Where has it gone?

Junnaid was a remarkable saint and a Sufi master. He was constantly learning and getting enlightened from numerous interactions he kept having with people whom he acknowledged as his masters.

Here is one of his stories.

One day, when he went into a small village he saw a little boy carrying a lit candle. The boy was obviously going to the small temple of the town to put the candle there for the night.

Junnaid asked the boy, "Can you tell me from where the light comes from? You have lighted the candle yourself so you must have seen. What is the source of light?" 

The boy laughed and said, "Wait!" And he blew out the candle in front of Junnaid. And he said, "You have seen the light go. Can you tell me where it has gone? If you can tell me where it has gone I will tell you from where it has come from."

Left me wondering -- where did the flame come from and where did it go? Any guess?

Personal Mastery & Leadership

The root of the word Master comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Maha’, which means a person who has put in effort and time to master the mind.

However, to master something does not mean to control something as it might be generally understood. It specifically means winning over oneself.

Hence hermits, sages and gurus in India are known as Maharaja – a kind who has won over himself.

I would like to illustrate this by a story of an encounter between Alexander the Great and an Indian hermit, when Alexander came to India.

One day he chanced upon a hermit sitting by the river bank of the Indus sitting deep in meditation. He was on his way to a meeting with his army generals to discuss war strategies with them. The meeting point was a few miles from where he came across the meditating hermit. After the meeting which was over in a couple of hours on his way back Alexander saw the hermit was still sitting there silently in meditation.

Seeing this Alexander was not only curious but also very vexed. He was curious to know what this man was doing. And he was vexed because he thought how any man can waste his time like this doing nothing.

Unable to overcome his curiosity Alexander approached the hermit and sort of woke him up by force. The hermit opened his eyes and smiled at Alexander.

Alexander asked him, ‘What are you doing? Don’t you have anything better to do rather than sit idle for so long and waste time?’

‘What might have been a better task than what I am doing?’ the hermit politely replied to the great emperor.

Alexander laughed and mockingly retorted, ‘You could do something like I am doing.’

‘What are you doing Sir’, the hermit asked.

‘Well I am conquering lands and increasing my empire and building wealth for my state and my people. After I conquer your country I would be the unchallenged master of the world. What might be better than that?’ replied the great emperor.

On hearing this, the hermit smiled and said, ‘In that case, Sir, I am doing something way better than that. I am trying to master myself by winning over my mind, which I would do soon. That I believe is much more difficult and important than winning the world with all its riches.’

Moral

1. This story contains the cultural seed that made Indians what they are – a tolerant people who value inner wisdom over outer achievement. That is the reason the great Indian epic Mahabharata (where Bharata denotes the original name of India) represents the tale of greatness of India and not the great epic of India.

2. Personal Mastery would mean exactly the same. It starts with gaining wisdom from whatever field of work one might be engaged in. Wisdom and Action are related. One can't gain wisdom from thin air. It can only come from the numerous experiences one encounters in life and from his/her own realization of the inherent truth in every experience. 

3. Without Personal Mastery no leader is worth his or her name. One who can’t win over himself or herself can’t hope to win over others and expect people to follow them as examples rather than getting something from them in return for their followership.

Dharma & Creative Leadership

In India, the word 'Dharma' occupies a special place. However, the meaning of this word is greatly misunderstood.

Some take it to mean religious beliefs, which it is not. Some take it to mean a 'calling' in life, which it is not. Some take it for integrity, honesty ethical values, which it is not. Some take it to stand for justice, which it is not.

The Sanskrit word, Dharma is all about empathy and wisdom. It is about looking deep into ourselves and winning the raging war that goes on inside every human mind and spirit. It is about new ways to do something in a new situation.

This is central to anything we choose to do in life. It is the starting point of Designing and Creativity. It is the end point of Thinking It is the starting point of Decision making. It is the starting point of Personal Mastery.

All great leaders in our world, now and in the past, have adhered to the path of Dharma to be successful and do good to others. Examples are countless in every field of human activity -- Krishna, Moses, Christ, Mohammad, Buddha, Gandhi, Mandela, King, Tagore, Shakespeare, Kalidas, Mother Teresa, Newton, Einstien, Bohm, Bateson... They were against rituals and established orders. They understood reality and the aspiration of their people well. They were creative. They helped people. Touched their lives and hearts. And moved them and nations or their fields of activities to ever increasing greatness.

How might the golden traits of empathy and wisdom be developed?

It might be developed through critical thinking. It might be developed through practices of problem solving or questioning meaningless rituals. It might be developed through listening to stories and developing imagination. It might be developed through the practice of achieving balance in anything we experience or choose to do.

Generally, it is best to have a bit of all four paths or ways incorporated in our daily lives to have a balanced but accelerated process of self development in empathy and wisdom. 

Without these two fluxes to envelope us we are badly stuck in life. But mastery in these would certainly help us to become Creative Leaders to lead our societies in this new century.

Creative Leadership based on Dharma is not only about the way we think, do, manage and organize our organizations and societies but also how we choose to lead our own lives in the most productive fashion that ensures joy and satisfaction in whatever we do opening the way to enjoy the expanding experience of freedom.