The practice and philosophy of decision making: a seven step spiritual guide

The practice and philosophy of decision making: a seven step spiritual guide

Assimilation of the ancient wisdom of the Bhagavad Geeta with practical lessons from today’s environment provides a novel and contemporary approach to the process of decision-making, consensus building, conflict resolution and self-empowerment. My approach will be to show how we can realize greater fulfillment in our everyday lives by embracing the timeless principles of self-discipline, pursuit of knowledge and non-attachment.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE

 

 

 

This book is not about the Bhagavad Geeta. It is also not about the workplace or home or the self. My goal was to make the universal philosophy articulated so eloquently in the Bhagavad Geeta accessible to today’s young adult and to someone like myself – one not literate in Sanskrit and not particularly spiritual and definitely not religious. I also wanted to make it applicable and practical to everyday situations at work or at home. I am fortunate in having spent my childhood years in India where I routinely heard and read about the values espoused in the Geeta without knowing the source. Also, though I did not know it at that time, my father was an embodiment of the principles of the Geeta so as I have grown older, when life seems too complex and full of conflict, I have a role model. From my mother, I learned the value of literature and the love of books. This helped me manage my apprehension about my ability to experience the Bhagavad Geeta through translations in Hindi and English. Overcoming my limitations in this area has given me the courage to interpret the Geeta in a more casual and personal way.

I wanted to make the Geeta accessible to those who may not want to experience it because they think of it as a religious text or too profound and abstract to be practical. I have tried to keep the translated verses simple. My sources are Geeta translations in Hindi and English. The books quoted most often are:

The Bhagavad Geeta – Barbara Stoler Miller

The Concise Light on Yoga – B.K.S Iyengar.

The numbers in parentheses refer to chapter and verse in the Geeta.

The Author lives and works in the San Francisco bay area. At this time this book is a work in progress and comments are welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

PART I

 

Bhagavad Geeta:

The Story, Context, Dilemma and the Controversy

 

 

 

PART II

 

Dharma, Yoga, Jnana:

The Three Pillars of Individual Strength

 

 

 

PART III

 

Seven Principles:

Integrating the Concepts of Dharma, Yoga and Jnana

 

 

 

PART IV

 

Empowering Yourself:

Practical Do and Don’ts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

“The teaching of the Geeta must be regarded not merely in the light of a general spiritual philosophy or ethical doctrine, but as bearing upon a practical crisis in the application of ethics and spirituality to human life”.    – Sri Aurobindo

 

In eighteen chapters, seven hundred verses, the Bhagavad Geeta devotes itself to one task – making one decision. It does so through its protagonist, the warrior Arjun, and the metaphor of war. It does so by enabling Arjun to undertake a voyage of self-discovery so he can master the art of making a complex decision in the face of conflicting values.

In this time of galloping change and global families, people are seeking new ideals and new paradigms. In doing so, paradoxically, it can be enlightening to look back at philosophies that have endured historically, ones that have withstood the test of time. As traditional definitions of success and power crumble and technology overtakes our biorhythms, the need for decisive action becomes greater than ever. Texts like the Bhagavad Geeta can be a source of knowledge and guidance. This is important because decision making is about making a choice; about taking charge of our life; about feeling in control of our own destiny; about self-empowerment.

 

 

Why do we need a philosophical approach to decision making?

 

“The object of studying philosophy is to know one’s own mind, not other people’s” – commenting on philosophers – William Ralph Inge

 

A decision is a choice. As soon as you choose to do one thing, it means you are not doing another. That other may have its own advocates of logic, emotion and people. This means dealing with conflict. You will need to stand firm in your choice in the face of opposition from people and circumstance. Having a philosophy will help you understand yourself and your own motives for making the choice in the first place. This in turn will provide you the strength and endurance during this opposition. At the very least, you too will not turn against yourself and if you choose to do so, you will know why. In addition, the cycle will start again.

 

However, thinking about decisions from a perspective of conflict resolution is going about it the wrong way. Conflict resolution is like happiness; the more you chase it the less likely you are to get it. Just as you cannot get happiness by seeking it you cannot resolve a conflict as long as you see it as a conflict because you will be thinking in terms of winners and losers, us and them. You will need to enlarge your thoughts to a domain large enough to see the problem as a solution rather than as a conflict.

 

In “The Practice and Philosophy of Decision Making”, I describe an action oriented decision lifecycle, enhanced by philosophical concepts of discipline (yoga) and the pursuit of knowledge (jnana), uniquely integrating the softer skills of human psychology and philosophy with the traditional hard skills such as planning and action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

 

 

 

 

The Bhagavad Geeta is a poem of 700 verses divided into 18 lessons written in Sanskrit. It is a self contained chapter and an episode in the great epic poem Mahabharata which is one hundred thousand verses, eight times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined.

 

Sanskrit is a very compact language and much can be expressed in a few sentences. Combine that with the subject matter of the poem, and the Geeta has as many interpretations possible as there are individuals. This is the enduring allure and challenge of the Geeta and interestingly a concrete embodiment of its central theme; that we are one in our diversity and individuality. A literal translation of the title would be “Song of the lord” but this is misleading as the Geeta is a psychological, philosophical, spiritual poem composed in the form of a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer, the god Krishna. The term philosophy is a compound of two words: philo and sophia, which mean “love for knowledge”. The Geeta is that and much more in that it is rooted in the psychology of human beings, represented by Arjuna, thus making it very practical and pragmatic. And yet it is more in having a spiritual element expressed in the exhortations of Krishna to Arjuna as he helps him understand and transcend the conflicts encountered in daily life, duty and action. Thus it engages the human intellect, spirit, body and heart. In Sanskrit, the poem would be called Brahma Vidya. That term conveys an approach to knowledge that leads to knowledge of the Self of all or Brahman.

 

Although the Geeta exists as a separate independent poem, it has been placed as an episode in the Mahabharata to give it a concrete context while providing an enduring metaphor. As you read the Geeta, you realize that the author regularly refers back to the battle as the metaphor. It becomes clear that the author never intended for this to an abstract document for the learned few but a pragmatic voice to exhort all of us to be the best we can be. Every philosophical reference is followed by concrete advice followed by a supportive text showing understanding of the human struggle.

 

The Story of Mahabharata:

 

Dhritrashtra is the eldest son of the royal family of Kurukshetra. He has been born blind and hence cannot be crowned king. His younger brother Pandu assumes the throne and Dhritrashtra continues to live in the palace as his advisor. Dhritrashtra is reconciled to this situation but it is a constant struggle for him to not let his feelings of jealousy and injustice take over his actions. As time passes, Dhritrashtra has a hundred sons called the Kauravas and Pandu has five sons called Pandavas. Pandu dies at an early age and so the Pandavas are placed in the care of their uncle Dhritrashtra who acts as the regent king till the eldest Pandava son, Yudhishtir, comes of age. All the Kauravas and the Pandavas are taught by the same teachers, are schooled in the martial arts and grow up together.  All the brothers become excellent in the art of war but the sons of Pandu have many outstanding qualities of compassion and justice while the Kauravas exhibit a jealous and selfish attitude. When it comes time for the eldest Pandava, Yudhishtir, to become king, the eldest Kaurava whose name is Duryodhan is not satisfied with the situation. He covets the throne so he devises several plots to kill Yudhishtir and his brothers. These plots fail. Then he devises other ways take away Yudhishtir’s right to the throne. He sets up a crooked game of dice and challenges the Pandavas to play. The Pandavas lose the game of dice and their penalty is thirteen years in exile. During this time, the Pandava brothers encounter many hardships and challenges, which they overcome, to emerge stronger and wiser while Duryodhan continues in his unjust ways. When they return to reclaim the kingdom, Duryodhana refuses to step aside. He does not even give them a place to stay anywhere in the kingdom and war becomes inevitable. As the two sides begin gathering armies, both leaders decide to go to Sri Krishna who has the most powerful army of all and is also the acknowledged center of wisdom to ask for help. Sri Krishna decides he must be impartial to all so he offers to help one side with his vast army and to the other, he offers himself as a charioteer and counselor. The Kauravas quickly choose the army and the Pandavas choose to have Sri Krishna. Detailed description of the 18 days of war that follow and the philosophy of the various teachers occupy the rest of the Mahabharata.

 

The war ends with the Pandavas victorious; a triumph of good over evil, order over chaos, justice over lawlessness. It is a symbol of the victory of the positive forces over the negative ones functioning within the human heart and mind as well as in the universe. There is a constant battle going on within each individual to regain the lost kingdom of peace, happiness and harmony. The Kauravas represent the negative forces within oneself that must be overcome to achieve that goal. The Pandavas represent the good that is in all of us that must triumph if we are to find harmony on this earth and in this cycle of birth and death.

 

The Context:

 

The setting of the Bhagavad Geeta is the battlefield of Kurukshetra on the eve of war. The scene is set with the two armies facing one another in battle formation. Arjuna, the second Pandu son is the leader of the Pandavas army and his charioteer is Sri Krishna. Old King Dhritrashtra, who is blind, stands on a hill overlooking the battlefield and asks his charioteer Sanjaya, to tell him what is happening on the field of battle. Sanjay has been given the third eye of visionaries, so that when he thinks with his mind, he will see everything taking place during the day or night, in public or in secret. Sanjaya is a metaphor for the third eye that exists in all of us and has the power to “see”. Thus, the Bhagavad Geeta, the mystery of life and death as revealed to Arjuna by Krishna is preserved for all to hear through the mediating voice of Sanjaya and through our third eye.

 

The battle scene is symbolic of the inner conflict in man. Kurukshetra is not only a physical place but is representative of the state of mind. The opening verse spoken by Dhritrashtra sets the stage for the entire text of the Geeta concisely stating this universal conflict. He asks Sanjaya: (Stoller Miller pg. 5)

 

“Sanjaya, tell me what my sons

and the sons of Pandu did when they met,

gathered to battle on the field of Kuru,

on the field of Dharma”

 

The word Dharma in Sanskrit means a combination of sacred duty, law, justice, righteousness and religion. Once the context of war has been set and the metaphor established for good and evil forces warring within oneself, the focus shifts from the action on the field to Arjuna’s inner conflict.  Arjuna is in an abyss of dejection and despair. He cannot bring himself to act in a ritual of carnage and destruction. Further he is having a moral struggle on the field of war in doing his duty. He is in the conflict in having to battle his own kinsmen and his teachers who have made him the great warrior that he is. Understanding what his actions should be is the subject of the Geeta. Krishna is the philosopher, psychologist and spiritual counselor who pours his dialogue into Arjuna’s tortured soul to help Arjuna decide what he must do, why he must do it and how to prepare emotionally and physically so he can do it with the excellence required of him.

 

Throughout the text of the Geeta, Arjuna asks probing questions and expresses his dissatisfaction with the apparent inconsistencies in Krishna’s answers. This is a critical element of the Geeta. Arjuna’s voice serves in providing a voice to the reader’s own doubts and questions, making it easier to internalize and retain the message that is being given.  Even more importantly, it serves to illustrate that only the open and questioning mind that can be exposed to advanced and higher thinking. Thus, in a very pragmatic way, we are constantly encouraged to be in a state of a constant seeking of knowledge, the self and God as the path to salvation. It also means one should always follow the dictates of one’s conscience. We must believe in what we do otherwise we will do it half-heartedly. When a human being considers doing something, his conscience helps him choose what he will do by placing the consequences of his actions- good and bad, helpful or damaging, right and wrong in front of him. By following his conscience, he will choose the correct action and he will have a firm will. Then he will be able to carry out the action he chooses in the very best way possible. Samkalpa shakti (will power) is the inner power and is the most powerful force in a human being.

 

The Dilemma:

 

In the beginning, Arjuna feels he is motivated to engage in war for the rewards of victory: power and wealth. This he feels is lowly and not worth the inevitable carnage and destruction of war. He cannot destroy his own kinsmen, ruin their families and bring about chaos. He feels pity for his kinsmen and feels he is being unfaithful to his teachers. He is prepared to lay down his arms and not go into battle. But what is his duty? He is a trained warrior; the leader of the army, a revered hero and the prime hope of the Pandava army. What is his duty towards those who bravely go into battle with him? Does the battle signify the triumph of good forces in the Pandavas over the evil and unjust ways of the Kauravas? So what should he do? This is what he inquires of Krishna as he asks him to halt the chariot so he can observe both armies on the field of battle.

 

Krishna observes that Arjuna is driven to fight by the egoism of strength; he is turned from battle by the contrary egoism of pity and disgust. Compassion for mankind will bring clarity of knowledge. The decision criterion is within him. He must free his soul from craving and attachment to inaction as well as action, attachment to various forms of virtue as well as the attractions of sin. To do this he must see the Whole Truth; behold the Self that is a part of the Whole just as the Whole is embodied in the Self. To do that is to get rid of “I” and “my” forms of thinking; to reject the egoism of refusing to work through the universal being as well as the egoism of serving the individual mind and body to the exclusion of others. When he expands his thinking to comprehend beyond the physical body, his and others’, he will see that the soul is indestructible. (2-27)

 

“For certain is death for the born,

and certain is birth for the dead;

therefore, what is inevitable

ought not to be a cause for grief”

 

Thus, rather than thinking of war in terms of death and destruction, contemplate the inevitability of the rising and setting sun. They both serve a purpose.

And Krishna says (2-37):

 

“If you are killed, you attain heaven,

If you triumph, you enjoy the earth,

Therefore, Arjuna, arise,

Resolved upon battle.”

 

If we were to stop here, this may seem an oversimplification and hence unsatisfying. Even if intellectually this makes sense, the heart rebels. So the remaining sixteen chapters address the alignment of the intellect, body and heart and what follows is the real teaching of the Geeta; the practice of non-attachment (2-38)

 

“Make grief and happiness,

gain and loss, victory and defeat,

equal to your soul,

and turn to battle, lest you fall into evil.”

 

It is a classic illustration of the pragmatic nature of the Geeta that a choice must be made in the face of conflict. For each person this choice may be different; but it must be well considered and based upon their circumstance, their training, and their duty. My interpretation of the message given here is that whatever the choice or action is determined to be, one must excel at it. And excellence can only be achieved through a state of non-attachment for attachment clouds the judgement. (2-48)

 

Bringing the concept to an even more practical level, thinking about results causes us to worry. Energy that could be utilized in improving execution is spent worrying. Worrying about the results is wasted energy. Geeta advises us to:

 

“Be intent on action,

not on the fruits of action;

avoid attraction to the fruits

as well as attachment to inaction”

 

This is another good example of the power of combining philosophy and human psychology. Non-attachment is a higher goal allowing us to maintain humility in a success or confidence after a failure. We know it is distracting and a waste of energy to worry about the future probabilities so it is best to not dwell on consequences. By practicing non-attachment to results while in the midst of action, we can be more effective.

 

A key enabler in performing well is discipline. The Sanskrit word Yoga has probably even more meanings than the  word Dharma. A healthy body and a steadfast mind are the goals of yogic exercises. Preparation, good judgement, self-confidence and a stable intelligence are required for excellent execution.

 

“Perform actions, firm in yoga (discipline),

relinquishing attachment;

be impartial to failure and success-

this equanimity is called yoga

 

Intelligence can be clouded by delusions and can be flitting, meaning that it can lead us in different directions, resulting in a lack of focus. Once again there is the emphasis on non-attachment. It will be a steadying influence because love and hatred, grief and happiness, failure and success, friends and foes all can equally mar judgement.

 

Krishna also goes on to explain what discipline looks like. First he says, “discipline is skill in actions” and then goes on to elaborate: (2-53)

 

“When your understanding turns

 from sacred lore to stand fixed,

immovable in contemplation,

then you will reach discipline.”

 

In its pragmatic way, the Geeta puts our thoughts into the words of Arjuna who asks what does this kind of a person of understanding looks like? How does he speak, act, sit and move? Krishna says:

 

“When he gives up desires in his mind,

is content with the self within himself,

then he is said to be a man

whose insight is sure, Arjuna.”

 

Krishna goes on to elaborate that such a man is free from sorrow, fear and anger, he neither exults nor hates, has no preference for fortune or misfortune, his cravings for pleasures and attractions have vanished.

 

“when, like a tortoise retracting

its limbs, he withdraws his senses

completely from sensuous objects,

his insight is sure.”

 

Thus we learn that personal harmony is both a requirement for excellence as well as a characteristic of one who excels.

 

While maintaining this emphasis on action, Krishna warns Arjuna to be wary of pride creeping in from his attachment to action itself; even that is weakening. So he says (4-20):

 

“Abandoning attachment to fruits

of action, always content, independent,

he does nothing at all

even when he engages in action.”

 

Once again, my interpretation of this philosophy has a pragmatic value in keeping Arjuna free from getting drawn into the pride of action itself. This is useful later, in keeping him from feeling guilt or arrogance from the results of the action. In this context, guilt from having killed his kinsmen in battle, arrogance in the power of winning the battle.

 

Krishna understands that this is still very difficult for Arjuna to internalize so he offers the next piece of wisdom. He says humans are instruments of a higher being. God drives their actions. Arjuna can choose to believe in this higher power and consider himself an instrument of God, doing His will. This way, he can free himself from the conflict that is apparent to him. The wise person sees that he not the doer, but all material acts are the act of Nature (Prakriti). The soul (Atman) remains a witness. One who understands this will realize the Self; understand that there is no beginning or end. If an action is done with this kind of devotion, it is not tainted by its results. Just as the single sun illuminates the entire world, so does a person who understands himself understand the Whole.

 

Towards the end of his discourse, Krishna goes full circle and reinforces the concepts of timelessness and wholeness. He explains, think of the absolute as fullness or infinite. When you add or subtract from the infinite, it is neither increased, nor decreased yet it absorbs what is added and allows whatever needs to leave to leave. Thus the Self is not contained in the three elements or gunas of sattava, rajas and tamas. It is above them. The human body performs actions, but the Self remains above them, untainted by their stains and impurities.

 

 

 

 

The Controversy:

 

The opening verses of the Geeta establish the context of war. Soon thereafter, Krishna urges Arjuna to do battle against his kinsmen. This fact causes utter confusion in the mind of the reader. The pacifist in us is up in arms, metaphorically speaking, against a philosophy that appears on the surface so cavalier. But is that correct? Does the Geeta uphold violence?

 

It does not. What it upholds is the concept of dharma; truth, duty and knowledge. That becomes abundantly clear as you read the remaining verses. The power of the text lies in not making a mystery of what Arjuna’s choice is in the context of his birth and position. What is your choice? That is determined by your context. The power lies in the bulk of the verses of the Geeta devoted to urging you and preparing you for making tough choices. The power lies in the integration of psychology, spirituality and just plain pragmatism exhibited in practical health tips and social duties outlined throughout the book.

 

There is no attempt at smoothing the rough edges of nature; no pat definitions of good and evil. The war is not fought between Gods and Demons representing good and evil. There is no release in the book from constant internal struggle. That is also why there is no linear thread of logic to follow. The verses weave practical and philosophical strands because that is how the human intellect and heart functions. This makes for difficult reading for some but easier internalization for those who actually are facing a difficult decision and read the Geeta for realizing their internal strength.

 

Mahatma Gandhi, whose name is synonymous with non-violence, who believed in the unity of mankind, who drew no distinctions between religions, races and countries was greatly influenced by the Geeta. I admit that I do find great solace in that. To me he embodied the ability to resolve apparent conflicts by seeing the Whole in the context of truth and knowledge. He said his actions were devoted to the welfare of all. Of nonviolence he said, “the dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law – the strength of the spirit”.  He, like Arjuna, fought for freedom with action. For Gandhi action was the weapon of non-violence. Isn’t that what the Geeta says? That in the ultimate, who can say what is action, what is inaction?

 

At the Harijan march of 1936, Gandhi said:

 

“I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and nonviolence are as old as the hills”

 

The Geeta makes sure that in espousing this higher philosophy, one does not get confused between what is right and what is wrong. It maintains a forgiving attitude towards those whose motives are pure even if their actions are not and says that the learned sage sees no hierarchy between God’s creatures. All have an equal chance at gaining nirvana. But Krishna also enunciates Prakriti (nature) or the three Gunas (attributes) to acknowledge the internal struggle of all humans.

 

The universe is made manifest through three attributes or elements. Anyone who has a body has the attributes that bind the soul and keeps it earthbound and does not allow it to attain nirvana. By elucidating the attributes, Krishna takes away any feelings of guilt that may be induced by the struggle against our own baser instincts. He says, it is OK, it is natural and even acknowledges that it is a struggle in which you will not always be the victor. That too is OK as long as you try your best. Guilt is another emotion (like worry) which is a waste of energy and Krishna finds no value in it.

 

The three elements that make up the universe are:

 

Truth or lucidity (sattva) is the highest, it is the illuminator and healthy and it binds the soul to this universe through the attraction to knowledge. Note that this is a passive state and in the context of war, nonviolence is a passive state and a higher means to the same goal.

 

Passion (rajas) is next and binds through attachment to action. Cravings and emotions characterize it and so it sees great conflict as a consequence. Note that it is an active state and violence in the context of war is a means that generates great conflict within us.

 

Dark inertia (tamas) is born of ignorance and it binds through sloth and negligence. It is the stupefier of all body owners. There is really no easy way to describe this state other than as an opposite of true knowledge.

 

Truth causes attachment to happiness; passion to action but the lowest is dark inertia because it veils knowledge and causes attachment to negligence or laziness.

 

All objects in this universe are manifestations by nature of a combination of the three elements. Transcending these three elements, which make up the body allows one to escape the cycle of birth. For those born on this earth, says Krishna: (14-6)

 

“Lucidity (sattva), being immaculate,

is illuminating and flawless;

it binds through self-identification

with happiness and wisdom.

 

Know that passion (rajas) is emotional,

being born of cupidity and craving;

it binds the soul through attachment

to actions and their fruits.

 

And know dark inertia (tamas),

The deluder of all embodied beings,

As born of ignorance;

It binds one with indolence, sloth and sleep.

 

Arjuna, sattva urges one to happiness

And rajas to action,

While tamas, clouding wisdom,

Urges one to negligence.”

 

Krishna embellishes the concepts with details of how these three elements are distinct yet they are ever present and act in coordination. The vigilant aspirant is ever watchful of keeping inertia and passion tamed and contained so that with the help of lucidity, he may ascend the path to salvation, undisturbed and undistracted. Krishna advises the aspirant to practice meditation and seek strength from the inner soul since that is the source of the greatest power.

 

When sattva is predominant the aspirant remains serene, calm and happy. Elevating thoughts dawn during this time. This element is full of delight and enlightenment and is helpful in maintaining mental and emotional equilibrium. When this quality is not predominant one experiences a lack of calmness leading to inner turmoil and conflict.

 

Examples of domination of rajas, are feelings of pain and pleasure, attachment and hatred. Such a person is never satisfied, constantly pursuing objects of pleasure. Such a person is prone to disease because he does not have the discipline to control his appetites and practice moderation. Often such a person acts on unconscious habits and impulses not understanding why he does what he does. Thus criminals may confess knowing that they have done wrong, but could not help doing what they did. This element can be directed positively and can be an active force if properly utilized both for the individual and for mankind.  This can be done by consciously utilizing the knowledge one has to fight through the conflict one sees and pursue action.

 

Tamas is sloth and inertia; it produces ignorance causing negligence and destroys the sense of discrimination. It creates delusions and then one cannot make decisions. This leads one to inaction and further a feeling of being justified in their inaction. A lazy aspirant remains in a state of lethargy and experiences negative feelings resulting in withdrawal from society. They are controlled by negative emotions and are prone to mental disorders as well as physical diseases brought upon by inertia.

 

These three elements dwell in every body and different ones may be predominant based on circumstance. There is great wisdom in recognizing these elements as being universal. It enables one to focus on improving oneself and not being judgmental of others. When we recognize others practicing in a lower state we can just see in them ourselves as in a mirror. We know we are the same as the other and we can then be helpful and compassionate rather than judgmental and vindictive. Just as we do not hurt our own body parts even if it is diseased or handicapped, just so we do not hurt others as they are a mirror of ourselves.

 

Extend the metaphor of our own body, a whole that consists of many parts, none of which we willingly hurt, to all of mankind and the universe, a clearer picture emerges. We must fight and overcome internal and external forces that keep us from seeking Truth and knowledge. Extend the metaphor to war and there is guidance on what the warrior’s action must be. By placing his actions in the context of the elements that make up the universe, Arjuna can make peace with his act of war.

 

 

 

 

PART II

 

 

 

 

 

“Behavior is a mirror in which every one displays his own image” – Goethe

 

 

 

 

 

What is Dharma?

 

Essentially untranslatable, the word dharma is derived from the root word dhri meaning to hold or sustain. A man’s dharma is the basis of his thought and action. Dharma is what defines a person, giving him strength to be who he is, his character, his attitude, his inner core. Svadharma, individual and personal dharma of a man, is determined by his past experiences, including experiences in past lives which are stored up in the soul and not destroyed upon the death of a body. These experiences make up his svabhava or character and how he will act. They determine his duty, his religion, his philosophy, his beliefs, his inclinations, his instincts, his nature, and his dharma.

 

“He who does the duty ordained by his own nature incurs no sin”. Thus in the eyes of God we are all equal and our actions are appropriate to our nature. The natural dharma of one is not the same as that of another. The duty of a soldier is to fight while the duty of a teacher is to teach. What is right for one is not the right action for the other. Thus, Krishna asks Arjuna to find the answer to his dilemma, the decision to fight or not, by listening to the voice of his inner core, his dharma, his upbringing, his duty. His natural duty is the only reality for him; all others, the duties or viewpoints of others are distractions, imposed from the outside and thus confusing. “One should not abandon one’s innate duty imperfect as it may appear to be; for all worldly enterprises are imperfect, like fire is rendered imperfect by smoke”.

 

While untranslatable, the meaning of dharma is abundantly clear when used in context. Instinctively we understand the concept and can act on it. Once we accept that our decisions and actions are driven by our dharma, not our ego, it becomes possible to act with humility, with non-attachment, without judgement of our fellow beings, without pride in the results of doing good, sorrow in the results of doing evil. We understand that the universe is made up of opposites, good and evil, pain and pleasure, life and death. A perfect world containing goodness or happiness only is a contradiction in terms; creation is possible only in a state of chaos, of dissolution. If everybody were perfect, the world would cease to exist. Thus, acceptance of the contradictions that constitute Nature reduces inner conflict. We learn to draw strength from within and focus on being an instrument of God or another power higher than we are.

 

Why Dharma? For Self-Empowerment

 

The study of Ethics concerns itself with the sorts of actions that constitute virtuous conduct. “What kinds of actions ought to be undertaken?” What is right? What is wrong? What is good? What is bad? However, the problem with this approach is that the absolute guidance it seeks does not exist. Soon we build a complex set of assumptions that fail to satisfy us in all circumstances and we are back to square one. With this approach, the apparent contradictions that make up Nature cannot be resolved. A logical disenchantment leads to emotional frailty and a lack of a feeling of being in control of our own destiny.

 

To the question “What should I do?” the Bhagavad Geeta says, “Do your righteous duty; be guided by your Dharma”. The intellectual appeal of the Geeta is that it never proposes an edict that one could disagree with. Emotionally, it is equally powerful in forcing us to believe in an overall goodness and a sense of justice that must exist even if we cannot perceive it in our lifetime. There is no concept of evil or sin. Every contradiction can be resolved if you believe that the space, time, environment axes are greater than what we perceive in our individual lifetime. Logically we know that to be true anyway. Empires crumble and are born again. Families prosper and loose their wealth. Intelligence is found in all corners of humanity. What is good for you can hurt me. A lion must hunt the deer. Nature has a rhythm all its own. Justice eventually prevails. Everything is good. Every action is a will of God.

 

Thus there is no absolute definition of right or wrong, good or bad for a person. Deal with right and wrong in the context of the individual in a society, environment and time. There is no good or bad in an absolute sense for a person born to this earth because an individual can only relate to space, time and environment that he is born to. There is good and bad in and absolute sense and someone, God, who can see across infinite time, space and planets can judge right or wrong in the absolute. This precludes anyone born to this earth. This precludes you and me from having any right to be judgmental of another’s actions. If they have done wrong, they will be punished in ways we may not see. Only God has the power to judge a man’s actions. This point cannot be overemphasized, as it is the core belief in making your dharma a “good” dharma. Everybody’s dharma is a good dharma. Essentially a circular logic, central to the theme of the Geeta, works because of this faith.

 

Be guided by your dharma, and you can do no wrong in the eyes of God. Whatever you do, that is the right thing to do as long as you have listened to your heart, your inner voice. I can’t think of a better way to empower yourself.

 

 

“Sages see with an equal eye the learned and cultured Brahmin, the cow, the elephant, the dog” – 18^th verse

 

 

Why Dharma? Excellence in Action

 

When doing good, it is easy to fall into the trap of feeling virtuous. This is just as dangerous as feeling remorse when doing something bad. So you cannot see yourself as doing good or bad. Such thinking leads us to see conflict and reduces our inner strength. Krishna’s dialogue with Arjuna is lengthy because he will not allow Arjuna to believe he must engage in the battle of Kurukshtra because it is a war of good over evil. Arjuna must engage in battle because this is his dharma; his dharma being determined by his birth as a prince; his education as a warrior; his position as the leader of his army; his talent for archery that made him the superb fighter that he is etc. etc. In short, his birth, the makeup of his experiences and his character, his dharma, determines his actions. He may see himself as an instrument of God in fighting the battle. That will give him strength and inner conviction but he is not allowed to believe that he can be the one to decide he is waging a war of good over evil. If you think about it, you will see that there is great logic in this.

 

The context of the Mahabharata clearly sets the stage for the evil ways of the kauravas. Krishna even acknowledges that with his divine sight, he sees that a battle must be fought to restore the balance in this world. But, Arjuna is not allowed to use this crutch, this feeling of righteousness. For a crutch it is and not a very lasting one. War means killing your loved ones. How can there be any sustained feeling of doing good in a situation like that? The realities of battle are harsh and a crutch like that will not withstand the devastation that is a natural outcome of war. Perception of conflict creates inner turmoil. It will weaken Arjuna’s ability to act as he must; act as the unerring marksman that he is; trained to be so by his revered teacher, who is to be his mark.

 

Why Dharma? Self-fulfillment

 

Krishna teaches us that fulfillment lies in the action itself, not in the result of actions. Action dictated by our dharma is our salvation irrespective of the result. Self-fulfillment comes from knowing we have done what we must do; executed the will of God. Do your best and all will be well. If we get caught up with results, it means we feel pride in doing good, guilt in doing harm. Who is to know if what is good today will still be considered good tomorrow?

 

Action and execution of actions with excellence is what you control. Drawing satisfaction from that is essential. This is a necessary corollary to the thesis that good and bad is not for you to judge. There are no good or bad results either if the context is large enough.

 

When you ask, “What is a pentagon?” there is one answer defined by science. When you ask, “what is sweet?” there is one answer defined by your senses. When you ask “what is good or what is bad?” there is no absolute definition because we do not have an absolute sense of it and there can be no pervasive definition.

 

Most people would agree with Hamlet: “there is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so”. Thus in the context of Ethics, it is impossible to define an absolute answer to “What actions ought people take?” But in the context of an individual in a certain situation at a given time the answer is simple – do your duty.  What your duty is should be a way of life for you so every action is not a major decision hence it is also called your dharma, your guiding principles, your philosophy, and your religion or righteous duty.

 

Arjuna is a warrior by profession, leader of his army and he is in a battle. His righteous duty is to raise arms in battle. Questioning the merits of war and the destruction of his kith and kin detracts from his ability to engage in action in a superior fashion. If he is to excel in action, he must not act halfheartedly. Thus, Arjuna is never asked by Krishna to believe that killing his brother is good or that he is a better person for killing an evil man. The Geeta never says that war is good or violence is condoned. Quite the opposite. Death and destruction are painful consequences of the act of war and given Arjuna’s role in it he must detach himself from feeling pride in victory or guilt in loss.

 

Your duty is not defined by your absolute measure of right or wrong. Who you are, what your circumstances are and right and wrong in that context define how you will operate. If you happen to be a very enlightened individual you may be able to understand why your duty is what it is in the context of society and the time you are in, but that may be difficult and is not required. Sages, rishis, munis who meditate at length in desolate mountains in the search of the true self may be able to understand the cosmos but it is not possible for most humans and not required. Thus the war of Kurukshetra and the destruction of war is justified by Krishna as inevitable because a higher being, God, has decided it is the right action because of the increasingly evil ways of the Kauravas. But that is not for Arjuna to decide. He is not to feel a sense of superiority over his goodness and engage in a war of good over evil. He is to remain humble in his actions in performing his duty.

 

Dharma Provides a Structure for Change

 

A great barrier to decision-making is the fear of change. After all, choices lead to action and action leads to change. Studies show that even good changes like getting a job, marriage, an inheritance, winning a lottery cause almost as much stress as unwelcome changes. From birth to death, we go through physical and emotional change, our inner core is constantly undergoing modifications; every life experience changes us and influences our interaction with the environment.

 

To accept change as the norm and to accept that we ourselves must change as we go through life is built into the concept of Dharma. Having a structure that sets expectations for different criterion for decision-making, different value systems as we progress from birth to adulthood and old age improves our ability to interact with others who are in different phases of life. It promotes a less judgmental attitude, as it becomes easier to see oneself in the other person’s shoes.

 

Life is divided into four approximate stages, ashrams, where one’s dharma, primary pursuit or duty, criterion for decision-making and framework for action is appropriate to the stage of life one is in. Brahmacharya or childhood is the first stage of life when one is molded and prepared to live a good life. In this phase one should be guided by the discipline of learning, seeking knowledge. True knowledge cannot be acquired without cultivating an ability to have complete faith and trust. This mental and emotional development can best be acquired by serving one’s teacher, the guru, as a disciple. Princes, such as Arjuna lived in the forest with teachers such as Dronacharya, in spartan conditions in forests, far from cities where all students, prince or commoner, were taught under similar conditions and it was up to the teacher to decide when they would graduate. Complete allegiance to the teacher was expected of the students, as it was believed that one must learn with the heart, not just the mind.

 

The second stage, grahastha ashram, is when one becomes a contributing member of society. Typically, this stage is marked by sensory and aesthetic fulfillment; material and social ambitions are realized as a householder and by having a position, a job, work where one can apply the knowledge gained during childhood. Arjuna is in this stage when the battle of Kurukshetra takes place. He is a prince and a soldier and when he is at war his decision framework is different from when he was a student. This is the argument Krishna uses to reduce the conflict in Arjuna’s mind when going into battle against his revered teacher and guru who he respects more than his own life.

 

Renunciation must be practiced in the next stage of life in an aspiration to achieve liberation from worldly pursuits. This means giving up control of family affairs while reducing one’s physical and emotional needs and practicing detachment from action itself. A very natural development, this phase is an acknowledgement of the fact that as we go through life, we cease to draw satisfaction from the sorts of activities that we enjoyed earlier in life and so the best course of action is to move on to other things. The journey is more important than the destination so this phase is the start of a new journey and is preparation, much as childhood was, for the next phase of life.

 

The final push for liberation, moksha, asceticism can be practiced in the last stage of life by becoming a sanyasi, a forest dwelling hermit or a homeless wanderer who answers only to God. It is the duty of a grahastha to provide for the physical needs of a homeless wanderer in this stage.

 

Svadharma, one’s own guiding principles for action, one’s duty, must be individually defined according to the stage of life and position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Discipline is skill in actions”

“Unreal is action without discipline, charity without sympathy, ritual without devotion”

Bhagavad Geeta

 

 

What is Yoga?

 

The word Yoga has many meanings. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit Yuj meaning to bind, join, attach and yoke, to direct and concentrate one’s attention on, to use and apply. It has been likened to the Latin word jungere, meaning, “to join”. It also means union or communion. It means “the disciplining of the intellect, the mind, the emotions, the will; it means a poise of the soul which enables one to look at life in all its aspects evenly” according to Mahadev Desai in Geeta According to Gandhi. “It means the yoking of all the powers of body, mind and soul to God.”

 

One who follows the path of Yoga is a Yogi (masculine) or Yogin (feminine). The goal of a yogi or yogin is to achieve a state that would best be described as the opposite of what psychologists would call alienation or what Buddhists call sakyadrishti, the feeling of separateness, of being cut off from being.

 

In chapter six of the Bhagavad Geeta, Krishna explains to Arjuna, the meaning of Yoga as a deliverance from contact with pain and sorrow.

 

As a well cut diamond has many facets, each reflecting a different color of light, so does the word Yoga, each facet reflecting a different shade of meaning and revealing different aspects of the entire range of human endeavor to win inner peace and happiness.

 

According to B.K.S. Iyengar, “Yoga is a timeless pragmatic science evolved over thousands of years dealing with the physical, moral, mental and spiritual well being of man as a whole.” In 200 BC, Patanjali wrote the classic treatise Yoga Sutras that systematically expounded on the mental and physical discipline as the path to achieving inner peace. He believed that a person whose mind is free of conflict, free of restlessness is in harmony. Such a person, by the grace of the spirit within him or herself finds fulfillment.

 

Patanjali describes in detail the physical exercises necessary to hone the instrument that is our body, the environment such as food and sleep, samadhis or postures to still the mind in preparation for meditation for mental cleansing as well as common obstacles to overcome. It is the foremost and most complete and scientific approach to self-disciple as a path to success, which it defines as personal fulfillment, to be seen in literature.

 

The practice of Yoga requires a firm foundation in self-discipline, faith, tenacity and perseverance to practice regularly, without which it could be considered mere acrobatics. According to Iyengar  “To win a battle, a general surveys the terrain and the enemy and plans counter measures. In a similar way the Yogi plans the conquest of the Self”.

 

The Stages of Yoga:

 

Patanjali enumerates eight stages or limbs of Yoga as the right means in the quest of inner understanding. The eight stages in succession allow one to achieve first, harmony with the environment and other people. Second they allow the Yogi to control the self – body and mind. Having achieved these two stages a Yogi can then look into the innermost recesses of the body and mind to discover his soul and his maker who are one and the same.

 

The first three stages are outward quests, which allow the Yogi to conquer the body and render it a fit vehicle for the Soul.  Exercise or Yama and  a regular routine or Niyama control the Yogi’s passions and emotions and thus keep him in harmony with his fellow man. Physical postures that increase flexibility of the limbs, regulate our breathing and allow for meditation or Asanas keep the body healthy and strong and in harmony with nature

 

The next two stages are inner quests and they teach the aspirant to regulate the breathing and thereby control the mind. This helps free the senses from the bonds of desire.

 

The next three stages are the quest of the Soul. The Yogi knows that there is no need to look heavenward to find God. His inner self is the abode of his maker and this realization keeps him in harmony with himself and his maker.

 

When one has achieved the ultimate discipline one sees the Whole Truth. In this stage, the knower, the knowledge and the known become one. The seer, the sight and the seen have no separate existence. It is as if a great musician becomes one with the instrument and the music that comes from it. Without one another there is no reality for any of them.

 

The path of Yoga is the foundation for the three different paths to salvation or nirvana or escape from the cycle of birth and death.

 

Karma Marga is the active man’s path. It is the path of action in performing his duty and doing his work.

Bhakti Marga is the emotional man’s path where he finds realization through love and devotion to a personal God.

Jnana Marga is the intellectual man’s path where realization comes from knowledge and from control of his mind.

 

By practicing Yoga, the common man can hope to follow the path of Karma Marga, the path of selfless action performed with skill, judgement, goodwill and non-attachment. There is no hierarchy associated with these paths, they are not mutually exclusive and indeed one may follow all three. Ultimately, the three paths merge into one, are the same and are indistinguishable from one another when traveled by an enlightened Yogi.

 

Distractions on the path of Yoga:

 

Awareness of these distractions and overcoming the obstacles thus encountered are the first indications of self-discipline.

 

1.      Ill health or sickness – a yogi must keep his body in prime condition. Just as an out of tune instrument cannot produce music or a broken vehicle will not travel far so it is with a broken or unhealthy body. When the body is sick, the mind is restless and meditation is impossible. Practice good diet and exercise.

2.      Laziness and indifference – in this condition the mind becomes dull due to inactivity, there is no enthusiasm, no goals. Just as flowing water is pure and stagnant water putrid, a listless person is like a living corpse who can do nothing.

3.      Faithlessness- self-doubt, ill will characterizes this state. Indecision results because of constant doubts and conflicts. Faith is necessary to conquer obstacles and feel happy.

4.      Pride – a feeling of self-importance leads to justifying a path that places the needs of oneself above those of others. This person is afflicted with a false knowledge and lacks the humility to gain wisdom from others.

5.      Lack of concentration – In this state one may know what must be done, but cannot summon the stamina to do it. A musician can hear the music in his dream but he cannot play it when he awakens.

 

 

Disciplines To Enlist on the path of Yoga:

 

To overcome the obstacles on the path of Yoga, practice the following:

 

1.      Friendliness – the discipline of maitri or friendship is achieving a feeling of oneness with the object of friendliness; thus it is much more than friendship. It is a feeling of delight, such as that of a mother in the accomplishments of her child. It is an ability to turn your enemies into your friends by having a feeling of oneness with them.

2.      Compassion – much more than pity and much more than action, it is a combination of the two. When you can use all your resources, physical, moral, mental or emotional in the sheltering of the needy and the weak, you show karuna. You share your strength with the weak till they can become strong. This is not a “survival of the fittest” discipline.

3.      Delight in good work of another – even when the other is your rival or enemy, by showing mudita, a yogi saves himself much heart burning by not being angry or jealous and showing no hatred even when the other achieves a goal which he himself may have failed to achieve.

4.      Self examination – Upon seeing another who may have fallen into vice, upeksa is a feeling of self examination to understand how one would have behaved when faced with the same temptations. Doing this allows the yogi to understand the fallen and be charitable towards them while helping him to avoid temptation and stay on the right path.

 

These are disciplines of the mind and those are the hardest to execute. An unquiet mind cannot experience these feelings and act upon them.

 

Constant Practice and Preparation:

 

Yoga is not a theoretical exercise. Constant practice is the key to being well prepared for action. In fact, Yoga places the greatest emphasis on abhyasa, or constant practice and calls it a spiritual endeavor. Everyone, young, old, sick and infirm can achieve perfection through dedicated application. Success comes to those who are well prepared. “Seeds must be pressed to yield oil. Wood must be heated to release the fire within. The Yogi must practice to realize his inner potential”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Action will remove the doubt that theory cannot solve” – Tehyi Hsieh

“He that has done nothing has known nothing” – Thomas Carlyle

What is Jnana?

The art of self-discovery is the subject of the Bhagavad Geeta. Mastering this art may not be possible for all but to embark on the journey of self-discovery is. Says Krishna, to know oneself is to know me. To know me is to know that God is the strength in the strong, the intelligence in the intelligent, and the virtue in the righteous, the wisdom in the wise and the heat in the Sun. It is to have the will to engage in action and to understand the embodiment of opposites that reside in body and mind. Self-discovery is the path to true knowledge. True knowledge is self-knowledge. In the context of the Geeta, knowledge is a journey as well as a destination. And it is a journey that is full of obstacles. To embark on this journey armed with physical and mental discipline, to live life as a yogi on this path of true knowledge, no matter what the obstacles, is possible for all and so all can be called knowledgeable. By understanding the obstacles and preparing to overcome them, one who follows the path of true knowledge with faith and devotion has a sense of peace and fulfillment. This is the message of the Geeta.

 

True knowledge cannot be bought or acquired since it comes from within. It comes with experience. It comes from action. Education can be imparted but knowledge has to be discovered or revealed. Attending language classes can make us proficient in grammar and vocabulary, but cannot make us poets. That ability comes from within. Knowledge is a synthesis of who we are with the world around us. Education provides a partial view but knowledge allows us to see the whole. Thus education is a tool to be utilized on the journey of knowledge but education by itself does not guide us onto the right path.

 

Knowledge gives insight and wisdom and will free us from mis-concepts, eliminate false behaviors and actuate a withdrawal from wrong ways of living. This in turn generates a feeling of peace and fulfillment with oneself and with the world we live in, a sense of harmony.

 

In Sanskrit, this knowledge is called “jnana”.

 

In describing a knowledgeable person, Swami Nikilananda’s translation says “as the flying bird leaves no footprint in the air and the swimming fish no track in the water, so also the knower of Truth leaves no track or footprint on earth. He is known only to himself and to those who have attained self-knowledge”. Even when engaged in the most intense action the true self is immersed in peace and blessedness and it is only the organs and the senses that busy themselves in this world.

 

True Knowledge: Sattvic Jnana

 

The Bhagavad Geeta calls true knowledge, the highest form of knowledge, as “Sattvic Jnana”. It is the ability to see, that which is whole; which is more than the sum of its parts. We see the “one reality that pervades all differences ‘ “the recognition of oneness in manyness” is the highest knowledge. Our body is a good example of this. When we study anatomy, we see that there are many different parts: heart, lungs, stomach, fingers, toes and head. But I understand that while these are many parts, the whole is I. I understand the oneness that is me. I as one entity, am pervading all the many parts. The highest knowledge then is to be able to see the one Reality that pervades through all the names and forms of the universe. If you touch my back, I might say, “why are you touching me?” I as the one entity, am pervading all the many parts. The importance of having this vision of oneness is that it affects our outlook and how we perceive life, others, and ourselves. How we act. What decisions we make.

 

How does Sattvic Jnana influence behavior?

 

The most concrete example of true knowledge is our attitude towards our physical body. Suppose, I poke myself in the eye while I am talking. I will use the same finger to rub my eye and console it. I will not cut off the finger and throw it away because it has hurt my eye. Sometimes, if I am eating and start talking, my teeth will bite my tongue. Do I break my teeth in order to punish them? No, I do not. My teeth are a part of me and I can no more give them pain than I can to my tongue. I have no hatred towards my teeth. So we see that when we have a sense of oneness we are immediately raised to a higher level of understanding. I have an understanding that involves the individual parts and also the interrelationships. All parts of my physical body are important and I am impartial in my actions to all. I have an attitude of service to all. I have no judgmental reaction. I have no desire to hurt or destroy. My only reaction is to serve and assist.

 

There is a powerful corollary to this definition of knowledge. If true knowledge, our ability to see the whole, this vision of oneness, brings in us a desire to serve, assist and help, then the moment when we are unable to serve, it means we need to revive our vision. It is not a lack of love or the desire to do well. That is inherent in the nature of our soul and only its manifestation is aberrant. That means you can do something about it and pretty quickly too because all you have to do is change your attitude.  The ability is already there; you just have to let it become apparent.

 

This is an empowering concept. We are born with the ability to serve and assist and to find peace and self-fulfillment. The Geeta says that true knowledge is available to us all. We only have to seek it. Just as we know it for our bodies, we can know it for the universe.

 

If one person changes, the world around him will be changed. Each of us influences a great many people. The wise man hates none and is friend to all. Do not wait for others to change; begin with yourself. You are the world and the world is not different from you. This is also called the non-dualism of vedantic knowledge and is the most complete form of knowledge.

 

Knowledge Traps:

 

Sattvic Jnana is the truest form of knowledge. We can aspire towards Sattvic Jnana by recognizing and rising above lower or incomplete forms of knowledge. Those are called “Rajasic Jnana” and “Tamasic Jnana” which is the lowest form of knowledge. Getting stuck in one of these and perceiving them, as the whole is a trap we must avoid.

 

Rajasic knowledge is the understanding of the parts. This is when one sees each thing separately and as unrelated. We understand the parts but not the whole. An eye specialist may treat the eye, a painter may notice color and form, and a musician may understand the notes. The trap in this is not only in missing the higher experience such as music created from the notes, but in starting to believe that the parts are all important – the notes are more important than the music – that one cannot have music without the notes. This is wrong. Music comes from within and can be expressed and shared using musical notes, but that is just one method. Music will find expression but probably not from the person who is lost in the notes. This form of partial knowledge is called Rajasic Jnana and can be a trap if not recognized.

 

The lowest form of knowledge is called “Tamasic Jnana”and is a bigger trap. This is when one takes the understanding of a certain part of the whole, and becomes attached to it instead of the whole. This is when I get attached to my view, my object, and my path. Then my path becomes the right path. My way is the correct way. The person with Tamasic knowledge is intolerant and fanatical. This narrow view of thinking makes everything appear to be a conflict. One sees only winners and losers, only right and wrong, only my way and your way. In seeing things this way there can be no benefit to anyone.

 

True Knowledge: The Field and the Knower of the Field

 

Chapter thirteen of the Bhagavad Geeta uses the metaphor of a field (kshetra) for the human body and mind and defines true knowledge as the ability to “know” the field. Thus a knowledgeable person is one who “knows” the “field” and is called “knower” of the field (kshetrajna). It defines God, in the form of Krishna, to be the “knower”of the field in all “fields” thus having the knowledge of matter and spirit – Prakriti and Purusha. For Krishna all the fields together are one field. What Arjuna can do is to completely know himself and thus find God within him and thus know matter and spirit.

 

Self-knowledge is true knowledge and the objective for staying on the path of true knowledge is to find God. Thus devotion to God is the same as devotion to knowledge and is the stabilizing force in a yogi.

 

What am I? Who am I?  

 

The field, kshetra, has been described by sages in many different ways says Krishna. Briefly, the field is made up of the five subtle elements (ether, air, fire, water, earth), the ego, the intellect, the faculties of knowing and doing, the five objects of sense (sound, touch, color, taste and smell). Within this field reside the opposites of desire and aversion, pleasure and pain. It embodies consciousness and resolution. The field is constantly evolving, imperfect and subject to change.

 

While the word field is used in almost all English translations of the Bhagavad Geeta for the word kshetra, I have had some trouble with using this word. Yet, I cannot think of a better word. Suffice it for me that the word field itself can have a multiplicity of meanings depending on the context. In the world of physics, field is an abstraction to express a force of nature. Thus we have an electromagnetic field. It is a force of completely abstract form and shape and can appear or disappear if the conditions are not there to make this force possible. The field of gravity cannot be seen or heard yet the force is undeniable. The human body is a physical manifestation of the force that is our soul. Thus Krishna’s use of the word field is the way a physicist would use the word field. The physical body is a field, which is the manifestation of the forces of mind, intellect, ego, and spirit. The strongest force in this field is the force of will power or Sankalpa Shakti. It is specifically called out in the Geeta as one of the most powerful forces a human being is endowed with.

 

There is also a biological interpretation possible. The root word of ksetra is ksi, which means something that decays and undergoes constant change. The human body, the field, is made up of cells that are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones. Our method of healing is through new cells replacing old ones. There is constant change, and change is necessary for growth, new ideas, modifications, adaptations, learning and all the activities that make us individual beings. Yet with change, the body, the force remains uniquely identifiable and individual. Death of an individual cell means life for the next one. Death of an individual body means life for another. A body is not destroyed when an individual cell dies. The force, of which the body is a manifestation, is not destroyed when the body is gone. Thus there is one life force in all bodies and that life force is God. So there is only one God and yet it resides in each body. Krishna calls himself the Kshetrajna (knower) in all the kshetras (fields).

 

An ability to detach one’s true self, this inner force, from the interplay of the body, mind, intellect, ego, the physical breath, the passions, the sensory organs is the objective of the path of knowledge. It is from this belief that the Geeta is rooted in its belief of non-attachment as a necessary companion for traversal on this path.

 

Thus, in the Geeta, as in science and in nature, there is no distinction between mind and matter. It is all part of evolution of the oneness of the universe.

 

Devotion as the Path to Knowledge:

 

Knowing the field means knowing all this. If you know this, you are the knower of the field; you are knowledgeable. The characteristics of one who is knowledgeable are:

 

-          absence of egoism

-          draws strength in humility and lack of pride

-          absence of deceit

-          freedom from hypocrisy

-          straightforward and pure of mind and body

-          maintains a dispassion towards the objects of senses

-          awareness of the deficiencies inherent in the change that is birth and death

-          endurance of the pain that is old age and disease

-          freedom from involvement with the self and its bondage to birth

-          freedom from the desire of possession and drawing identity from  man or wife, child, household

-          able to calmly encounter the painful or the pleasant

-          self control through detachment

-          constant balance of mind both in favorable and unfavorable circumstances

 

This is a daunting list. To be knowledgeable all the time is difficult or impossible. That is why the pursuit of knowledge, the journey itself is positioned as important. An unflinching devotion to the pursuit of knowledge, to God, can provide a focus and strengthen the will. Thus devotion to God, in a higher being, is acceptable and even commendable for a person on the journey of self-discovery.

 

In this context, God is the personification of all the opposites. It is neither a being (sat) nor a non-being (asat). It is everywhere and nowhere. It is the perceiver of all senses and yet has no senses. It is within and without all human beings and constitutes both animate and inanimate creation. It is incomprehensible yet easily understood. It is at hand yet it is far away. Though indivisible (like ether) it stands as if divided among humans. It is a sustainer, creator and destroyer of humans and all knowable substance. The light of all lights, it is beyond the darkness of maya. God is knowledge itself; God is also the object of knowledge and devotion is the path of knowledge.

 

Happiness and Barriers to Happiness:

 

The source of happiness is not in external things but within. The three elements of sattva, rajas and tamas result in different forms of happiness. Knowledge of the self is the enduring happiness. It comes from long practice and is an end of pain. Happiness can appear to be like poison in the beginning but is an elixir in the end, because it requires arduous work, renunciation of worldly goods, meditation and concentration to turn it into nectar. Happiness characterized by sattva, does not, like sensuous enjoyment, produce an immediate result. Rajasic happiness, which arises from the contact of senses with the objects, is immediate, fleeting and is like nectar at first that turns into poison in the end. Tamasic happiness, born of ignorance and delusion, brought by sloth, sleep, indulgence and negligence deludes the self in the beginning and in the end is a poison that slowly destroys the knowledge of the self. Self-knowledge removes from the mind, the impurity of rajas and tamas and endows it with serenity and clarity and lasting happiness.

 

Several metaphors are enlisted by Krishna to help Arjun understand these apparently contradictory concepts. Arjuna wants to know: how can something that makes us happy, even if fleetingly, be bad? What is the source of evil if God resides within us and we are all good?

 

Desire, which leads to selfishness and ignorance, which leads to sloth and laziness, are the enemies that reside within us and cloud the ability to judge between good and evil. These are the fortresses of the enemy that we must avoid getting trapped in. The forces that propel us towards these traps can be fought through self-discipline and knowledge.

 

Knowledge is the core that is surrounded by a fire of desire. Gratifying the senses is providing fuel to the fire, which makes it grow. As it grows bigger it needs more fuel and will consume everything in its path. One can learn and stop feeding this fire and stop it before it consumes the core of knowledge. A wise person learns soon that desire is the evil and does not wait for the result to learn his lesson. He can teach himself to keep the senses tamed through discipline and moderation. Since all opposites reside within us, the key to taming the senses is moderation. Gluttony is as much a sin as starvation, sloth is as much a sin as being overzealous. Passion and hate, pride and self-abasement are all equally large barriers to lasting happiness.

Along with metaphors, the most common form of conveying values is through story telling – as indeed the great epics are the greatest stories as well as philosophies. So two of my favorite childhood stories seem relevant.

 

On Happiness: The Story of Two Cats

 

A big cat saw a little cat chasing its tail and asked, “Why are you chasing your tail so?”

Said the kitten  “I have learned that the best thing for a cat is happiness and that happiness is in my tail. Therefore I am chasing it and when I catch it, I shall have happiness.”

 

Said the old cat “My child, I too have paid attention to the problems of the universe. I too have judged that happiness is in my tail. But I have noticed that whenever I chase it, it runs away from me and when I go about my business, it just seems to come after me wherever I go.”

 

On Knowledge: The Story of the Teacup

 

A man worked very diligently and acquired much prosperity and power. Feeling in need of respect he gave much to charity and engaged in social welfare. Yet he felt incomplete and betrayed by God, for had he not done all that was required of him? What more could he do? Being a man of action he decided to visit the famous Buddhist monk who resided far away in the mountains. The man enlisted his fastest jet and his entourage and went to visit the monk in his humble abode.

 

The monk welcomed him with a big smile.

“Please be seated” he said and pointed to a mat on the floor.

“I know why you are here but first would you like a cup of tea?”

The man reigned in his impatience, sat down and said, “yes, I would love a cup of tea”.

The monk handed him a teacup and started pouring tea into the cup from a teapot. Soon the cup was half full, then full and then it started to overflow. But the monk kept pouring.

After a while the man lost his patience and snapped – “the cup is already full. Please stop.”

The monk looked at him, smiled and kept pouring and pouring and soon the teapot was empty.

 

“Why did you do that?” asked the man and the monk replied “even a full teapot cannot add tea to a cup that is full. How can I help you if you think your cup of knowledge is already full?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART III

 

 

 

“He who is equal in regard to well-wisher, friend and enemy,

to the indifferent, the mediator and the jealous,

also to the kinsmen, sinners and saints,

he excels, he stands supreme” (6-9)

 

 

In an oversimplified interpretation, Geeta says, to be born is to be in conflict. Good decisions in the face of conflict will lead to excellence in actions, which may lead us to an escape from the cycle of birth and death and attain everlasting peace. The Geeta says that if we are born, we act. To be is to act. So action is our duty; a consequence of birth. One path to the ultimate goal of escaping this cycle of birth and death, nirvana, is through excellence in our actions. Excellence requires total discipline of our body and intellect, so that we may exercise good judgement, make the right decisions. This will allow us to have a clear conscience, to strengthen us in action and provide endurance through the tough times and the choices we make. Even making no decision is an act, a choice albeit an unconscious one. So we might as well be proactive rather than reactive. Having proposed a philosophy based around action and discipline, the Geeta outlines a procedure, using the metaphor of war to symbolize internal human conflict, by which one may choose the right action and how one can execute it best.

 

Seven Principles:

 

1.       Duty or Truth – Dharma: None of us lives in isolation. We have a duty to ourselves, to society and to nature to live a good life. A good life means a life ruled by virtues of compassion, moderation and love for mankind. This should be a guiding principle in deciding the actions that we take.

 

2.      Non-Attachment: Attachments of any form lead to lack of control over our body or mind, hence poor judgement and lack of focus in execution results. One must be constantly vigilant against them. Love for one can cloud our judgement just as much as hatred for another. Not only that, attachment to results causes us to worry – a complete waste of energy. If we attach ourselves to the result of action such as success, we deflect energy that would be used into performing the action into worrying about whether we would be successful or not. So detach yourself from the results.  Practice non-attachment

 

 

3.      Yoga of Knowledge: Knowing about non-attachment is easier said than done. To be human is to be driven by our senses and our passions. So always keep an open mind and seek answers and seek the whole truth. Practice humility as only then will your mind is open to receive answers. Seek knowledge.

 

 

4.      Yoga of Discipline: Knowledge does not come easily either. To do that, exercise discipline first of the body and then of the mind. Practice Yoga. Practice moderation. Learn to discipline your body and mind through exercise, meditation and practice moderation in your physical needs. Sleeping too much is just as bad as sleeping too little. Overeating is as much an abuse as not eating enough. Being proud and arrogant is just as bad as having low self-esteem and groveling. Learn to recognize and conquer all extremes in your behavior.

 

 

5.      Action – Karmayoga: People must work. Sages may find nirvana in meditation and a few spiritual souls may find devotion to God as the path to freedom but for the greatest number of people work is the path to salvation. It may not always be clear what the action is or should be or even if inaction is the right form of action, but figure it out and do your best. Negligence through sloth is not an option for the karamayogi. Within the framework of our duty, guided by knowledge, firm in discipline, we must act.

 

 

6.      Context: Decisions and actions are rooted within the larger context of the universe or brahamanda. The absolute condition only exists over the entire concept of space (i.e. space-less); the entire period of time (i.e. timeless) and the entire set of beings (a rock is the same as a person, both creations of God) that populate this time space continuum. Decisions must then be made in context, as one cannot know the absolute condition. Hence there is no absolute right or wrong decision without the context it must be made in. In Arjuna’s case the context is the war he must fight because he is a soldier, a leader. That is why, in addition to our duty dictated by our profession and our birth, we are given the context of time in the several stages we go through in life from birth to death (child – be a survivor; youth – be a learner; householder – be a provider; older – seek non-attachment).

 

 

7.      Yoga of Devotion: Even with all of this, there will be much conflict apparent because that is the nature of this cycle of birth and death. Contemplating this too much and seeking to directly correlate your action to a result is a form of pride. Give it up. It will lead you astray from the path of excellence in your action. To feel empowered and strong, believe in a higher self of which you are a part but not the whole. While your actions appear to be driven by you, believe that an external force drives them so that while your duty is to act you are also just an instrument of a higher being. Thus you have neither the right to any benefit nor any loss from the action. Practice devotion so that you may absolve yourself from feelings of guilt or righteousness that may result from your actions.

 

 

 

With all the emphasis on non-attachment and not having any rights to the fruit of the actions, the Geeta places the greatest emphasis on excellence in execution of individual decisions. In fact, what is abundantly clear is that the key concepts are developed so that one may achieve excellence. Thus non-attachment, knowledge, discipline and devotion are not the desired end states; rather they are the means to the goal of achieving excellence. Duty or dharma is the framework for making decisions and devotion or bhakti is the spiritual cleansing for conflict resolution. For excellence is the only goal that the Geeta allows us to attach ourselves to because excelling is the path to escape the cycle of birth and death.

 

A myriad of interpretations is possible. This particular aspect may sometimes be less emphasized in spiritual and religious interpretations of the Geeta but for a practical person it is the most important aspect of the discourse. To me, this pragmatism is what provides the enduring allure of the philosophy, making it universally applicable. It is suitable in the diverse situations encountered in nature. Additionally, there is the element of timelessness in its relevancy. As long as human beings continue to be humans, focussing on action with the goal of doing the job as well as it can be done, will take the focus away from conflict and lead to personal harmony. 

 

Thus we find ancient wisdom by focussing on the universality of human nature and placing it in the context of the universe is applicable today just as it was in the past, despite all the changes wrought by technology and politics.

 

 

How to Apply the Key Concepts to Conflict Resolution:

 

The 700 verses of the Geeta are devoted to helping Arjuna make one decision – Should he fight or lay down his arms. As night begins, Arjuna is seriously considering laying down his arms and seeking death as salvation. By morning, he has decided to fight and lead his army into battle. The battlefield and the battle are metaphors for human beings and the struggle of life; the fact that life is a choice with no predefined answer; the fact that each person must make an individual choice in the context of the whole of the universe.

 

 Thus when Arjuna asks Krishna:

“Why do you encourage me to do this act of violence; kill my brothers and my teachers?”

 

Krishna does not condone violence. Instead he identifies Arjuna’s real enemy as his desire, due to attachment.  He identifies pride as another enemy in believing that his actions are solely responsible for the death of another human. Thus he identifies Arjuna’s motive for inaction to be just as impure as his motive for action. He says desire is an enemy that can be overcome by arming oneself with discipline and acting to transcend the limiting and narrow view resulting from pride and attachment. Arjuna must see beyond the conflict so that he can be strong in his actions.

 

Human beings are not born identical. There are many different temperaments and constitutions and within that context people may find themselves at different stages of spiritual development. So it is perfectly natural to find teachings that help people recognize and identify their individual state and find actions suited to their needs. This is done by elucidation of the three attributes of life: gunas. The psychological states of human beings are linked up with the spiritual quest of man through the concept of oneness with nature or Prakriti.  Identification of humans as an element of nature provides a larger context for “I”.  The three qualities (gunas) that constitute Nature (Prakriti) are lucidity or truth (sattva), passion or senses (rajas) and ignorance or dark inertia (tamas). All these qualities together make up the nature of each individual and the universe. To be born is to have these in oneself; however, sattva is the highest guna and in as much as that quality prevails in human beings they can achieve excellence.

 

Conflict resolution requires spiritual discipline. The aim of spiritual discipline is to overcome ignorance and inertia through activity. Activity is a state of learning, karma yoga, leading to a higher state that is selfless and brings wisdom, harmony and peace. In this enlightened state, the aim is to practice devotion so as to overcome attachment to action itself. Such stoicism may seem extreme till we realize that humans are not expected to be in either extreme for long. One hopes that rajas completely dominates tamas and is guided by sattva.

 

“For the sage ascending the hill of Yoga, action is the cause; for the same sage when he has got to the top of Yoga, self mastery is the cause” (6-3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART IV

 

 

 

 

“The greatness is not what we do, but unavoidably it is always in how we do, what we do”

Swami Chinmayananda

 

Take all the philosophy and psychology of the Geeta and boil it down to its essence and we end up with some very practical tips. World philosophers and spiritual leaders of today and yesterday teach tips that are not very different from that.

 

“Happiness is an expression of the soul in considered actions” -Aristotle in 4^th century BC.

 

That says an individual must make thoughtful decisions and follow up with appropriate action to be happy. After all, what do we all want from life? Happiness. What do we all have? Soul. What can we all do? Make decisions and act with excellence.

 

A bottom line oriented retelling could be: work hard and smart and you’ll be happy.

The skeptic in us may go – is that so?

 

“In the arena of human life the honors and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities in action” continues Aristotle, integrating the individual into society, for we do not exist alone in this world. We must live in harmony, not only with ourselves but also our surroundings. Some examples of good qualities may be judgement, compassion and diligence. Good judgement resulting in considered actions done with compassion, followed by hard work, sounds like a nice way to define excellence or “eminently good”. Since these are individual attributes, we are reminded that it is our responsibility and our choice to excel for which the internal reward is happiness and the external reward is success.

 

By adding the personal and societal dimensions and adding an external measure of happiness, Aristotle makes the skeptic in us think harder, hopefully hard enough to realize that thinking alone will not provide all answers. We must also enlist the heart.

 

Arguably no single volume of text has embodied this aspect of blending reason and emotion more forcefully and emphatically than the Bhagavad Geeta. Additionally, what I like about the Geeta is that it squarely places the responsibility on the individual to choose action over inaction, duty over self, knowledge over ignorance, morality over selfishness, humility over ego and a universal love over fleeting emotion. The motivational carrot it offers the person, who chooses well, is nirvana; escape from this cycle of birth and death where we must deal with such conflicts.

 

“A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action which does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all” – Georges Bernanos – 1955

 

Action undertaken after careful consideration of various options, guided by moral considerations, makes you believe in yourself which in turn, gives you the emotional strength to overcome obstacles encountered in the course of action. Hence, the ability to choose well, make sound decisions, is the key skill in business as well as in life outside the workplace. “A thinking animal, such is man”. The ability to learn and think also means there is no prescribed formula for anyone to follow in life. We make our own choices. We live as individuals in the context of society and in relationship to others. That means change is a constant force internally and externally. Not being a linear process of cause and effect but more of a jumble of everything happening at once, we are always in a state of making a decision for ourselves or being affected by another’s decision. Simply speaking, you have to take sides. If you choose not to, you will find yourself aligned on one side or another based on someone else’s decision. Sometimes that maybe what you desire, other times it may not. You can choose to be in control of your actions. If not, otherwise others will drive your action.

 

Reason versus Emotion:

 

Reason and emotion are the two forces that drive decision-making. A combination of the two is needed for good decisions. Born in 1623, Blaise Pascal, mathematician and philosopher extraordinaire, classified the two extremes of reason and emotion, when one dominates to the exclusion of the other as the “skeptics” or “dogmatists”. Neither is desirable. Pure reason can lead to a state of skepticism when the contradictions of the universe make no sense. As for dogmatists, they base their reasoning on non-existent foundations. “Reason’s final step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things beyond it; it is merely feeble if it does not go as far as to grasp that.” Powerful reason becomes conscious of its limitations when it reaches them.

 

Pascal’s logic driven theory predicts that pushed to extreme limits, skepticism and dogmatism would lead to a complete paralysis of thought and action. Nothing will make sense. The duality of the universe, nature versus nurture, biology versus culture, personal versus societal, mind versus body will always appear to be in conflict. The only way out is to understand and accept this as part of a greater truth, make decisions and choices one can believe in and allow them to become your guiding principles.

 

“We come to know truth not only by reason, but even more by our heart…  It is just as useless for reason to demand of the heart proofs of its first principles in order to concur in them, as it would be for the heart to demand of reason an intuitive knowledge of all its propositions before accepting them.” (Page 246, Pascal)

 

One can derive from this that decision making is not a linear, precise, mathematical process. It is complex, ambiguous and often, a compromise of reason and emotion. Having a philosophical understanding of the universe and our role in it for the short time that we live in it, can be a way to reduce tension and conflict.

 

Intellect and heart, reason and emotion, together, will provide you all the information and intuition you need to lead your life. It is up to you to decide how you will do it. Consider this image of  “..the soul as lord of the chariot which is the body, with the intellect as the charioteer and mind as the reins. The senses are the horses and they range over many paths, but are brought under control by the good charioteer who has understanding and a restrained mind.” (page 50, Upanishads, Gita and Bible)

 

 

Excellence versus Perfection

 

People often confuse perfection with excellence. To be born is to be imperfect. Nature is not perfect; life is not perfect; I am not even sure perfection is a goal for us humans. I recently read a story that really helped me understand this. The story is about a baseball player who was so perfect that when he pitched, the batter was out in the first pitch. When he was at bat, nobody could get him out. So what was the result? Nobody could play with him. Life is like a ballgame; it works best when all the players do the very best job they can, learn from their mistakes and then when its all over go on to play the next game better than they did before. To me that defines excellence and it is what we should strive for.

 

I like this story because a fear of not achieving perfection at something keeps people from even trying things. If you don’t try it, you can’t get better at it; you can’t excel.

Excellence is achievable; perfection is not.

 

According to Hindu philosophy, when we get so excellent at what we do that we are perfect, we will achieve nirvana and escape from this cycle of birth and death.

 

 

Decisions versus Strategy

 

In the context of war, the meaning of the word strategy is easy to understand – it is a decision of really big scope. In war there is always controversy and success is not guaranteed. Risk is inherent to war and risk is inherent to a strategy. Alexander defeated the massive, well rested army of king Porus by mounting a dual attack on the enemy, using his tired and hungry soldiers who had trekked over inhospitable terrain for months. A small army of his soldiers attacked as expected from the front while a larger army trekked over more mountains and more inhospitable terrain, to mount a simultaneous unexpected attack from the rear. His strategy was to utilize the strength and complacency of Porus against him and to use the element of surprise in the attack. His decision to split his troops, further reducing their numbers was risky but it paid off. At the time it was made, the wisdom of this decision was not obvious. A dubious value of the surprise element was being offset by the certainty of hardships in further trekking across impassable terrain. However, Alexander acknowledged this but felt he had only one winning strategy. The risk was understood and communicated to the generals and the army so a coordinated attack could be mounted. Using this example, the relationship between strategy and decision may be based around scope.  Given that a large scope decision will drive several smaller decisions made by several different people to attain the same goal, communication of the logic or reasoning behind a particular decision or strategy becomes a critical skill also.

 

I versus You: Relate to Others

 

Decisions are made in a context and an environment. No decision is independent of its environment and a critical component of environment is other people. No decision can have a successful outcome if it does not consider people. So it is imperative for a good decision-maker to develop skills that enhance understanding of human behavior and think of the decision not from in individual but from a group perspective. This requires a shift of focus from the personal to the environment.

 

Data gathering is one tool for shifting the focus from oneself to others. By getting inputs from a variety of sources, one puts the decision in context of its environment. Thinking about people affected or involved with the decision is the step when you complete this transfer of energy from yourself to others and the environment. When you begin to think of the whole ecosystem and not just an individual the result will be that the decision and actions are viewed and owned by others also. This greatly enhances the chances of a successful outcome from the decision.

 

Whether you want to build a bridge, win a war or throw a great party, it is the people who will make it happen. While this is an old truism, today’s “knowledge economy” has turned it into the single most critical success factor for an individual as well as an organization. Add this to the fact that in a global business, environment isolation is impossible and free and rapid movement of information is possible. Only people generate ideas, apply data to problems and create knowledge. One quickly realizes the importance of having, retaining and utilizing the best minds in a company. No more can an organization afford to ignore the “softer skills” of management. People and human resource issues are no longer to be relegated to a lowly status and to be the playground of personnel departments.

 

Fortunately this is not at odds with what our goal is; it is just a realization that excellence in decision-making is not a solitary occupation. More than ever, we must see the big picture, see the whole and its individual parts; think creatively and with empathy. Good decisions, successful outcomes, cannot be achieved without support from others.

 

Cherish people and relationships much more than your most valuable asset. Though we think we are eager to treat people as special, in practice we often overlook their needs. It is a natural mistake because people will generally recover from our neglect whereas our cherished physical asset may not. But an asset can be replaced while relationships get wounded. Wounds leave scars. What takes a long time to build, such as trust, individual relationships or group dynamics, can be destroyed very quickly and can then take a very long time to rebuild if that can be done at all. Compared to that, physical assets can be replaced relatively quickly.

 

In honing your decision-making skills, take the long-term view. Understand people. Understand their emotional and intellectual needs, motivation, drivers, values, and limitations. But above all have empathy and never be judgmental of a person.  Judging a person is very different from judging their actions and behaviors. The latter are fair game and as a manager or leader may even be a responsibility that when carried out with empathy and understanding will even be appreciated. The former is not.

 

Understand Human Nature:

 

If you understand human nature and internalize the fact that all people are the same species, you will be non-judgmental. This will show through in all your behaviors. You will know that you mirror every deficiency you see in the person standing in front of you. And you will have compassion. Compassion brings you trust.

 

A lesson in evolutionary psychology can be particularly helpful in enhancing our understanding of people and their motivations. While technology is advancing at supersonic and breakneck speeds, our physical and emotional makeup is programmed to move at the speed of genetic mutation. Even glaciers are moving fast when you think about how much humans have changed since they first evolved. So when it comes to people, slow down and remember you are of the same species. And leverage that knowledge. Do not let minor differences of color, race, culture cloud your thinking in today’s diverse environment when you need creativity and originality of thought more than ever.

 

Homo Sapiens emerged 200,000 years ago and people still exhibit those traits that made survival possible then: fight furiously when threatened, trade information, share secrets, propagate clan living. So while the world around us has changed we have not. This does not mean people are all alike underneath. But it helps to understand what has contributed to our survival for so long and how it impacts the workplace. Understanding leads to an assessment about how much to fight, suppress or enlist what we are genetically programmed to do.

 

 

Barrier to Understanding Others: Self-Defeating Behaviors and Emotional Traps

 

If you understand yourself, you can understand others. But there is no limit to self-delusion once you get started. We all do it because it is our built in escape mechanism from dealing with the harsh realities of life. Accept that you will do it periodically but then act and stop.

 

You can start by asking yourself at the end of everyday – Did I do what I choose to do?

 

If the answer is yes, sleep easy.

 

If not, start asking yourself – Why? Invariably the answer is one that places the responsibility for your action on someone else. This is your escape mechanism from taking responsibility for yourself and why these behaviors get in the way of your understanding others.

 

To instill self-discipline in this process, do a 5-minute retrospective every night. Keep asking why till the answer to the question is more often yes than no.

Recognize self-defeating behaviors and emotions that get in the way of success and stop indulging in them.

 

Emotional traps outlined in the table that follows are a form of wasted energy that can be utilized in other more effective ways.

 

 

Emotional Trap	Why we do it	Action to avoid trap
Guilt and Worry -Cause paralysis in the present moment.	*Guilt allows you to focus on past deeds and Worry on the future thus allowing escape from the present actions required *These are Self-serving false notions where we believe we worry about people we love. If I worry about you, it shows I care and that somehow makes it all right that I don’t really have to do anything for you. *Guilt means we wish to reform ourselves so we can escape taking responsibility for past actions. “I am really an OK person because I am suffering too and hence I don’t need to do anything. Instead of becoming a giver, I can be a taker – of your sympathy.”	*Make a list of the items causing you worry and another one for guilt * Append actions that you did that are the cause of your guilt feeling to the list. Do the same for the worry list except in this case they may not be your actions *Seek information from a variety of people to validate or invalidate your perspective. This action itself will help to get you out of the paralysis mode *List actions you can take to reduce your feelings of guilt/worry *Do something at the personal, social or societal level depending on what you are worrying about and what your capacity is. Don’t worry about world hunger; donate time or money to a charitable cause
Anger and Blame -Cause wasted energy in seeking justice	*Justify maintaining the current situation while shifting responsibility * Inclination to perpetuate the past decisions even if we know them to be mistakes	*Remind yourself of the objectives- why you started on this to begin with. *Propose several alternatives and make a conscious effort to list advantages/disadvantages *Remember you are planning. The status quo gets older and less desirable with time
Regret or Exultation -Cause paralysis in the present moment	Inclination to perpetuate the past decisions even if we know them to be mistakes or only minor wins	*Seek opinions from people uninvolved with past history *Do not get your ego involved. A bad result does not mean a bad decision was made *cultivate an environment where employees are rewarded for their decision making skills with the data at hand rather than solely on outcomes
Approval Seeking or Approval  Withholding -Cause unhealthy relationships based on unsustainable emotions	Seeking information in support of our bias or action while discounting opposing information or action	*Get someone you respect to play devil’s advocate *Ask open ended questions when gathering data *Apply equal rigor in examining all data whether it be confirming or opposing
Low Self-Esteem or High Ego - Cause avoidance in taking on responsibility for action.	It is a safety mechanism to keep us from being emotionally destroyed when we perceive ourselves to have failed.	*Don’t be judgmental of yourself or others *Measure your success by engaging in activity and not become attached to the result *Enjoy doing the task at hand without waiting to feel good after the task
Victim or Conqueror -Cause unhealthy relationships based on unsustainable emotions	Allows misstating the problem so as to undermine the whole decision making process	*Pose the problem in a neutral fashion with some built in redundancy *Try several different frames before accepting one *Evaluate the frame throughout the process against the goals

                       

 

Elements of Non-Judgmental behaviors: Verification Exercise

 

Understanding human behavior means empathizing with people. This can only be done if we see all humans as being one and our duty in life to be dictated by factors larger than any individual or society. This understanding and actions are not bounded by space-time considerations.

 

In verifying that you took a non-judgmental approach ask yourself if in making your decisions were you:

 

Detached or equally attached to all involved parties?

Detached or equally attached to the possible outcomes for the different parties?

 

If truthfully the answer is yes, you are unbiased and are taking the right decision.

 

To visualize an empowered person, think of what S. Radhakrishnan said in the context of describing Gandhi:

 

“He who wrongs no one fears no one. He has nothing to hide and so is fearless. He looks everyone in the face. His step is firm, his body upright, and his words are direct and straight.”   -  S. Radhakrishnan in Gandhi – all men are brothers.

 

 

Do:

 

1.      Be self-confident – you are the instrument of God.

 

2.      Enlist your Will Power – It is your strongest ally in times of conflict. The power is within you.

 

3.      Ask questions to increase your knowledge – seek counsel from others keeping an open mind

 

4.      Take time to reflect before making a decision – the choice is yours so having gathered enough data, make your own decision.

 

5.      Make the right decision – enlist your heart and mind till you have resolved all conflict and firmly believe in the decision you have made. There is no room for ambiguity in believing in your choice.

 

6.      Practice moderation and self discipline- Eat right, exercise the body and meditate to calm the mind. A healthy body is necessary for doing your best. It is also a prerequisite for achieving control over your mind. A flitting mind leads to lack of focus.

 

7.      Help others – increase your viewpoint to include others. Others doing well can make you feel just as good as doing well yourself.

 

8.      Be calm – excess emotion is a waste of energy and can sway judgement. If you find yourself agitated, wait till you are calm and balanced before making any decisions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t:

 

1.      When faced with tough choices, don’t take refuge in inaction - make decisions and follow up with action.

 

2.      Don’t be judgmental of others – it keeps you from being kind. See the failings of others as mirrors into yourself and understand that you too may need help sometime. This will impact how you behave with others.

 

3.      Don’t worry – it wastes precious energy. This can be achieved by not thinking about results.

 

4.      Don’t feel Guilt – it keeps you from correcting the wrong you did. It is a negative outlet for energy.

 

5.      Instead do something to compensate for your misbehavior. Charity is a positive channel for this energy.

 

6.      Don’t make excuses for yourself – you can overcome the lower urges and tendencies if you try. This is a constant struggle. Acknowledge that and just keep trying.

 

7.      Don’t focus on your weaknesses – this is another escape route to inaction and comes couched with self-pity

 

8.      Don’t focus on perfection – there is no such thing on earth and it can keep you from acting by making you feel inadequate and afraid. To be born is to be imperfect. That is why the cycle of birth and death exists. Perfection only exists in Nirvana.

 

9.      Don’t be slaves to your senses – senses are for your protection but can easily overpower and control your actions. Being aware is the first step in being in control of you.

 

 

Decision Making and Action as a Process

 

One hopes that decision making is the conscious compromise of reason and emotion influenced by internal and external forces where the tradeoffs and risks are understood and communicated. In reality, decisions are often made in a split second. How often have you heard about that defining moment, with much of the rationalizing and action planning done afterwards? Either way works. This is perfectly acceptable because the process of decision making is not linear, it is not prescriptive and it is subject to change based on unforeseen happenings. Thus one may argue, why bother to understand the logic that drives a decision, why understand the emotion? Why treat a complex non-linear process as if it could be sliced and diced along the axes of reason, emotion and philosophy? Why pretend that that we can take a logical step by step approach when there is not a clear beginning or end to a decision?

 

Do it because it can be done. Understand the limitations and advantages of the process. Do it because it is a better option to be prepared than to be unprepared. Understand that preparation may not always position you optimally. Do it because it improves the odds in the game of life. Do it because there is no other better way.