
In addition to the psychological correspondences, Stevenson also documented biological matches. 35 percent of the children who recalled a previous life had birthmarks or birth defects that corresponded with the fatal wounds of the previous life. In addition to Stevenson, several other researchers in various parts of the world like Dr. Jim Tucker and Dr. Antonia Mills have also documented numerous similar cases of spontaneous past-life memories. Mittal: Sounds like serious, respectable research.
Oberoi: Yes, past-life memories comprise evidence for reincarnation, the idea that a soul can move from one body to another. That the soul is different from the body is suggested by another, even more widely researched area: the study of near-death experiences.
Unconscious yet conscious?
Mittal: I have heard about near-death experiences – don’t they involve extraordinary visions among people who were nearly dead?
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Oberoi: Yes, some of the near-death experiences or NDEs raise the provocative question – how can people be conscious when they are not conscious? Mittal: What does that mean?
Oberoi: In several NDE cases, as per all standard parameters of the absence of consciousness such as no heart beat, no brain waves etc, the near death experiencers were unconscious. Yet they reported accurate perceptions about events during the period when they were supposedly unconscious – perceptions that they couldn’t have acquired unless they had been conscious. Mittal: Are you serious?
Oberoi: Yes, dead serious – we are talking about near-death! The most scientifically relevant features of the NDEs are the out-ofbody experiences or OBEs. During these experiences, many of the patients become aware of themselves floating in an ethereal form outside their bodies, often above the operating bed. Mittal: Sound like hallucinations.
Oberoi: Some of them could be. But during many of these NDEs, the breathing and pulse stop, all traces of consciousness cease, electroencephalographs give readings that are completely flat, indicating no brain-wave activity whatsoever. In many cases the persons are officially diagnosed as clinically dead. Researchers know that hallucinations involve significant brain activity, so experiences that occur when the EEG shows zero indicating brain shutdown cannot be hallucinations.
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Moreover, during many of these NDEs, the patients, on coming back to consciousness, describe accurately the activities and discussions of the operating staff during the surgery or resuscitation. If the patients could give factually accurate information derived from those experiences, how could those experiences be hallucinations? Mittal: Maybe by their past general knowledge?
Oberoi: Again that’s possible. But many of them gave such precise information that it couldn’t have come from general knowledge. This was the conclusion of Dr. Michael Sabom, who started his NDE research in 1970 as a skeptic bent on finding a materialistic explanation for NDEs. But the evidences that he encountered over three decades of research chipped away his skepticism. In his book Recollections of Death: A Medical Investigation he offered the only logical explanation of NDEs through a rhetorical question: “Could the mind which splits apart from the physical brain be, in essence, the ‘soul,’ which continues to exist after final bodily death, according to some religious doctrines?” Mittal: Sounds interesting.
Oberoi: Apart from these fields of observation, there’s also a theoretical question that remains unanswered – the mysterious origin of consciousness.
You are more than your brain
Mittal: But isn’t consciousness produced by the brain?
Oberoi: That’s the mainstream scientific assumption today. But this assumption has neither been demonstrated experimentally, nor
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explained theoretically to any reasonable degree of satisfaction. Indeed, Albert Einstein, the father of modern physics, acknowledged that science cannot fully explain consciousness and life: “I believe that the present fashion of applying the axioms of science to human life is not only entirely a mistake, but also has something reprehensible in it.” To understand the relationship between the brain and consciousness, let’s discuss three crucial questions. First, if the brain produces consciousness, then how?
Mittal: There must be some complex mechanism – the brain is, after all, very complex. Oberoi: Yes, the brain is incredibly sophisticated in its structure, with about 10 billion neurons, each of which has about ten thousand connections with other neurons. Despite their huge number, all that happens to these neurons during brain activity is that their electrochemical states change. As these neurons themselves are not conscious, the changes in their electrochemical states cannot produce consciousness. The idea that matter can produce something that experiences matter – consciousness – is thus an undemonstrable and unexplainable claim. Noble Laureate neurophysiologist Sir John Eccles stated, “I believe that there is a fundamental mystery in my existence, transcending any biological account of the development of my body (including my brain).” Mittal: That’s food for thought – what’s the second question about the relationship between brain and consciousness?
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The brain is the computer, not the programmer Oberoi: This question has become all the more forceful due to the irrefutable recent findings that the brain cells die and are replaced, just like the cells of the rest of the body. The question is – when the brain cells are continuously dying at the rate of one thousand neurons per day and are being replaced, how are we able to perform our normal functions of consciousness like remembering? If the brain cells store our memories and these brain cells are continuously being replaced by new brains cells without any memory transfer, then how are we able to remember names, places and other facts? Suppose we wrote a message on a paper and then replaced all its molecules one by one – would the message still be there? Mittal: No.
Oberoi: But if the message still remained, it would beg the question – how did it remain? Similarly, all our memories are stored in the brain cells and all those cells change – yet our memories remain with us. How? The most logical answer is that the locus of memories and consciousness is not restricted to the brain, but extends somewhere else too. Mittal: That’s intriguing. But still when a part of the brain gets damaged, people often lose the corresponding bodily functions. When the speech center of the brain of a person is damaged, that person is unable to speak. Oberoi: Yes, that’s well-documented. But such observations can also be explained if the brain were merely transmitting – and not producing – consciousness. The renowned psychologist
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William James explains this with the example of the way a prism transmits light. When a prism is damaged, the light passed through it may get distorted. Similarly, when the brain gets damaged, the consciousness passed through it may get impeded. Let’s consider another example of a person using a computer to store data. If the data storage section of the computer gets damaged, that person will be unable to use that data. Similarly, if the brain were a computer-like instrument for the consciousness, then damage to a particular brain area would impair the consciousness in performing that function. This same point was well brought out by another Noble Laureate, neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, who, after four decades of research, concluded, “The brain is a computer.... But it is programmed by something that is outside itself.”
Thus, scientific studies in these four fields – hypnotically induced past life memories, spontaneous past life memories, near death experience and the phenomenon of consciousness – offer strong evidence for the existence of a soul different from the body. Mittal: Intriguing. But what exactly is the soul?
Gita insights on the soul
Oberoi: Gita wisdom explains that soul is a person who is presently in the form of a particle of consciousness located in the region of the heart. It is sat-cit-ananda, eternal, conscious and blissful. The Gita (13.34)11 illustrates the relationship between the nonmaterial soul and the material body: “As the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.” Here the Gita gives 11 O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.
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us a profound yet practical analogy to overcome a common initial obstacle in understanding the soul: its invisibility. When we are seated inside a room, we may not be able to see the sun, still we can infer its presence by the presence of its symptom: sunshine. Similarly, even though we may not be able to see the soul, we can infer its presence by the presence of its symptom: consciousness.
Mittal: Sounds a bit simplistic. Isn’t the soul present in the body, unlike the sun which is not present on the earth? Oberoi: Yes, the soul is indeed present in the body. Spiritual concepts can’t be fully conveyed by any single metaphor. Different metaphors illumine different aspects of the essential concept. To better understand how the soul is the indwelling activator of the body, consider the car-driver metaphor.
The soul is like the driver of the bodily car: as long as the driver animates the car, the car functions; as soon as the driver leaves the car, the car can no longer move. Similarly, as long as the soul animates the body, the body has apparent life; as soon as the soul leaves the body, the body becomes lifeless. Death, which involves destruction of the bodily car, cannot touch the soul. Mittal: Ok, I will need to think about that. You know, I had no idea such a persuasive case could be made for the soul using science. I am not convinced yet, mind you, but I am definitely surprised.
Oberoi: Yes, if we are to take the Gita seriously, it’s vital to know that its foundational teaching of our spiritual identity stands on a sound, scientifically intelligible footing. Otherwise, anything spiritual often remains associated with a haze of uncertainty – “Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t.” Many leaders practice yoga
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and meditation to de-stress themselves, but they avail of its psychophysical benefits without considering its metaphysical implications. While such a utilitarian approach may offer some stress relief, it hugely underutilizes the potential of spirituality for inner empowerment. To tap the full potential, we need a clearer, sounder, deeper understanding of our spiritual side, as can be acquired by understanding the reality of the soul as the source of consciousness, as the essence of who we are.
Harmonize the material with the spiritual
Mittal: There was another question gnawing at the back of my mind when you were talking about our non-material identity. If we are not our bodies, would that imply that we are not leaders either? Oberoi: Yes and no – yes in an ultimate philosophical sense, no in an immediate functional sense.
Our present existence is bi-dimensional – both spiritual and material. Ultimately, we are souls, pure and free, but presently we are souls encased in bodies. The Gita’s message is not to summarily reject the material, but to systematically use the material for attaining the spiritual. Leaders can bring about this harmonization of the material with the spiritual, not just in their own lives, but also in the lives of those whom they lead.
The Gita’s assertion that we are souls is not meant to reject our body – it is meant to reject the limitation on our self-conception that bodily misidentification brings. The body is fragile and perishable – and so are the things connected with it such as worldly possessions and positions. When our self-identity is wedded to such things alone, we sentence ourselves to perpetual anxiety,
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the ever-present fear that the foundation of who we are may be shattered at any moment. By giving us a more enduring foundation for our self-identity, the Gita removes the most deep-rooted cause of our anxieties.
At the same time, the Gita refers to Arjuna’s bodily positions respectably, calling him by honorifics such as hero of the Bharata dynasty (bharatarsabha) or tiger among men (purusha-vyagraha). In fact, out of the twenty five names it uses to address Arjuna, fourteen refer to his bodily connections. It uses such honorifics while urging Arjuna to act honorably as would behoove such illustrious designations. So it does acknowledge that while we are living in the world, in a functional sense, our bodily identities are important and the responsibilities associated with them need to be executed diligently. The same principle applies to leaders who understand their non-material identity – this higher identification doesn’t detract from their worldly responsibilities, rather it gives them a more secure platform from which they can more stably and effectively execute those responsibilities. When a ship is being rocked by stormy waves, the captain needs to stay calm and guide the crew to take the ship to safety. Similarly, when the stress inducing changes of the corporate world threaten an organization, leaders need to stay calm to guide their team effectively. The awareness of their spiritual identity – an identity that cannot even be affected, leave alone destroyed, by any worldly upheaval – enables them to stay calm and focus on seeking constructive solutions.
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Mind the mind
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Seeing the sun rising high in the sky, Oberoi and Mittal decide to return to the shade of the cottage where they had begun their discussion early in the morning. While strolling back, they continue talking.
Oberoi: Let’s now discuss a concept that’s central to both the Gita and to our daily living – and all the more so to leaders. That concept is the mind.
Mittal: How is it relevant to leaders?
Oberoi: Leadership requires clear perception, but the mind frequently distorts our perception. John Milton put the perceptiondistorting potency of the mind well: “The mind is a universe and can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”
The mind and the soul differentiated
Mittal: Ok, but what exactly do you mean by the word ‘mind’?
Oberoi: Words have denotations and connotations – what they literally mean and what they generally convey. The word ‘mind’, as used in common parlance, connotes many things such as intellect, memory, attention and determination. Despite its familiar connotations, what the mind actually denotes remains vague and elusive. This is evident in logical positivist philosopher A J Ayer’s refusal to study the mind because, as he put it, “it has no locus.” Mittal: No locus?
Oberoi: Translated to non-jargon, he essentially admits not knowing where or what the mind is.
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Mittal: Ok.
Oberoi: The Gita, however, gives a clear understanding of the mind, placing it an intermediate level within a three-level model of the self: 1. 2. 3.
The body is our visible material covering that we feed and dress, and normally identify ourselves with.
The mind is the subtle material mechanism that interfaces between the soul and the gross material body.
The soul is the essence of who we are – it is the source of the consciousness that makes the inanimate body and mind seem alive.
Mittal: So the mind and the soul are different?
Oberoi: Yes, within the Gita’s nomenclature, they definitely are different. Some thought systems conflate the mind and the soul, but Gita wisdom clearly differentiates between the two: the soul is the root of consciousness, whereas the mind is the route of consciousness. The mind is the medium through which the soul interacts with the body and the world outside. The soul is conscious, whereas the mind, being material, is not – it merely reflects the soul’s consciousness.
The channel of distraction
Mittal: How exactly does the mind work?
Oberoi: To better understand how the mind shapes the soul-body interaction, let’s use a computer metaphor. We can compare the body to the hardware, the mind to the software and the soul to the user.
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Stored in the mind are impressions of past pleasant and unpleasant experiences. These impressions condition it to certain patterns of functioning that over time become its default script. This script determines its ideas of what needs to be done for getting pleasure or avoiding trouble. Unfortunately, much of this script is distorted and distorting. The mind imagines pleasures where there are none or exaggerates insignificant pleasures till they seem irresistible. And it imagines problems where there are none or exaggerates inconsequential problems till they seem insurmountable. By thus distracting our attention from important tasks to unimportant or even unnecessary ones, the mind drains our energy. That’s why we can’t just outsource our tasks to the mind and expect them to be done. We need to mind the mind, that is, we need to act as handson monitors, terminating those thought processes that take our consciousness in unwanted directions. Pertinently, the Bhagavadgita (6.26)12 urges us to use our intelligence to restrain and refocus the mind whenever it wanders. To better understand how the mind dissipates our energy in false alarms, let’s consider the wellknown wolf metaphor.
Aggravator of worry
Mittal: Wolf metaphor? You mean the story of the boy who cried wolf? Oberoi: Yes. The boy would misinform villagers about a marauding wolf when actually there was no threat.
The mind does something similar to us when it goes into a hyper12 From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.
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anxiety mode. By magnifying small problems till they appear like colossal catastrophes, the mind cries wolf.
Actually, the mind does much worse than crying wolf – it also acts as the wolf. When faced with a problem, the mind runs off into the past to the crises we had undergone and imagines that history is about to repeat itself. Or it runs off into the future, painting grim pictures of the many things that may go wrong. Either way, it sabotages our capacity to function effectively in the present. And the present is the only time that we have – or will ever have – to do anything right, be it correcting a past error, preparing for a future complication or choosing a fresh action plan. But the mind depletes our presence in the present by devouring our consciousness. Thus it acts like a predatory wolf. Because the mind is like the misleading boy and the marauding wolf rolled into one, it is the worst wolf. No wonder the Bhagavadgita (06.06)13 warns that the mind can, when uncontrolled, be our worst enemy.
The distracting companion
Mittal: I can appreciate what you are saying. But I don’t think the mind is always an enemy.
Oberoi: Yes, the same verse states that the mind can, when controlled, be our best friend. This implies that the mind isn’t always our enemy, but first we need to learn to control it. To understand how we can keep the mind under control, we need to remember that the mind can never take the steering wheel from us. The body is like a car and the soul, the driver. In our bodily car, 13 For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.
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we are always in the driver’s seat.
Mittal: In the driver’s seat? Are you using that in a literal or a metaphorical sense? Oberoi: In a metaphorically literal sense. Mittal raises his eyebrows quizzically.
Oberoi: You remember the metaphor of the body being like the car and the soul being like the driver. So within that metaphor, the soul is literally in the driver’s seat. Extending that metaphor, the mind is our default traveling partner sitting permanently next to us. It frequently proposes ideas of where we should travel and fabricates images of the pleasures that await us there. By its propositions and fabrications, it prompts, prods, pushes, pinches and punches us to fulfill its wanderlust. However, it cannot usurp us from the driver’s seat. So, it can only impel us – never compel us. That is, though the mind can push us, it can’t force us. We have the power to not just neglect it, but also counter and silence it.
Countering the mind, however, is not easy. That’s because the mind doesn’t just persuade us to obey it – it also makes us believe that its voice is our voice. The mind subtly and sinisterly causes us to misidentify with it. To understand how it effects such misidentification, we can compare it to a ventriloquist.
The ventriloquist
Mittal: Ventriloquist? You mean the art of projecting one’s voice so that it seems to come from somewhere else?
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Oberoi: Yes, those unaware of ventriloquism mistakenly think that the inanimate dummy is speaking, but those aware can figure out what’s actually happening.
The mind is like a most crafty ventriloquist. While ordinary ventriloquists may perform a show for us to see, the mind makes us its show. Ordinary ventriloquists may project their voices to inanimate objects for entertaining onlookers, but the mind projects its voice onto us and makes us believe that its voice is our voice. Because we are often unaware of the mind’s insidious tactics, we fall prey to its ventriloquism and act out its selfish desires, assuming that they are our desires. Only later when the short-lived pleasure of acting out ends and the consequences start registering do we ask in dismay: “Why did I do that?” Mittal: I don’t know about the ventriloquism metaphor, but I as a manager sure can relate with that question. When a team member works incompetently and needs to be warned, I sometimes get carried away while delivering the correction and later wonder what made me become so heavy with him. Oberoi: Yes. We all have such experiences. If we are to gain inner mastery, the key question is – how do we protect ourselves from the mind’s deceitful ventriloquism? Mittal: Yes, how?
Oberoi: By stopping the mind when it is speaking in the second person (“You do this and enjoy”) and not letting it take on the first person voice (“I want to do this and enjoy”). To understand this, let’s explore the ventriloquism metaphor further. When ventriloquists make a dummy speak, they have to be present
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somewhere nearby; the voice can’t be projected over long distances. If onlookers are informed and alert, they can, as soon as they hear the dummy speaking, look around, spot the ventriloquist and say, “That’s you speaking.” By thus catching the ventriloquist in the act, they can avoid getting deluded.
Similarly, the mind has to be in our vicinity before it can make us misidentify with it. Of course, ontologically speaking, the mind is always in our vicinity; it exists inside us. But functionally speaking, the mind is not always aroused and active with its nefarious schemes; it’s not always a ventriloquist in the act. Mittal: What puts the mind in the act?
Oberoi: Captivation by something unworthy. When the mind becomes thus captivated and wants us to act it out, it initially has to speak in the second person, “Why don’t you do that? You will enjoy it. You need a break; you need some fun.” At this stage, we sense that something within us is prompting us towards some unwholesome indulgence. Though the voice may be insistent, we are still aware that it is different from us; the mind is still speaking in the second person. However, if we listen to the proposals of the mind, we give it the chance to cast its ventriloquistic spell on us. With frightening swiftness, it projects its voice on us. Soon, sometimes in a matter of moments, the mind starts speaking in the first person: “I want to enjoy that.” But because we have been taken in by its ventriloquism, we no longer realize that it is the mind speaking; we mistake its voice to be our own. Once we take ownership of the mind’s desires, then all our inner safeguards crumble and we end up doing something foolish or self-destructive.
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Mittal: Hmmm.
The trajectory to self-destruction
Oberoi: Let me elaborate this trajectory to self-destruction with an analytical frame drawn from the Gita and an example from daily life. The Bhagavad-gita (2.62-63)14 delineates eight stages in the trajectory to self-destruction – a trajectory we can better understand through an example of how a recovering alcoholic may relapse: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Contemplation (dhyayato): The alcoholic starts considering the prospect of drinking: “Look at that – doesn’t that look good?” Attraction (sanga): He starts feeling that a drink will be enjoyable: “It’s nice – you can relax and enjoy.”
Obsession (kama): He starts feeling strongly infatuated by it: “I want it – and want it now.”
Irritation (krodha): He starts feeling irritated at anything that stops him from getting it: “Who can stop me from doing what I want?”
Delusion (sammoha): He gets completely confused about what is good and what is bad: “I don’t need anyone’s advice – I know what to do.”
14 While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.
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6.
7. 8.
Oblivion (smriti-bhrama): He forgets the hangover, the bondage and the misery that alcohol has caused in the past: “There’s so much pleasure here – why should I not enjoy?” Stupefaction (buddhi-nasho): He loses his intellectual capacity to discern before acting and decides to act on the spur of the moment: “I am going to drink right now.”
Destruction (pranashyati): He falls headlong into a relapse and wallows in it till he wakes up with an awful headache and throws up in the washroom.
In the stages of contemplation and attraction, the mind’s voice keeps getting louder and more demanding. But it is still speaking in the second person: “Why don’t you enjoy that? It looks promising.” From the stage of obsession, however, the mind starts speaking in the first person. We start identifying with its desire and thereafter start feeling angry at whatever obstacle blocks us: “Who can stop me from enjoying?” Hereafter, the mind’s ventriloquism makes a complete fool out of us; we cast aside our intelligence and binge, and thus get ourselves into trouble. Mittal: That’s quite a detailed analysis of the problem. But what’s the solution?
Catch the mind before it catches you
Oberoi: To protect ourselves, we need to be alert and catch the mind when it is speaking in the second person: “Ah! That’s the mind speaking. I am not going to listen to it.” Though the mind may still push us, just by disowning it we can win a major part of the battle. And we can win the battle fully if we immediately
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focus on something engaging, illuminating, empowering. Once we get engrossed in something constructive, the mind’s destructive proposals can no longer allure us. Being starved of our attention, it is eventually forced to fall back, whimpering and defeated.
Mittal: This sounds good – but how does one go about this practically Oberoi: To mind the mind, we need to: • •
Distance ourselves from the mind and
Distance the real situation from the mind’s distorted depiction of things.
Some ways to do this distancing are: deep breathing, meditating, journal-writing, praying and, most importantly, studying wisdombooks such as the Gita with spiritual guides and practicing meditation, especially mantra meditation. The Gita serves as a standard guidebook for human behavior. When we study it regularly, thereby we become equipped with a ready reference point for evaluating the mind’s proposals and rejecting them whenever they contradict scriptural guidelines. As the import of scripture and its relevance in our daily lives may not be immediately apparent to us, we need the guidance of spiritual mentors, who can counsel us according to our specific situation.
The Gita’s most important guideline for controlling the mind is to absorb ourselves in loving remembrance of God, Krishna. He is the reservoir of the supreme happiness and meditation on him grants us access to higher happiness, which makes the mind’s distracting proposals unnecessary and even unappealing. Moreover, the Gita
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(5.29)15 states that Krishna is our greatest well-wisher. When we absorb ourselves in his remembrance, he helps us by his omnipotent grace to ward off the mind’s unwholesome advances. The best way to meditate on Krishna is by mantra meditation or chanting mantras made of his holy names. That divine sound offers us an accessible and relishable channel for raising our awareness to a higher, spiritual level of reality, thereby automatically taking it away from the mind and its obsession with petty things. I will talk more about chanting later. As they return to the cottage, they decide to take a break to freshen themselves before lunch, which will be a community affair with other visitors at the retreat as well as with some of its residents.
15 A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
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Assume accountability
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After some relaxing small talk during and after lunch, a sumptuous feast of delicious natural fare, Oberoi and Mittal take a short break and attend to their urgent phone calls and messages. Thereafter, they resume their discussion on a nearby garden seat shaded by an artistic arch-like cover of greenery.
Mittal: How do the Gita’s insights help a leader in practical concerns such as team-building?
Oberoi: In many ways. Let’s consider one – trust. The glue that
binds leaders and subordinates as a cohesive and effective team is trust. And trust can be earned only by consistent integrity. Integrity has many aspects, but essentially it refers to a congruence between words and actions – we do what we speak and we speak what we do. Leaders may be able to initially attract people by their flair and flamboyance, but that appeal will fade soon if not sustained by core integrity. Mittal: Ok, but how does spirituality come into the picture?
Oberoi: What makes people sacrifice integrity is expediency, the ever-present temptation to sacrifice principles for quick gains. And this temptation becomes even greater for leaders, who often seem to have the influence to pull off deceptions, minor or major, without being held accountable. But spiritual wisdom helps us understand that, no matter who we are, we are accountable for our actions – always. This is the central tenet of karma.
Intellectual muscle to the call for ethics
Mittal: Karma? You expect leaders’ decisions will be shaped by such mumbo-jumbo.
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Oberoi: Yes, their decisions will be shaped by considerations of karma when they understand that it is not mumbo-jumbo, but is the most coherent way of making sense of life. The Sanskrit word karma has gained mainstream acceptance today and found a place in the English dictionary. Karma as a philosophical principle, however, is little understood. That principle is – for every action there is a reaction. In the Biblical tradition, it is phrased as “As you sow, so shall you reap.”
A proper, philosophical understanding of karma can bring intellectual muscle to the call for business ethics. An appalling lack of ethics among leaders has led to many of the world’s worst crises. I am sure you can think of many examples. Mittal: Yes, Enron and Satyam come to mind.
Oberoi: Yes, at a bigger level, the blatant flouting of ethics caused the global recession of 2008. The indiscriminate and often unethical granting of housing loans triggered the American subprime crisis that eventually snowballed into a global economic meltdown. When society’s leaders understand that they can’t escape the consequences of their actions, then that acceptance of karma will bring into place an implicit ethos of accountability.
Our accountability isn’t limited to the traceability of our actions. It’s not that we can get away with unethical practices if nobody notices us. Someone is always noticing. Karma as a law of nature is as immutable as other better-known scientific laws of nature. Mittal: Scientific? That seems too much of a stretch.
Oberoi: Yes, it’s likely to seem that way. But let me explain. A person
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who jumps off a ten-story building can’t expect to land unhurt just because of not believing in the law of gravity. Similarly, a person’s disbelief in karma is no indemnity from incurring the consequence of unethical actions. No doubt, the fear of consequence is far from the noblest motive for sticking to ethics. Still, for most people it is the essential beginning. Mittal: You know karma sounds like a belief system thought up by some people wanting some order in an inherently disorderly world. Oberoi: If that were so, then why would it form the basis of almost all human thinking? The word ‘karma’ essentially implies a causal connection between action and consequence. And isn’t that the way we make sense of things around us?
If we see a friend with a burn scar on the hand, we instinctively ask, “What happened?” Our question reveals our implicit acceptance of causality – the burn couldn’t have appeared just by chance; it had some cause that we want to know about. Mittal: Hmmm.
Cosmic Appraisal System
Oberoi: Further, the assumption of causality is the basis for leaders to appraise the performance of their subordinates. If someone’s output performance is poor, we naturally consider the cause to be a poor input effort. Yes, factors other than individual efforts also affect results, but still efforts play a critical role. Without an implicit acceptance of action-consequence connection, that is, karma, no system of performance appraisal would have any foundation.
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Mittal: I hadn’t thought of karma like an appraisal system.
Oberoi: Yes, when what we may have known from our traditional culture is phrased in contemporary terms, we often see it in new light. Sophisticated appraisal systems strive to consider extraneous factors to evaluate fairly the individual’s contribution and caliber. Similarly, karma as a cosmic performance appraisal system gives due weightage to the many relevant factors that shape the connection between the action and the consequence. That’s where reincarnation comes into the picture – it extends the causal chain between action and consequence to before this life and beyond this life.
Such a pre-natal and post-mortem extension complicates the concept of karma, but then that’s necessary to do justice to the rich complexity that characterizes life. Reflecting an acute awareness of our lived realities, the Gita (4.17)16 declares that the intricacies of action are extremely difficult to understand. Still, we can understand the basics of karma by considering the most obvious questions it raises. Mittal: You know, the more you speak about this, the more it becomes a call for blind belief.
Belief in order - the basis of science
Oberoi: It requires belief, but not blind belief – it’s reasonable belief. Mittal: What makes the belief reasonable?
16 The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.
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Oberoi: Let’s look at two convergent lines of reasoning, one coming from science and the other from routine human experience. Firstly, all of nature obeys laws.
Science progresses by assuming on faith that nature has an underlying order and then seeking to discover that order. In the twentieth century, when Newton’s laws were found to be inapplicable at the microscopic and macroscopic levels, science didn’t reject the assumption of order, but pressed on, seeking some deeper order. That eventually led to the development of quantum physics and relativity to explain respectively the microscopic and the macroscopic realms. Of course, the whole subject is complex and I am giving only a barebones outline, but the central point is that science, even in the face of contrary observations, holds on to its faith-based assumption of order in nature. Gita wisdom urges us to extend this principle of assuming an order beyond the interactions of insentient things to the interactions of conscious beings. The law that governs the actions of human consciousness is karma. Just as understanding the laws of nature has heralded progress in the scientific world, so too understanding the law of karma will herald progress in human affairs. Mittal: Ok, what’s the second reason?
Oberoi: Karma in principle resonates with a normal training system. If students study well, their parents appreciate them and give them some gifts. If they don’t study properly, parents chastise them and maybe reduce their pocket money. Wherever there exists a vigilant supervisor, the normal way of training is punishment for the bad and reward for the good. The Gita (13.23)17 indicates 17
Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the
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that God is such a cosmic supervisor. As he is the most benevolent parent and the most intelligent trainer, wouldn’t he also follow a similar system? That system for divine training manifests through the law of karma. Mittal: Well, karma may make logical sense, but it doesn’t correlate with real-world observations. People frequently don’t get the consequences of their actions.
Oberoi: Yes, that’s where reincarnation comes in, as I had mentioned. Some reactions come in a future lifetime and we get in our present life reactions to some actions done in a previous life. Mittal: That begs the question – why don’t reactions come in the same lifetime?
Why don’t reactions come in the same lifetime?
Oberoi: (points to the natural panorama all around them): Why don’t all plants grow at the same rate? Because they are different, coming from different seeds that fructify differently. Every action is like sowing a seed. Different seeds fructify after different time durations. Grains harvest after two or three months, some fruit seeds produce fruits after twenty years and some seeds may even take hundred years to fructify. Similarly different types of karma seeds (actions) take different time durations to fructify. Even in our daily experience, we observe such variability in the duration between action and reaction. If we put our hand in fire, the reaction of burning comes instantaneously; if we sit next to the air-cooler, the reaction of feeling cold comes after a few minutes; if we eat too much at night, the reaction of a stomach upset comes next morning Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.
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after a few hours; if we start smoking in our teens, the reaction of lung cancer often comes after a few decades. By extension, some actions may take more than few decades and so may extend beyond one lifetime. Each seed requires for its fruition a certain set of environmental factors that need to work out. Similarly, each karmic seed requires other requisite factors to work out. This is illustrated in an incident associated with the Mahabharata.
After the bloody Kurukshetra war, Dhritarashtra asked Krishna, “I had hundred sons and all of them were killed in the war. Why?” Krishna replied, “Fifty lifetimes ago, you were a hunter. While hunting, you tried to shoot a male bird, but it flew away. In anger, you ruthlessly slaughtered the hundred baby birds that were there in the nest. The father-bird had to watch in helpless agony. Because you caused that father-bird the pain of seeing the death of his hundreds sons, you too had to bear the pain of your hundred sons dying”. Dhritarashtra became pensive and then asked, “Ok, but why did I have to wait for fifty lifetimes?” Krishna answered, “You had to accumulate punya (pious credits) during the last fifty lifetimes to be able to get a hundred sons in this one lifetime. Then you got the reaction for the papa (sin) that you have done fifty lifetimes ago.”
The Bhagavad-gita (4.17)18 verse I mentioned earlier is worth repeating and quoting: gahanaa karmano gatih, implying that the way in which action and reaction correlate is very complex. All 18 The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.
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the factors required for the manifestation of a particular reaction are beyond human comprehension. Therefore, some reaction may come in this lifetime, some in the next and some in a distant future lifetime. Mittal: I still can’t buy this. Isn’t all this talk of karma just a belief?
Oberoi: Even if for argument’s sake we grant that it’s a belief, isn’t disbelief in karma also a belief? Can we prove beyond any reasonable doubt that no correlation exists between action and reaction? Mittal (after a pause): No, we can’t.
Oberoi: So since we can’t live without belief, what we can do as intelligent people is choose the best belief – the belief that makes the most sense and works the best. Mittal: So how can you establish that karma makes the best sense?
Chance?
Oberoi: Let’s start with a fundamental question – why do different people get different starting conditions? Some of us are born good-looking; some, mediocre-looking. Some of us are born with a phenomenal memory; some, with a below-average memory. These starting conditions often significantly shape the difficulties we face in achieving our life’s goals. If I have a below-average memory and my academic success is measured by exams that test memory, the decks are stacked against me right from the start; the match is fixed against me even before it starts. Why do different people get different starting conditions?
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Let’s analyze logically which worldview best explains these disparities. Which are the worldviews that could be logical candidates for evaluation? If life were compared to a cricket match in which different teams start with different scores and we were to ask why a team got a particular starting score, the various possible explanations would eventually boil down to three: it was determined by chance or by the organizer or by the team itself. The same three possibilities emerge when we seek an explanation of life’s inequities. Let’s analyze the corresponding worldviews one by one to see which offers the best explanation. Mittal: It could all be just by chance.
Oberoi: This is the materialistic, atheistic worldview which holds that what we are is the result of the chance interactions of natural forces, that one shot at living is all that we ever get and that we are successes if we mine the maximum material enjoyment out of our brief life-spans. With such a worldview, the setting for pursuing life’s material goals like wealth seems blatantly unfair. Some people are born in heartbreakingly poor families; some, in fabulously wealthy families with plenty of everything material. Using the cricket analogy, this worldview makes life seem like a one-day cricket tournament in which one team starts with an initial score of 0 runs; and another, with a score of 200 runs. Why this difference? This worldview answers by saying that there is no answer; some people are lucky, some, unlucky. Period. Mittal: But we can improve our lot by practical actions. And we can also rectify the inequities socio-politically by enacting policies such as redistributing wealth or providing preferential employment to the economically disadvantaged.
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Oberoi: Yes, such reassurances and policies can help to create a brighter future, but they don’t at all rationally explain the bleak present. The chance-based worldview makes the unlucky feel wronged and helpless. Even the lucky end up feeling insecure because any moment their luck may run out.
Such a worldview is unappealing as it violates our intuitive sense of order and justice. It is also disempowering as it breeds feelings of helpless victimization at the hands of blind chance. Most of the people who accept it do so because they don’t know of any better alternative. Mittal: Well, some people may say it’s all due to God.
Divine Caprice?
Oberoi: Yes, the theistic worldview adds God to the previous worldview and posits that the problems of life are moral tests arranged by him to impel us to grow spiritually. While this worldview may explain why life has problems, it doesn’t explain why some people have more problems than others.
If God is like the teacher who sets the questions for the test, then this worldview makes him a discriminatory teacher who arbitrarily gives easy questions to some students and difficult questions to others. Continuing with the cricket analogy, this worldview makes God the assigner of different starting scores to different teams. Why does he discriminate like this? This worldview usually answers with some variation of the platitude that God’s justice is different from ours. But for those who have been wronged by life, such a rationalization seems more a covert ploy to get God off the hook than a reasonable explanation. And it is difficult to deny the ring
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of truth in their resounding retort: God’s justice may be different from ours, but it should be different in the sense of being better than ours, not worse than ours.
It is a sad fact of history that the demand for faith in such a capricious “God” has caused millions of intelligent, sincere people to balk. Thousands have even taken what seemed to them the next logical step and embraced full-scale atheism. Given that they had to make the difficult choice between the two unpalatable options of mundane chance and divine caprice, their decision is understandable. Mittal: Makes sense.
Multi-life progression
Oberoi: It’s understandable, but ill-informed. Because there is a third option – the Gita-based worldview that incorporates reincarnation and karma. The Gita’s reincarnation-based worldview explains that all of us are eternal souls who have reincarnated through many lives in the past and will also reincarnate through as many future lives as are necessary for our spiritual growth. These multiple reincarnations provide us opportunities for self-education that culminates in graduation into eternal life. The qualification for graduation is the development of the supreme virtue of selfless love for God and all his children. Those who don’t graduate by the end of their present life get further chances in their future lives, where their starting point is determined by their deeds till then. Extending the same principle backwards in time, the individual starting points that we got in this life were determined by where we had left off in our previous lives.
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Mittal: I see.
Oberoi: The reincarnation-based worldview enables us to see the diversity among people to be like the diversity among the students who are in different classes in a university. Just as different students get different exams according to what is required to raise them from their present class to the next, all of us face different problems in life according to what is best suited to raise us from our present moral and spiritual level to the next. Going back to the cricket analogy, life is like a multi-innings test match where our present lifetime is only one inning. The different initial scores that different teams start with are determined not by arbitrary fluke or fiat, but by the lead (or the lag) they had themselves acquired in their previous innings. Life’s match is ultimately fair because life gives us what we have earned; if the match seems fixed, then it is we ourselves who have fixed it. Mittal: This seems too simple to be true.
Oberoi: Yes, there are subtleties and nuances to this worldview. But overall it offers us a coherent explanation for life’s disparities. When contrasted with the irrational beliefs that we are pre-natal victims of either mundane chance or divine caprice, the Gita’s explanation shines with the light of rationality. And the knowledge that the present “I” is not the final product, but an intermediate product that can be refined by present choices is definitely empowering. British playwright W Somerset Maugham puts this well, “If the evils we suffer are the result of sins committed in our past lives, we can bear them with resignation and hope that if in this one we strive towards virtue, our future lives will be less
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afflicted.”
Mittal: But I don’t see how all this is relevant to leadership.
The jungle becomes a university
Oberoi: The reincarnation worldview can also empower leaders and their teams with a fresh sense of connection and camaraderie. It transforms our vision of the universe from that of a jungle to that of a university and thus infuses our relationships with a learning and sharing mood instead of a fighting and grabbing mood. By redefining our view of the world as a university and of all living beings as fellow-students, the reincarnation-based worldview helps leaders to see those less endowed with abilities and resources with sympathy rather than scorn; they are like the kinder-garden students, who deserve the encouragement, not the condescension, of the college students. The awareness that we too were once at that level inspires us to extend a lifting hand rather than a pushing hand. This worldview also engenders respect among subordinates for their leaders – in the same university where subordinates are striving to pass through junior college, leaders are advanced students who have earned their PhDs by diligent study. As the same spiritual expressway the leaders took is open for everyone, subordinates feel inspired to accelerate their journey on that way by learning from them instead of envying them and staying stuck at the present level. The reincarnation worldview helps us understand that our life’s cricket match is not against others, but against our own lower self that drags us into irrational, growth-stunting choices. And it is
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when we start playing the match against our lower self earnestly that we can experience the practical empowerment resulting from Gita wisdom. Mittal: Ok, I will give that this makes sense – but still I feel there’s too much a call for believing things on faith here.
Oberoi: Yes, but that faith is reasonable, in fact, the most reasonable among the available options. And more importantly, there’s also an opportunity to experientially verify the truth of our spiritual identity. For those who are spiritually adventurous enough, this worldview becomes the intellectual launching pad for the experiential techniques of yoga. Bhakti yoga gives experience of inner spiritual fulfillment that becomes for discerning seekers the experiential confirmation of the reincarnation philosophy. I will talk more about yoga later.
Overall, the reincarnation-based worldview empowers us to make the best sense out of the seeming senselessness of life. Life’s disparities are neither arbitrary nor discriminatory, but are progressive and tailor-made – this understanding transforms life into an exciting and fulfilling adventure. When we try to fix the match of our life ourselves, as most of us have been trying till now, we end up making a mess out of it – sooner or later. But when we bring the Gita into our life, it guides us to fix it – for good. Mittal: So how do you go about fixing it?
The world is a station, not a destination
Oberoi: Gita wisdom explains that our actions fall in three broad categories: karma, vikarma and akarma. Karma refers to ethical actions that bring good results. Vikarma refers to unethical actions
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that bring bad results. Akarma refers not to inaction, but to actions that bring no reactions, actions that free us from the cycle of karma. These are actions done in a mood of service to the divine and contribution to society – they conform to the highest ethics, but are motivated not by fear of law, but by love. The Gita appreciates karma, but endorses akarma for it best promotes our all-round growth.
We are on a multi-life progressive journey towards spiritual perfection, towards life and love eternal with God in his supreme abode. This majestic expansion of our conception of life redefines our view of the world and its resources – they are a station, not the destination. They are not life’s ultimate goals, as materialism would have us believe. They are just stations along the way to a success that is infinitely greater, richer and deeper. This paradigm shift doesn’t mean that we reject worldly things, but that we reject the inordinate infatuation with those things – the infatuation that is the greatest enemy of ethics. Mittal: Hmmm.
Oberoi: Gita wisdom urges leaders to see themselves as stewards, as caretakers who have been entrusted temporarily resources that belong to God. This mood of stewardship can not only curb the greed that corrupts ethics, but also inspire greater and better performance. Mittal: How?
Oberoi: By helping us to redefine our work as not just something that will give us temporary this-worldly benefits, but also as something that contributes to our eternal other-worldly well-
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being. As worldly success is never guaranteed, given the many uncertainties that mar the path from endeavor to result, leaders may become disheartened when they find the odds stacked against them. But with a spiritual vision of their work, they can have the inspiration to continue working wholeheartedly even when prospects look gloomy at the material level, knowing that there endeavors will be spiritually productive. Apart from expanding our definition of success to beyond this life, the reincarnation worldview also extends it beyond matter. It helps us understand that by compromising ethics we may get external assets, but we will lose our internal assets – our integrity, the substance that defines us, that makes us who we are.
Ethical spinelessness may not damage our reputation, but it will definitely damage our character. Each time we choose the path of least resistance, we erode our willpower; we denude our character; we chip away at the moral foundation that holds us up. We dwarf into weaker versions of ourselves. In the world’s eyes, we may rise high, but in our own eyes, we fall – and fall deeply. When we act with integrity, we know the deep inner fulfillment that comes from leading a life of principles. While such fulfillment may seem fantastical, what is actually fantastical is the notion of pleasure without principle. Economic prosperity amidst ethical bankruptcy is eyewash. Even if we see others cutting corners and appearing successful and happy, without the substance of core character, the show of success and happiness can’t last for long. Even at present it’s just a façade that can’t go beyond the ego to the heart. The ego may be inflated, but the heart remains discontented. When we assume accountability, we provide a firm foundation for
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our integrity. Rather than entertaining the vain hope that we might just be able to get away by going away from our principles, we embrace the insight that our actions will catch up with us, sooner or later. By assuming accountability, we close the door to unethical short cuts and thereby free our energy and creativity to flow on the track of honest performance. In accordance with their plan for the day, Oberoi and Mittal decide to go for a swim and rise to go to the pool.
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Words shape worlds – watch your words
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After a refreshing swim, Oberoi and Mittal settle on the seats adjacent to the pool for resuming their discussion.
Oberoi: Let’s now turn to a valuable and practical Gita guideline
for tapping effectively an often underutilized power – the power of words.
Mittal: Words? You mean speech?
Oberoi: Yes, speaking and writing and all the various ways in which we use words to communicate. Leaders need to inspire, guide and, at times, correct those whom they lead. All this requires good communication. Throughout history, reformers, revolutionaries, pioneers and other leaders have used effective communication as a central tool for actualizing their mission. Indeed, it is no overstatement to declare that words have shaped worlds – and will continue to do so for all time to come. But effective communication is not easy. Communication doesn’t happen merely by our sending the right message – it happens when our message is rightly understood. Without effective communication skills, leaders will be talking past others. No matter how visionary they may be, others won’t buy into their vision and they will feel as if they are alone, trying to do things right with no one understanding or cooperating. To avoid such isolation and irritation, leaders need to learn better communication. The Gita vividly exemplifies effective communication, wherein Krishna restored confused Arjuna’s determination through a succinct yet profound conversation. Mittal: But communication can be both verbal and non-verbal.
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Oberoi: Yes, among them, we will focus on verbal communication. It centers on words, which are indispensable tools for conveying our ideas and feelings to others. These linguistic tools have become increasingly critical in our hi-tech age of phones and emails that often don’t allow the non-verbal forms of communication that nuance, soften, qualify or otherwise complement verbal communication in face-to-face conversations.
Choose words that connect, not alienate
Mittal: Yes, I have noticed that problem. When I chance to read after six months a strong email that I had sent someone, it sometimes sounds quite different from what I had intended to say. While writing it then, I had wanted to convey my emotions and had chosen my words accordingly. But now when I am not feeling those emotions, the words chosen then seem to convey something different from my intention. Oberoi: Yes, to more effectively use words as tools for verbal communication, we can consider the roles they play. Among the many roles they may play, two prominent ones are as windows and as walls. As windows, words give others a clear view of our thoughts and feelings, thereby facilitating understanding. As walls, they block others’ vision of our perspective, thereby breeding misunderstandings. Mittal: How can we ensure that our words act as windows, not walls?
Oberoi: By applying the guidelines of the Bhagavad-gita (17.15)19 19 Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.
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for tapping the power of words: speak words that are non-agitating, truthful, pleasing, beneficial and scripturally based.
Let’s focus on the first guideline. When we speak in ways that agitate others, their emotions rise as instinctive reflexes for selfdefense. This relegates their rational faculty to the background, making a calm, intelligent discussion nearly impossible. Soon the conversation degenerates into a shouting match or a name-calling competition. Mittal: Well, people do that much more with their subordinates and peers than with their superiors.
Oberoi: Yes, subordinates may understandably not vent their feelings in front of their superiors, though they may do it – and do it quite viciously – behind the back. But more immediately detrimental for our goal of effective communication is the point that subordinates become emotionally closed to our inputs. Over time, our words will end as bricks in the Chinese wall that builds up between them and us. Mittal: But just to avoid such confrontations, we can’t suppress genuine facts or concerns, can we?
Oberoi: No, we can’t and we needn’t. The same Gita verse also urges us to speak truthfully. The recommendation that we speak gently is meant to ensure that the form of our message doesn’t unnecessarily alienate others from its content. So we need to balance truthfulness with sensitivity. Mittal: That’s easier said than done.
Oberoi: Yes, it’s difficult, but it’s possible if we use calmness and
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prayerfulness. Before starting a high-stakes conversation, we can pause to gather our spiritual bearings, remind ourselves that this situation, like all situations, is ultimately Krishna’s arrangement to deepen our wisdom, and pray for his guidance. The resulting inner peace and poise will help us find words that break walls and build windows.
Tap the power of divine sounds
Mittal: Again, I doubt it is that easy.
Oberoi: No one said it is easy to do – just that the principle of what to do is not difficult to understand. The same Gita verse refers to speaking properly as an austerity or a discipline. That proper speech is a discipline implies that it doesn’t come automatically – it has to be cultivated consciously and conscientiously. Lack of verbal discipline can have grave consequences, as most of us have probably witnessed or even experienced. Harsh words can break hearts and wreck relationships. Even when the effects are not so devastating, still, thoughtless words can intensely scar others’ hearts. These scars are often severe and sometimes incurable, especially if the inconsiderate words come from people held in high regard. The words we speak are powerful weapons like arrows – arrows that once released from the string of our tongue can’t be withdrawn. The Canadian Educator Laurence J Peter rightly cautioned, “Speak when you are angry and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” Mittal: You know, I find this a bit demoralizing. It’s not that I don’t know about these dire consequences of inconsiderate words. In fact, it’s often that very knowledge that makes me resolve to refrain
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from impulsive harsh speech. Yet, during demanding situations, I frequently find myself lashing out with the very kind of words I had resolved to avoid. The key question is – during the heat of the moment how can I check myself?
Oberoi: I have faced the same problem too. One thing I have found very helpful is tapping the power of divine sounds.
The same Gita verse also mentions regular recitation of scriptures as the final discipline of speech. This verbal discipline reveals the secret that can empower us to follow the preceding disciplines. When we regularly recite scriptures and also the holy names of Krishna that are the conclusive gist of scriptures, we become connected with his almighty power. This power enables us to take charge of ourselves when our lower self incites us to speak insensitively. We can use whatever willpower we presently have to cultivate this empowering discipline of reciting divine sounds – both on a regular basis and especially when we feel provoked. Mittal: I don’t think reciting scripture is practical in the corporate settings where we often get provoked?
Oberoi: It’s not entirely impractical either. When we are annoyed or angered, it’s best to delay giving feedback because in that frame of mind we will most likely over-criticize and under-help others. We can take brief breaks wherein we can recite divine sounds softly. When that’s not possible, we may take just a few deep breaths wherein we recite or contemplate in the mind. Even such small investments in connecting with divine sounds can give big dividends in terms of calming us and enabling us to choose judicious words.
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Practicing such discipline steadily will reshape our regular speech so that it strengthens, not weakens, our relationships. Mittal: But no matter how much we sugar-coat the message, leaders do need to correct subordinates when they go wrong.
Speak the unpalatable palatably
Oberoi: Yes, our criticism can be either constructive or destructive depending on whether it inspires those corrected to improve or impels them to become defensive and reactive.
Mittal: But we can’t determine the way people respond to our feedback – that is determined by their attitude.
Oberoi: Yes, still we often play a bigger role in determining their response than what we might presume. People respond not just to what we speak, but also how and why we speak. They sense whether we actually want to help them or whether we delight in pointing out their faults. Mittal: Sometimes I feel – “If people can’t take feedback positively, they can just go find another job. I don’t have the time to mollycoddle them – I have projects to complete and deadlines to meet.”
Oberoi: I can understand those feelings. Still even though we have projects to complete, ultimately we can’t do those projects without people. And each time we lose a team member, we need to find a new person and spend time, energy and money on training. If people regularly leave because they find working with us too difficult, then the fault may not lie as much in their insincerity as in our insensitivity. For any organization functioning in a competitive world, high staff turnover is a decided disadvantage. Just as we work
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to fix other weaknesses in our organization, we need to minimize the turnover too. And we can do that by learning to moderate our speech. Moreover, being sensitive is not about mollycoddling people – it is about helping them in their learning or at least not increasing the obstacles in their learning. Pertinently, the Gita verse we are discussing urges us to speak not just truthfully but also palatably. Translated to our context, this means that we not only tell others their faults when necessary but also do so as palatably as possible. Mittal: Ok, makes sense.
Oberoi: Palatable speech can do much more than retain people – it can motivate them to higher levels of performance. Chanakya Pandita said once that the most important skill for one who wants to conquer the world is to learn the power of proper speaking. Because it is by such speech that the leader can galvanize people to perform. What most inspires people to perform is not remuneration, but appreciation. When people are paid, they bring their hands to work, maybe even their head if their work is intellectual. But when people feel valued, they bring their heart to work – they offer their entire being to the team. If leaders can learn the art of valuing their team members and communicating that feeling effectively, they are guaranteed to have committed team members.
Faultfinding – a temptation or an obligation?
Mittal: Ok, how can we show people that we value them?
Oberoi: I will talk about two ways. One of the most important ways is by the sensitivity with which we offer negative feedback. And such sensitivity will be authentic when it comes not just from
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verbal expertise alone, but from a heart that cares. Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (16.2)20 recommends that we be averse to faultfinding. Mittal: Why averse?
Oberoi: Because faultfinding can be a degrading temptation - it can drag others and even us down. Mittal: How?
Oberoi: All of us have a good side and a bad side. When we find faults in others, it often brings forth, due to their default defensiveness, their bad side much more than their good side. More importantly, it may well bring out our bad side too. When we delight in faultfinding, that delight symptomizes our bad side at work – we are seeing only the faulty side of others and not their good side. Such faultfinding is nothing but a temptation, hence the need to be averse to it. Of course, in many real-life situations, faultfinding may not be a temptation – it may be an obligation, especially for leaders. The Gita hints at such situations by enjoining not a ban on faultfinding, but an aversion.
Sometimes the faults of others may harm them or those connected with them or the organization at large. So, to help them, we may have to tell them their faults. Or if they are incorrigible, we may have to tell their faults to those who may be otherwise harmed. In 20 The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renunciation; tranquility; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination;…[– these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.]
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content, this may be faultfinding, but in intent, it is education. Mittal: I like that – education.
Oberoi: Even in such situations, we shouldn’t delight in faultfinding; else we will succumb to our lower side. Subtly but inevitably, our attitude will reflect in our words, gestures and expressions. When others detect or even suspect that we are sadistically motivated, they will neglect or reject our attempts to help them and may even become antagonistic.
That’s why we need to pray to Krishna to give us the right words to express others’ faults sensitively, not judgementally. And we can also pray that he give them the open-mindedness to understand and the willpower to reform. Praying for others has enormous power – not just in invoking Krishna’s grace on them, but also in removing emotional blockages between them and us. When we pray for others, the positive emotional energy generated by praying changes our perception of them – we see them not as troublemakers who deserve our correction but as fellow human beings who like us are striving to bring out their better selves and who deserve our empathic assistance. Such a careful and prayerful attitude will ensure that our faultfinding is not counter-productive or unproductive but is productive.
What we speak about others speaks about us
Mittal: What’s the other way we can show people that we value them? Oberoi: By backing them even in their absence.
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Effective leadership is not just a matter of acquiring a position – it is essentially a matter of earning the trust of those with whom one works through that position. When people trust their leader, they rally together to make things happen. One of the fastest ways a leader can lose trust is by passing negative comments about others during casual conversations, especially when those people are not present to defend themselves. And one of the surest ways a leader can earn trust is by backing team members, present or absent, when they come under unwarranted fire.
We reveal more about ourselves when we speak about others than when we speak about ourselves. Our words offer listeners glimpses into our heart. When we speak about ourselves, we consciously try to present our best image, concealing our blemishes and biases. However, when we speak about others, often those blemishes and biases unconsciously flow through our speech. From our descriptions of others, perceptive hearers gather more about us than about those whom we describe. Some people frequently delight in passing biting comments about others, usually behind the back. They imagine taunting others to be ‘cool’, for it earns them cheers among similar people. However, this so-called coolness eventually dries up their listeners’ trust in them, who think, “If he can speak like this about this person, tomorrow, if our relationship becomes strained, he will speak similarly about me too.”
Leaders need to scrupulously avoid behavior that will lead to such inferences.
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This again harkens back to the validity and indeed the vitality of the Gita’s injunctions to speak palatably and to minimize faultfinding. When mature leaders speak about others, they judiciously choose words that either appreciate the manifest talents of others or kindle their potential ones. Mittal: So you are saying that we appreciate not just what people do, but also what they can do.
Oberoi: Yes, exactly. All of us labor under some self-limiting misconceptions that prevent us from attaining our potentials. The best leaders take the initiative to help their team members overcome such misconceptions. Carefully chosen words remove people’s self-limiting misconceptions and empower them to achieve their potentials. The Gita itself demonstrates vividly the transformative power of words. In around ten thousand words – less than the content of two pages of The Times of India – Krishna transforms Arjuna’s attitude from confusion to determination.
By carefully watching their words, leaders can indeed contribute to shaping worlds, not just of their team, but also of the larger society of which they are significant parts. As the evening arrives, spreading a comforting cool air, Oberoi and Mittal stroll around the swimming pool, take in the flora and fauna in the neighborhood and return to their room for the last discussion of the day.
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Life determines our problems - we determine their size
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Oberoi and Mittal are seated in their cabin, partaking light evening snacks as they continue their discussion.
Mittal: Does the Gita offer any insights for leaders to manage their workload?
Oberoi: Yes, it offers great insights for using our time and mental
energy wisely. An essential part of such wise use is not letting small things consume more of our energy and time than they merit. The principle could be put as – life determines our problems; we determine their size. Mittal: Sounds profound. Can you explain?
Oberoi: Sure. We sometimes make small things unnecessarily big. When we are on our way to office, unseasonal rains delay us and upset our schedule for the day. We get so irritated that when we finally reach the workplace we are drained – not as much by the inconvenience as by the irritation. Our depleted mental energy makes us under-perform. What matters to us, good performance, doesn’t happen because we let all that happened matter. Keep small things small – that’s a consistent message of the Bhagavad-gita. The Gita (2.56)21 deems as wise those who don’t get unduly excited or agitated over life’s ups and downs, or in today’s idiom, on the small stuff. Mittal: Makes sense.
Oberoi: Let’s look at three insights Gita wisdom offers for optimizing our use of our mental energy and time. The first is a 21 One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
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long-term perspective.
Don’t eternalize the present
When we face problems, they sometimes overwhelm us so much that we can’t think of anything else. We feel as if the problem will never be solved. The dread of living with it for all time to come cripples our ability to deal with it constructively. At such times, we succumb to the error of eternalizing the present. To correct or prevent the error, we can meditate on the Bhagavadgita (2.16)22: naasato vidyate bhaavo “Of the temporary, there is no endurance.” The word asat reminds us that the present is fleeting; it exists now, but will soon be over. To appreciate this, let’s think about our past overwhelming problems: a major exam, a critical job interview, a vital public speech. Hindsight shows us that they were not worth getting overwhelmed. They came and they went. So will the present problem.
The things we get worked up about often don’t matter much from a long-term perspective. If we look back at the times when we were immensely anxious, say maybe our first public examination, we may even laugh at how paranoid we were at that time. True, the exam was important and we needed to take it seriously, but getting unduly worked up often distracts us from getting the work done properly. More often than not, worry impedes our performance rather than improving it. Mittal: Yes, I often tell my team members that worry is just an energy-sapper. Worrying is like sitting on an unsteady chair – it 22 Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.
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keeps you moving, but doesn’t get you anywhere.
Oberoi: Good example. If we can adopt a long-term perspective then we can think that just as the thing which had us worried in the past has passed, so will the thing that is worrying us today. Yes, we have to deal with it now, but getting too worried about it is the worst way to deal with it – we will either not be able to do anything due to worry or will do something under tension that will only make things worse. By remembering that this too shall pass, we can calm ourselves down and then take well-thought steps to deal with the problem. Mittal: I have heard that the Gita asks us to stay unaffected by binaries such as pleasure-pain, happiness-distress, success-failure. That sounds like a very dreary, emotionless form of living.
Oberoi: The Gita calls not for emotionless living, but for purposeful living, wherein our long-term purposes call the shots, not our short-term emotions. It’s a call to not sweat the small stuff by remembering that even the stuff that seems huge today will be out of our mental horizon in the future. Our refusal to let dualities consume us emotionally helps us stay focused on important things in life. The resulting composure helps us respond less impulsively and more maturely, thereby enabling us to contribute more and achieve more – and savor the rich emotional fulfillment coming from those achievements. Thus the Gita asks us to let go of small emotions, or emotions over small things, so as to have mental space for relishing big emotions, emotions over big things. Mittal: Ok, makes sense.
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The power of humility Oberoi: The second empowering insight the Gita offers is humility. Mittal: Humility sounds more weakening than empowering.
Oberoi: Yes, humility is often misconstrued as a weakness, but it is actually a great power – and a power that is greatly underutilized. The Gita (13.08: amaanitvam)23 mentions humility as the first among the characteristics of real knowledge. Srila Prabhupada, author of Bhagavad Gita As It Is, the most widely distributed English commentary on the Gita, explained humility as freedom from the anxiety of having the satisfaction of being honored by others.
Arrogance, the opposite of humility, makes people crave for honor from others as their source of happiness, indeed even their source of self-worth. They are so dependent on respect from others that without it they lose all their peace of mind. When they are disrespected, their dependence, that is, their lack of freedom, becomes appallingly obvious – their arrogance plunders their intelligence and makes them behave irrationally. They explode with words and actions, often hurting the other person and even themselves far beyond what the situation warrants.
Humility, on the contrary, brings freedom from the craving for external honor and empowers us to act for our and everyone’s long-term good. Being humble doesn’t mean that we let others trample upon us without objecting or correcting; it means that we don’t let others’ (mis)behavior determine our decisions and lives. Humility allows us to calmly consider the cause of disrespect and 23 Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; … [ – all these I declare to be knowledge].
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maturely adopt a principled course of action to clarify the situation and rectify the misdemeanor. By being humble, we protect our time and energy from being stolen by people who either intentionally or ignorantly act inappropriately. By giving us the freedom to respond proportionately, humility helps us effectively rectify the situation. Mittal: I have never heard humility presented so positively.
Oberoi: Yes, to further understand the positive nature of humility, let’s differentiate it from a similar-sounding but entirely different thing – humiliation. Mittal: Go ahead.
Oberoi: The craving for respect from others is the force that drives most people. This craving originates from their false ego, which misleads them foundationally into believing that their self-identity is their material body. Additionally, the false ego also makes them imagine that their self-worth is the net worth of their talents and treasures, their positions and connections. It impels them to overtly and covertly display their assets before the world in the desperate hope of earning respect. When they don’t get the respect that they think is their right, they feel humiliated. Humiliation, then, is nothing but false ego frustrated. On the other hand, humility is an entirely different ball game, one that those shackled to false ego can scarcely comprehend. That’s because the driving force of the lives of the humble is not the craving for respect, but the longing to serve: serve Krishna and serve all living beings as his children. The humble are confident about their self-identity as indestructible souls. They are secure in their selfworth as the beloved children of Krishna. That’s why they don’t
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feel driven towards the pleasures that the false ego dangles before everyone. So, whenever the false ego tempts them, they are able to reject it determinedly and consistently. Having thus rejected the shackles of the false ego, they are free to act in the best interests of one and all. Therefore, they can always act honorably in ways that behoove their human dignity and spiritual sanctity, without being worked up about whether people honor them or not.
By cultivating spiritual wisdom and devotion, we will gain such a strong spiritual sense of self-esteem that we won’t crave for honor from others. Slights from others, whether actual or apparent, will no longer cause our heart to palpitate in anger – seeing them as small stuff, we will no longer waste our sweat on them. The third empowering principle provided by Gita wisdom is tolerance.
Tap tolerance to stay on track
Mittal: Tolerance as in religious tolerance?
Oberoi: Yes, but not exactly. ‘Religious tolerance’ refers to the ability of religions to live with others whose beliefs may differ from theirs, even when they don’t like or want such differences. That line of thought – being able to live in life with things we don’t like or want – is the broader application of tolerance. Mittal: Well, tolerance doesn’t sound very pleasant.
Oberoi: It isn’t, but its results are. We all would like things to go our way, but life rarely turns out that way. We do have some cherished goals that we will pursue, no matter what obstacles come in the
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way. But we all need to choose our battles judiciously. That is where tolerance, which the Gita (13.8: kshantir)24 recommends, comes into the picture. Our time and energy are limited and precious – and we need to use them on the things that are the most important to us, not just the things that happen to us. Tolerance enables us to differentiate between the two. The greatest achievers in life are not those who made everything happen their way, but those who didn’t let things that didn’t go their way distract them from persevering on their way. Srila Prabhupada puts it succinctly, “One’s greatness has to be estimated by the ability to tolerate provoking situations.” Those who insist that everything happen their way soon burn themselves out. Mittal: I am not sure I understand how tolerance is empowering.
Oberoi: It empowers us by saving our energy from unnecessary dissipation. The essence of tolerance is the refusal to let life’s incidental irritants spoil our mood or suck our energy. A relative behaves unreasonably, a power cut stalls our work, a vehicle cuts across our path – such daily irritants offer rich premiums for the tolerant. Tolerance empowers us to not let irritating circumstances steal our peace of mind. Lack of tolerance makes us a victim of our circumstances, whereas tolerance brings the freedom to choose an intelligent response and stay fixed in our values and goals, irrespective of our circumstances. When people lack tolerance, they respond to adverse situations and inimical people in one of two ways: depression or violence. Chronic depression, self-martyrdom, inferiority complex, addiction 24 Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; … [ – all these I declare to be knowledge].
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and even suicide are fallouts of the first response, whereas divorce, larceny, murder, and even war are results of the second. Mittal: That the effects of tolerance or its absence can extend so far is eye-opening.
Oberoi: Yes, that’s how in a very real sense we determine the size of our problems. Keeping small things small often requires as much willpower as doing big things. Gita wisdom provides us a holistic vision of things without and within, thereby enabling us to see things in perspective. Spiritual practices such as meditation and yoga recommended in the Gita strengthen our inner muscles, thereby giving us the strength to pull our thoughts and emotions away from unimportant things and focus them on important things. By thus strengthening their inner muscles, leaders can stop sweating the small stuff and make the things that matter happen. Seeing guests and residents arriving for the evening meditation and prayer session, which will be followed by dinner, Oberoi and Mittal decide to call it a day.
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Work as worship
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Next morning, Oberoi and Mittal jog to the gym through the fresh air amidst the chirping of birds and the mooing of cows. After their workout, they settle on easy chairs in the garden next to the gym to continue their conversation, while in the nearby yoga center a yoga teacher guides students through various postures.
Oberoi: One of the most important benefits of Gita wisdom is that it provides a positive vision of work.
Consider three teachers teaching in three adjacent classrooms in a school. When they are asked what they are doing, the first snaps, “Can’t you see? I am struggling to teach these lazy kids”; the second answers, “I am earning my living”; the third declares, “I am helping shape the world’s future.” The activity is the same for all three, but their vision is different. For the first, it’s a burdensome chore; for the second, it’s a necessary duty; for the third, it’s a cherished privilege.
Mittal: Interesting.
Oberoi: Our vision determines our commitment, which is vital for doing anything glorious in life. When leaders have an inspiring vision of their work, they can enthusiastically persevere through the inevitable challenges of leading a team to success. Further, how leaders see their work will determine their principles, priorities and practices. And their attitudes will permeate throughout the organization, thereby shaping its work ethos. Gita wisdom helps bring a majestic spiritual vision to work, wherein we learn to see it not just as something to gain money or fame but as a service to the divine that contributes to our and others’ all-round well-being.
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Mittal: Work as a service to the divine? You mean work is worship, right?
Oberoi: Not exactly. To understand precisely how work can become worship, we need to first explore a central theme of the Gita: yoga. The Gita is quintessentially a book of yoga. Each of its chapters is titled in Sanskrit as a form of yoga. For example, the third chapter is called karma-yoga and the twelfth chapter is called bhakti-yoga. The word ‘yoga’ appears seventy eight times in the Gita and including its variants such as ‘yukta’ and ‘yogi’, it appears hundred and fifty five times. Thus, twenty percent of the Gita’s seven hundred verses include the word yoga or its related forms. Mittal: By yoga, are you referring to the pretzel positions people sit in to improve their health or figure?
Yoga in the Gita
Oberoi: No, not really. Such postures, known as asanas, comprise only one stage, asana, of one type of yoga, namely dhyana-yoga. Essentially, yoga means to connect. It is cognate with the English ‘yoke’, and this linguistic cousin of yoga can visually convey its essential meaning. Just as a yoke connects two things, say a bullock to a plough, similarly yoga is a system meant to connect two things, namely human consciousness and divine consciousness. The Gita explains that the locus of our consciousness is the soul, and the divine consciousness has its highest manifestation as the Supreme Being, God. So yoga in the most evolved sense of the word means the process that connects the soul with God. Mittal: What has all this got to do with the postures?
Oberoi: Yes, I am coming to that. To help bring about the connection
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of human consciousness and divine consciousness, Gita wisdom outlines four different kinds of yoga: karma-yoga (the yoga of action), jnana-yoga (the yoga of knowledge), dhyana-yoga (the yoga of meditation) and bhakti-yoga (the yoga of devotion).
The asanas that are equated with yoga are mentioned in Gita’s sixth chapter (6.11-13)25, which is entitled dhyana-yoga. The Gita indicates therein that settling the body in postures is a takeoff point for the inner meditative search – the search that is the heart of yoga. Mittal: But I have heard that the main text for yoga is the Yogasutras of Patanjali.
Oberoi: Yes, it is. That classic text reiterates that the physical positions are tools for progressing towards a higher consciousness. It explains the postures to be the third stage in an eight-stage process: yama (proscriptions), niyama (prescriptions), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), pratyahara (sense withdrawl), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption in spiritual truth). Mittal: This is getting a bit too technical. And it’s confusing too, if not contradictory. You mentioned dhyana twice just now, didn’t you? Oberoi: Yes, dhyana is the name of one stage in the eight-stage 25 To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kusa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place. The yogi should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart by controlling his mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point. One should hold one’s body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose.
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process as well as the name of the entire process, because it centers on dhyana, meditation. To differentiate the two, the whole process is sometimes called ashtanga-yoga. Mittal: Ok.
Oberoi: To attain final success, the dhyana-yogis need to renounce the world, usually by the fifth stage of pratyahara. Mittal: But then most of the people today who practice yoga don’t renounce the world.
Oberoi: Yes, that’s because they practice yoga, more specifically yogasanas, for physical improvement, not spiritual attainment. For spiritual attainment by this path, renunciation of the world is needed. In fact, rejection of the world is demanded by not just dhyana-yoga but also jnana-yoga. Both require seekers to renounce the world before they can attain success. As such, these world-rejecting yogas are not much relevant to leaders, whose positions and aspirations require them to act in the world. Mittal: But what’s wrong with using the bodily and breathing exercises of yoga for physical health?
Oberoi: No, there’s nothing wrong with it in and of itself. What’s wrong is to equate the utilitarian appropriation of one limb of one type of yoga with the practice of yoga proper. Such misconception makes one miss the far greater benefits available through yoga.
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The yoga of love Mittal: What are those benefits? And how can they be achieved?
Oberoi: Through the practice of the yoga of love or bhakti-yoga. Thankfully, not all forms of yoga demand renunciation of the world. The world-engaging forms of yoga are karma-yoga and bhaktiyoga. The central difference between karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga is in one’s conceptions. In karma-yoga one’s focus is more on the karma and less on the yoga, because one doesn’t yet know clearly the object of yoga, the ultimate goal of spiritual realization. In contrast, in bhakti-yoga, the focus is on the object of yoga, God, with bhakti enhancing and enriching the focus. From the functional or practical perspective, both endorse engaging with the world, but for a higher spiritual purpose.
The Gita indicates that karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga are successive rungs in the yoga ladder. That is, karma-yoga culminates in bhaktiyoga, as the Gita (3.30)26 states. Yet the Gita (18.56)27 also stresses that one can start the practice of bhakti-yoga right from the beginning, if one fortunately comes to know the ultimate goal. In fact, the scope of bhakti-yoga extends across the entire spectrum from the lowest levels of material conditioning to the highest levels of spiritual realization. The Gita (9.32)28 indicates that bhaktiyoga is accessible to everyone, irrespective of gender, caste, race or such material factors. And it also retains the ability to elevate 26 Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight. 27 Though engaged in all kinds of activities, My pure devotee, under My protection, reaches the eternal and imperishable abode by My grace. 28 O son of Pritha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaisyas [merchants] and sudras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.
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its practitioners to spiritual summits higher than the summits attained by other paths. The Gita (18.54)29 states that those who succeed in the process of jnana-yoga thereafter graduate to bhaktiyoga. And so too does dhyana-yoga culminate in bhakti-yoga, as the Gita (6.47)30 states.
Mittal: Whew! What are you trying to say through all these technicalities?
Oberoi: The essential point is that bhakti-yoga is the most inclusive and the most recommended form of yoga in the Gita. It is sometimes downplayed as being just a sentimental way for non-intellectuals. But it is the pinnacle for everyone. On the path to self-actualization, whereas the various yogas act as conducive entry points for people according to their temperaments, bhakti-yoga offers a universal entry point that can accommodate everyone. And it is the yoga most relevant for our discussion on leadership because it offers the most stimulating and most fulfilling motivation for work.
Love – the highest motivation
Mittal: The most fulfilling motivation for work – what is that?
Oberoi: Love. Leaders can work with different motivations that can be broadly classed into four levels: fear, desire, duty and love. 1.
Fear: At this level, leaders are constantly worried about
29 One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me. 30 And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself and renders transcendental loving service to Me – he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.
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2.
3.
4.
threats such as negative market trends, dreading that the next upheaval may spell doom. Their minds are filled with stress and their actions are largely reactionary, hardly ever visionary. Work at this level brings neither meaningful fulfillment, nor noteworthy success.
Desire: At this level, leaders work for getting more – greater pay, increased perks and higher positions, for example. While such a desire-driven approach to work may yield success, it often causes collateral damage – while charging towards their goals, leaders trample on whatever happens to be on the way. Relationships get neglected; people get exploited; resources get overworked. Leaders, even if they succeed in getting to the top, find themselves alone, agonizingly alone. The ramifications of desire-driven leadership can extend far beyond the organization to the world. For example, unregulated desire for industrial expansion led to the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources, disrupting the delicate ecological balance and inviting the looming specter of climate change. Duty: At this level, leaders feel impelled by a sense of responsibility towards their organization, team, family and so forth. This motive is steadier and healthier than the earlier motives, for it doesn’t depend on the uncertain factor of the fulfillment of one’s desires. Still, duty can over time become burdensome if not infused with a more positive vision.
Love: This is the highest attitude with which one can approach work. This love can be at two levels: material inclination and spiritual connection. At the level of
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material inclination, one may be deeply fascinated by one’s work, as are scientists who love their subject of research or musicians who love to live in the world of music or teachers who get into a flow in front of a classroom. The Gita recommends and facilitates this kind of love for work when it urges people to work according to their svabhava or psychophysical nature.
Mittal: Isn’t that something similar to what we call job satisfaction?
Oberoi: Yes. To maximize people’s job satisfaction, the culture built around Gita wisdom had an elaborate and intricate system named varnashrama to help people work according to their natures. Mittal: But that sounds like the discriminatory caste system.
Oberoi: No, the caste system is a later degeneration caused by a mistaken insistence that people’s natures are automatically and irreversibly determined by birth. The original pure system was much more open and accommodating. The Gita (4.13)31 emphasizes that it was a wholesome division of labor according to individual propensities and proficiencies (guna-karma). Leaders know how the productivity of a team shoots up when the right people are placed in the right roles. We can only imagine how phenomenal would be the productivity if an entire society placed its members in the jobs they were best suited for. Mittal: Hmmm.
31 According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.
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Oberoi: Significantly, the Gita’s vision of love runs deeper than just job compatibility. It recognizes that we are meant to be much more than competent job performers – we are conscious persons who long to love and be loved. This longing for love is often dismissed by many conventional forms of spirituality – they hold that emotions are illusory and need to be renounced to come to reality. In contrast, the Gita declares that emotions are real and can take us to reality. In their pure form, emotions originate not from our body or mind but from our spiritual core, our soul. They are integral to our spiritual constitution, for as souls, we are parts of God, as the Gita (15.7)32 indicates. The part, a hand, gets nourished when it contributes to the whole, the body, through the stomach. Similarly, when we direct our emotions of love towards the Whole, God, then we get the ultimate emotional nourishment and enrichment. The Gita (10.9)33 depicts the most evolved spiritualists as delighting in spiritual emotions centered on the supreme spiritual reality, God. Mittal: But I had often heard of spiritual reality as an impersonal reality in which we ultimately merge. Oberoi: Yes, that’s one level of manifestation of the Absolute Truth – as an all-pervasive infinity of light. But that is not the highest manifestation of the Absolute Truth. The highest manifestation is an all-attractive person, the supreme manifestation of an omnipotent infinity of love. The Gita (10.8)34 confirms that everything is 32 The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. 33 The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. 34 I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
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subordinate to him, being an emanation from him. It (14.27)35 further indicates that the pervasive infinity of light known as brahman or brahmajyoti rests on the all-attractive infinity of love, the Supreme Person known as Bhagavan.
With this personal vision of spiritual reality, Gita wisdom declares the ultimate spiritual perfection to be not a merging of beings for an eternity of impersonal silence, but a joining of hearts for an eternity of reciprocal love. In this vision of spiritual perfection, emotions are understood to be real and are also roadways to reality. Such a beautiful vision of spiritual perfection is enriching and energizing. Mittal: All this sounds too otherworldly, doesn’t it?
Oberoi: Actually, the Gita doesn’t restrict this vision of life as a reciprocation of love to some distant otherworld attainable only by rigid world-rejection. We can redefine life as an arena for reciprocating love right away in the here-and-now if we just infuse our heart with a mood of devotion. And this love rather than rejecting the world for the ultimate reality engages it the pursuit of the ultimate reality. To grasp the implications of this, let’s look at the three broad attitudes that theistic people often have towards the world: 1.
2.
Recreation: Those with this attitude treat the world as a good place made for their enjoyment. They consider God as existing primarily to provide and protect their worldly enjoyment. Their attitude represents the path of karma. Rejection: Those with this attitude see the world as an evil
35 And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness.
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3.
place made to give them suffering. They see its apparent pleasures as the baits that entice and entrap. Those with this attitude focus more on going away from the world than on going towards God. Their attitude represents the path of jnana.
Reciprocation: Those with this attitude view God as the primary, central reality of existence and see the world as a subordinate reality meant for his service. They see the world as an arena for reciprocating love with him, for making offerings of love to him and for learning to love him through life’s ups and downs. To them, worldly pleasures are distorted reflections of spiritual joys – and they seek the original, not the distortion. Their attitude represents the path of bhakti.
The Bhagavad-gita (5.29)36 states that the world belongs to God, implying thereby that it is meant for his service. This confirms that the third attitude of reciprocation is the most evolved understanding of the world. When we cultivate devotion, our eyes become fixed on Krishna, so the world can no longer lock our eyes with its illusions. Rather than turning our back to the world, bhakti-yoga helps us raise our eyes beyond the world to God and link the world with him. By this devotional vision, we can stay spiritual even while being in the material world. Mittal: Ok, sounds good. But what has all this got to do with 36 A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
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leadership?
Oberoi: Yes, we began this discussion with the motivation that inspires people to work. Those motivated by love work far harder and better than those motivated by any other purpose. After all, who can work harder than an infant’s mother who often does zero pay all-night shifts for her precious baby?
The Gita urges us to bring a similar, though spiritual, vision of love to all our activities. We see our talents as gifts from God and our occupations as opportunities to use those talents for his service and for the benefit of everyone. As God is the pivot of existence and all living beings are his children, we see everyone as family members in God’s family. With such a unifying, integrating vision, we can spiritualize our work, making it an offering of love and a contribution in service. Mittal: Isn’t that the same as work is worship?
Oberoi: This catchphrase is commonly associated with the Gita. But nowhere does the Gita state this explicitly, nor do any of its verses resemble it precisely. The verse (18.46)37 nearest to this theme has a significantly nuanced meaning – its relevant quarter states: svakarmana tam abhyarcha “By your work, worship the Lord.” Thus, according to this Gita verse, work is to be made into a means of worshiping the divine. Mittal: Are you saying that work is not worship? I have seen that this meditation inspires many people to work diligently and to give due dignity to all labor. 37 By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is allpervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.
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Oberoi: Yes, for those purposes, it is fine. But it is problematic as a philosophical assertion of the equality of work and worship. If work is worship, then would the creature deemed in folklore to be the most hardworking, the donkey, become the greatest worshiper? Or would robbers doing their work of robbing also be doing worship? Clearly, all work can’t be classed as worship – there’s a catch in the catchphrase. Mittal: So what is the catch?
Oberoi: The assumption that work is intrinsically, automatically worship. But Gita wisdom explains that it can be made into worship. Work and worship normally have two different jurisdictions: work deals with the things of the world, whereas worship deals with God, the Supreme Being beyond the world. Where can these two intersect? In the human heart!
It is the heart that desires to make a meaningful contribution in this world, which is among the nobler motives for work. And it is the heart that seeks beyond this mortal world some lasting meaning, thus spurring the philosophical search that culminates in worship of God. Gita wisdom integrates these two aspirations of the heart. When we work in a mood of service to God, then that loving outflow of our talents and energies enables us to not only make tangible contributions in this world but also make substantial connections with him. The Gita (5.29)38 indicates that God, Krishna, 38 A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
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is the greatest well-wisher of all living beings. When we connect with him through devotion, we become channels of his divine compassion. His grace makes us agents of positive change. Then our work takes us as well as others closer to the ultimate object of worship. And the mood of worship permeates our work, thereby enriching our outer contributions. Thus do we gradually learn to work as a worship. Mittal: Sounds good. Isn’t this applicable for everyone? What’s special in this for leaders? Oberoi: They have the privilege of tapping the potential of servantleadership.
Mittal: I have heard this concept talked about a few times in leadership circles.
Oberoi: Yes, it is gradually gaining widespread currency. Gita wisdom provides an intellectual foundation for this concept. It explains that not only are we constitutionally servants, but also we are all related to each other at a spiritual level. We can serve God by serving others holistically. Leaders at this level of spiritual realization can excel in terms of their individual performance, for their best talents and efforts flow out of their hearts as expressions of love. Additionally, they can facilitate the growth of their team members, for they see them as family members in the one spiritual family, wherein each member’s success is the whole family’s success. Teams with this spirit of synergy can achieve things that are impossible for teams hamstrung by self-centered agendas and separatist motives. Thus, Gita wisdom imbues servant-leadership with a profound level of depth and authenticity.
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How the Gita’s spiritual vision can recharge one to work with renewed vigor is seen in the Gita itself through the example of Arjuna. In the face of heart-wrenching complexities, he was inclined to just give it all up. While many in those times might have considered such renunciation laudable, the Gita offers an out-ofthe-box solution, advocating not outer renunciation, but inner reorientation. Enlightened by this reorientation, Arjuna became ready to do even the most seemingly non-spiritual of duties, martial duties, in the mood of service to the Supreme. Through this extreme example, the Gita demonstrates that no setting is too extreme to be re-envisioned as an arena for loving service. Whatever be our present vocation, we all can enter into that arena. And leaders can by adopting a mood of devotion not only enter that arena themselves but also create amidst the business world’s desert of emotion-sapping competition oases of emotionally fulfilled teams of performers. As per their plan, Oberoi and Mittal start off on a hike to the hill that lies adjacent to the resort.
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Retreat within to treat without
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Oberoi and Mittal are seated on boulders under the shade of a cliff near the top of the hill, taking in the magnificent scenery all around. Having finished the picnic brunch they had brought with them, they resume their discussion.
Mittal: All this spiritual stuff you have been talking about sounds good, but how does one make time for it in one’s busy life?
Don’t just work harder – think sharper
Oberoi: Imagine a person working on a computer infected with
viruses. He is busy typing, but the computer is hung. A computer expert informs him, “Sir, you need to install an anti-virus.” He responds curtly, “Don’t disturb me; I am busy.” The expert points out, “But your computer is infected; so your work will go waste.” He retorts, “I will not be affected by your pessimism.”
Mittal: I suppose you are going to say that we are like that computer user. What are the viruses? Oberoi: Often our mind gets infected by the viruses of irritation, depression, frustration, worry, hatred, envy, anger and so forth. When these negative thoughts take control of our mind, they make our system practically dysfunctional. Just as viruses prevent the user from properly using the computer, these emotions block us from effectively using our own intelligence. Just as a virus-infected computer produces hardly any worthwhile result, no matter how much the user types on it, a negatively infected mind can hardly do any clear thinking and effective functioning, no matter how much the person works. Spirituality with its techniques for yoga and meditation connects us with the divine reservoir of positivity deep within us. By such
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inner connection, we can purge the negativity and rejuvenate ourselves. Taking breaks for such spiritual connection is a most worthwhile investment of time – it saves us from long phases of inefficient performance. Worse still, our inefficiency may induce further anxiety within us, thereby leading to emotional or even physical breakdown. Mittal: Sounds very contemporary. Is all this said in the Gita or are you deriving it from the Gita?
Oberoi: I am giving a contemporary example for a time-independent principle that is illustrated in the Gita’s setting. The Gita offers perhaps the most dramatic example of a leader needing and taking a break in an urgent situation where a break seemed impossible. Arjuna had to lead his army in a war wherein the fortunes of his side depended largely on him. Yet when he found himself on the verge of an emotional breakdown induced by an ethical crisis, he didn’t try to continue the war when his heart was not in it. If he had fought on halfheartedly, it may well have been disastrous for his side, given the formidable army they faced. Instead, he did the courageous thing of taking a break to regroup and heard Gita wisdom. That break calmed his mind, cleared his head, charged his heart and catapulted him back into the war with an unstoppable inspiration that paved the way to success. Many of the biggest breakthroughs in science have come from inspiration, moments of almost magical lucidity wherein researchers could see solutions to problems that had earlier vexed them. Such inspiration is, of course, not a substitute for hard work, but it far supersedes mere hard work in its problem-solving and progress-achieving potential. And inspiration often comes from within, from an untapped well of wisdom that gets its flow of
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water from the divinity present within each one of us. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss stressed such role of the divine in his account of how he arrived at the solution to a perplexing mathematical problem, “Finally, two days ago, I succeeded— not on account of my hard efforts, but by the grace of the Lord. Like a sudden flash of lightning, the riddle was solved. I am unable to say what was the conducting thread that connected what I previously knew with what made my success possible.” Mittal: Sounds sensible, but why are we discussing inspiration here?
Oberoi: To underscore the point that striking success in most fields comes not just by more work, but by better work. And better work may well come by working less, by using the time thus gained to take a rejuvenating break that enables us to work better later. We may have experienced how after a hard day’s work when we are vexed by a problem, no solution seems evident. The more we think, the more we tire ourselves and the more the problem grows bigger. But if we just sleep on the problem, putting it out of our mind, we wake up in the morning and often while working with a fresh mind the elusive solution soon emerges. If just a routine rest, which is essentially a disconnection from the negative, can open us to new insight, how much more can be the insight from a spiritual rest that connects us with the supreme positive? Mittal: Hmmm.
Oberoi: Leaders usually have systems in place to ensure that the machines or devices in their organization don’t get overworked.
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We may also have some plan to take care of our physical machine – our body – by regulated diet, regular exercise and adequate rest. But do we have a similar program for our inner machine, our mind? Mittal: But does the mind ever rest? I think it’s active dreaming, even when we are sleeping.
Rest for the mind
Oberoi: Yes, it’s always active. But being a machine it too needs rest, though of a different kind. It needs to be regularly rejuvenated by being focused on something that is comforting and enlivening. We build homes for our bodies, but what about homes for our minds? Do we have a comforting, relaxing place where we can take our minds?
Different people seek mental rest in different things such as sports, movies and parties. While these may offer us a break from the demands and pressures of work, they do not offer us a break from the external world that is the source of those demands and pressures. They don’t raise our consciousness to a higher level of reality. Spirituality offers us that kind of break by connecting us with the highest spiritual reality, God. Broadly speaking, spirituality is often thought of as being of two types: contemplative and active. Bhakti-yoga blends and balances both by encouraging inner contemplation and outer action: inner contemplation on God and outer action for his service. Due to this integrating nature of bhakti-yoga, retreat within doesn’t necessarily require becoming inactive – it can be achieved even by drawing our consciousness to the indwelling manifestation of God. And he manifests himself in many ways externally to make fixing
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the consciousness on him easier. Let’s look at three important ways in which we can connect with the divine: ABC (Association, Books and Chanting). Mittal: Interesting mnemonic.
Strengthen conviction with association
Oberoi: In any walk of life, if we want to achieve excellence, we need guides, those who are experts in that field. Even for an activity such as running, which might seem deceptively simple, one needs a coach, especially when one wishes to run seriously for becoming a champion sprinter. Similarly, serious spiritual seekers need a guide. In fact, the spiritual dimension of life is subtler than other dimensions, so a guide is all the more essential for pursuing spiritual life. The spiritual guide is traditionally known as the guru, though that word has nowadays come to be used for an expert in any field. Mittal: But isn’t spirituality about experiencing God within? Won’t a guru come in the way of such experience?
Oberoi: No, not at all. The guru doesn’t come between God and us – he helps us remove what is between him and us. Usually, layers of ego, misconception and misdirection form a thick wall that deafens us to his voice coming to us from within. To ensure that we don’t miss out on such guidance, the Gita (4.34)39 recommends that we learn from enlightened seers who have seen the truth, for they are capable of showing us the truth. Significantly, the Gita 39 Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.
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refers to such seers in the plural, indicating that we not just learn from one spiritual master but also that we place ourselves in a community of spiritualists wherein we learn from many through living association. Mittal: I agree that association is one of our foremost influencers.
Oberoi: Yes, as is rightly said, “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you will become.” Our aspirations and values are shaped by our association. Whatever be our vocation, we grow and blossom when we are in a nurturing, encouraging and inspiring association. This principle applies all the more so to spirituality because often our spiritual values are threatened and weakened by the popular culture that being materialistic is at best apathetic and at worst antipathetic to our spirituality. Spiritual culture provides a structure and a forum for such nourishing association in the form of programs called satsang. Such programs often integrate spiritual education and devotional music in a fulfilling cultural blend. They thus comprise a socially accessible, culturally comfortable and emotionally enriching way for taking spiritual breaks. By regularly participating in such programs, leaders can keep themselves spiritually surcharged with clarity and purpose. Let’s move on to the second way we can avail of spiritual breaks.
Sharpen the intelligence with books
Mittal: That was books, wasn’t it?
Oberoi: Yes, let’s first understand what role time-honored spiritual books like the Gita can play in the current age of information
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explosion. Though information is crucial in today’s techno-centric corporate world, still the sheer volume of information coming to leaders from various directions can be overwhelming. What makes leaders effective is not their capacity to process phenomenal amounts of information but their capacity to intelligently perceive and pursue the path to optimal success through the maze of all the information. Specialists can provide the minutiae of data from the various relevant fields, but leaders alone can pave the pathway to use that data and the opportunity it creates. Real intelligence is not just the ability to process information, but the ability to see things in perspective and separate the essential from the peripheral. Leaders who have sharpened their intelligence can get to the essence of issues without getting caught in the plethora of information.
We can sharpen our intelligence by studying the Bhagavad-gita. This ability of the Gita to reveal the most essential of all wisdom is expressed by Albert Einstein: “When I read the Bhagavad-gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.” Reflection on the Gita can dissolve geographical, historical and cultural boundaries that isolate and segregate us, thus enabling us to tap into the universal timeless reservoir of wisdom that is divinity’s gift to humanity. Mittal: That’s inspiring.
Sonic Spirituality
Oberoi: Yes, definitely. Let’s now move on the third element – chanting. Chanting is a form of meditation, more specifically of
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mantra meditation.
The essence of meditation is not just sitting in a particular physical posture, but taking the mind away from the changing and fixing it on the unchanging. Our material positions and possessions keep changing, but our spiritual identity and spiritual relationship with God, Krishna, remains unchanging. So meditation centers on fixing the mind on Krishna. Just as a boat remains steady amidst waves when it is anchored, we can stay unshaken amidst the ups and downs of life when our mind is fixed on Krishna. Krishna manifests himself in this age especially through His holy names. Hence, meditation on His names by chanting them repeatedly is the recommended form of meditation for this age. Modern science has discovered that sound has special physical powers: • •
A high-pitched frequency wave can shatter a drinking glass. Sonic boom – the explosive sound and energy released when a plane flies faster than the speed of sound (about 1,200 kmph at sea level) – led to, among other things, the shattering of window panes hundreds of feet below.
Mittal: But all these are physical effects of sound. What’s spiritual about them?
Oberoi: Agreed that there’s nothing spiritual here, but right now I am simply providing information for making the case that sound may have more power than what we normally attribute to it. Sound also has the power to touch our hearts in extraordinary ways. (Opening his cellphone and reading from it) Katherine Le
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Mee in her book Chant explains:
“The sense of hearing…connects experientially with the heart, and music and sound touch us most directly. We do not resonate so deeply with the visual as with the auditory. This may be explained by the fact that our visual apparatus has a frequency range of slightly less than one octave, from infra red to ultra violet, whereas our auditory system has a range of about eight octaves, approximately 60 to 16,000 hertz, or number of vibrations per second. We are sensitive to sound frequency as pitch and light frequency as color. The frequencies of the visual field are much higher than those of the auditory field (by an order of 1010), and, as is well known, the higher the frequencies, the lesser the penetration of a given material. For instance, a piece of cardboard shields us easily from light, but it takes a thick wall to block out sound, and the lower the pitch, the deeper the penetration. We are very sensitive to sound, not just through the ear but through our whole skin, and all our organs are affected by it.”
Sound, when specifically designed in a way to stimulate the inner awareness of a person, can have profound effects. Music therapy is nowadays used increasingly in many forms of alternative medicine to calm the mind and treat psychological problems.
Mantra Power
Mittal: I have often experienced that music calms the mind – I didn’t know that it was being used as a therapy too.
Oberoi: In Vedic culture, tapping the power of sound for material and spiritual purposes has constituted a sophisticated science called ‘mantra technology’. A mantra is a very special sound
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vibration, which the celebrated Beatle, George Harrison, who was an avid mantra chanter, described as “divine power encased in sound�. The Sanskrit etymological explanation of the word mantra is manas trayate iti mantra –sound vibration that delivers (trayate) the mind (mana) is mantra. What does mantra deliver the mind from? From anxiety, impurity, negativity.
There are many potent mantras described in the Vedic literature. For this current age in the cosmic cycle, the most potent mantra is the Hare Krishna mahamantra (the great chant for deliverance): Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
A clinical test of the benefits of mantra chanting was performed on three groups of sixty-two subjects, males and females of average age twenty five. They chanted the Hare Krishna mahamantra twenty-five minutes each day under strict clinical supervision. The results showed that regular chanting of the Hare Krishna mahamantra reduces stress and depression and also helps reduce bad habits and addictions. The results formed a doctoral thesis at Florida State University. Mittal: Sounds interesting. How does one do mantra meditation? Oberoi: Two primary ways: 1.
Individual meditation or japa, where we chant the mantra softly to ourselves. Repeated, concentrated chanting of the mantra can help us experience spiritual
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2.
peace, fulfillment and empowerment. The Bhagavad-gita (10.25)40 recommends japa as the best form of sacrifice. It is a sacrifice in that during such meditation we offer our consciousness to the divine manifested as sound and thereby relish the empowerment and enrichment coming from contact with the divine. Group meditation or kirtan, which constitutes the Vedic time-honored form of music therapy. We can easily experience divine joy through the devotional and musical singing of the mahamantra.
By thus rejuvenating themselves with the power of spiritual breaks, leaders can make their consciousness attuned to divine guidance, thereby maximizing their leadership potential. Mittal: I don’t think I can make time to chant amidst my tight daily schedules.
Oberoi: Mantra meditation will never take away our work time; it will only take away our worry time – the time we lose daily to anxiety, when it saps our energy and slackens our speed. Take out just ten minutes daily to chant the mahamantra 108 times. You have already invested time to have this discussion. Why not invest the time to benefit from it? Otherwise it will be like spending the time and money to purchase a honey-bottle, but not spending the time to remove its lid and drink the honey.
The time spent in mantra meditation will not be an expense; it will be an investment, the best investment. Millions through the ages have already reaped rich dividends from this investment. Even 40
... Of sacriďŹ ces I am the chanting of the holy names [japa] ....
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today, millions all over the world are enriching themselves. Mittal: Millions worldwide?
Oberoi: Yes. Today, there’s a global spiritual revival with millions upon millions worldwide turning towards yoga and meditation for recharging themselves spiritually. Leaders can be at the cutting edge of progress, ushering in a new phase of history, wherein they pioneer the all-round development of the individual that is the key to fulfillment and achievement. Will we be among those who merely watch it happen? Or will we be among those left wondering what happened? Or will we be among the pioneers by making it happen in our own life? The onus lies with us.
Gita wisdom stands ready to empower all leaders – present and potential – to bring out the best within themselves and offer their best contributions to the world, for their own and others’ good. They begin the climb down the hill, with their heads and hearts still atop the peaks of wisdom that they have been discussing.
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Never Lose Heart
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Never lose heart
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Oberoi and Mittal return to the resort for a late afternoon meal. After a break, they meet again for their final talk at the same place where they had their first talk. The garden in the evening is just as inviting and relaxing as in the morning, but the mood seems more introspective. It’s as if nature is reflecting their mood – whereas earlier they were eager to take off in their discussion, now they are eager to take in their discussion.
Oberoi: Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Gita to humanity at large and leaders in particular is the insight of immortal inspiration, an insight that encourages us amidst all kinds of discouragements.
Mittal: You need to explain that.
The devastating inner attack
Oberoi: The Gita opens dramatically with a champion warrior turning deserter. In the middle of the two armies in full view of all those who had hailed him as their hero, Arjuna put aside his bow, signaling the start of what might have become the most visible desertion in world history. What could have reduced a hero to such a state? Discouragement.
Whatever we call it, depression, dejection, disheartenment – discouragement is among our most dangerous enemies. No enemy, however formidable, could have reduced Arjuna to such a wretched state. For an honorable warrior, even the thought of desertion was unconscionable – it was a prospect worse than death, as the
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Gita (2.34)41 states. The improbability, indeed the intolerability, of this idea of desertion, as signified by putting aside one’s bow, is brought about forcefully in the Kurukshetra war that occurred after the Gita was spoken. On the seventeenth day of the war, due to a misunderstanding, Arjuna’s eldest brother, king Yudhisthira, asked him to put aside his bow. This impugned Arjuna’s sense of honor so severely that far from putting aside his bow he raised his sword to slay his venerable brother. It was only Krishna’s prompt and prudent intervention – the hallmark of a great leader – that saved the Pandavas from being ruptured by fratricide. Mittal: I think I have seen this in the TV Mahabharata. What’s the point of this story for us?
Oberoi: The point is that honorable warriors such as Arjuna couldn’t tolerate even the insinuation of desertion and the cowardice it implied. And yet that very warrior who would normally never have put aside his bow due to any external assault, however forceful, put aside his bow due to the inner assault of discouragement. Such is the power of discouragement – it can take the fight out of us even before we take up the fight. It knocked Arjuna down even before the enemy had shot a single arrow. We never lose till we lose hope. And if we lose hope, we can’t win till we first win hope. Leaders live under the constant assault of discouragement – from adverse market trends, from sociopolitical upheavals, from intraorganizational politics, from rival organizations’ manipulations, from unrealistic targets, from impossible deadlines. All this discouragement coming from above, below and around can get to us. If we internalize the negativity, it can set our mind on an 41 People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death.
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autopilot mode of negative self-talk, “It won’t work; it’s useless; nothing is going to fix this.” As this discouraging self-talk saps our energy, we will feel as if we are burdened by the Himalayan Mountain. Even if we don’t collapse as dramatically as Arjuna did, the discouragement will slowly paralyze us – it will erode our ability to think clearly or act decisively. Mittal: Well, often there’s real reason for such discouragement – when we have real big problems, we can’t be naïve and wish them away.
Oberoi: Yes, agreed. We certainly can’t wish away real problems – we do need real solutions. But it is naïve, Gita wisdom posits, to believe that only things going on in the outer world are real. What goes on inside us is also real, not the least because it really affects our response to external real events. So, discouragement, despite being an inner feeling is a real problem – a problem so grave that it can make us incapable of finding real solutions. That’s why the first step towards any real solution to a staggering outer problem is to find a real solution to inner discouragement. The Gita offers us that solution, just as it offered Arjuna. Mittal: What is that solution?
Unbroken in a broken world
Oberoi: Paradoxically, the Gita’s message of hope begins on a note that might not sound exactly hopeful. Gita wisdom explains that the world we live in is a broken place. We are spiritual beings living encased in three material shells – the environmental, the social and the physical. And all three of our shells tend to break down. The weather doesn’t work right. Our relationships don’t work right.
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Our bodies don’t work right.
If we restrict our hopes to this broken world, we sentence ourselves to frustration, discouragement and hopelessness. Unavoidably. It’s not a matter of if; it’s just a matter of when. Mittal: That’s too pessimistic, isn’t it?
Oberoi: No, it’s not – it is realistic, being an unsentimental acknowledgement of the nature of worldly reality. More importantly, this pessimistic-sounding note in the Gita is only initial – it sets the stage for its essential optimism. The brokenness of the world doesn’t have to break us, because we are meant for bigger things than this world. We have a grander destiny. As souls, indestructible spiritual beings, we are meant for a destination in eternity, far beyond the mortality of this world. The Gita (08.15)42, even while pointing out the problematic nature of this world, stresses this more positive, hope-giving message: the path of devotion propels us beyond this world. When we work in a spirit of devotional service, we stay rooted in a reality that stays unaffected when things around us are affected, even devastated. We know that even when the world offers darkness and hopelessness, beyond this world exists a light and love that never falters or wavers. Mittal: All this sounds soothing, but again isn’t it too otherworldly?
Oberoi: No, because that light and love guides us not just beyond this world but also in this world. The Gita in delineating the ultimate destination may be otherworldly, but in issuing a call for action, it is eminently this-worldly. That’s why its original student 42 After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.
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Arjuna didn’t turn away from this world to pursue the other world. Rather, the Gita inspired him to return again to engage with the world, to march back into the battle of life, with spirit restored and energy rejuvenated. Mittal: What exactly rejuvenated his spirit?
The guide by the side
Oberoi: The enthusing awareness of the guide by the side.
Leaders know that it’s lonely at the top. But it doesn’t have to be. Because we are never alone. The divine is always with us in our own heart, as the Gita (15.15)43 announces. In the battle that Arjuna had to fight, Krishna was right next to him, assisting and encouraging and guiding him. This setting of the Gita – the divine and the human side-by-side on the same chariot together in a formidable battle – is not just historical; it’s also symbolic for a universal truth. Mittal: What is that?
Oberoi: The truth that God is not like a sage on a stage; he is a guide by our side. He stays with us always, even through the thick of action and adversity, waiting and willing and wanting to help us if we just turn to him for help.
The best leaders are those who let themselves be led by this supreme guide, the ultimate leader. At the start of the Gita (1.21)44, Arjuna was trying to lead the leader, 43 I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas. 44 Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see those present here, who desire to fight.
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ordering Krishna to take the chariot between the two armies. This misconceived attempt at imposing the human will on the divine was the cause of his confusion and dejection. The Gita is essentially a call for the loving harmony of the human will with the divine will. Responding affirmatively to this call, Arjuna (18.73)45 declared, “I will do your will.� This union of the human will and the divine will was, as the Gita (18.78)46 declares, the harbinger of the supreme success. Mittal: By supreme success, do you mean he never faced failure thereafter?
Oberoi: Not exactly. He did face the obstacles and reversals that are inevitable in this broken world. But he had a vision and motivation that lifted him above them. He knew that in the ultimate analysis what counted was his relationship with the divine. And he could count on the divine to internally shelter, solace and strengthen him, no matter what happened externally. That awareness of the indestructible, irreducible, inalienable relationship became the vortex of his strength, ensuring that he never lost heart, even amidst heartbreak. Leaders who train themselves to devotionally tap that inner pool of energy will be similarly confident and enlivened, whatever challenges life and leadership sends their way. Mittal: Are there any examples of such leaders?
Oberoi: Yes, definitely. The moving spirit of such a life led in the light of the divine is demonstrated in the life of an extraordinary modern-day saint. 45 Arjuna said: My dear Krishna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now ďŹ rm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions. 46 Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.
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Imagine a seventy-year-old mendicant wandering, penniless and homeless, on the streets of New York in 1966, on a mission to share a message of spiritual love. In his life till then, • •
•
• • •
From 1923 to 1953, he ran a pharmaceutical business to financially assist his guru’s mission, but his business was burglarized and ruined. From 1944 to 1960, he ran a magazine, Back to Godhead, to spread the message of spiritual love, single-handedly writing, typing, proofreading, publishing and distributing it, but the magazine found few takers.
From 1952 to 1954, he invested all his time, energy and finances to establish an organization, The League of Devotees, in Jhansi, but he was evicted by a political intrigue from the very place that was to be his international headquarters. In 1965, when aged 69, he decided to go, alone and practically penniless, to America to share his message, but two heart attacks on the ship almost ended his life.
In 1965-66, he tried to build a temple in America with the help of a patron from India, but the Indian government refused to let foreign exchange flow outside the country. In 1966, he focused on sharing his message with young Americans, but his first serious student went crazy due to drug overdose and attacked him. The guru had to flee for life from his prospective disciple.
This, till 1966, was the life-story of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. After so many reversals, most people would have just given up. But Srila Prabhupada was
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beyond material success and failure; for him, the satisfaction of Krishna was success. And he knew that Krishna was satisfied by his unflinching commitment to share Krishna’s message, no matter what the obstacles. So although a giant wall seemed to block all his efforts, he kept looking for some tiny crevice somewhere and kept pressing on, undaunted. As the Gita prophesies, the sustained harmony of the divine will and the human will produced stunning results. From 1966 to 1977, Srila Prabhupada: •
Opened 108 temples in six continents.
•
Authored over 70 books, which have sold billions of copies till date.
•
•
Circumnavigated the globe fourteen times sharing his message with millions. Inspired thousands of people to break free from all bad habits and lead a life of selfless service to God and humanity.
Srila Prabhupada’s indomitable spirit came from his living and working on the divine platform, as he explained simply to a disheartened student in 1969: “So I don’t think there is any cause of discouragement because we are working on a different platform.” Helping us understand and achieve that “different platform” is the purpose of Gita wisdom. Mittal: Swamiji’s accomplishments are impressive and inspiring. But he was a spiritual leader – how is his example relevant for us corporate leaders?
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Raise your bow Oberoi: Harmonizing the human will with the divine will doesn’t have to be restricted to only spiritual activities – it can encompass all our activities, including our professional activities as a leader. Whatever our work, if we do it in a spirit of service to God and humanity, we can strive to become instruments of the divine and thereby witness empowerment by the divine.
Arjuna’s bow can be said to represent his determination – his will to shoulder his responsibility as a social leader. His putting aside the bow represents his inability to persevere in the midst of adversity. Often life’s battles can be so perplexing and overwhelming that they make us lose heart – we cast aside our metaphorical bows and sink into confusion and dejection.
After hearing the Gita, Arjuna became surcharged with the supreme hope, a hope that was grounded in wisdom and animated by devotion. That hope inspired him to stand firm and tall, bow upraised, ready to respond gallantly to the call of duty.
This restoration of his morale represents the potential of Gita wisdom to similarly restore and reinforce our determination, to inspire us to meet life’s challenges with confidence and courage. Gita wisdom offers us all hope amidst the worst of darkness – hope that there is a way ahead, that we can find the way, that we can move along the way and that there’s help available for us to perceive and pursue the way. God’s grace can set things right even when everything seems wrong and even when nothing we do seems to set it right. Mahatma Gandhi put this hope-inducing nature of the Gita well,
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““When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow.”
That same comfort and confidence awaits all leaders who open themselves to the empowerment of Gita wisdom. Mittal: That’s inspiring to hear. Thank you very much – I have learnt so much about the Gita’s insights on leadership. I will surely try to apply these insights in my life. Even if I can’t apply them all, I am sure that whatever I can apply will make me a better leader.
They shake hands and Oberoi pulls Mittal into a long embrace before they part ways, two leaders seeking their ways to their destinies.
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Appendix - Quoted Gita Verses Bhagavad Gita Verses referred to in the book: 1.20 arjunauvāca senayorubhayormadhyerathaṁsthāpaya me ’cyuta yāvadetānnirīkṣe ’haṁyoddhu-kāmānavasthitān Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see those present here, who desire to fight.
1.30 na ca śaknomyavasthātuṁbhramatīva ca me manaḥ nimittāni ca paśyāmiviparītānikeśava I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Kṛiṣhṇa, killer of the Keśī demon.
1.46 sañjayauvāca evamuktvārjunaḥsaṅkhyerathopasthaupāviśat visṛjyasa-śaraṁcāpaṁśoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ Sañjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.
2.13 dehino ’sminyathādehekaumāraṁyauvanaṁjarā tathādehāntara-prāptirdhīrastatranamuhyati As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
2.16 nāsatovidyatebhāvonābhāvovidyatesataḥ ubhayorapidṛṣṭo ’ntastvanayostattva-darśibhiḥ Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the non-existent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.
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2.23 nainaṁchindantiśastrāṇinainaṁdahatipāvakaḥ nacainaṁkledayantyāponaśoṣayatimārutaḥ The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
2.24 acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yamakledyo ’śoṣyaeva ca nityaḥsarva-gataḥsthāṇuracalo ’yaṁsanātanaḥ This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
2.34 akīrtiṁcāpibhūtānikathayiṣyantite ’vyayām sambhāvitasyacākīrtirmaraṇādatiricyate People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonour is worse than death.
2.56 duḥkheṣvanudvigna-manāḥsukheṣuvigata-spṛhaḥ vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥsthita-dhīrmunirucyate One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
2.61 tānisarvāṇisaṁyamyayukta āsīta mat-paraḥ vaśe hi yasyendriyāṇitasyaprajñāpratiṣṭhitā One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence.
2.62 dhyāyatoviṣayānpuṁsaḥsaṅgasteṣūpajāyate saṅgātsañjāyatekāmaḥkāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.
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3.21 yadyadācaratiśreṣṭhastat tad evetarojanaḥ sayatpramāṇaṁkurutelokas tad anuvartate Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.
3.30 mayisarvāṇikarmāṇisannyasyādhyātma-cetasā nirāśīrnirmamobhūtvāyudhyasvavigata-jvaraḥ Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.
4.1 śrī-bhagavānuvāca imaṁvivasvateyogaṁproktavān aham avyayam vivasvānmanaveprāhamanurikṣvākave ’bravīt The Personality of Godhead, Lord ŚrīKṛṣṇa, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.
4.2 evaṁparamparā-prāptamimaṁrājarṣayoviduḥ sakālenehamahatāyogonaṣṭaḥparan-tapa This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.
4.11 yeyathāmāṁprapadyantetāṁstathaivabhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartantemanuṣyāḥpārthasarvaśaḥ As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.
4.13 cātur-varṇyaṁmayāsṛṣṭaṁguṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ tasyakartāramapimāṁviddhyakartāram avyayam According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator
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of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.
4.17 karmaṇohyapiboddhavyaṁboddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṁgahanākarmaṇogatiḥ The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.
4.34 tadviddhipraṇipātenaparipraśnenasevayā upadekṣyantitejñānaṁjñāninastattva-darśinaḥ Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.
5.29 bhoktāraṁyajña-tapasāṁsarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁsarva-bhūtānāṁjñātvāmāṁśāntimṛcchati A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
6.11-13 śucaudeśepratiṣṭhāpyasthiramāsanamātmanaḥ nāty-ucchritaṁnāti-nīcaṁcailājina-kuśottaram tatraikāgraṁmanaḥkṛtvāyata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ upaviśyāsaneyuñjyādyogamātma-viśuddhaye samaṁkāya-śiro-grīvaṁdhārayannacalaṁsthiraḥ samprekṣyanāsikāgraṁsvaṁdiśaścānavalokayan To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kuśa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place. The yogī should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart by controlling his mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point.One should hold one’s body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose.
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6.47 yogināmapisarveṣāṁmad-gatenāntar-ātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yomāṁsa me yukta-tamomataḥ And of all yogīs, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself and renders transcendental loving service to Me – he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.
8.15 māmupetyapunarjanmaduḥkhālayamaśāśvatam nāpnuvantimahātmānaḥsaṁsiddhiṁparamāṁgatāḥ After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.
9.2 rāja-vidyārāja-guhyaṁpavitram idam uttamam pratyakṣāvagamaṁdharmyaṁsu-sukhaṁkartum avyayam This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.
9.10 mayādhyakṣeṇaprakṛtiḥsūyatesa-carācaram hetunānenakaunteyajagadviparivartate This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.
9.32 māṁ hi pārthavyapāśrityaye ’pi syuḥpāpa-yonayaḥ striyovaiśyāstathāśūdrāste ’pi yāntiparāṁgatim O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.
10.8 ahaṁsarvasyaprabhavomattaḥsarvaṁpravartate iti matvā bhajante māṁbudhābhāva-samanvitāḥ I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
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10.9 mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇābodhayantaḥparasparam kathayantaś ca māṁnityaṁtuṣyanti ca ramanti ca The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.
13.8-12: amānitvamadambhitvamahiṁsākṣāntirārjavam ācāryopāsanaṁśaucaṁsthairyamātma-vinigrahaḥ Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth –all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.
13.23 upadraṣṭānumantācabhartābhoktāmaheśvaraḥ paramātmeti cāpyuktodehe ’sminpuruṣaḥparaḥ Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.
13.34 yathāprakāśayatyekaḥkṛtsnaṁlokamimaṁraviḥ kṣetraṁkṣetrītathākṛtsnaṁprakāśayatibhārata O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.
14.26 brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāhamamṛtasyāvyayasya ca śāśvatasya ca dharmasyasukhasyaikāntikasya ca And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness.
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15.7 mamaivāṁśojīva-lokejīva-bhūtaḥsanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇiprakṛti-sthānikarṣati The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.
15.15 sarvasyacāhaṁhṛdisanniviṣṭomattaḥsmṛtir jñānamapohanaṁca vedaiśca sarvair aham evavedyovedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
16.2 ahiṁsāsatyamakrodhastyāgaḥśāntirapaiśunam dayābhūteṣvaloluptvaṁmārdavaṁhrīracāpalam Nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renunciation; tranquillity; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination; …[–these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.]
17.15 anudvega-karaṁvākyaṁsatyaṁpriya-hitaṁca yat svādhyāyābhyasanaṁcaivavāṅ-mayaṁtapa ucyate Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.
18.46 yataḥpravṛttirbhūtānāṁyena sarvam idaṁtatam sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcyasiddhiṁvindatimānavaḥ By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.
18.54 brahma-bhūtaḥprasannātmānaśocatinakāṅkṣati samaḥsarveṣubhūteṣumad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally
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disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.
18.56 sarva-karmāṇyapisadākurvāṇo mad-vyapāśrayaḥ mat-prasādādavāpnotiśāśvataṁpadam avyayam Though engaged in all kinds of activities, My pure devotee, under My protection, reaches the eternal and imperishable abode by My grace.
18.58 mac-cittaḥsarva-durgāṇi mat-prasādāttariṣyasi athacettvamahaṅkārānnaśroṣyasivinaṅkṣyasi If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.
18.61 īśvaraḥsarva-bhūtānāṁhṛd-deśe ’rjunatiṣṭhati bhrāmayansarva-bhūtāniyantrārūḍhānimāyayā The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.
18.73 arjunauvāca naṣṭomohaḥsmṛtirlabdhātvat-prasādānmayācyuta sthito ’smigata-sandehaḥkariṣyevacanaṁtava Arjuna said: My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.
18.78 yatrayogeśvaraḥkṛṣṇoyatrapārthodhanur-dharaḥ tatraśrīr vijayo bhūtirdhruvānītirmatir mama Wherever there is Kṛiṣhṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.
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Acknowledgements My first thanks to my many spiritual mentors, especially His Grace Radheshyam Prabhu, His Holiness Bhakti Rasamrita Maharaj, His Holiness Jayadvaita Maharaj and His Holiness Radhanath Maharaj, for their guidance and inspiration. Anand Chaitanya P and his team planted the seed of the idea for this book. Avatari Chaitanya P assisted in the book from the start to the end, giving many invaluable inputs. Manish Vithalani P is my competent and critical aide whose inputs constantly stimulate my literary side. Muralidhar P joined the editorial team and added a special flavor with his IIM background. Hari Parayana P with his candor and clarity kept the book on course.
Varun Sharma P designed the cover image and also gave other creative inputs.
Vaishnava Seva P deserves a special mention for his kindly providing an excellent place for intellectual work – and also for arranging this book’s avatar as an online video course. Arjuna Sarthi P did the layout promptly and competently. Trivikrama P helped with proofreading. Many others helped in various ways. My heartfelt thanks to them all.
- Chaitanya Charan
Books Published By Voice
Books Published by VOICE Essence of Bhagavad-gita (EBG) series: • • • • • • •
EBG Course-1: ‘Spritual Scientist’ EBG Course-2: ‘Positive Thinker’ EBG Course-3: ‘Self Manager’ EBG Course-4: ‘Proactive Leader’ EBG Course-5: ‘Personality Development’ EBG Vol -1 of 2 ( Marathi ) EBG Vol -1 of 2 ( Hindi )
Spirituality for the Modern Youth series • • • • •
Discover Yourself Your Best Friend Your Secret Journey Victory Over Death Yoga of Love
Pocket Books • • • • • • • •
How to Harness Mind Power? Practical Tips to Mind Control Can I Live Forever? Do We Live More Than Once? Misdirected Love E.N.E.R.G.Y- Your sutra for Positive Thinking Recession- Adversity or Opportunity? Why do we need a T.E.M.P.L.E?
Other Books • • • •
Youth Preaching Manual Bhagavad-gita 7 Day Course Values Frequently Un-Answered Questions
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Spiritual Scientist Vol I and II (Selected Newspaper articles) Science and Spirituality Idol Worship or Ideal Worship? (Questions & Answers) Oh My God! (Re-answering the Questions) My Little Bhakti Companion (Questions & Answers)
Children’s Books: • • • • • • • •
My First Krishna Book Getting to Know Krishna More About Krishna Devotees of Krishna Wonderful Krishna Krishna’s Childhood Pastimes Janmashtami Krishna Colors
Bring out the LEADER in you series These books will be suitable for college students as well as corporates. The first book in this series has been published and the remaining will be released in the near future. 1. Stress Management 2. Time Management 3. Art of Self Management 4. Power of Habits 5. Secret of Concentration 6. Mind Your Mind 7. Positive Mental Attitude 8. Team Playing & Winning Trust of Others 9. Overcoming Inferiority Complex 10. Constructive Criticism – How to Give It or Take It? 11. Fate and Free Will
Books Published By Voice
12. Karma – The Law of Infallible Justice 13. Key to Real Happiness 14. Conflict Resolution 15. Eight Qualities of an Effective Leader 16. Managing Our Anger 17. Self Development 18. Personality Development and Character Buildup 19. Proactive Leadership Art of Living and Leaving
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About the Author Chaitanya Charan is a monk and spiritual author. He has done his Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering from the Government College of Engineering, Pune. He subsequently served as a software engineer in a multinational software company. He also secured 2350 out of 2400 in the GRE, bagging the top rank in Maharashtra, India. Seeing the prevalent problems of stress, depression, addiction and overall misdirection –all caused by a lack of spirituality, he felt inspired to dedicate his life to the cause of sharing the spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita under the aegis of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna consciousness). He is a member of ISKCON’s intellectual forum, the Shastric Advisory Council, and is the associate-editor of ISKCON’s global magazine, Back to Godhead. He is the author of the world’s only Gita-daily feature, wherein he writes a 300-word inspirational reflection on a verse from the Bhagavad-Gita. Till now he has written over 1200 Gita meditations that are posted on www. gitadaily.com and are read through daily feeds by thousands from all over the world.
His articles have been published in many national newspapers including Indian Express, Economic Times and Times of India in the Speaking Tree column. Over 200 of his articles are available on his site thespiritualscientist.com, where he has also answered over 2000 questions. His writings in English have been translated into several languages including German, Chinese and Romanian. He is the author of twelve other books: ENERGY – Your Sutra for Positive Thinking, Science and Spirituality, The Spiritual Scientist’ series, volumes 1 and 2, Recession – Adversity or Opportunity?, Why do we need a temple?, Frequently Unanswered Questions, Idol Worship or Ideal Worship?, The Gita for Daily Enrichment, Oh My God! Re-answering the Questions, My Little Bhakti Companion and Timeless Insights on Today’s Issues.