IT IS NOT ONLY THE THING BUT THINKING

Things ,thinking and feeling are interconnected. If we gift things to people who we are close to us but give without thinking or feeling the recipient gets the thing but he can guess that it has been given without any feeling.
On the other hand when there is thinking  and feeling without the physical things then it amounts to day dreaming. One must think creatively, feel and then act physically to give shape to our thinking.
In  the Gita, Lord Sri Krishna told Arjuna on the battlefield, “If you offer me leaf, fruits, water and flowers, I shall accept it.”  One may raise this question, how could Arjuna offer that on the battlefield? In this instance  it is not the thing but the  thinking with love and devotion towards the Lord that krishna is talking about. What about the things ?
Lord krishna is saying that offer him things that are easily accessible. If Krishna had spoken the Gita elsewhere, where there was scarcity of water and fruits he would have said offer me dates, or anything which is easily available. Offer me things without being violent to others including not being violent to self  by inconveniencing oneself.
Sudama was Lord Krishna’s very close  friend.  Unfortunately he suffered immensely in family life because of poverty. Sudama was a self satisfied person and when poverty started affecting his children, Sudama 's wife expressed to her husband to go and approach his dear friend, Lord Krishna, to provide something for his children. She was confident that the magnanimous lord Krishna would never disappoint them .Sudama was eager to see his friend whom he had not seen from the time they both had left school.   Asking for something was a pretext to visit, but the real motive was to see his friend and spend some quality time with him . Sudama was eager to see his friend but was confused at how he could visit his friend without taking some gifts. What gifts could the poor Sudama  offer, other than simply thanking him for being his friend?  So Sudama carried the gift of dried chipped rice which his wife begged from and collected from a few houses.  Krishna accepted the gift rather snatched it from Sudama . Krishna relished the chipped rice with happiness as they were full of Sudama’s love. Love was there and the thing was also there.
When Krishna wanted to offer something to Sudama, he thought the wealth of the entire world is not enough as compared to the love of Sudama, and to compare that with anything of this world is stupidity and an insult to Sudama. Still  he had to give something. So krishna gave a house to Sudama that was full of Krisna 's opulence.
Sudama’s gift  was meagre  from his own point of view and Lord Krishna’s gift was also meagre from Lord Krishna’s point of view.  However, Sudama’s things from Krishna’s point of view were most valuable, because those things were saturated with love .
Do we understand this maths?  The maths of love, the  love of the loveable Lord and his devout devotees. Think about it!!

SRI RAMA AND CRICKET

When a country’s subjects have massive expectations from 11 people to give them the pleasure of victory and feeling as if it is their victory, is seldom reflected, or reflected less.
To be victorious one has to contribute.  Modern world, especially in the field of sports, one country’s win or defeat is based upon few players, who are playing the match on behalf of the country, atleast this what is believed by the hightly emotional subjects.  The win caused by 11 players puts the entire country in the frenzy of madness, and if defeated, people go through any extent to show their anger, frustration and disappointment.  This is huge burden for mere 11 people to handle and ultimately what is the impact of that victory or defeat?  How does it benefit the entire subject of the country; Financially, culturally, spiritually, physically, and inspirationally to motivate to take the country forward and one’s life forward in a meaningful way? Nothing much, very few people gain at the cost of huge emotional ups and down.
In Ramayana, we see when Lord Rama waged war against Ravana, the evil minded, arrogant and abuser of women and the ordinary subject for his own mean selfish end.  It was not Rama alone fighting and rest were holding flag and cheering Rama to give them the pleasure of his victory.  The ordinarly monkeys, were equally responsible player in making Rama victorious, certainly Sri Rama was capable of handling entire host of gods and demons single handedly, what to speak of Ravana.  But he was playing the role of an ideal ruler, who executes his duties by empowering every one to take part in their victory, and responsibility in defeat.  The onlookers very less in number but the participants were large.
One has to make simple analysis of our objectives, what are we here to be entertained by few people and make them Gods in success?  Or if they fail then hurl the stones of abuses as if they are street dogs?
Therefore real “Rama Rajya” or the ideal governance is the responsibility of the subjects as much as the King or administrative head.   Being only cheer crowd, will not work, cheering will turn into jeering eventually. But while chanting the names of Lord Rama, “Jai Sri Rama,” and growing to be responsible as expected by Sri Rama is the real pleasure of one’s life.  Think of it.   Are we part of cheer and jeer crowd, or part of calling with love and devotion, “Jai Sri Rama.”

ANGER REDIRECTED

Anger is a lethal weapon of destruction.  The first thing that  anger does is to destroy the power of discrimination. It is equal in its brutality to one and all, foe or friends.  It is like a whirlwind which destroys the good and the bad without any discrimination.  Once the power of discrimination is lost the effect of destruction is collosol.
Anger makes one emotionally disturbed, intellectually poverty stricken,physically violent and spiritually offensive. The over all effect of anger is deadly.
Can anger be completely given up? No It is not possible because it is a part of our system. Some people express anger and some people exhibit it whilst some people suppress it but in all situations to empty it from our system is unnatural. How we make use of it is the art of anger management.
Lord Krishna, during the war of Mahabharata seeing Arjuna’s reluctance to attack  Bhishma and his avoidance in fighting with full capacity against  Bhishma ,became furious. Krishna  jumped off the chariot, carrying the wheel of the broken chariot and rushed towards Bhisma to give him a death-blow.  Arjuna seeing Krishna charging towards Bhisma became very concerned  and rushed towards Krishna to stop him from breaking his promise of not raising any weapons in the battle.  Arjuna pleaded with Krishna to avoid killing Bhisma and promised that he would kill Bhishma without any hesitation.  Krishna went back to his chariot, smiling within but angry without.
With whom did Krishna become angry? Bhisma or Arjuna? Apparently it was Bhisma, but in reality it was Arjuna. Krishna was angry at Arjuna for not doing his duty of stopping Bhismadeva from damaging the Pandava army.  Arjuna learned his lesson and the next day he made Bhisma fall on the bed of arrows.  Here Krishna’s anger was utility friendly. It had the power to shake some one out of his uncertainty in spite of him being aware of his duty.
Anger is like fire. It has the power to burn an entire city if it is uncontrollably released. If it is released with control it has the power to do marvellous things . The danger is always there but any thing which has to power to be used rightly has the flip side to it too.
Lord Krishna teaches this eternal principle to all of us.
 Avoid misuse of violence by all means, and use violence for meaningful things. The power to judge the utility or danger of anger lies with those who are free from passion whilst taking the decision.

SYMPATHY IS NOT A QUALIFICATION

We hear the concept of the sympathy wave within the democratic system. Whenever some one dies suddenly the relatives or the party take  advantage of this and pose the relative of the dead for the post and win the election, or occupy the post.
When a prime of minister of India died, her party facing election secured a thumping majority, and appointed her son as the next prime minister.  What was his qualification to be the prime minster of India, was it sympathy or his own qualification to lead the general mass?
It is interesting to observe our approach in selecting some one for an important post.  Whether it is choosing a husband for the daughter, choosing a wife for the son or appointing some one for an important position. It is invariably based on sympathy, affection, relation or something beyond real qualification to occupy that post.
In the Ramayana we see Kaikeyi was extremely affected by her affection towards her son. She sent lord Rama to the forest so that her son could become the next King.  Bharata was mortified and felt ashamed to be known as the son of Kaikeyi.  He made her understand that it was beyond his capacity to sit on the throne because it was meant  to be occupied by Lord Rama, whether from the perspective of qualification or legal family tradition the throne belonged to Rama.
Bharata’s perspective was very dharma-centric whereas Kaikeyi and similar such peoples perspectives are relation centric.  So they always choose their own people over qualifcation, therefore their ultimate productivity remains low and slow.
To occupy any post in this world requires hard work, enterprising skills and hard facts of our past successful ventures.—This is how management views the occupying of any post. True management is  neutral and gives a fair deal to one and all.
Management functions based upon achieving goals which are  system oriented. To choose some one who is qualified in implementing a particular system will bring probable success in one’s endeavor.  Therefore one may continue to remain affectionate and sympathetic but to take a decision and action based on these feelings is like playing a gambling match with the stake of success being dim and faint.
Therefore keeping our heart affectionate and our head unaffected will allow us to take the right decision when it comes to management.

FIX, HELP OR SERVE ?

Some one has said that when we say," I want to help," it indicates  that we are  better situated and others are weak.  When some one says, "i want to fix," it indicates that other people are broken, and that we are fit hence we can fix them. These statements spring from ego. Helping and fixing does not change the consciousness of the world, only the externals are changed.  At the internal level or the condition of the soul we say , "I  want to serve." This gives rise to humility and fulfillment, because it is natural and it is our dharma to serve We want to serve, because it is our good fortune that we are able to act according to our nature.

In the Ramayana when the Rishis requested lord Rama to protect them from trouble caused by the demons, lord Rama said," how can you request me ? it is my good fortune, so please order me"
Yudhisthira was in  the same predicament when he was in the forest, many subjects  from Hasthinapura were following him.Yudhisthira told them to go back to Hasthinapura not because he did not want to serve them rather because he had lost all the resources to serve  his subjects .The  subjects wanted to follow him to the forest  because Yudhishthira  was an ocean of good qualities. Yudhishthira  said, "you are right  from your side in wanting to join me to the forest but from my side it is my duty and nature to serve you and there is nothing beyond this that I can do , and not serving you will cause  pain to me and even the Devatas"

Here we see that the enlightened king or a leader, serves not because his subjects or subordinates demand but rather because it is his core character and it is a favor upon him that he gets to serve his subjects.
In dharmik culture, even an ordinary person who is playing the role of a mother never asks her children to say "thank you mother for feeding and nourishing us". It breaks her heart when children say thank you .  She  says to her children, "no don't say thank you  it is my love  my duty, my nature as a mother to feed you ." she desires that her children learn to be grateful so she may say, please say thank you but in her heart she knows and feels that it is her duty to love and to nourish them.
These are the qualities of the soul  free from passion and ego.

We have to serve not fix nor help. Serving is our nature.
Helping and fixing is to compete with god, which is stupidity of the highest order.

SPEECH

Lord Rama's speech had three features. It was sweet , concise and Lord Rama was the first to begin a conversation. These features in Sanskrit  are called madhur bhashi, mita bhashi and purva bhashi, respectively.

Every one likes to be spoken to with sweetness. Sweetness is not necessarily in the voice rather it is in  the tone and content.  The power to inspire comes from what confidence and encouragement  we give to the person with whom we speak. Harsh words breaks the confidence and has the power to suck one’s energy.  In fact some people use language to break the confidence  and power of others to function. Insulting words are painful and at times painful words have  the power to take one’s life too.  Rama was not a sweet talker rather he was a sweet communicator.

Mita bhasi, means concise in presentation.  Eloquence means to speak meaningfully  in fewer words with long lasting effects. Rama had the power to do it. He with little or no talking gave confidence to Vibhishana to feel complete shelter in Lord Rama. Rama accepted Vibhisana in his camp  even though he was the enemy’s brother, Rama made Vibhishana feel very comfortable.  It is not what where we go which makes us comfortable, but it is the reception that makes us completely at home.

Purva bhasi, is the feature of speech which denotes that Rama was the first one to break the ice, and begin a conversation  even with an unknown person making them feel wanted .Speaking first to make others comfortable is not simply a skill rather  it is the art of the heart which is rooted in humility and simplicity. Lord Rama does not have to appease any one because he has nothing to gain from any one. The people with lots of power do not like to start a conversation  thinking it to be below their dignity. Rama’s diginified behaviour proves, that greatness is not in how big you are, rather it is in how grateful one is to receive and make the other person feel comfortable. 

One great moral politician has  said, "why should one be calculative in speaking sweet words and smiling with guests and relatives ? it does not cost anything and yet the effect is priceless."

PUNISHMENT AND COMPASSION HARMONIZED

A compassionate  person seldom does justice or  when he does justice it is  less efficient. People who have the authority are passionate to punish without the flavor of compassion.  These two, the compassionate leader and the administrator who is supposed to punish often see their decisions at loggerheads.
Is it possible to harmonize or is harmonizing natural?
Duryodhana was crowned as prince in the scenario of the alleged death of the Pandavas. When Yudhishthira  arrived along with his brothers after getting married to Draupadi there was a major crisis in the constitution. Either Yudhsthira or Duryodhana could be made crown prince. In this situation Bhishma decided to divide the kingdom into two. It was a good solution, but only from the  present perspective and this very solution led to further problems in the future.

From the  legal perspective and the rule of dharma, Yudhishthira was qualified to take over from Duryodhana.  Moreover Bhisma should have taken stern action against Duryodhana for the attempted murder of the Pandavas. Out of compassion and hope of future reformation of Duryodhana, Bhisma retained Duryodhana 's position.  This compassion is  without justice, which only added more madness in Duryodhana.

Lord Krishna on the other hand was very efficient in meting out justice and being kind at the same time.  Bhisma was the recipient of this mercy and justice .

Bhisma's silence during  the attempted disrobing of  Draupadi and his fighting on adharma 's side brought him due punishment. However this punishment was not  at the cost of losing the affectionate grace of Lord Krishna. During his last days, Lord Krishna was there to elevate Bhisma to  the higher realm.
Managerially Bhisma was punished but personally lord Krishna did not lose the  slightest of affection for his great devotee, and awarded him his dues, for krishna 's wonderful heart was full of love.

Only affection without justice leads to non governance and only governance at the cost of brutality  towards the culprits leads to fear. Lord Krishna on the other hand was the perfect balancer, wrong was rectified and the good heart was protected and rewarded.

Can we  do it? Or can we at least appreciate the concept so that we can try to harmonize compassion and justice?

GOOD INTENTIONS DO NOT ALWAYS GIVE GOOD RESULTS

Bhismadeva was known as Devavrata, before he took the terrific vow of not becoming the next king, remaining celibate and always protecting the throne of Hastinapura .This vow, shook every one including the gods above and the celestial beings cried out, “Bhisma Bhisma” "terrific, terrific "referring to his vows.
This vow was for the pleasure of his father, so that he could marry Satyavati, the daughter of a fisherman.
The series  of events that followed for protecting these vows are heart-trenching and painful. What Bhismadeva had to go through in being sincere, honest, transparent, and determined is the saga of Mahabharata. Eventually his vow led to his death at the hands of Arjuna the one person who Bhisma loved dearly and who also loved Bhisma  equally .
The sad story of his vow is that all whom Bhisma loved were unhappy----his father was unhappy with this vow. he fought with his guru Parashurama because of this vow, because of this vow he   shot many arrows at Lord, Krishna. He had to fight with his great grand son, Abhimanyu. He had to side with the evil Duryodhana whom he actually wanted to punish.
Bhisma’s selflessness are unquestionable ,but his actions led  to so many painful reactions, which remains as an enigma in the minds of many.
Dharma teaches us to be flexible, but not at the cost of becoming a restless person.  Dharma teaches us to be steady, but not frozen to the level being inactive. Dharma teaches us to be dharmik at any cost, even at the cost of giving up some aspects of relative dharma on rare occasions to reach the coherent and integrated dharma .

TIME IS ETERNAL

Technically time is divided into three parts, past, present and future. But in reality time is not divided at all as all factors of time affect us simultaneously. Our past influences our present, and the present impacts our future.

For eg:- when we desire to do something that which we were unsuccessful at in the past then our present creates fear and lack of confidence. But on the other hand if we have had a repeated experience of success, then we tend to become confident and assured. Similarly our present success or failure creates an impact on our future.  If we have not studied or have lived a very indisciplined life, then our future will have reactions of these activities in a way that is not beneficial to us.  

Arjuna in the beginning of the Bhagavad-Gita was able to see time as a whole and therefore his vision was clear and sensitive. On the battlefield Arjuna was able to see his present duty, the  future consequences and  his past cultural influence. For him the consequences of was were disastrous--- war would bring death upon people, causing children  to become orphans. Orphans and unprotected women would be exploited, and exploited women would produce children who would not be taken care. This would result in children not performing the family rites of their ancestors after death that are recommended in the scriptures. Non performance of Vedic rites would disallow   ancestors from progressing to the higher realms of life. We observe that Arjuna’s vision was wholesome and he was asking Krishna what was the point in fighting such a war.

On other hand Duryodhana and his father saw only the present .They were fearful based upon their present situation . There was no enlightenment, only lamentation without any solution which was selfish and desensitised. They saw the time factor as broken ,disconnected and isolated.  

Therefore the great saint Narada told Yudhisthira that one should not take birth  or death seriously but should simply observe how time factor is moving.  One who sees the time factor as moving us from birth to life and death is unaffected because he knows that  death is one aspect of time not everything. Such a person is neither attached to the living nor fears death. Only when we integrate the time factor in our life do we experience this beautiful feeling of fearlessness . 

When Arjuna saw Lord Krishna’s universal form, he asked him, “who are you? “  to this Lord Krishna replied  “ I am the master of the time factor, destroyer of everthing.” Of course we know that he is also the creator and maintainers. 

 Know time and know the master of time.

COMPLETE BUT NOT PERFECT

In a relationship it is natural to find diverse interactions so when the interaction is with multiple people it is bound to be diverse.  When a person is conditioned to experience either continuous success or failure, conflict or indecision, then such a person sees every one from their perspective which is saturated with their experience of repeated monotonous interactions.  

This kind of conditioning is challenging for everyone including  leaders, especially for those who have experienced success in dealing with the subordinates who submit without questioning for a long time. Sometimes  when subordinates question their leaders or managers on reason and logic and over a certain decision, they might answer, “do you not trust my experience?”

Time, situation and people do change and therefore strategy will need to change. The superiors have to understand this  and act, flexibly without changing the principles.

The Pandavas approached Lord Krishna to go as a peacemaker. They requested him to ask for only 5 villages to administate, even though they had taken a vow before walking out of the gambling arena where they were cheated by the kuru elders. Their vows were fierce, Arjuna had vowed to destroy the kuru army and he had promised that he will kill Karna in battle. Bhima had openly proclaimed he would kill all the 100 sons of Dhritharasthra, while drinking the blood of Dushashana and breaking the thighs of Duryodhana.  But when they realized that the war would cost too much financially  as well as in terms of human life they were willing to live with only 5 villages.

This flexibility is the large heartedness of good people which was not understood by the non-flexible and stubborn Duryodhana, who said, “not even as much space that can fit the head of a needle will be given to the Pandavas.” He would not listen to any good counsel. He had tasted the power of position.

Leadership in Dharmik tradition is “Samavada” based, meaning when there is decision making the leader also becomes a part of the decision making . He is fully responsible for the decision made but to be successful in the venture, he chooses to be a part and studies the pros and cons.  Therefore a leader as part of his life has to interact with people who are his equals, his superiors  and his inferiors.  In differnt scenarios sometimes his opinions are taken seriously, sometimes his opinions are laughed at, sometimes he has to accept other’s opinions and at decisions are simply not taken . In these multiple situations, a leader grows and realizes  life in the world of muti-facets.  

Yudhisthira was such a leader, he heard, he spoke, he was chastised, he was forced to listen, and ultimately he took the responsibility. To deal with such diversity he had his heart and head guided by the supreme Power, the power of Lord Krishna.  In this way he was complete, even though he was not perfectly perfect.