CL -- The Sage Entrepreneurs - Part 2

Now we shift focus to another pioneering, self sacrificing Entrepreneur Son of Mother India – Shri Ghanshyamdasji Birla (G.D.Birla).  He was born in Pilani and at the tender age of five he witnessed severe famine and whole families starving and bones of animals being picked clean in the desert.  His grandfather had started the family business of broking and trading in the then Bombay (now called Mumbai).  Sri Shivnarain Birla has also built a temple, a well for the use of all the villages and family Haveli at Pilani.

G.D.Birla’s early schooling was at Pilani and later he went to a city school in Calcutta.  The city slickers made fun of a rustic “bumpkin” for the village and the young boy preferred to roam the city streets to being teased and tormented at school.  The streets obviously were an educational forum of practical action for him for he developed into a keen sharp broker with strong nerves and skillful foresight.

He came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi at the age of 19.  G.D.Birla’s life went forward on may traders – 1) Family life 2) Industrial 3) Political-Emotional-Spiritual 4) Philanthropic and Charitable.

1)     Family life at the age of 14 he married Smt. Durga Devi she bore him a son Laxminiwas (L.N.Birla) and died when he was 19.  He again married at the age of 19 to Smt. Maha Devi.  But after a number of children she too contracted tuberculosis and expired so he was a widower at 32.  His political mentor Mahatma Gandhi advised him to remain celibate and devote the rest of his life to the country and he followed the advice.

2)     INDUSTRIAL CAREER : Ghanshyamdasji had inherited the sharp business acumen of his grandfather.  He purchased a lot of jute in his younger days and held to make a huge profit by dint of economic foresight.  During the First World War his father and he made around Rs. 80 lakhs a princely sum in those days (if you adjust for inflation).  He advised his father to set up a jute mill.  But the venerable old trader cautious and conservative by nature refused to embark on a journey into uncharted territory.  But G.D. was determined.  His determination was sharpened by insults and jibes to Indians by the European Businessmen !  Once he was not allowed to board a life because he was a non European !  Also the officer who used to sell him jute called him a “black native.”  His ears burned with outraged nationalistic pride and shame.  He secretly bought a small piece of land from a zamindar and appointed a trusted aide J.P. Mandelia to look after operations.  The British Imperial Bank refused G.D. any loan so he issued public shares and his shares were oversubscribed.  The Scottish supervisor of the Mill refused to teach Mandelia the intricacies of jute processing so G.D. and Mandelia would watch him secretly and observe his action.  They also scoured the bookshops of Kolkata and Mumbai.  Mandelia found one second-hand book on jute Technology which they pored over and made themselves knowledgeable regarding the technology.  The British controlled Jute Mill Owners association refused G.D. entry.  This made G.D. sure that the British were scared of Indians and they knew if Indians broke free of their Economic Domination their Political Domination too would be strangled and eliminated so he fought them tooth and nail and set up more industries.  By the time G.D. died he had set up Hindalco, Gwalior Rayon, Kesoram, United Commercial Bank and many other Industries.  India too won freedom on 15^th August, 1947.

3)     Political – Emotional – Spiritual views Politically before coming under the spell of the Mahatma, G.D. was a friend of the revolutionaries and even hid some guns in his office, was raided and went underground.  But from the age of 19 onwards he was a devotee of Mohandas Gandhi.  When the boys of Kolkata opened the horses from the carriage and pulled Mahatma’s carriage themselves G.D. was one of them.  He may not have agreed with the theory of cottage industry but in obedience to Gandhian philosophy he practiced the Charkha daily.  Mahatma Gandhi pressed upon his consciousness the concept of trusteeship and the disciple responded sincerely.  Under the urging of Gandhiji G.D. became the President of the Harijan Upliftment Committee.  When C.V.Raman needed some money for experiments G.D. immediately sent him the required funds.  When he came to know that the Poet Rabindranath Tagore required around Rs.60,000/- for Shantiniketan, Vishwa Bharati University he anonymously sent a draft for the amount.  G.D. Birla’s philanthropic projects are numerous – Birla’s Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, BITS Mesra, the Laxmi Narayan Temple, New Delhi, Birla Science Museum-Kolkata, Birla Planetorium-Kolkata, B.M.Birla Hospital, Bombay Hospital – the list is too numerous to quote !  He also donated money to the Aligarh Muslim University.  There is a special Saraswati Temple in Pilani covered with statuettes of famous scholars and scientists.  At his mentor’s behest he started “The Hindustan Times” and English daily newspaper to counter the vicious, malicious propaganda that was put out by the British owned English Anti-Indian Independence newspapers – that paper is still flourishing today !

4)     A little known incident in G.D.Birla’s life is that the British Bulldog Sir Winston Churchill, at that time out of Political Power, invited G.D.Birla to his country home in England.  Filled with trepidation G.D. agreed to visit.  To his utter surprise, the staunch opponent of Indian Independence was a most hospitable host to the staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi !  Needless to say both men probed each other’s minds to gather vital intelligence helpful to their opposing causes ! Mahatma Gandhi tragically was shot dead at Birla House while leading a prayer meeting.  He used to say at Birla House whenever in Delhi.

5)     If anybody is interested in reading about there 2 stalwarts I would recommend Amar Chitra Katha’s “Jamshedji Tata” and “Ghanshyamdas Birla”.  I have relied totally on there 2 publications for my factoids and pictures.  Thank you ACK, thank you Uncle Pai for such depth of research and infotainment !!

6)     In my analysis and study of these pioneering, entrepreneurial souls.  I stumbled upon one bright shining jewel of a fact – these two patriots had an overwhelming burning desire to serve the Motherland and that desire sharpened their Entrepreneurial skills to Excellence in the World of Business, Industry and Commerce ! Nisarga datta Maharaj has said “if you have a vast, deep and noble ambition to serve the world, the people, the country the Universe itself will help you – It will go out of its way to help you !” But the ambition should be noble and vast !

No IPO, NO Angel Investors, No Entrepreneurship Incubator can substitute for Vast and Noble Ambition.  Spectacular short-term burn outs like Enron or Satyam can never challenge an Arvind Eye Hospital, a Bharat Sevashram, a Wipro or an Infosys because when a mere Entrepreneur becomes an Ardha Sanyassin (sage) Entrepreneur like Jamshedji or G.D.Birla he or she becomes Unstoppable, Towering Dynamos for the Power of Good in the World !!! Here I would like to caution that smart Buzzwords may sound phonetically attractive but are actually useless in the Real World.  For instance in the environs of 5-Star Air Conditioned” comfort, a Seminar Speaker may very cleverly say “Bill Gates entered the Gates of the World Economy by selling Electronic Windows !”

But by repeating the saying a 1000 times one will not create even a mini-Microsoft !

Cleverness and Smartness can never substitute Hard Work, Self Sacrifice and a Vast, Noble Ambition !

I would like to close with a saying by Swami Vivekananda, “No Noble and Great Activity was ever accomplished by mere Cleverness !”

Jamshedji and Ghanshyamji would have heartily agreed on this.

 

This is the concluding portion of the two part series. Part 1 was published on 15th August on this blog site.

Ashesh Ghosh, FCA, CEO of RollPack Pvt. Ltd. is the author of this story. He lives in Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, with his wife and their son and daughter.

CL - stands for Creative Leadership

CL -- The Sage Entrepreneurs - Part 1

A ship “The Empress of India” set sail from the then Yokohama harbour to Vancouver, Canada in 1893.

On the upper deck two Indian met during their morning and evening walks and became fast friends.  One was a young unknown monk and the other was a rich Parsi trader from Bombay.  The monk and the Parsi businessman agreed starting some industry, not in mere cotton or textile but in the core sector e.g. Cement or Steel or Chemicals would help India progress from the coils of Foreign Domination !

The monk told the would-be industrialist there were 2 aspects to industry- the manufacturing aspect and the knowledge science and to run the Steel furnaces, plant and mill.  An institute had to be built for imparting knowledge in Science and Technology to Indians as the British were eager to teach Literature and Arts but not science to Indians !  Both also felt if a country has to progress the poor people can only be uplifted vide indigenous Industry and not Foreign Charity or the imaginary Benevolence of Colonial Masters !!!

The two men were Jamshedji Tata and Swami Vivekananda !!! Jamshedji was visiting the Chicago World Fair and Swamiji continued onwards to his historic address at the Parliament of Religions, Chicago but the burning words of the visionary monk left an indelible impression on his listener’s mind !

Jamshedji Tata set up India’s first Steel Plant in Jamshedpur, a hydro electric power plant at Khandala near Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Science of Bangalore.  In 1898 five years later Jamshedji requested Swamiji to head his dream “Monastery of science where in a spirit of asceticism students would worship Science !”

Reluctalantly Swami Vivekanand had to turn down the offer as he was then pre-occupied with the Ramakrishna Mission and Math Organisation.  The first Indian Director of the Indian Institute of Science was the Nobel Laureate Dr. C.V. Raman !

“Imbued with an intensely patriotic and enlightened spirit, Jamshedji started India’s first Provident Fund Scheme, 8 hours working day, planned township for workmen including hospitals and schools !!

When Jamshedji was refused entry to a hotel in Bombay as he was a non European, he built the Taj Hotel in Apollo Bunder opposite the Gateway of India.  His sense of patriotic Indian ness had been outraged at the incident but  in his magnanimity he allowed Europeans entry to his Hotel ! When it opened it was the best in Asia ! In his search for excellence Jamshedji imported pipelines from Germany, water wheels from Switzerland, Generators from America, Electrical machinery from Dusseldorf, Chandeliers from Berlin, cast iron pillars from Paris etc.

When he wanted to start the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the British Viceroy Curzon opposed it tooth and nail saying “How can Indians learn Science and Technology and where will you find students ?”

Contrast Curzon’s sayings with US President Obama’s constant exhortations to American Children “Indian students are very good in Maths and Science – Americans should study hard and catch up with the Indians !”

Curzon’s racial arrogance and White European supremacism only spurred Jamshedji onto greater determination !”

Jamshedji duputed Prof. Burjor Padishah to tour all the great Universities of Europe and USA and suggest a model for the Indian Institute of Science.  Prof. Burjor recommended the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.

Nobel Laureate Sir William Ramsay, the inventor of neon, visited India at Mr. Tata’s invitation and recommended Bangalore as our ideal location vis-à-vis Mysore and Mumbai.  Mr. Tata said this will be a national monument & never tried to glorify his own name !

When the British Chairman of Indian Railways heard about Tata Steel he said “If Mr. Tata produces steel, I will eat up every pound of it !”

Despite such condescending attitudes and even Vice regal opposition Jamshedji’s dream projects – Tata Steel, Taj Hotel, Tata Power and Indian Institute of Science stand as magnificent monuments to his sagacity, planning, execution and team-building.

 This excellent Zoarastrian son of Mother India really lived up to the tenets of Humata, Hubhakta and H’varsta – Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Action !!!

 

Part 2 would be published on 22nd August on this blog site.

Ashesh Ghosh, FCA, CEO of RollPack Pvt. Ltd. is the author of this story. The next part would be published on 22nd August 2011. He lives in Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, with his wife and their son and daughter.

CL - stands for Creative Leadership

 

IOU - The Mantra of Wealth!

One day a young disciple came to his Guru with a very worried look on his face.

The Guru asked, "What happened? Why do you look so gloomy?"

The disciple replied, 'Oh, Guruji, there is one question that is weighing heavily on my mind.'

Curious, Guruji asked, 'What is that?'

With lot of hesitation in his voice the pupil narrated his problem, 'Well, I wanted to know the secret of earning wealth. My family is not very well off and I feel that time has come for me to help my family become wealthy enough and live life without much anxiety."

The Guruji broke into peels of laughter. 'Well then young man, now listen to this mantra that holds the secret of gaining wealth.' With this the Guruji unveiled the sacred mantra for success.

" As you know Saraswati and Lakhmi are two sisters. And you also know that while Saraswati stands for knowledge and wisdom Lakhmi stands for wealth. However, of the two sisters, Lakhmi is very jealous of Saraswati though Saraswati is the kind, forgiving and the gentle one. So here is the mantra. If you choose to love Lakhmi more than Saraswati, Saraswati won't mind that and let you be with Lakhmi. But then Lakhmi would soon desert you. But if you choose to love Saraswati much more than Lakhmi then Lakhmi would be very jealous and would constantly follow you and try to allure you all the while. Do keep taking her costly gift of wealth but don't desert Saraswati because once you have done that Lakhmi would desert you soon."

The disciple was more than happy to receive this sacred mantra before he left his Guruji's place with Saraswati clearly placed in his heart.

IOU -- Answering through Questions

Sahadeva, the prince, was the youngest of the five brothers known in the grand Indian epic Mahabharata, as 'Pancha Pandavs' (5 sons of King Pandu). Collectively, the five brothers had five qualities of a perfect king -- honesty, strength, skill, beauty and wisdom.

Sahadeva was the wise one bestowed with a strange gift. By observing the present moment he immediately knew everything that had had happened in the past that created the present and what would happen in the future by studying the causal relationships within a phenomenon. He realized that one might predict the possibilities in the future if one cared to observe nature and reality very carefully.

But he was bound by a promise he made to Lord Krishna who instructed him, 'Never tell what you know to anyone voluntarily. And when a question is asked reply with a question."

Thus, even if he knew what was happening or going to happen he could neither able to tell people what he knew nor do anything to avert the inevitable.

So, for himself, Sahadeva waited for people to ask him the right question. People did ask him many questions -- but almost never the right ones. Hence he was always wistful and forlorn.

 

Moral:

This story gives us many important lessons.

1. The present moment is the most useful moment to understand what caused it and what might be the consequences in the future.

2. The ability to see reality can only be developed through the ability to question since proper questions have the power to lead us to the right answer.

3. Questioning is an important part in designing something new, solviing problems, finding why something happens so that wise decisons might be taken. Hence this art of questioning is useful for Innovation, Design Thinking, Systems Thinking and a whole lot of issues.

4. Wisdom can't be transferred, taught, shared or given to someone. One has to find it out for himself/herself through one's own doubts and questions.

5. There is a price to be paid for gaining wisdom. The vision a wise person sees is difficult to communicate and share with others. Hence a wise person is also a lonely person. 

6. However, a good leader/teacher initiatates learning in others to improve their performance by employing the skillful art of questioning.

CL - SWOT analysis of a System as a Whole

Once upon a time, there lived a stag in a dense forest. One day he went to the nearby water hole to quench his thirst. There he saw his reflection in the water and thought to himself, “I have got beautiful antlers but my legs are ugly. I can’t understand why God has given me such thin legs.”

Just then he heard a lion roaring at a short distance. The stag knew that if he stayed there, the lion would kill him. So he started running. The lion too started chasing the stag, The stag ran faster and faster and soon outdistanced the lion. But alas! All of a sudden the antlers of the stag got entangled with the overhanging branches of a tree. The stag struggled hard, but could not get his antlers free from the branches. He thought to himself, “My thin legs helped me to get away from the danger, but my antlers proved dangerous for me”. By that time the lion had reached there. He pounced upon the stag and killed him.  

 

MORAL:  SWOT Analysis must be done objectively keeping in mind the dynamics of a system that would change with time. It is the balance that we seek not the features of any part of a system in particular. The purpose of a system is what it does. It is the whole that is important. So there is a need to take a holistic view of anything.

 

Strengths:  Strength is a resource, a skill to be in tune to meet the market demands and stand firm with competitors. Systems are designed with certain intentions to produce a desired output.

 Weaknesses:  It is a limitation or deficiency of resources, skills, capabilities, potentialities, that affect effective performance. Or we can think of them as imperfections in the system that produces 'mess' during operation. These need to be identified early enough to avoid disasters.

Opportunities: One needs to grab the opportunities analyzing the positive and negative sides of the coin. A quick shift in viewpoint or perspective is needed. Multiple perspectives are welcome.

 Threat: They are like ticking time bombs which are to be diffused before they blast. These are unintended consequences that urges us to actively search them out.

 

Notes:

Indian story from Panchantrantra retold.

CL stands for Creative Leadership

CL -- Autonomous Management?

Mahaveer Colony, Barmer, Rajasthan. Seven traditional Rajasthani carpenters toiling day and night try to match the delivery date of a sofa set. The wood has been exclusively carved matching a miniature Rajasthani painting, complete with all the floral designs. It’s ethnic and appealing though difficult to maintain but the dark tan finish adds the grandeur. This is what describes Kashida design of furniture.   

These Rajasthani carpenters have a unique work culture. If there are ten of them in a group, anyone of the ten may go to procure the order. After that all the members of the group will sit together for discussion. They will decide how the work is to be done and who will do which particular job. One of them will design, another would purchase raw materials, and then another would varnish and so on. For the next order they do not take up the same roles necessarily instead they take turns.

These artisans and workers are egalitarian in their management; they are quality conscious; they help their juniors in developing themselves by empowering;’ they work as well knit team with excellent team spirit.

Question: What possibly makes it work the way it works? What may we learn from it?

 

Note:

1. CL stands for Creative Leadership

2. This piece is contributed by Sitendu De

Creative Leadership - What is Excellence?

Adam Ali Khan had a dream. Now 53 years old he had a sense of accomplishment. He had sent his three sons and two daughters to the Hyderabad’s most prestigious English Medium school. His elder son after completing his management degree has joined the family business. Adam Ali Khan is very happy. Now his management educated son would help him in making the business prosper. He could hardly manage to go beyond the local madrassa.  His father was strict and told him to concentrate on their family business --- “Bidri work”. Bidri work comprises of decorative brass wares artifacts.

The narrow bye lanes of the Charminar in the old city of Hyderabad are dotted with Bidri manufacturing units. Adam Ali Khan has his old ancestral house at “Ghacci Bowli” and has lived for five generations. He used to hate when a communal tension would ruin him of precious working days. The Bidri works were very popular and he would send his consignment of goods to all the major cities in India and even exported to European and Middle East countries.  Behind the breathtaking beauty of   Bidri lies hours of painstaking effort by the artisan. The original technique involved the inlaying of gold or silver on a steel or copper base. This method had its origins in Persia. However, the metal used for the base today is an alloy of zinc and copper because zinc gives the alloy a deep black color. It is engraved or overlaid with silver or brass. After casting and molding, the surface is filed smooth till it acquires the typical Bidri sheen. It is then temporarily blackened with copper sulphate solution and etched into a traditional design by using a sharp tool.

The designs are traced by hand, by the craftsmen with the help of chisels. Next, pure silver wire or sheet (gold in rare cases) is hammered into the grooves of the design and the surface smoothened with the help of a buffing machine. In the ultimate interesting stage, the articles are heated gently and treated with a solution of sal-ammoniac and earth taken from old fort buildings which has the effect of making the entire surface turn jet black providing a distinct contrast to the shining silver inlay. Typical Bidri items include plates, bowls, vases, ashtrays, trinket boxes, huqqa bases, jewellery etc. Glass and studded bangles of Bidri are a favorite with women.

There were twelve craftsmen who worked in his “cow shed factory”. The factory was an extension of Adam Ali Khan’s house. The front portion was converted into a factory. It was a mere three hundred square foot area occupied by thirteen people. The workers worked in the hot surroundings. Sanitation was poor and unhygienic but the work they produced was sheer magic. The skills they acquired through generations had reflected in their product--- captivating.

Adam Ali Khan’s elder son wanted to move the factory to an industrial area where with the help of the government he would built a better factory with more facilities. Adam Ali Khan did not like the proposal but his son was adamant. He wanted to improve the things a little bit. The factory was built by a renowned architect keeping in mind of the different hygienic conditions of the workers. His son introduced TQM, Value Engineering, educated the workers and implemented ISO system.

One year passed. Adam Ali Khan is in a dilemma. What has happened to his family business? Sales plummeted. Eight of his trusted workers have joined another Bidri factory in the same locality. The exporters do not call up him often as they used to do. Then what had happened? The products the factory produced were still exquisitely crafted and exotic.  

Question: What went wrong?

Notes:

1. My brother Sitendu wrote this story.

IOU -- Trust & Deception

“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don’t trust enough.” -Frank Crane

I shall try to bring out different perspectives on this important theme of trust and deception through three stories, each having a great moral that possibly enlightens us.

Story 1 (Perspective 1)

This is a story of the Sufi saint Junnaid as told to his disciple:

I was very thirsty and I was going towards the river carrying my begging bowl, the only possession I had. When I reached the river a dog rushed, jumped into the river, started drinking. 

"I watched for a moment and threw away my begging bowl--because it is useless. A dog can do without it. I also jumped into the river, drank as much water as I wanted. My whole body was cool because I had jumped into the river. I sat in the river for a few moments, thanked the dog, touched his feet with deep reverence because he had taught me a lesson.

"I had dropped everything, all possessions, but there was a certain clinging to my begging bowl. It was a beautiful bowl, very beautifully carved, and I was always aware that somebody might steal it. Even in the night I used to put it under my head as a pillow so nobody could snatch it away. That was my last clinging--the dog helped. It was so clear: if a dog can manage without a begging bowl... I am a man, why can't I manage? That dog was one of my Masters.

Moral: Do we trust ourselves enough? Do we trust our own abilities? Do we trust that all knowledge, happiness are to be found within us? It is matter of trust to start the journey.

Story 2 (Perspective 2)

A disciple went to Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, "I shall not continue with my studies of sacred texts – he said. – I live in a small house with my brothers and parents, and never have the ideal conditions for concentrating on that which is important."

Nachman pointed to the sun and asked his disciple to place his hand over his face, in order to hide it. The disciple obeyed.

"Your hand is small, yet it can completely cover the power, light and majesty of the great sun. In the same way, the small problems manage to give you the excuse you need in order to hinder your progress along your journey."

“Just as your hand has the power to hide the sun, mediocrity has the power to hide your inner light. Do not blame others for your own incompetence.”

Moral: Again it is a question of trusting yourself. There is no point blaming others. We constantly deceive ourselves not others. Trusting others is not a substitute for hiding our own incompetence and mediocrity. Greed, Hatred and Delusion are the three small hands by which we hide the power and majesty of the sun. If we do so we would always get deceived. Others are not to be blamed.  

Story 3 (Perspective 3)

This is again a story on Junnaid the Sufi saint as told to his disciple.

Junnaid said, "I lost my way in a forest and by the time I reached the nearest village that I could find, it was midnight. Everybody was fast asleep. I wandered all over the town to see if I could find somebody awake to give me shelter for the night, until finally I found one man. I asked him, 'It seems only two persons are awake in the town, you and I. Can you give me shelter for the night?' 

"The man said, 'I can see from your gown that you are a Sufi monk....'" 

The word Sufi comes from suf; suf means wool, a woolen garment. The Sufis have used the woolen garment for centuries; hence they are called Sufis because of their garment. The man said, "I can see you are a Sufi and I feel a little embarrassed to take you to my home. I am perfectly willing, but I must tell you who I am. I am a thief--would you like to be a guest of a thief?" 

For a moment Junnaid hesitated. The thief said, "Look, it is better I told you. You seem hesitant. The thief is willing but the mystic seems to be hesitant to enter into the house of a thief, as if the mystic is weaker than the thief. In fact, I should be afraid of you--you may change me, you may transform my whole life! Inviting you means danger, but I am not afraid. You are welcome. Come to my home. Eat, drink, go to sleep, and stay as long as you want, because I live alone and my earning is enough. I can manage for two persons. And it will be really beautiful to chit-chat with you of great things. But you seem to be hesitant." 

And Junnaid became aware that it was true. He asked to be forgiven. He touched the feet of the thief and he said, "Yes, my rootedness in my own being is yet very weak. You are really a strong man and I would like to come to your home. And I would like to stay a little longer, not only for this night. I want to be stronger myself!" 

The thief said, "Come on!" He fed the Sufi, gave him something to drink, helped him to prepare for sleep and he said, "Now I will go. I have to do my own thing. I will come back early in the morning." Early in the morning the thief came back. Junnaid asked, "Have you been successful?" 

The thief said, "No, not today, but I will see tomorrow." 

And this happened continuously, for thirty days: every night the thief went out, and every morning he came back empty-handed. But he was never sad, never frustrated--no sign of failure on his face, always happy --and he would say, "It doesn't matter. I tried my best. I could not find anything today again, but tomorrow I will try. And, God willing, it can happen tomorrow if it has not happened today." 

After one month Junnaid left, and for years he tried to realize the ultimate, and it was always a failure. But each time he decided to drop the whole project he remembered the thief, his smiling face and his saying "God willing, what has not happened today may happen tomorrow." 

Junnaid said, "I remembered the thief as one of my greatest Masters. Without him I would not be what I am.

Moral: This story has many hidden layers of meanings on trust and deception. How much do we trust? When do we trust? Why do we trust? Who is deceiving whom? What learning opportunities are thrown up in our moments of dilemma of whether to trust or not to trust? How long does it take to trust? What might break trust? How to avoid torment? I leave it to readers to form their own perception on this last story.

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?

Even the Wisest Don't Know

Gautama Buddha was surely one of the wisest person who walked upon this earth.

But one night he left his home in search of enlightenment and was at it with the greatest perseverance for the next twelve years. However, after attaining Nirvana he decided to come back home to meet his wife, son and his father.

The dialog that ensued between his wife and him is enlightening by itself. Here goes the story..

And the first thing his wife said to him was, "I can see that you are transformed. These twelve years were a great suffering, but not because you had gone; I suffered because you did not tell me. If you had simply told me that you were going to seek the truth, do you think I would have prevented you? You have insulted me very badly. This is the wound that I have been carrying for twelve years. I also belong to the warrior caste--do you think I am that weak that I would have cried and screamed and stopped you?

"All these twelve years my only suffering was that you did not trust me. I would have allowed you, I would have given you a send-off, I would have come up to the chariot. First I want to ask the only question that has been in my mind for all these twelve years, which is that whatever you have attained... and it certainly seems you have attained something.

"You are no longer the same person who left this palace; you radiate a different light, your presence is totally new and fresh, your eyes are as pure and clear as a cloudless sky. You have become so beautiful... you were always beautiful, but this beauty seems to be not of this world. Some grace from the beyond has descended on you. My question is that whatever you have attained was it not possible to attain it here in this palace? Can the palace prevent the truth?"

It is a tremendously intelligent question, and Gautam Buddha had to agree: "I could have attained it here but I had no idea at that moment. Now I can say that I could have attained it here in this palace; there was no need to go to the mountains, there was no need to go anywhere. I had to go inside, and that could have happened anywhere. This palace was as good as any other place, but now I can say that. At that moment I had no idea.

"So you have to forgive me, because it is not that I did not trust you or your courage. In fact, I was doubtful of myself: if I had seen you wake up and if I had seen the child, I may have started wondering, 'What am I doing, leaving my beautiful wife, whose total love, whose total devotion is for me. And leaving my one-day-old child... if I am to leave him then why did I give birth to him? I am escaping from my responsibilities.'

"If my old father had awakened, it would have become impossible for me. It was not that I did not trust you; it was really that I did not trust myself. I knew that there was a wavering; I was not total in renouncing. A part of me was saying, 'What are you doing?'--and a part of me was saying, 'This is the time to do it. If you don't do it now it will become more and more difficult. Your father is preparing to crown you. Once you are crowned as king, it will be more difficult.'"

 

Moral of the Story

1. Even the wisest amongst us do not know in advance what would work and what wouldn't. And it is indeed foolish to predict the future with any degree of certainty, more so, if such predictions are done by projecting the past.

2. Even the wisest amongst us are plagued or gripped by doubts, uncertainties, fear and loss of face, inability to be arrogant and fear of failure.

3. We learn better by doing and through direct experience

4. The fundamental truths in life are always available in whatever we choose to do and wherever we might choose to do that. No special circumstances or professions ae needed to realize the truth. So such truths are available to all and are a part of the 'collective wisdom'.

Collective Intelligence or Wisdom

Collective Intelligence is certainly not common intelligence or influence upon one's intelligence of the 10 closest people one would prefer to mix with.

Collective intelligence has more to do with wisdom rather than gaining information and knowledge or learning from the decisions of others.

This is because collective wisdom is subtle in its essence and formless. It then appears to me that such wisdom is ubiquitous so as to be available to all human minds. Therefore, it is not the personal property of any one individual though much of it would otherwise depend on one's individual intention to tap into this enormous resource of wisdom.

Gaining such collective wisdom is more of a process that helps one to tap into the truth of a situation and understanding patterns rather than being an idea or concept that might be stored in one’s brain as an image. It therefore follows that such truths are always universal in nature and not dependent on the varied perceptions of human senses other than that of the mind.

The process is helped by one's willingness to let go of clinging to specific viewpoints, practices, images, self images and sensual objects. It must also be free of intellectual sensations, tendency for mental constructs and even spiritual aspirations.

Collective Intelligence or Wisdom can only be gained or transferred from one to the other through stories, riddles, and puzzles or by solving problems.  

However, the output of Collective Wisdom would always remain formless and ‘becoming’ rather than ‘being’, never quite reaching the reality and never quite 'nothing'.

Artha - The Means to Meaningful Creative Leadership

In my last blog post I wrote about the meaning of 'Dharma'. In Indian philosophy, for thousands of years, people have believed the whole dynamic life cycle of any human being might be aptly described by four significant concepts represented by four words pregnant with layers of meanings. These are Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Much latter in the development of Indian philosophy, Buddhist philosophy leaned heavily on this basic framework which it laid out in a more elaborate fashion in the form of 8 fold path. However, these four concepts are deeply interrelated and flow from one other to make a meaningful whole. It puts forward a 'wholistic' view of life that not only offers us deep understanding, meaning and purpose of human living but also provides us a path to live it or a way to live it successfully.

I would now dwell on the meaning and significance of the second concept, i.e. Artha as I understand the concept in its different levels of reality.

Level 1

The most ordinary meaning of it is 'money'. It is obvious that we all need some money to survive, live life with dignity and do some useful work for self and for the society.

Level 2

But there is something deeper than that. Artha means 'resources' or a set of well defined 'resources' that help us to consistently and constantly engage with the perils and hazards in life. What are these? Well, there are five important resources we could possibly ask for in life, which are the following:

1. Knowledge -- of physical phenomena that go around us along with the methods of expressions and teaching others -- in modern day context we can say this as knowledge in arts, science, technology, communication etc...

2. Courage -- a kind of courage that comes from the heart, which is courage to act from the heart. More often than not we are blocked in life for this lack of this specific resource to act from our heart thereby also missing the psyche energy that comes along with it.

3. Wealth -- money and property in the usual sense of the word. But there is also a special significance which I would highlight little later.

4. Wisdom -- note that this is the link to the earlier concept of Dharma, which was nothing but the development of empathy and wisdom. So wisdom provides the basic link between Dharma and Artha indicating that without Dharma there can't be any Artha or the Artha gained and utilized is meaningless.

5. Network -- the strength provided by our group of good friends, well wishers, coaches, teacher and others in society. The strength of the network is also important for purposeful living.Without a reasonable and meaningful social network we are as good as dead. We stop learning and we stop growing.

Further explanation of wealth: -- The consistent symbol of wealth in India is the cow. Hence it is not killed though earliest Vedic literature does mention killing of cows. Hence it is obviously a later day development, say around 4000 BC. Whatever it might be the symbol of 'cow' as understood in context to Artha represents Nature. So it means that Nature can't be killed under any circumstances, whatever it might be. That to my mind was a tremendous leap in human understanding and thinking especially if we consider people thinking of ecology and sustainability 4000 years back. Therefore, it wasn't unusual in India to measure the wealth of a person in terms of cows. That was crafty thought indeed. More the number of cows that would be available more open spaces must be ensured for cows to graze on. Grazing meadows and cows are inseparable. One can't be without the other. In this way both Nature and ecology was preserved. It is no wonder that India still has the highest cow population in the world and along with it enough open spaces for them to feed upon. A beautiful balance has been maintained for over 4000 years without launching a single campaign or educating the public on Sustainability and Ecology and Global Warming etc. ... This is a brilliant stroke of wisdom to my mind. 

Level 3

At the third level, the concept of 'Artha' is meaning. There are two parts to it. While the first focuses on the means by which wealth is earned, the second focuses on the way it is meaningfully spent. There exists till this day a sort of social or peer pressure on these two critical points. Ilegal means of earning wealth is looked down upon in society. Too much wealth, more than what is needed, is also despised. And people are always bothered about the way wealth is spent.

Therefore, it no longer remains a mystery to me as to why the business of 'credit cards' miserably failed in India. People simply refused to spend money without having earned it in the first place. Or in other words don't spend beyond your means. It has done India good. The way the country waded out of crisis during the Asian Crisis and the more recent recession bears testimony to this fact. Self respect or self esteem comes before earning money in illegal ways and spending it wantonly. Perhaps for the same reason the recent campaign in India championed by none other than Bill Gates, his wife Milenda and his fast friend Warren on philanthropy failed since most Indians believe that family wealth is a thing to be passed down generation by generation. No wonder, India retains its top slot as the gold hording nation in the world for the past 2000 years of its history. Every family, according to its capability, converts money into solid gold. I see even very poor families (even under poverty line) engaged in converting their wealth into gold and storing them for hard or harsher times.

Conclusion

So 'Artha' has different layers of meanings which are really significant. At the basic level it means money. At the next higher level it means 'resources' made up of five different elements. And at the third level it is all about meaning.

The way to earn Artha is through Dharma that springs from 'empathy' and 'wisdom'. So, it is not very surprising to hear Mahatma Gandhi saying, 'The customer is the most important visitor to your premises....." This is simply a modification of the age old saying 'Guest is God'.

All empathy and wisdom spring from this intention.

No doubt Artha gained through Dharma is well worth its weight in gold -- both symbolic and factual.

And it does provides the means to lead a meaningful life. It would be foolish indeed to turn away from it. 

In the next post I would deal with the generally controversial issue of Kama, the third concept in this series -- the superficial meaning of which is 'sex'.  

 

 

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.

In Search of Chaotic Feminine Energy through Storytelling

Why stories captivated and continue to captivate human minds?

What is the secret in stories that glues people together? Why it doesn't care for age, race, religion, color, caste, gender, national boundaries and genetic makeup?

What universal appeal stories hold?

What is common between stories, poems, paintings, sculpture, songs, dance and music?

Why do we remember stories told by our grandmas, poems and songs sung by mendicants, dance or dramas played on stage, paintings and sculpture of great artists and music of any genre?

Well all these forms of human expression of storytelling hinges on one critical factor known as 'feelings'. These forms of storytelling strongly evoke feelings. They do their work silently inside where even words fail to reach.

But why 'feelings' are so important and why do they strike a chord somewhere deep within so strong that we remember them for life?

I think there are two fundamental reasons for this.

First, all living things on this planet have feelings in some form or the other however rudimentary that might be. Humans have it great measure. So do many animals, birds and even plants.

Second, we are inherently designed to many wise choices. Wise choices are more easily attained through the route of feelings than anything else. Through feelings we are made wiser even to the point of being enlightened.

That is why epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Iliad, Odyssey are passed down from generation to generation. They all tell unforgettable stories of human wisdom and follies.

That is why stories like Aesop's Fables, Panchatantra, Greek mythology and stories of Hans Christian Anderson are enjoyed by people across the world.

I liken 'feelings' to feminine energy because of its essential fluidity and formlessness that ignites wisdom enabling enlightened living.

Is this the deep secret of living, thriving and surviving as members of this planet and universe?

No wonder ancients understood this aspect very well. The Greek word for wisdom is Sophia representing the female form while Indians have encapsulated the concept of wisdom in feminine metaphors of Kali, Shakti etc.

Well, if it were such a powerful thing then why is it so neglected in today's world?

Today's world as we know it has been dominated by industrial age thinking for the past 300 years where feelings have been relegated to the lowest possible level replaced by the wonders of machines and unprecedented levels of human consumption that followed. It was considered unnecessary or harmful in the world of science, rationality, critical thinking, machines, monopolies, factories, world of few producers and thousands of consumers, world of few leaders and thousands of followers and in a world of few rich people and thousands of poverty stricken human souls.

The last 300 years have been the age of thieves, plunderers, robbers and uncouth inhumane bandits -- man killing man for glory. What type of glory is that and what type of progress is that is not comprehensible to me. 

Now all of that must change if we are to survive and live. Our rational scientific thinking has gotten us to the point from where we can't proceed any more. Global warming is a result. Sustainability of the planet is now threatened. It takes around 7 calories of energy to produce 1 calorie of food. Wars are leaving scared children in nations without limbs where women are violated and families become extinct.

How long are we to put up with all this rubbish? People are not lowly robots that worship wage slavery in return of food. More the constraints more have been the production of theories to analyze such constraints that produced less long term solutions. The nonsense perpetuated by thieves and bandits have grown to ridiculous proportions. 

This world is no longer tenable. All this must stop. Something more is needed.  

The innate power of the feminine energy must be back. Not in the form of feminist movement pressing for gender equality. Nor it need be in the form of burning bras. It must be restored to its rightful place through its more authentic form -- the form of storytelling. There seems to be no other way. It would complement the male energy for meaningful action to strike a balance that is going to see us through the 21st century and beyond.

No wonder creativity is now being felt as the number 1 skill for the 21st century.

Where this feminine energy would be used?

It would be used in understanding problems, In finding a solution. In communicating, In envisioning, In design. In branding. In product development. In board room strategy, In marketing, In training, In human interactions. In education. Everywhere!

The silent power of storytelling extends the edges of the minds, rolls one edge with the other and intelligently mashes up edges to create new knowledge and beauty. As of today most of this silent power is unutilized.  

What would it create?

It would create chaos, discontinuity, jumps, emergence, self organization -- helping us to adapt quickly to the randomness in the world which is nothing but the manifestation of the inner levels of wisdom resulting from how well the feminine energy flows within. With lower flows and lesser wisdom more is the randomness in the outer world. This flow of vital energy was missing in our grand march to progress. We have time to make up for the loss.  

How would we tap into this super energy after years of neglect? I don't know for sure. But I have a feeling that it would happen by inducing ourselves and others to express their personal knowledge, understanding and wisdom gained through experiences through any form of storytelling for others to feel, visualize and act with their own evolving wisdom. They in turn would tell the world their own stories of struggles, failures and triumphs for others to gain wisdom. And the cyclic pattern would continue.

The cyclic pattern would be: Storytelling --> Feelings --> Insights/Wisdom --> Meaningful Actions --> Knowledge --> More Storytelling

The other advantage would be: different people would learn differently at different points of time reflecting their evoling wisdom with the distinct possibility of instant enlightenment though the stories in their original form would permanently be there to stay. Note there would be less compulsive need for data stream analysis since information and data would be replaced by stories and feelings (the feminine energy flow). This serves us well in real life since when we tackle real life issues and problems relevant data are hard to get by and disjointed as they really are, if not non-existent. However, the most important advantage of this type of learning and gaining wisdom is the relative ease compared to other forms and types of learning.  

Therefore, this type of learning through storytelling, acquiring wisdom forming the basis of creative actions would be there to stay creating meaningful impacts in our lives.

So let the chaos unleashed by this feminine energy begin for us to attain collective wisdom!