Spirituality unleashed...!

What is spirituality?

Some say it is undertaking a soul-search to understand the divine feel and derive the energy from the cosmic state.... blah blah blah...!

Well, a simpler answer is: "Understanding self".

That's what I concluded after taking part in the three-day International Research Workshop on "Spiritual and Ethical Foundations of Organizational Development" organised jointly by New Delhi-based Integrating Spirituality and Organisational Leadership (ISOL) Foundation and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, at Paramarth Niketan Ashram on the banks of the holy Ganges at Rishikesh from Oct 7 to 9. It was a congregation of disparate groups like management consultants, academicians, industry captains, bureaucrats, diplomats, spiritual leaders, sanyasins, religious scholars, students, research scholars and a lone journalist. Yep, that's me!

The common thread passing through all the participants was the eagerness in girding the loins to rid the society of unethical way of living. For self-cleansing of the soul, spirituality is one way. One may argue that treading the rationalist path can also lead to the same destination of ethicality, but the traditional Indian society has always relied on the time-tested and beaten track of spirituality. So did I.

Like water, mind tends to flow downhill if left for itself. Downhill here means the lower levels of morality to touch the nadir. It is spirituality that plays the role of a motor that lifts the water up to a shallow level. In the business environment, it is not just monetary unethicality that is ruling, but also 'behavioral unethicality' that needs to be curtailed. Unfortunately, immorality has become the way of business, whether one admits or not. The negative traits like lust, anger, delusion, greed, jealousy and pride have become insatiable, while good characters like truthfulness, forgiveness, courage, compassion, gratitude are on the wane. It is this anomaly in the business context that the convention sought to correct.

ISOL Foundation convener Sunita Singh Sengupta needs to be congratulated for her bold initiative in bringing the participants from diverse backgrounds under one roof, that too under the canopy of the Himalayas. She, along with IIT Roorkee professors V.K.Katiyar and Rajat Aggarwal, successfully conducted the three-day event.

Management experts like Jens Schultzer, CEO and Chairman of Oester Pennehavevej Id (Denmark), Prof. S.K.Chakraborty, Chairman, advisory committee of ISOL Foundation, J.L.Raina, Chairman, Board of Governors, ISOL Foundation, Anil Sachdev, Director (HR), BHEL, J.K.Mitra, faculty of management studies at University of Delhi, Dr.Rattan Datta, T.S.Mohanchandralal, Director, Global Centre for Information and Management Practices (Bangalore), Balwir Talwar , Addl. General Manager (Corporate Planning and Development), BHEL, Uma Jain, founder CEO and principal consultant, Catalysts for Competence in Values, Collaboration and Leadership (Ahmedabad) took part in the meet and gave their views on how spiritual thought can be translated to better the management prospects in the modern world.

Similarly, Acharya Balkrishnajee Maharaj, Secretary-General of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji Maharaj and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, Swami Atmapriyananda, Vice-Chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission, Vivekananda University (Kolkata), Swami S.A.R.P.V. Chaturvedi, Founder of Ramanuja Mission Trust (Chennai), Shraddhalu Ranade of Sri Aurobindo Ashram (Pondicherry) narrated the basic principles of Hindu Dharma that can change the very course of human living.

Malay Mishra, High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) and former ambassador C.M.Bhandari proved their excellence by giving an overview of the influence of Indian spiritual thought on the western world by highlighting our Unique Selling Propositions (USP) such as Ayurveda and Yoga.

I had the opportunity to chair the session on 'Value-based approach in leadership and corporate governance' on the final day, which turned out to be the longest session of the three day event, lasting for 150 minutes. I explained how great qualities like courage, forgiveness and gratitude are essential in taking on the competitive contemporary management system.

The text of my speech:

It is indeed a great privilege for me to share the dais with so many intellectuals, unassuming intellectuals at that!

It will be an unforgettable occasion for me, a journalist, to imbibe the essence of the papers and speeches at this three-day meet, which are a result of churning out of some of the best academic and entrepreneurial brains drawn from across the globe. On the other hand, I believe there is not much for the august gathering to pick up from nothing more than ‘serious observations’ of a journalist.

I hail from Tirupati, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, worshipped in North India as Lord Balaji, and considered the richest place of worship in the world. The place stands as a classic oxymoron, presenting a refined hypocrisy of how spiritual enlightenment is comfortably wedded to materialistic exuberance. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the state-controlled custodian of the temple, in turn spends the money towards rendering services to the poor like education, health, public works, food, sanitation etc. apart from religious purposes. This goes to show that spiritual bent of mind can indeed go hand in hand with money making, if the means and end are reasonable and justifiable. I know many shirk touching upon this dubious gray area.

The topic for discussion now is “Leadership for Transformation: The role of forgiveness, gratitude and courage”. Among all the sessions, this topic - I personally feel - minimizes the scope for vacillation and comes in handy for one to hit the bull’s eye. The three parameters, viz., forgiveness, gratitude and courage, are the most sought after qualities for one to emerge as a leader. In fact, they are most essential for one to be reckoned a good human being, in the first place. Conversely, one who becomes known as ‘good person’ at heart, mind and soul, can easily scale high and reach the tag of a ‘good leader’.

Among the colloquial organizational terms, we more often find ‘firing an employee’, ‘cut-throat competition’, ‘prey on gullible customers’ etc. They are in common use, but ever wondered how the literal translation could mean a lot of bloodshed? It points to the ease with which the business environment gets exposed to inhumanity, at times, without one’s knowledge. Here comes the need for qualities like self-restraint, moral scruple, compassion and at last, expiation and repentance.

Forgiveness is a great trait that is seldom found in many these days. Though a noble person is revered for several of his virtues such as knowledge, piety, composure, philanthropy etc., forgiveness is considered the jewel in his crown. Even the devout surrender at the holy feet of the Lord Almighty, asking for his pardon.

Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatham, chanted everyday at Tirumala temple at the strike of dawn, ends with these lines….

‘Agnanina Mayadoshan Aseshan Vihithaan Hare… Kshamasvathvam Kshamasvathvam Seshasaila Sikhamane…’

It means…

“O Lord who gleams like a pearl on the top of Seshachala Hills: I have done several mistakes out of ignorance. Ignore my ignorance and forgive me!”

Seeking pardon is a great quality of human being, while forgiving takes a man close to being divine.

Next is gratitude. At a time when employee attrition rates are high, gratitude is the last thing that comes to the mind of an average employee. Pay packet and career elevation are the factors that precede gratitude towards the organization and loyalty towards the employer. An organization should be grateful towards all its stakeholders, viz., employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, bankers, the Government and the civil society as a whole.

In a mythological tale that comes to my mind, a person and a crane by name ‘Baka’ are good friends. The person benefits a lot from Baka. One day, he kills the crane, perhaps in a fit of rage. The gratuitous act smacks of ingratitude, but the person is unrepentant. Baka’s ‘Rakshas’ friends kill the person on coming to know of it. Refusing to eat the meat of the ungrateful person, they hand over the corpse as food to the savages, considered inferior in social status to the Rakshas i.e., demons. On coming to know of the reason, the savages too reject it, saying that an ungrateful person’s body is rotten and hence not fit for consumption.

When savages, who are considered third-rate citizens among the evil group, brand such a person’s meat unfit, then see how a mature society considers a living ungrateful person. Since ages, this is how the Hindu religious scriptures have been spreading virtues, especially gratitude.

Courage

Courage is the hallmark of present day global business environment. From the state of running their tiny shops in street corners, today’s average businessmen have dared to look beyond the country’s frontiers in a ‘come what may’ attitude, thus welcoming global opportunities with open hands. Courage makes one shed inhibitions, brace up to consider the pros and cons of a future situation, face the challenge ‘in full steam’ and give a deathblow to the opponent. To be different, to be better than your competitor and to make the society a better place, courage is essential.

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Treating a situation or competitor with ‘kid gloves’ will not work in business. Every attack should be calculated and at the same time fierce enough to let the opponent go clueless and give up. At the same time, one should not resort to hitting ‘below the belt’. Aggressive business is okay, but not destructive business. This is where the imaginary line is drawn. Having a ‘killer instinct’ in business needs a lot of courage, as there is no way out of the ‘Padmavyuha’, but ‘killing as a way of business’ is not permissible!

I hope the honourable speakers here will enrich the session by shedding more light on the above issues. Thank you.

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Dr.K.Sudhakar Reddy, Principal of Dr.AER MBA College and my companion throughout the tiresome journey felt elated and planned to host the next event i.e., for 2011 in the spiritual destination of Tirupati. We promised to the ISOL Foundation team to work towards this cause.

While leaving Rishikesh by the Dehra Dun Express, I was wondering if I had attended a meet on management or spirituality. Though I knew pretty well that the topics in question were a combination of both, I, like a swan, had mentally separated both and imbibed the essence of both, knowingly or unknowingly. And also the principles of spirituality that can be replicated in today's management world.

With this clarity of thought, I disembarked the train at my place Tirupati, pondering about how to use the rich knowledge thus gained at Rishikesh in my personal, official, professional, family and social life....!

For pictures, visit

http://picasaweb.google.com/rangarajan13/RishikeshConference#