The Value of Good Company: Guest Post by Chakravarti Madhusudana

Preamble

After Sita Devi was kidnapped by the evil Ravana, Sri Rama and Lakshmana started looking for her in the forest of Dandakaranya. During their wanderings, they came across Kabandha, who had a ferocious and grotesque form due to a curse. The brothers were able to relieve him from the curse and he regained his original handsome and resplendent form. He addressed them thus: “Not far from here lives an old female ascetic called Shabari. She is holding on to her life only to welcome and have a vision of you. Please be kind enough to visit her”. Accordingly, the brothers went to Shabari’s Ashram, received her hospitality and made her sublimely happy. Then Sri Rama instructed her in Navadhaa Bhakti, that is, nine different ways of practicing devotion (This part of the story is to be found in Adhyatma Ramayana and the Ramacharita Manas of Goswami Tulsidas. It is not found in Valmiki Ramayana).  The nine ways are as follows:

1. Association with holy men.
2. The recital of accounts about the Lord.
3. The singing of the glories of the Lord.
4. The hearing and exposition of the teachings of the Lord.
5. Sincere and devoted service of the Guru, seeing the Lord in him.
6. The practice of meritorious habits, the control of the inner senses, the observance of external rules of purity and devoted ceremonial worship of the Lord.
7. Devoted repetition and contemplation of the Lord’s Mantra in all its parts.
8. The worshipful service of the Lord’s devotees, seeing His presence in all beings, the cultivation of non-attachment for all external objects and self-control.
9. Investigation of the true nature of the Lord.

It is to be noted that the first in this list is: “Association with holy men”. Indeed, after imparting the nine ways to Shabari, Sri Rama himself advises her thus: “If a person has succeeded in the first of these disciplines, namely, association with holy men, then the other ways follow one by one”.

In the Sundara Kanda of Tulasidasji’s Ramacharita Manas, we come across the following encounter. When Hanuman reached the gates of Lanka in search of Sita Devi, he was prevented from entering the city by its fearsome guardian Lankini. But she was easily overpowered by the mighty Hanuman. Then she realized it was indeed her good fortune that she got to see Hanuman, the messenger of the divine Ramachandra. So she says: All the bliss that one may experience in Paradise and even upon deliverance, is not equal to the happiness one gets in just one second while in the company of good souls.

From this preamble, it is evident that any amount of striving is worth the effort if it can lead us to the company of saintly men. I am reminded of a traditional story in this context.

Yudhishthira’s Ashvamedha Yajna and Draupadi

After the end of the Bharata war, king Yudhishthira conducted an Ashvamedha Yajna (Horse Sacrifice). At that time, Sri Krishna had suspended a bell in the Sacrificial Hall and had advised that if the Sacrifice was accomplished satisfactorily, then the bell would ring by itself. Every oblation had been offered, the ritual baths had been taken and all guests had been fed generously. Still, the bell would not ring. Sri Krishna then advised “Please see if anyone has not partaken their food”. On checking, it was found that a holy man, who had been invited, was not present for the meal.

Immediately, Bhimasena mounted his chariot and went to invite the holy man. That saint declared: “Unless you offer me the fruits of your Ashwamedha, I cannot come to the dinner”. The Pandavas had spent great effort to carry out the horse sacrifice in order that they might be expiated from the sins of killing relatives during the war. So, how can they give away its benefits? Bhima returned crestfallen. No one seemed to know what to do. Even Sri Krishna was nowhere to be found.

Then Draupadi said “I will bring the holy man. I do not need a chariot. I will walk to his abode” and she started walking immediately. Sadhu gave the same answer to Draupadi also. Then she said humbly: “Respected Sir! Wise people say that every step we take in order to have darshan of a saint is rewarded with the fruit of one Asvamedha. I have walked more than thousand steps in order to see you. Thus I have earned the fruits of more than one thousand Ashvamedhas. Please accept one of them and grace us with your presence at the feast”. The saint was pleased and attended the feast. The bell rang automatically!

Point to Ponder

What was the reason for the Saint’s acceptance? Was it the belief that “If it is to seek the company of a good person, then every step is worth an Ashwamedha” or was it the cleverness of Draupadi or was it her humility? The reader might like to deliberate on this.

About the Author

Chakravarti Madhusudana was born in Mysore State, India. He completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in mechanical engineering in Bangalore. He migrated to Australia in 1967 and earned a doctorate from Monash University in the same field. He retired after serving 34 years as an engineering academic at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. His research monograph “THERMAL CONTACT CONDUCTANCE”, two editions published by Springer Verlag, is considered to be the “go to” book by academics, research workers and the engineering industry involved in the area of heat transfer. Mostly since retirement, he has written several (80+) articles of a general nature on religious, philosophical and secular matters, in both  Kannada and English.

Notes:

1. Permission to reproduce this article here is gratefully acknowledged.
2. Illustration courtesy the world wide web.

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Why Bhagavad Gita is the ultimate self-help book: Guest post by Durga Prasad Dash

 

You would not find the Bhagavad Gita in the self help section of a library or a book store. It is good that it is so. A book of the stature of Bhagavad Gita should not be reduced to the level of popular, (maybe even best seller) self help books which give a feel good message when you read and are shallow and misleading when you probe deeper. But if you ever get to understand the core message of Bhagavad Gita, you will find that this is the self help book you have been looking for all your life.

There are reasons why I say so. Self help books focus on one thing – how to get what you want. Self help authors and motivational gurus suggest various seemingly easy and short cut methods to achieve what you want. But they don’t tell you what you should want. Bhagavad Gita does so. It tells you what should be the highest goal of a human being.

It is important first of all to know what you want. Quite often people work hard for years for something, but after they get it they become more frustrated. They wish they should not have desired to achieve that.

Secondly, when you only prescribe ways for getting what you want, it can be utilised for good purpose as well as evil purpose. It can also be utilised for pure selfish purpose which would come at the general good of the society. In fact many self help books encourage you to be selfish and recommend unethical methods to achieve your goal.

These so called motivational authors call their books self help books. But tell me about any self help book where first of all some idea about ‘self’ is given. The fact is that they themselves may not be knowing what self is all about. Bhagavad Gita fulfills this shortcoming. It gives you some idea about your innermost core which is elusive to the conscious mind but can be experienced in deep meditation. Let me assure you, if you don’t have the proper perspective about the ‘self’, no amount of tips, tricks, and hacks will be of any long term use to you.

We are all interdependent, not only from human society point of view, but also from the point of view of our surroundings consisting of living and non-living elements. We cannot progress in isolation. Self help books rarely talk about your position in the cosmic order of things. These books never give you the big picture. Remember that if your actions are not aligned with the big picture of things, the selfish goals you achieve by using the unethical and near- unethical tips and tricks of self help books will frustrate you in the long run even after you get all your desires fulfilled.

In an earlier post also while explaining the fallacy of the self help books I had recommended Bhagavad Gita as one of the few books that I have come across to be of real help. But, to understand the core message of Bhagavad Gita there are practical difficulties. There are thousands of translated versions of Bhagavad Gita available in various languages. If you do not have expertise in Sanskrit, you will not know how wide off the mark many of such translations and their commentaries are. Even knowing Sanskrit is not enough. To understand Bhagavad Gita one should have basic knowledge of various systems of Indian philosophy known as Darshanas.

While going through various books on Bhagavad Gita in the three languages that I can read and write I found that many of the interpreters did not have any experience in yoga or meditation. Such people who set out to interpret Bhagavad Gita do great injustice to the book.

In spite of all the shortcomings it is worthwhile to try the Bhagavad Gita in whatever versions you may land your hands on. These days of course you have many online versions. It may be useful to compare two to three versions to enable you to at least get the core versions. By the way my own version is also underway. From time to time while going through various versions of the Bhagavad Gita I have made notes of insights gained. My advantage is that I can fairly understand Sanskrit even though I am no expert in it.

 

(The original post can be accessed at ‘Pebbles and Waves’ : durgadash.com. Permission to repost it here is gratefully acknowledged).

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/sacred-scriptures-of-india-and-the-bhagavad-gita

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2019/03/27/when-ceos-are-left-twiddling-their-thumbs-bhagavad-gita-could-help)

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Goofy kids, P G Wodehouse and some spiritual tenets

The prattle of tender feet around one keeps one very much alive and contented. Especially so when one happens to be in a phase of life where one can have the luxury of observing their behaviour at close quarters without having to worry about their mundane needs. Other then providing unalloyed joy and sparkling mirth, it also provides one an opportunity to grow spiritually.

When a Bollywood diva casts a spell

Take the case of a one-year old toddler who takes Master Thos to be his role model. If Thos was infatuated with a Hollywood diva, he happens to be besotted with one of the Bollywood divas. Play this particular song on the TV, and he goes into a trance which even the most advanced practitioners of Zen might not have experienced. Meals get forgotten. Toys cease to be of any consequence. Those around him might not even exist.

Sonam Kapoor, the diva in question, may be delighted to know of the brand equity she carries in the mind space of this young one. There is a good chance that he might even earn the distinction of being the youngest ever fan of a Bollywood diva.

One can only hope and pray that, as he grows, he never gets to emulate the goofy schemes of Thos the Terrible. In fact, thanks to the benign influence of the diva, perhaps there is a chance that he would end up performing such noble deeds as walking a few miles to fetch a newspaper for a guest or carrying any other injured young one on his tender shoulders, so as to win over the affections of his heart-throb.

The sincerity with which he expresses his fondness for the song featuring Sonam Kapoor is something which deserves to be emulated. It teaches us the innate goodness in all things musical, artistic and beautiful.

By being under the spell of a silver screen diva, he is merely following a long-held tradition of his ancestors. Soon, though, moving doors, books or other items may take his fancy.

He also demands equality in treatment vis-a-vis other kids in the immediate vicinity. If that does not come by, he knows how to shriek and attract the attention of his seniors, so justice gets meted out. This is invariably the scenario when some ice cream is getting distributed.

There are also times when he reminds one of Algernon Aubrey Little. When the father’s boss came visiting some time back, he was a model of ideal behaviour. No tantrums. No yells. Only some cute smiles. Peace prevailed. A promotion on the job soon followed.

A respect for technical gizmos

The other young boy, all of four years old, reminds one of Edwin the scout. It is not that his daily acts of mercy include dousing fires with paraffin and setting cottages on fire. But he does try to reverse-engineer and repair an egg-boiler, with catastrophic results.

Anything that moves attracts his attention. Curious to the core, he would tend to dismantle the gadget and then look on helplessly when attempting to put it together again. Door locks get fondled with much love. Remote controlled toy cars or toy boats are never safe in his vicinity. A family senior testing blood sugar or injecting insulin is an object to be closely observed and supported.

As he has grown, cell phones and iPads have gained his respect as reliable sources of perennial entertainment. Thus, these are no longer subjected to the kind of rigorous quality tests he used to conduct in his formative years. In his younger days, he has dunked many a cell phone in a mug of piping hot tea, marvelling at their steadfastness when compared to, say, biscuits.

One is yet to notice if, like Edwin, he is an expert on ant behaviour. But dogs, pigs, cows and horses do come in for stark appraisals under his watchful eye.

Locking up people inside dark rooms comes naturally to him. So does sneaking up from behind and suddenly yelling in one’s ear, thereby leaving one all of a twitter. Often, sudden bouts of some karate moves make one run for cover, lest one may need to review one’s medical insurance cover. Tying up one’s shoe laces surreptitiously makes him burst into uncontrollable laughter, much to the chagrin of the party of the other part.

Dealing with him is very instructive. His knowledge of all things mechanical and electronic makes one humble. One simply aspires to be a quick learner like him, so as to be able to quickly absorb the latest that technology has to offer and make progress in life, as defined by contemporary standards.

A goofy mind, a tender heart

Consider also the case of a young girl of 6 odd years whose flair for drawing, painting and singing is often a talking point. But beneath the veneer of sophistication and innocence lies a mind which could churn out goofy schemes at the drop of a hat. The likes of Roberta Wickham and Stiffy Byng could learn quite a few tricks of the trade from her.

Much like Peggy Mainwaring, she is used to staring and giggling at odd times, leaving the party of the other part shaken to the core. A relentless chatter emanating from her often leaves one yearning for some peace and quietitude. A continuous barrage of queries fired at one leaves one exasperated at times. The value of courage and perseverance is thus learnt the hard way.

Compassion comes naturally to her. She loves being surrounded by pets she can shower her motherly affection on. When a bitter feud with a younger sibling results into the latter getting hurt, she gets immediately transformed into a caring and loving nurse. But Homo Sapiens often get bluntly ticked off by her for the slightest of perceived infractions on their part.

When germs of acute goofiness strike, the sky is the limit. A younger sibling’s trousers are found wet in the middle of the night. Wisdom dawns when one notices the empty bottle of drinking water by the side of the bed. Guilt-less pleasure is felt when the younger sibling gets a reprimand for an act of omission committed by her own self.

Post-ablutions, she turns out to be a great bathroom singer, requesting the support of a senior to clean up. ‘Potty is over’ is belted out, in tune with a nursery rhyme like ‘Twinkle twinkle little star….’.

Her receptivity is not to be taken lightly. When it is playing time at a friend’s place, she realizes the rest, solitude and enjoyment the hapless mother would experience while she is away. The hapless mother’s rights to such well-deserved rest and recuperation come in for open and frank criticism.

Competing with the Bermuda Triangle

Yet another case which merits consideration is that of a young lass of 7 years who is built along the lines of Kid Clementina. She is a not-so-quiet saint-like child, when in a good mood. When taken out for a movie and a dinner, she is full of gratitude. She gazes at her benefactor in silent admiration. But while at home, a stubbornness tests the patience of the seniors around.

Great deal of perseverance is required so she may partake of any single meal which may last well over 90 minutes. Each morsel is punctuated by a commercial break, so to say. Unless, of course, the meal comprises a pizza alone, followed by the temptation of either an ice cream or a chocolate.

The threat of changing the WiFi password alone works wonders and makes her obey various commands at home. Fond of playing such brainy games as chess, she is quick to perceive that an attempt is being made to make her falsely win the game of patience and strategy. She resents such acts of chivalry. Her artistic skills are remarkable. So is her passion for karate.

There being no ink pots around these days, one is sure that she is unable to put any sherbet in the same in her classroom. But messing up the password of the iPad of a schoolmate comes readily to her. Rapid progress gets made by her in the realm of mastering all kinds of technical gizmos.

She believes in keeping one on one’s toes. While going out of the house in a hurry, one suddenly finds one’s footwear missing. Or, a ping-pong ball resting inside one of the shoes. A toothbrush can suddenly vanish, leaving one gnashing one’s teeth in disbelief and dismay. A toothpaste tube could get replaced by a cold cream tube. Unless one is alert and agile, the experience leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth, literally as well as figuratively. One’s shaving kit could go into hiding for two weeks, leaving one feeling like a distressed soul pining for one’s beloved, beard and all. One’s favourite comb could get hidden, leaving one shuddering at the prospect of making an appearance in public. Overall, the house appears to provide stiff competition to the Bermuda Triangle.

A Core of Innocence

Put any two of the kids together and the results could be disastrous. Put all four of them together and the foundations of civilization start quivering.

The combined goofiness of a group of kids is directly proportional to the square of the number of kids together.

Unlike what the Theory of Relativity postulates about there being an upper limit for the speed of light, one does not believe there could be an upper limit for kids’ goofiness. With three kids of his own, Einstein himself might have been in agreement with this proposition.

Their interpersonal interactions are more like sinusoidal curves, putting the Dow Jones Index and the Sensex to shame. Loving embraces are quickly followed by bitter arguments, accompanied by loud background music and tantrums of all kind.

Their minds are highly creative. Their imagination is vivid and fertile. More often than not, they are a reflection of what one is and how one behaves in their presence. In a way, they hold a clear mirror to us, especially when it comes to ethics, values and social leanings.

It is true that kids are simply adorable. Perhaps because their external sheath of goofiness is built around a core of touching innocence – a virtue which one loses as one advances in age. They radiate the purity of their chaste souls, yet to be corrupted by social prejudices and materialistic considerations. A sheltered upbringing obviously helps.

Towards spiritual progress

The Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram has spoken of twelve attributes which help a spiritual aspirant to make progress. Sincerity. Humility. Gratitude. Perseverance. Aspiration. Receptivity. Progress. Courage. Goodness. Generosity. Equality. Peace.

Being with kids surely paves the way for rapid spiritual progress, besides keeping one amused and entertained at all times.

The challenge of minimizing Screen Time

While families have shrunk, technology has entered the family space. For hapless parents, there are two challenges. One, that of minimizing Screen Time, weaning away kids from gadgets and involving them in outdoor activities. Two, that of imparting them the values which would last them a life time. Perhaps it is time to consciously revert back to the joint family system. More about this in another blog post.

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https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/when-masters-thos-bonzo-and-moon-rise-in-love

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/bringing-up-kids)

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Time to start dismantling the Invisible Walls

On the occasion of International Peace Day, time to revisit this string of thoughts.

ashokbhatia

More than twenty-five years back, the Berlin Wall fell,
Wounds are deep, recovery is slow, and scars we can still tell;
All over the world, other walls and wired borders continue to thrive and exist,
Across all continents, divisions made by humanity itself subsist.

 

Then we have the softer walls which continue to be invisible,
Human prejudices prevail, sprouting walls which are terrible;
Hatreds rage anew, based on our religion and the color of our skin,
Women face a glass ceiling, their cries of anguish lost amongst the din.

 

Gated communities, protected precincts and high security malls,
Castes, economic disparities, internet accessibility, the unseen firewalls;
Trade protectionism, citizenship, human migration and the languages that we use,
Levels of literacy and healthcare, financial dealings where stakeholders face abuse.

 

These are only some of the soft walls we have managed to build up over time,
Pulling these down would…

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The science of healing

A health seeker often gets to revisit some of the long forgotten science lessons learnt in the early years of his life.

Einstein’s theory of relativity

It gets understood more easily when a minute spent on a treadmill sounds like fifteen minutes snoozing on the bed. Thirty minutes spent on a dentist’s reclining chair feels like thirteen hours spent in the company of one’s mother in law.

The mystery of the formula linking energy and mass also unfolds. Wisdom eventually dawns that E (Energy and Enthusiasm) to achieve a heightened state of well-being is equal to the product of ‘m’ (mental peace and positivity) and ‘c’ squared, where ‘c’ stands for conviction or faith in the treatment opted for.

Much like the speed of light, each kind of treatment has a unique upper limit to heal, beyond which one moves into the realm of prayers, divine intervention and spirituality. This is a universe which is surely not governed by the conventional laws of science as we understand them today.

First Law of Motion

Newton is found to be dead right when he postulates that a stationary object moves only when an external force is applied to it. When a couch potato is told by the good doctor to exercise regularly, much will power needs to be summoned. Social challenges like the sudden appearance of a maid servant or the newspaper boy to collect his dues need to be handled. Startled glares from a younger person living across the street have to be summarily ignored. Presence of relatives and friends has to be managed. Ridicule hurled at one from any quarter needs to be summarily rejected, so the object, in this case the health seeker’s physical body, can get moving.

Non-linear regression analysis

Harsh slings and arrows of life make the patient understand that bodily afflictions are not necessarily explained by a linear formulation in mathematics. When it comes to good health, the link between cause and effect is never straightforward. Variables like mental attitude, reserves of will power, social mores, genetics, biological factors, environmental constraints, spiritual propensity and perhaps even factors beyond our present frontiers of knowledge need to be considered.

A person who is a chain smoker survives much longer than a non-smoking one who gets diagnosed for cancer much earlier in his life. Someone who is a happy-go-lucky person lives life to the hilt even with several arterial blocks whereas someone who takes a dim view of life in general needs to undergo repeated surgical interventions.

Laws of Thermodynamics

The patient may find that even Laws of Thermodynamics apply to the realm of life style afflictions.

Zero-th Law

If two persons are in the equilibrium of a stable relationship with a life style disease and lead their lives as per the Principle of Peaceful Coexistence with the said disease, it follows that they could develop a good relationship with each other as well.

First Law

The Law of Conservation of Energy applies. There is a limit to which a patient may exercise to remain fit. Other activities may have to be given the short shrift so a regular exercise regimen may not suffer.

Second Law

Over time, Entropy or disorder is bound to increase in an entity comprising a body, a mind and a soul relationship. The only way out is to keep cleansing one’s system of negative thoughts at regular intervals. By means of meditation, the patient can keep creating inner space for positive thoughts to come in and hold sway.

Some crystal gazing

Add to all this the growing uncertainty of disruptive technologies and the cause-effect equation of well-being becomes even more complex.

If one were to attempt some crystal gazing in the field of medicine, the results could cheer up a lay patient. A pill to dissolve and cure cataract could revolutionize eye care. Early detection of a would-be patient’s disposition to develop diabetes could lead to preventive lifestyle changes which could save millions from getting into the clutches of this dreaded affliction. 3-D printing of living tissue can be used to make body parts.

The implications are mind-boggling. But the fact remains that advances in medical science would merely touch the sheath and not the core of an individual patient – the soul.

Faith and the sincerity of prayer

More than a century back, Quantum physicists confirmed what our sages had held long back – that our thoughts determine the reality we experience.  If the mind is taken to be a canvas on which our thoughts get projected, our body could then perhaps be taken as a holographic projection of our consciousness. So, if we have a genuine intention to heal, have an abiding faith, entertain positive thoughts, and if our prayer is sincere enough, a state of better health would follow.

The challenge for a patient, therefore, is to elevate his consciousness to a level where he gets an insight to heal himself. In her book Molecules of Emotion, Candace Pert had indeed predicted that the time is not far off when a patient with a headache will simply sit in a quiet corner to meditate to elevate his consciousness to get total relief from headache instead of popping some inane pain-killer pills.

A state of bliss with no date of expiry

Undoubtedly, a patient faces a multi-faceted challenge. Besides the art of managing the affliction itself, he has to learn the science behind his disease. He needs to confront the forces of commerce which drive healthcare today. Newer discoveries in medicine do give him hope for a healthier future, if not for him but at least for some of his fellow beings.

Nature provides each patient with a physical body which comes with an inbuilt feature of planned obsolescence. But the indomitable spirit and the innate tendency of the soul to be blissful does not come with any date of expiry. Besides medication, exercise and proper food, his source of relief is his conscious effort to nurture the connection with his own inner self. Having faith in the medical system he decides to follow surely helps. So does a sunnier outlook and his endeavours to serve those less fortunate than himself.

(Note: Part of an article which appeared in NAMAH journal: http://www.namahjournal.com/doc/Actual/Patients-and-the-art-and-science-of-healing-Vol-24-iss-2.html)

(Related Post: https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/the-perils-of-being-a-patient)

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How Diabetes helps us to improve our SQ

If we look a little deeper, we are apt to find that lifestyle diseases not only represent a crisis in our lives. These also provide us an opportunity for a spiritual upliftment of sorts.

Take the case of a patient suffering from diabetes. The manner in which this affliction leads one to progress on the path of spirituality can be readily appreciated by considering what a hapless patient has to go through.

Surely, no one aspires to have a silent killer like diabetes as a part of the package of challenges life offers. But once known to be afflicted by it, it takes courage to accept the fact – internally as well as socially. One’s propensity to accept things in a courageous manner goes up.

Willingly having to forsake the pleasures of the palate, the patient learns the art of humility. Delectable sweets get banned from one’s dining table. When attending a social function, nerves of chilled steel need to be deployed, so as to be able to refuse some juicy items which one sees being gobbled up with much relish by those around. One develops sincerity of purpose.

Our scriptures postulate that of the five senses which help us to get connected to the world around us, the most difficult one to rein in is that of taste. This self-control is precisely what a diabetic sets out to achieve. The clock governs the intake of nourishment. One learns to persevere.

With advice coming in from diverse sources about management of diabetes, the patient becomes more receptive. One is willing, even desperate, to try any cure that would rid one of this affliction. One ends up becoming more receptive and open-minded.

Running into a fellow diabetic, the milk of human kindness starts sloshing about within oneself. Goodness demands that while serving food or snacks to the hapless soul, principles of equality, fair play and natural justice get adhered to. To be really benevolent and generous to the other, a singular lack of generosity has to be demonstrated.

Gradually, one imbibes all these qualities in oneself – courage, humility, sincerity, perseverance, receptivity, goodness and generosity. Inner peace prevails. Progress comes about. One’s capacity to look at the broader picture and to empathize with fellow beings improves. One’s ego gets flattened.

All diabetics need to manage their lives by remaining confined within a triangle of three lakshman rekhas – diet, exercise and medication. One ends up living like an ascetic. Self control becomes the norm. Spiritual Quotient improves.

A diabetic who feels despondent could perhaps derive some solace from the spiritual potential of her affliction.

(Note: This blog post forms a part of an article which was published in the October 2015 issue of NAMAH, the journal of integral health:

http://www.namahjournal.com/doc/Actual/Of-hierarchies-attitudes-and-spiritual-potential-of-our-illnesses-vol-23-iss-3.html)

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/o-my-beloved-when-would-you-depart

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/handling-the-diabetes-tsunami-in-india)

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Towards SQ

It would not be wrong to say that in today’s world, a relentless pursuit of wealth and material belongings has left a deep scar on our souls. Many of us are twiddling our thumbs trying to figure out either how to de-stress ourselves or how to keep fighting those depressive blues. There is a nagging emptiness within and the mind boggles as to why and how it has come about. Most of us have no clue as to what could be done about it.

Redefining ‘Success’ and ‘Happiness’

One way out of this dilemma is to perhaps redefine our concepts of ‘success’ and ‘happiness’. What do these terms really mean? When we dig deeper, we might find that these two are not really dependent on external factors. There is an inner connection somewhere.

Something very elaborate, say a long well-planned vacation, might not yield the emotional high that we expected. On the contrary, a post-dinner spontaneous outing for a late night ice cream binge could leave us elated.

Why do some things make us happy and others do not? We love beauty. We cherish humour. We like being appreciated and being loved. We love doing something ‘different’. Anything which connects us to our inner selves tends to make us happy. A movie or a work of fiction which we are able to relate to relaxes us. Exploring new frontiers and visiting new places often makes us happy. Perhaps the soul revels in its experience of exploration when we were cave-dwellers and hunters!

A paradigm shift could perhaps help. If ‘success’ ceases to be about the property we own, the social respect and fame we enjoy, and the high and mighty ‘connections’ we boast of, we might arrive at a different picture of ourselves. The quality of sleep we get. The inner glow of satisfaction we have when we leave our place of work for the day. The love we get when we get back home after a hard day’s work. A change in perspective brings about a stupendous transformation in how we think and feel. Our attitude becomes positive.

Materialism, Big Data and Perception Management

This is not to say that materialism is bad, per se. To satisfy one’s needs is a basic requirement of life. But we often end up over-doing it. Also, we fail to distinguish between our needs and our desires. Needs may be satiated easily. But desires have a tendency to regenerate and evolve, keeping us engaged. Desires keep making us run after an illusory rainbow which forever keeps drifting away from us.

Marketing professionals invariably target their products, services and communications at our desires. With the advent of Big Data, promotional campaigns are becoming far more segment-focused. We hear of ‘evidence-based decision making’ or ‘actionable information’. Even public policies are getting framed and aggressively communicated by governments to promote the feel good factor, whereas ground realities might show only a marginal improvement. Managing perceptions is essentially about catering to the desires of the average person. Fulfilling genuine needs can take a back seat.

Enter – Spiritual Quotient

Another way of striking a balance between materialism and spirituality is to become aware of our Spiritual Quotient; that is, our ability to understand and comprehend the spiritual aspects of life. In other words, moving on from the world of mind and heart to the realm of our inner selves.

When we move on from IQ to SQ, we move from the gross to the subtle, from the finite to the infinite, from tangible to the intangible.

Those who have a high SQ have this uncanny ability to be creative and insightful in their approach to problem solving. They build up their level of self-awareness and there intuitive faculties. They realize that there is a realm of intelligence which is beyond the five senses our bodies are endowed with.

IQ is what sees us through academic pursuits. EQ is what we gain by experiencing life. SQ is something of which we become aware a little later in our life.

IQ can be readily measured. EQ can also be estimated, though not with the same level of precision that IQ can be. However, SQ does not lend itself to easy measurement. All its attributes happen to be subjective in nature. By observing a person for a long time, one can perhaps estimate her SQ more realistically.

How relevant is SQ to a business?

SQ has several components: gratitude, self-esteem, self-awareness, consciousness, compassion, surrender, service and ego. Let us attempt to examine its relevance in the lives of individuals and business entities.

• A sense of gratitude can make a practicing manager humble. She is able to see her own station in life/career more objectively. External factors or people who have played an important role in her career advancement become easily apparent. Team members, peers as well as superiors invariably end up liking her better. In turn, this fuels a better rate of career enrichment.

• Self-esteem makes it easier for a manager to say a categorical ‘no’ when the situation demands so. It also leads to better levels of self-confidence. When negative news is to be conveyed to a team member who is not performing on all six cylinders, a manager with a higher degree of self-esteem can look her in the eye and tackle the situation head-on. Effectiveness improves.

• Leaders and managers with a higher degree of self-awareness tend to be more successful. They are able to reprimand someone without letting it affect their own inner well-being. They are better at identifying appropriate moments to convey what they wish to communicate. They are better at radiating their sunny disposition to those around them, thereby improving morale and securing better results for the business.

• A higher level of consciousness makes a manager connect better with others. The realization dawns that the team member or the stakeholder being addressed is yet another entity blessed with unique qualities and, hence, has to be treated at par. The challenge being faced by the other, as also the innate capacity of the person to handle it – both get factored in the line of action being suggested. Based on this approach, even large businesses can be shut down without much recrimination or hurt.

• Compassion is a logical fall-out of a higher level of consciousness. A distributor or a supplier facing a financial crunch might feel repulsed at being pitied. But a compassionate gesture which addresses his immediate concerns can build a relationship rooted in mutual faith, loyalty and genuine respect. A manager who prevails upon his CFO and gets even a post-dated cheque issued to a hapless supplier ends up winning corporate loyalty. When Taj Hotel faces a terror attack, the whole company gears up to rehabilitate and reward the affected staff.

• Surrender does not imply an abject abdication, but a well nuanced and calibrated acceptance of the reality at hand. A company which has nurtured an iconic brand over several decades may suddenly need to shift gears so as to match the change in its market demand. A new business vertical which utilizes a core competency of the group may need to be entered into. Flexibility and fleet-footedness in business is a sine qua non for long-term survival and growth.

• A sense of service is what leads to sustainability. When an IT major like Infosys decides to compensate its carbon footprints by providing green products to rural households, it makes eminent sense. When a MNC like HUL decides to use a government scheme like MNREGA to create water potential for farmers in one of the most water-starved areas of India, it is servicing the society it draws its inputs from. When an Air Asia flight goes down killing all passengers on board, the CEO resorts to Twitter to keep the anxious relatives updated. When the Tata group sets up a Center of Performing Arts, as also institutions like TIFR, TISS and IIS, a value of giving back something to society becomes manifest.

• Managing ego is at the core of the art of managing things. A manager who allows herself to be treated like a door-mat could disappear from a company’s landscape pretty soon. Another one who is forever having an ego clash with people around her would also not survive in the long run. What is required by a manager to be successful is a fine balance between the two extremes, buttressed by a strong sense of self-esteem.

Dr Ian Marshall and Danah Zohar, in their 2001 book, SQ: Connecting With Our Spiritual Intelligence, say that ‘while computers have IQ and animals can have EQ, it is essentially an SQ that sets human beings apart.’

It follows that to have a smooth ride in life, all three – IQ, EQ and SQ – have to be relied upon equally by all of us – whether in our personal lives or in our businesses.

A disruptive future

Technology is changing the way we live, think, behave and feel. The rate of change is only going to go up in future. Leaders, managers and even individuals with a high level of SQ are bound to have a better chance of tasting success in the decades to come.

It is time to still our brains, rein in our emotions and start building up our Spiritual Quotients!

(Caricature drawn by Sanket is gratefully acknowledged)

(Related posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/spirituality-in-management

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/grooming-future-business-leaders-a-spiritual-approach-part-1)

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A Prayer to the Divine

O Divine,
I often dream of you,
I wrap these dreams in a soft illumined air,
Which lies in between the violet and the red colours.

Help me to make a colourful highway,
Connecting the Earth and the Heavens above,
Help me to plant seeds of the Infinite,
On this finite lump of dancing mass we call the Earth.

Over time these seeds would grow into powerful creepers,
Gently opening the new life’s doors of bright white hue,
Giving us a peek into a magnificent palace,
Of an ornamental roof and gleaming floors.

These dreams of a new race I do believe in,
With Your grace, these would surely manifest on Earth,
Eventually, these would become the living truth,
Making humanity experience unalloyed joy and infinite bliss.

(Contributed by Usha)

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A Prayer to the Lord

The dark blue color of your skin matches the deep hue of the late evening sky,
You are the light in the cosmos, you are the force which makes heavenly bodies fly;

You are the atom, you the nucleus, you the particle which goes around,
You are the invisible force which keeps the entire universe bound;

 

You reside in the sweet fragrance of the flowers, in the sap of plants,
You flow in the rapids, leap up in flames, you are in insects and in ants;

 

You hide in the melody of music, in the ether, in the tiny grains of sand,
You are behind all joys and sorrows of nature, in the rainbow, in the fertile land;

 

O supreme Bliss, who and where are you, we wish to know,
Words can’t describe you, thoughts can’t fathom your flute and bow;

 

We bow down to you but are fed up of this hide and seek game,
We beseech you to reveal yourself, to the able-bodied and to the lame.

(Contributed by Usha)

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Time to start dismantling the Invisible Walls

More than twenty-five years back, the Berlin Wall fell,
Wounds are deep, recovery is slow, and scars we can still tell;
All over the world, other walls and wired borders continue to thrive and exist,
Across all continents, divisions made by humanity itself subsist.

 

Then we have the softer walls which continue to be invisible,
Human prejudices prevail, sprouting walls which are terrible;
Hatreds rage anew, based on our religion and the color of our skin,
Women face a glass ceiling, their cries of anguish lost amongst the din.

 

Gated communities, protected precincts and high security malls,
Castes, economic disparities, internet accessibility, the unseen firewalls;
Trade protectionism, citizenship, human migration and the languages that we use,
Levels of literacy and healthcare, financial dealings where stakeholders face abuse.

 

These are only some of the soft walls we have managed to build up over time,
Pulling these down would not be easy, these are not made up of bricks and lime;
These are made up of prejudices, collective egos and a narrow sense of identity,
To tear these down we need empathy, love, compassion, peace and positivity.

(Related Post: https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/black-is-also-beautiful)

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