" A good leader creates leaders. And then chain action happens. A leader should delegate responsibility."
Management Mantras for the Global Village by H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Management begins with the mind, it happens in the mind and when the mind manages itself better, it can manage anything. There are three ‘C’s’: Cosmology, Commitment and Compassion. Cosmology is seeing mind as a part of the cosmos. In Hindu mythology we have the concept of Sankalpa. In Sankalpa, we remember the cosmos, the billions of things in this creation. Seeing life in a bigger context expands
the mind, broadens the vision and inculcates commitment.
Spirituality is in harmony with science, it does not contradict science. In this part of the world, spirituality and science go hand in hand. It was discovered very late in the other parts of the world that the earth is spherical, but we always knew this fact. Earth was referred to as Khagol. Khagolshastra,i.e. the knowledge of the spheres, is an ancient science in India.
Human life is very complex: it is a combination of the concrete and the abstract. Our body is concrete
and mind is abstract. An orderly and a disorderly, or a chaotic, thought emanates from the same brain.
We know very little about ourselves; knowing more about ourselves helps us to understand our life
better. So cosmology is the understanding of life. Have you observed the state of your mind when it is waiting? Waiting can lead to frustration or to meditation. When you are not waiting, your mind is racing with thoughts. When you are waiting, your mind is stationary. We have never taken a look at our
minds. What is your mind doing right now? Reading? What are you reading with? The faculty with which
we hear, we see, etc. is the mind. As you read, you are simultaneously agreeing or disagreeing. What
is that faculty that is talking along with me? It is intellect. Do you remember what you read a few minutes ago? That is memory. There are seven layers to our existence: body, breath, mind, memory, intellect, ego and self. When we get to know even a little bit about each of these layers, a transformation appens. Mind always longs for something new, heart longs for something old.
You always take pride in, and feel an attachment for an old friend, as compared to a new acquaintance.
Similarly, even in love, the two hearts want to believe that there has been a bond for lifetimes together.
Every day life is a combination of the mind and the heart. The skill that is required in life is to manage
both mind and heart. In private life and service, the heart should take the front seat. When it comes to
business, the mind should dominate. Of course, the sign of true success is an undying smile on the face. When are you successful? When you are compassionate, cultured and committed.
Education needs to provide all these values. And we should not see these values as goals to be achieved in the next five or ten years, or in the next life. Human life is structured similar to an
atom; the center of an atom is the proton and it is surrounded by a field of negative charges. Similarly,
we too have virtues in our very center, but if we have not yet seen these virtues, we are roaming around
outside in the orbits. This is what the word ‘Bharat’ means; in Sanskrit, ‘Bharat’ means brilliance, intellectual. So, take it for granted that you have these virtues.
Always remember that you are a global person, the whole world belongs to you. See, there is some
virtue to be learnt from every part of the world. You will find good, special qualities everywhere in the
world. Teamwork from the Japanese, precision from the Germans, marketing and negotiation skills from
the United States, courtesy, decency and refinement from the British and Human Values from the villagers of India. You possess all these qualities too, they just need to be nourished.
Another very important part of management is creativity. All C.E.O.’s, all chairpersons want to better
their business but they sideline the research and development, the creativity, this is assumed to be
for scientists. Creativity can come only from silence, just maintain two minutes of silence and a whole
new dimension of life opens up. If you all commit yourself to doing something to uplift life around you,
to compassion, to creativity, the world would be a wonderful place. We are more often than not stuck to
our goals; we have to step out of our shoes, and see the other point of view. We need to keep changing
our roles, to attempt different roles.
After you read this, either your mind is calm and quiet, or there is a chain of thoughts. Are you aware of what is happening in you, when you are interacting with people, the inner dialogue that you are having with yourself? This awareness is very important, it creates health and you become healthier. So, we need to look at ourselves, our life, the role we are playing. When you are a guest at somebody’s house, are you totally comfortable or you tend to feel inhibited? But when a guest comes to your house, do you want them to feel uncomfortable? No, you want your guest to be absolutely comfortable and relaxed. You want your guest to feel at home and to be in complete harmony, but you will not be at home at somebody else’s place! Have you ever thought of this before? Everyone belongs to you, no matter what the background, social strata, etc., they belong to you. That is the dream of India: Vasudeva kutumbhakam, ‘one world family’.
