|| Om Shri Ganeshai Namaha || Fifth Edition GITA FOR PROFESSIONALS by CA Chetan Dalal Citizens’ Education Series BOMBAY CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS’ SOCIETY 7, Jolly Bhavan No. 2, Ground Floor, New Marine Lines, Mumbai 400 020. T : +91 22 6137 7600 • E : [email protected] • W : www.bcasonline.org E-Journal : www.bcajonline.org • E-learning : https://bcasonline.courseplay.co/
| ii | © BOMBAY CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS’ SOCIETY First Edition — June 2012 Second Edition — June 2014 Third Edition — April 2016 Third Edition Reprint — September 2016 Third Edition Reprint — July 2017 Fourth Edition — February 2018 Fourth Edition Reprint — January 2019 Fourth Edition Reprint — August 2019 Fifth Edition — November 2019 Price : ` 150/- + postage charges extra The opinions and views expressed in this publication are those of the Contributor. The Society does not necessarily concur with the same. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission in writing from the Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society. This publication is sold with the understanding that neither the publisher, nor the author will be responsible for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work whether directly or indirectly for any error or omission, to any person whether a buyer of this publication or not. Published by CA Manish Sampat, President for Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society, 7, Jolly Bhavan No. 2, Ground Floor, New Marine Lines, Mumbai-400 020. T : +91 22 6137 7600 • E : [email protected] • W : www.bcasonline.org E-Journal : www.bcajonline.org E-Learning : https://bcasonline.courseplay.co/ Printed by Finesse Graphics & Prints Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: +91 22 4036 4600 Fax: +91 22 2496 2297
| iii | Foreword - Fifth Edition We may say, that in the present-day, the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ is an unparalleled software like a search engine which feeds the hardware of the human mind. It is a time-tested and effective software that keeps the human mind alert and toned towards positive thinking and attitude. The lessons from every verse of the Bhagavad Gita can be an all-time answer for any question or an all-time solution for any situation that a human comes across in both personal or professional life. The solutions and answers provided by Lord Krishna for Arjuna to resolve his confusions are serving as permanent guidelines for the humankind. Since generations, the Bhagavad Gita is being preached, followed and recommended for leading an ideal life. Installation of this software in the heart and mind and regularly applying its principles in real life circumstances ensures a purposeful and meaningful life. The questions in the mind of Arjuna are equally relevant in modern day life. Every person who wishes to live a disciplined life following human values, ethics and basic law of nature will always find guidance and directions from the understanding of the Bhagavad Gita. It is a Master Guide for those who wish to live a blissful life. Today the problems of humanity is not just food, clothes and shelter but it’s how to deal with failure, sorrow, pain and other such negative emotions. Arjuna was also in the same state of mind in the battlefield when Lord Krishna gave him the teachings of Gita. The Gita is a sea of knowledge and a great motivator to follow the path of Dharma and pursuit of the pleasures associated with senses at an emotional and intellectual level. The author of this publication CA Chetan Dalal has demonstrated the approach and utility one can create by following the guideline principles contained in the Bhagavad Gita to make life more meaningful and pious. His convincing style of explaining with ample illustrations enables readers to absorb the messages from Gita in brief. This is evident from the popularity of his interpretations and presentations which have led to demand for the publication of the fifth edition of his book by Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society. The fifth edition includes further contents to emphasize the value one can look for from the Bhagavad Gita to lead life with greater confidence and achieve happiness. We are pleased to acknowledge the contribution of CA Chetan Dalal by sharing his learnings from the Bhagavad Gita for the readers. It has encouraged the efforts of Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society in creating more wealth of thoughts for action to develop further qualitative and satisfying life for all. We present this fifth edition with best wishes to all the readers for raising the quality of life for themselves and the community where they contribute to make a difference. CA Manish Sampat CA Rajesh Muni CA K. K. Jhunjhunwala President Chairman Co-Chairman Human Resource Development Committee
| iv | Foreword - Fourth Edition Gita for Professionals by CA Chetan Dalal builds up on the wisdom of Gita to give practical solutions to live life. It deals with temptations that professionals face under pressure of competition that cause dilemmas about the appropriate action. It elucidates with examples, how choosing the right path always rewards. It emphasises on finding solution from within and asserts how developing spirituality can help in doing so. It delves on the spirit of brotherhood and power of sacrifice that always brings peace and prosperity. Gita for Professionals is an ideal hand book for professionals to deal with real life challenges. Vast professional experience of the author and his evolved spirituality is manifested amply in the given illustrations. Like a master, he has been able to extract the nectar of the several teachings of Gita and articulate them in simple language for easy understanding. He has dealt with the subjects of anger, greed, discipline, faith, courage, forgiveness, service, sacrifice and selfless charity for the good of society with illustrations that can make you wonder how our scriptures were so prophetic about human nature. He has very aptly stated that it is important to have the right means to reach the right goal. The author has very powerfully built up on the simple but effective teachings that can help the professional to free himself from his cocoon. He has enunciated that performing one’s duty (dharma) with selfless action (karma), devotion (bhakti) and truthfulness (niti) offers salvation from bondage of worries, greed and attachment. It tells one not to lose faith while doing one’s duty with truthfulness. The concept of “duty and ethics” has been very well illustrated by parable. When one is deeply shocked by the injustice and anarchy around him, one should keep faith that God will certainly set matters right if one continues doing one’s duty truthfully. Our call of duty starts the moment we commence our professional journey. This book through illustrations, anecdotes and tales has presented eternal message of Gita in very relevant context. The publication of the 4th edition demonstrates that the author CA Chetan Dalal has secured commendable acceptance of the readership through his simple and convincing style of communication. Extraction of those divine messages by the author for professionals for practice in daily lives is equally compelling to lead meaningful existence. We encourage one and all to possess and read the book to rejuvenate oneself with precious learnings from Gita explained in brief. A meaningful reading and sharing will enhance value in life for all in the community, irrespective of the age, religion or profession pursued. We congratulate and thank the learned author CA Chetan Dalal for his contribution to the BCAS in its endeavour to serve the professionals and the community at large. The BCAS is also grateful to Lavino-Kapur Cottons Private Limited for the revised English edition in memory of its founder, Late Shri Inderjit Kapur. CA Narayan Pasari CA Rajesh Muni CA Mihir Sheth President Chairman Co-Chairman Human Development & Technology Initiatives Committee
| v | Foreword - Third Edition (Reprint) Bhagawan Shrikrishna is believed to be the ‘Jagadguru’ – mentor of the entire world. HE has a message for each and every person engaged in any walk of life. This book written by CA. Chetan Dalal brings out beautifully what guidance His Gita offers to a professional person. Before trying to know how His advice is relevant to professionals, we should appreciate that HE himself was a true professional. A determined and result-oriented person, willing to do anything and everything to protect Dharma – the truth, justice and righteous things. He performed in all ‘varnas’ – types of work. While imparting knowledge to Arjuna, he acted like a ‘Brahmana’; while killing Kansa and other demons, HE was a Kshatriya; while protecting the milk trade of Mathura or setting up new Dwarka, HE was a Vaishya and finally, while serving the horses for Arjuna during the war, he acted as a Shudra. This is His greatest advice to all professionals. What is important is that He gave it through his own actions; and not merely by words. Another interesting fact is that the word ‘profession’ in Indian languages means ‘vyavasaya’. In Sanskrit, the word ‘vyavasaya’ has several meanings – effort, exertion, industry, perseverance, action or performance, business. The other more important meaning of the word ‘vyavasaya’ is ‘resolution or determination of conflicting things’. It also means conduct or behaviour. In fact, the whole purpose behind Geeta was resolution of the dilemma in the mind of Arjuna. That the Geeta was narrated on a battle-field has a great symbolic value. The war really is in our minds – what is right and what is wrong. The conflicting views give rise to dilemmas. Sometimes, there is an ethical dilemma. HE uses the word ‘vyavasaya’ meaning ‘resolution or determination’ at least at 3 places in Geeta. HE professes yoga – Karma, Bhakti and Dnyana. HE strongly advises Arjuna to be a ‘Yogi’. HE says ‘yogah karmasukaushalam’. This is often misunderstood to mean that yoga refers to the skills in doing the work. Actually, it refers to the skill of not getting ‘attached’ to the results while doing the work. Thus, one has to put one’s heart and best efforts in pleading a case properly and sincerely; but should not be sentimentally attached to the outcome. After narrating the philosophy and explaining the pros and cons, HE tells Arjuna, ‘yathechchhasi tathaa kuru – do what you like’. The last shloka of Gita is the real crux of guidance – wherever there is yogeshwara Krishna (symbolizing holy, pure and righteous thoughts) combined with action (valour of Arjuna), there is bound to be success and prosperity. The author has dealt with the subject with practical examples. ‘Example’ is not the ‘best’ way but the ‘only’ way of teaching and the Lord did it with His own example. The author has conveyed that message to us truthfully. Finally, we need to bear in mind that ‘Gita Sugeeta Kartavya’ – meaning, we should implement the teaching of Gita in our day-to-day lives. As a principle-centric and action-oriented organization, BCAS takes pride in presenting this 3rd reprint edition of the wonderful book – on a very relevant subject.
| vi | The BCAS is grateful to Lavino-Kapur Cottons Private Limited for the Third English Edition Reprint in memory of its founder, Inderjeet Kapur. The BCAS also expresses its gratitude to Smt. Shivani and Shri Amit Dahanukar for the First Gujarati Edition and CA R. G. Pasari Memorial Fund for the First Hindi Edition. Let us read, enjoy and practice it! CA. Narayan Pasari CA. Rajesh Muni CA. Mihir Sheth President Chairman Co-Chairman Human Development and Technology Initiatives Committee
| vii | Foreword - Third Edition The Bhagavad Gita (Gita) is an important work in the Indian Tradition. It is not only a philosophical work, but also poetry, a manual of living, a scripture for many traditions, pinnacle of the entire system of Indian mysticism, theology and its world view. It literally means “the song divine”. It is so because it is timeless, ageless, crosses all divisions of race, age, gender, religion, ideas, concepts, and beliefs. It has a message for each one of us. In a divided world, the Gita gives the message of ONENESS – nothing exists that not a permeation of the Divine. This message is of tremendous significance as it is INCLUSIVE, and unconditionally inclusive. I am the Self, abiding in the heart of all beings; and I am the beginning and the middle of beings and the end as well (verse 20.chapter X) Depending on the predisposition of a person, the Gita makes available a pathway through its 700+ verses from Jnana, Bhakti to Karma that will suit him. It ends with a call for action when Arjuna says — keÀefj<³es Je®eveb leJe — I shall act on your word. It simply means that the test of knowledge is digesting it and translating it into action. Gita has relevance to every sphere of our life and at all times, to every bent of mind. Be it our freedom fighters like Gandhiji or Tilak to Oppenheimer, who was reminded of the Gita — “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” (32.XI), when he witnessed the first nuclear explosion. Yoga is really the central theme of Gita, its seminal message is – to remain connected to the Divine. The word Yoga is mentioned more than 100 times, about 78 times as a noun and 36 times as a verb. The three definitions that that we personally like are: 1. ³eesieë keÀce&meg keÀewMeueced – Yogah Karma su kaushalam – yoga is skill in action (verse 50.chapter II) 2. ³eesiees efveefJe&CCe®eslemee - Yogo Nirvinna Chetasa – severance of union with pain is yoga. (verse 23.chapter VI) 3. mecelJeb ³eesie G®®eles - Samatvam Yoga Uchhyate – evenness is the highest form of yoga. (verse 48.chapter II) As professionals, our journey starts from the first one but should ideally end at the last one. This book conveys the message of yoga – a call to action, a call to transform our behaviour, and to remain connected with the Divine. Through illustrations and practical examples the author CA Chetan Dalal has presented the eternal message of Gita in the context relevant to the professionals. He has expanded the scope of the earlier edition with more practical applications and case studies. We are grateful to him.
| viii | We hope that the readers will be able to move towards that final inspiration, motivation and test of absorption of that knowledge like Arjun did. That test is – ACTIONING what we know and putting it to use in our daily living. That is what happened to Arjun, when he says at the end of the dialogue with Krishna: My delusion is cracked, wisdom have I gained through your grace, now my doubts are gone, I shall now act on your word. We hope the same can happen to you as you read through the following pages. The BCAS is grateful to Lavino-Kapur Cottons Private Limited for the Third English Edition Reprint in memory of its founder, Inderjeet Kapur. The BCAS also expresses its gratitude to Smt. Shivani and Shri Amit Dahanukar for the First Gujarati Edition and CA R. G. Pasari Memorial Fund for the First Hindi Edition. Chetan Shah Nitin P. Shingala President Chairman Human Development and Technology Initiatives Committee
| ix | Foreword - Second Edition ‘The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively’. – Bob Marley Conflict is very much a part of life, as experience is. Indeed, it is part and parcel of our existence both at home and elsewhere. According to the Gita, the basis of all conflict is ‘choice’ that is to choose between alternatives, choice to choose between what is pleasant and of course what is necessary and choice of means to achieve our goals or ends. The Gita has an answer to all these conflicts. It lays down a path based on duty and ethics. It advises that means are as important as ends. It recommends actions in life based on duty. This is well illustrated by a parable Chetan has mentioned where the power of a yogi had no impact on the housewife who was performing her duty to her husband before attending to the yogi. The concept of duty is again illustrated by the actions of an Indian lawyer who was defending terrorist Kasab. The call of duty to defend an accused was accepted despite being conscious of the fact that the accused’s actions were not only against the people of India but also against the country. This action is based on the concept that it is the duty of a lawyer to defend his client. The prevalent environment of corruption in the country is against ethics which emphasises that ‘means to achieve an end are as important as the end’. The aim of all professionals is to achieve success – both professional and material. It is painful to read about the use of unethical means to achieve material success. Today we are living in an environment of fading principles in which deception, double dealings and dirty tricks prevail. Despite being conscious of this environment, it hurts one when one reads about: - Judges, lawyers, accountants, architects and doctors indulging in unethical practices; - That a former Chief Justice of India is being investigated for corruption. - Many ministers are charged with bending of rules for personal gains. On the other hand, Lord Krishna exhorts human beings to follow ethical means in carrying out one’s duty, for, He will take care of the rest. Gandhiji achieved success by following an ethical code of conduct in that he ‘practised what he preached’. When accused of sedition and the judge asked ‘how’ should I deal with you’ – the Mahatma responded ‘according to law’– an ethical response by any standard. Two mythological wars between ‘Rama and Ravana in the Ramayana’ and the ‘Pandavas and Kauravas in Mahabharata’ were fought because of unethical conduct of Ravana in abducting Sita, and Duryodhana ordering the disrobing of Draupati, aside from a fight for a right. This illustrates the fact that one pays not only for his unethical acts but
| x | also for his associates. The Gita teaches us and takes us on the path of ‘ethics’. The Ten Commandments are similarly based on ethics. The author has elucidated the concepts of ‘duty and ethics’ by means of parables and anecdotes which at times seem autobiographical. Chetan has done a superb job. In the second revised and enlarged edition, the author has added a new Chapter containing “Thirteen lessons from the Gita for professionals to make this world a better place to live in”, wherein he not only talks about various aspects of one’s personality such as Humility and Non-violence but also throws light on some of the essentially good acts in life such as Giving, Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Goal-setting, Discipline, Cleanliness, Service to Guru etc. In the last part thereof, he enlightens readers about lessons to be learnt from Viduraniti. The BCAS is grateful to Lavino-Kapur Cottons Private Limited for the revised English edition in memory of its founder, Inderjeet Kapur. The BCAS also expresses its gratitude to Smt. Shivani and Shri Amit Dahanukar for the first Gujarati edition. A guide to professional code of conduct, indeed. Naushad A. Panjwani Mayur B. Nayak President Chairman Human Resources Committee
| xi | Foreword - First Edition ‘The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively’. — Bob Marley Conflict is a part of life and we professionals face it – nay – experience it everyday. It is part of our existence both at home and office. According to Gita the basis of all conflict is ‘choice’ – choice to choose between alternatives. Choice to choose between what is pleasant to what is necessary. Choice of means to achieve our goals – ends. Gita has an answer to these conflicts. It lays down a path based on duty and ethics. It advises that means are as important as ends. It recommends life – actions – based on duty. This is well illustrated by a parable Chetan has mentioned where the power of a yogi had no impact on the housewife who before attending to the yogi was performing her duty of looking after her husband. The concept of duty is again illustrated by the actions of an Indian lawyer who is defending terrorist Kasab. The call of duty to defend an accused was accepted despite being conscious of the fact that accused’s actions were against not only the people of India but India. This action is based on the concept that it is duty of a lawyer to defend his client – the accused. The prevalent environment of corruption is against ethics – ethics emphasis that ‘means to achieve an end are as important as the end’. The end for and aim of all professionals is to achieve success – both professional and material. It pains to read about use of unethical means to achieve material success. Today we are living in an environment of fading principles in which deception, double dealing and dirty tricks prevail. Despite being conscious of this environment it still hurts and pains when one reads: – about judges, lawyers, accountants, architects and doctors indulging in unethical practices. – that a former Chief Justice of India is being investigated for corruption. – many ministers are charged for bending rules for personal gains. On the other hand in Gita Lord declares – follow ethical means do your duty and I will take care of you. Gandhi achieved success by following an ethical code he ‘preached what he practiced’. When accused of sedition and the judge asked ‘how should I deal with you’ – Mahatma’s response was: ‘according to law’ – an ethical response. Two historical wars ‘Ram-Ravan’ and ‘Mahabharata’ were fought because of unethical acts. Ravan coveting and abducting a married woman and Duryodhan denying Pandavas their right
| xii | to their kingdom and ordering disrobing of Draupadi. Both acts led to the death of many including the culprit. This illustrates the fact that not only one pays for his unethical acts but those associated also suffer. Gita teaches us and takes us on the path of ‘ethics’. Even the ten commandments are based on ethics. The author has illustrated the concepts of ‘duty and ethics’ by parables and anecdotes which at times seem autobiographical. Chetan has done a commendable job. BCAS is grateful to Lavino-Kapur Cottons Private Ltd. for virtually meeting the cost of this publication in the memory of its founder Mr. Inderjit Kapur. Pradip K. Thanawala Mayur B. Nayak President Chairman Human Resources Committee
| xiii | Preface to Fifth Edition It gives me immense pleasure to see the release of the 5th edition of the Gita for professionals. My pleasure does not stem from the fact that I have authored the book but from the fact that even today the timeless valuable insights of our scriptures which advocate good thoughts, ethics and moral principles are still valued inspite of the challenging times that our profession is in. This edition of the Gita includes a chapter which is slightly different in focus and content as compared to the content in the other chapters. This time the chapter includes some different thoughts especially for those readers who may still be doubtful about the relevance and the utility of lessons from the Bhagavad Gita. There are questions often raised about the validity of existence of God, the exactitude and logical approach of science compared to abstract lessons from the Gita, and its acceptability as compared to other religions and other countries. Therefore in this book I have added a chapter addressing the lesser known facts about the Gita. Simple but lesser known matters like why is the Gita called ‘Gita’, how well known is it outside India and the amazing correlation between science and Gita have been touched upon. The value of our spiritual heritage is immeasurable and priceless and respected world over. As stated so often in the previous editions, I am not an expert on the Gita. In fact I am still a beginner in understanding it because every time I read it, I certainly learn something new. The only thing I know and what I can guarantee to every reader or listener of the lessons in the Gita is that, it will increase their self confidence, their efficiency in whatever they do, and above all bring them closer to divinity. A little reading every day, even a couple of slokas read with commentaries from learned people, provides the food and nourishment for our mind to function exponentially better. I acknowledge and thank the BCAS President CA Manish Sampat, and the BCAS’ Managing Committee 2019-20 for bringing out this 5th edition. I thank all my contributors, named at the end of this book. I have no words to express my gratitude to late Shri Mr Narayan Varma and late Shri K C Narang. The original vision for this book was supported and encouraged by these two doyens of our profession. Both personally helped me in bringing out this book. I also am grateful to my late parents Mr Dharamdas Dalal and Kusum Dalal for all the good things they taught me. CA Chetan Dalal
| xiv | Preface to Fourth Edition If one were to read even two slokas of the Gita a day one could comfortably read all its 18 Chapters in a year. I recommend everyone to do this with faith and I guarantee that the results will be phenomenal. This regular reading helps to constantly cleanse and refresh our minds and enable us to think in the right direction. It fosters good thoughts. It makes us good human beings and continuous good thoughts will bring us closer to divinity. When you say that a person is a good person, you are not referring to his physical looks, height, speech or weight. You are actually referring to his mind and you will call him a good person because he has good clean thoughts in his mind. Friends, a mind is a factory of thoughts. The Gita suggests many ways to control our mind by nurturing good thoughts. Some of the ways suggested are meditation, devotion to others, control over diet and emotions etc. In each of the previous editions of this book many of these have been discussed with examples in reaI life situations of professionals. This edition includes an additional chapter wherein I have given case studies of how, not only any professional, but any individual can empower himself by following some simple tips given in the Gita. I do hope that these are interesting and useful. I acknowledge the BCAS and all the friends and relatives who have helped me to bring out this fourth edition. Chetan Dalal
| xv | Preface to Third Edition The Bhagavad Gita becomes more and more interesting as one reads it over and over again. I read this great scripture in the morning as regularly as possible and it facilitates me to enjoy the whole day very well. I have found that this book not only educates, guides and explains how to lead a good life but it also helps in improving health. It facilitates and helps one to enhance meditation, cultivate better food habits and generate positive energy, all of which go a long way in having better health. After the first two editions, I have done more research by reading the Gita again and also speaking to more professionals who have had great experiences in understanding and applying the principles of the Gita. This edition includes two new chapters. One chapter relates to some important concepts and symbolic references made by the Gita and my interpretation of their meaning and applicability. These include the lotus, the number 18, and the concept Sthitapragyna. Considering that the Gita has 700 slokas, such symbolic references are relatively few, but those that have been made are deep in meaning and very important for us understand. These have been explained with some illustrations in situations taken from common everyday lives. The other new Chapter relates to some more experiences and challenges faced by professionals and the possible solutions and lessons which can be taken from the Gita. I once again wish to clarify that I am not an expert, only a student in this subject. I seek the indulgence of readers if there is any error or factual inaccuracy. This book aims at providing an assurance to a reader that our life is and will be delightful. All that is recommended is reference to the Gita and regular reading of even a few pages. This will provide that little tonic to bring about cheer and positive energy. The examples are based on genuine real life situations where challenges have been successfully addressed by using relevant tenets from the Gita. There is no challenge in life that the Bhagavad Gita cannot help us in facing. The Gita is the best place to find the right approach. I thank the BCAS and its President CA Raman Jokhakar and the past and present committee members for their consistent support in bringing out all the three editions. I express gratitude to the generous sponsorship by Lavino Kapur Cottons Private Limited, B. D. Jokhakar Foundation, Mumbai and Smt. Shivani and Shri Amit Dahanukar in the various past editions of the ‘Gita for professionals’. I thank my colleagues and Chartered Accountants Mahesh Bhatki, Jatin Jhaveri, Rajan Gupte and Govind Purohit who have been major contributors in this book. I am grateful for the hard work and efforts put in by CA Ashok Barat, Vijaya Venkatram, CA N. Venkatram, CA Raman Sivakumar and Dr. M. S. Natarajan. I am also grateful to CA Nimishbhai Shah for providing assistance to me in bringing out the Gujarati edition. CA K. C. Narang and late Shri CA Narayan Varma have always supported me in this project and this book would not have come out without their help. I thank all those who have given me valuable research material and assistance of every kind in this project. I dedicate this book to my late parents Kusum and Dharamdas Dalal, late Mr. Krishnanath Karnik and Mrs. Leela Karnik. Chetan Dalal
| xvi | Preface to Second Edition Our life is nothing but a series of experiences. I have come to the conclusion that every experience, event or happening around us provides a useful lesson of some sort. Everything that happens to us, whether good or bad, happens with a purpose to guide us; it is upto us to perceive and understand the embedded message and learn from it. Therefore in this second edition of the Gita, I have added a new chapter of thirteen lessons from the Gita and other scriptures, which we can possibly apply in our lives to make this world a better place to live. There are an exponential number of such lessons in the Gita, but I have merely taken out a few which I could relate to my experiences and from which I have gained a lot. Subsequent to the first edition, I have done some more research and have heard other eminent people speak on the Gita. I am humbled even further by the depth of knowledge, wisdom and understanding that so many others have of this subject. In the process, I realized that I know so little and my thirst for knowing more has only increased. I feel that the learning process is continuous all throughout our lives and only if we are willing to learn, can we adapt, improve and accomplish what we want. I once again wish to clarify that I am not an expert, only a student in this subject. I seek the indulgence of readers if there is any error or factual inaccuracy. I thank the BCAS, the English edition sponsors Lavino Kapoor Cottons Private Limited and Smt. Shivani and Shri Amit Dahanukar for the Gujarati edition for supporting me in this second edition of the ‘Gita for professionals’. It is heartening to know that the Gita, which is a divine gift to mankind, is being read, understood and implemented even in today’s world. I thank my colleagues Mahesh Bhatki, Jatin Jhaveri, and Rajan Gupte who have been major contributors in this book. I am grateful for the hard work and efforts put in by Ashok Barat, Vijaya Venkatram, N. Venkatram, and Dr. M. S. Natarajan in editing this book. I am also grateful to Nimishbhai Shah for providing assistance to me in bringing out the Gujarati edition. Mr. K. C. Narang and Mr. Narayan Varma have always supported me in this project and this book would not have come out without their help. I thank all those who have given me valuable research material and assistance of every kind in this project. I dedicate this book to my late parents Kusum and Dharamdas Dalal, late Mr. Krishnanath Karnik and Mrs. Leela Karnik. Chetan Dalal
| xvii | Preface to First Edition The Gita is a divine gift to mankind. It is a comprehensive guide encapsulating sound advice and words of comfort that can be given by every mother, father, teacher, or a friend to a near and dear one. It is therefore, a privilege to have studied and researched this great gift and to have penned a few thoughts. I am overwhelmed by the response to the first edition and it has motivated me to add a few more thoughts in this second edition. I have added a chapter on lessons from the Gita which help us to make this world a better place to live and to make people happier. If we try to implement even a few of them we will have a much better quality of life. I have personally benefited enormously by reading the Gita and want to pass on my experiences, as well as those of other colleagues who have contributed in this work. I wish to draw attention to the following colleagues, who have been major contributors and have supported me very much in this work. Mahesh Bhatki Jatin Jhaveri Rajan Gupte It is important and necessary for me to clarify that I am NOT an expert in this subject. I am only a student. Though this book illustrates many experiences of CAs, it intends to focus on challenges of all professionals. References have been made to the Gita as well as other scriptures and their interpretations are entirely my own. Experiences of several CAs and other professionals have been interfaced with some of the Shlokas of the Gita and wherever possible, the messages have been illustrated with parables and anecdotes, based on our understanding. The factual precision in any aspect is not certain, as these have been retrieved from sources such as the internet websites, books, articles and even discourses by eminent speakers. If there is any error somewhere, the author seeks indulgence and the reader is requested to overlook the error as a technical fault and an unintended lapse and to view only the message that is attempted to be conveyed. I would be failing in my duty if I did not acknowledge the good values, principles and guidance received from my parents Kusum and Dharamdas Dalal as well as Leela and Krishnanath Karnik. I dedicate this book to them. Chetan Dalal
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| xix | HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (HRD) 2019-20 Chairman Rajesh Muni Co-Chairman K.K. Jhunjhunwala Ex-Officio Manish Sampat Suhas Paranjpe Convenors Anand Kothari Meena Shah Mukesh Trivedi Sneh Bhuta Members Atul Bheda Chirag Doshi Gracy Mendes Hemant Gandhi Jigar Shah Kinjal Bhuta Mahendra Turakhia Maitri Ahuja Manori Shah Mayur Nayak Mihir Sheth Mudit Yadav Naman Shrimal Nandita Parekh Naushad Panjwani Neetika Budhdev Nikunj Shah Nilesh Parekh Nitin Shingala Payal Punatar Praful Shah Raj Khona Rishikesh Joshi Ryan Fernandes Samit Saraf Tushar Doctor Utsav Shah Vijay Bhatt Vinod Jain MANAGING COMMITTEE 2019-20 President Manish Sampat Vice President Suhas Paranjpe Hon. Joint Secretaries Mihir Sheth Samir Kapadia Treasurer Abhay Mehta Ex-Officio Sunil Gabhawalla Raman Jokhakar Members Anand Bathiya Anil Doshi Bhavesh Gandhi Chirag Doshi Divya Jokhakar Ganesh Rajgopalan Hardik Mehta Jagdish Punjabi Kinjal M. Shah Mandar Telang Rutvik Sanghvi Shreyas Shah Vaibhav Manek Zubin Billimoria
| xx | Contents 1. The Gita and other Scriptures – An Introduction. ..........................................................1 2. Relevance to chartered accountants and professionals amidst the challenges faced by them............................................................................................5 • Unethical or corrupt business practices and issues of compromise ..................7 • Competition and the ‘crab syndrome’....................................................................8 • Marriage, business or professional partnerships...................................................8 • Generating income, particularly for the younger CAs ..........................................9 3. Anecdotal case studies and parables from the Gita and other scriptures....................11 • Vikarna, the only Kaurava prince who protested against Duryodhan’s wrongdoing ............................................................................................................11 • The stories of the overconfident and disillusioned bhaktas .............................13 • Karna: Symbol of generosity and kindness ........................................................16 • The stealing cowherd understands the meaning of a trial balance .................21 • The demon who grew stronger by provoking and teasing his foes...................22 • Mahatma (revered and knowledgeable person, sage) who gave poison to a woman to kill her mother-in-law ........................................................................25 • The biggest tools of Satan – jealousy and ego ...................................................28 • The sympathetic strings of sitar...........................................................................32 • Laxmi’s Swayamwar .............................................................................................35 • The purity of Laxman’s mind...............................................................................38 • The tale of the king who had to be exiled after 3 years ....................................39 • The cat who came for the discourse in the Ashram ..........................................41 • The Mahatma and the young child with an addiction.......................................42 • The ‘Kumbh Mela’ syndrome of losing a child...................................................42 • The man who was continuously looking at the sky...........................................43 • The guest who repaid hospitality with devastation and destruction ................44 • A tale of two pots..................................................................................................45 • The rich man who made promises with a wavering mind................................46 • The truth behind the abduction of Sita by Ravana............................................47
| xxi | • The firefly syndrome.............................................................................................48 • The hunter’s trap for greedy monkeys.................................................................49 • The placement of Arjuna’s chariot by Krishna while giving the Gita discourse before the Kurukshetra battle began. ..................................................54 • Should one resort to lies or half truths? – The example of Dronacharya’s killing in the Kurukshetra war. ..................................................56 • The legend of Abhimanyu’s Chakravyuha ..........................................................57 • The true significance of five husbands of Draupadi .........................................58 • Real ingredients of friendship – tolerance and sacrifice ...................................59 • General Note on certain important aspects of the Mahabharata and the Gita ...................................................................................61 4. Thirteen lessons from the Gita for professionals to make this world a better place to live in .................................................................................65 5. Lesser known things about the Bhagavad Gita ..............................................................81 6. Self empowerment by reading the Gita ..........................................................................91 7. Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals........................................109 8. Important concepts and references from the Bhagavad Gita ......................................127 9. The immeasurable value of the Gita and other scriptures..........................................139 10. Recapitulation of simple but powerful teachings of the Gita and other scriptures ..143 Appendices Appendix A: Summary of the Mahabharata and the technical aspects of the Gita..153 Appendix B: The Mahamantra for well being Gayatri Mantra ..................................161 Appendix C: Meditation and its benefits .....................................................................163 Appendix D: Mathematical kaleidoscope that indicates that all religions are one ...165 Appendix E: Legends and episodes relating to some great men and spiritualism....166 • Rockefeller turns to spiritualism.........................................................................166 • Alexander the Great meets a saint in India .......................................................169 Appendix F: The power of soft and affectionate- speech............................................170 • Parable of the conceited man who salvaged his situation by using the right words and soft speech.........................................................................................170 Appendix G: Anger and anger management ................................................................173 Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................................175 Om Vishnave Namaha:
| 1 | Chapter 1 – The Gita And Other Scriptures : An Introduction Chapter 1 The GITA AND Other SCRIPTURES: AN INTRODUCTION A manual usually is given along with any electronic gadget which we may purchase. When we buy a new computer, refrigerator, cell phone, TV, telephone, washing machine or a household item, we can start using it with or without the manual. The difference in usage will be obvious. In the latter case, of using the item without referring to the manual, we may not be able to use it correctly, perhaps we may not be able to use it at all, or in extreme cases, we may even damage or break it. However we can avoid the foregoing and get best results by referring to the manual, because we would then be guided to make efficient use of the item. Moreover, we will also be able to understand all the features and capabilities of the item, which otherwise may remain unused perhaps even during its entire life time. In much the same way, we lead our lives in a mundane, humdrum way, some of us even without even clear goals. Without a clear understanding of the body and mind, the difficulties of day-to-day existence get the better of us. The consequence is frustration, medical problems like diabetes, hypertension, etc., and an uncomfortable existence. If we make it a point to read and understand any of our scriptures, particularly a scripture like the Gita, difficulties get translated into challenges which are addressable and even enjoyable to overcome. Life becomes more meaningful and a delight. Our heritage includes many wonderful scriptures like the Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, etc. apart from the Gita. The Gita is proclaimed to be the quintessence of all that is there. It is named by some as the fifth Veda. Our scriptures contain a treasure of knowledge the applicability of which transcends all geographical boundaries, cultures, castes, colours and creeds. The Gita itself encapsulates messages from many of our other scriptures and perhaps is the simplest way to understand the divine message given to mankind by God. When we have in our hands Gita, what we have is not a mere book of Sanskrit shlokas, but it is a treasure, which has well withstood the tests of time. It must be read, re-read over and over again to be really understood to facilitate a life of delightful existence. If the first reading of any part is not clear, read it along with the many commentaries available. Attend as many talks and lectures on the Gita as each person provides a different version and understanding. Many great men starting from Gandhiji, Tagore, and even eminent foreigners have given their versions of the Gita which provide a colourful kaleidoscopic view. The more difficult any part seems, the more value it imparts. For instance, there are some songs, which as you hear more often, and you recite them, you begin to see and feel their beauty and significance. So it is with the Gita, which is both a work of art and a science. It does not require us to leave our jobs or our homes, does not disturb our religion and beliefs. Its principal object is to illuminate our paths and strengthen our faith. The object of Gita is to free us from worry and anxiety, and to protect us from our basic instincts and lend divinity to our simple human existence. The central objective of Gita is to remove our ignorance about life. The study of this scripture allows us, in these difficult modern times to live a life free from anxiety, fear and frustration. It teaches us to forsake fear and frustrations and face failure. For example, there was a person studying to be a CA, who was finding it difficult to clear the final CA
| 2 | Gita for Professionals examination. He was advised to do some regular reading of the Gita. He did this and in the next attempt he passed with flying colours. What is the Gita? The Gita is an eighteen chapter discourse in the form of a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield just before the battle began between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Gita, which is a part of Mahabharata, is known all over the world, but for those who are not familiar with it, a brief note on these two is given in Appendix A. Why do we need to read the Gita or other scriptures? There is a beautiful story from a Purana which explains why one must read Gita everyday and it illustrates the subtle effect of reading Gita has on our lives. An old farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Dada as he was affectionately called, was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Gita. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. One day the grandson asked, “Dada! I try to read the Gita just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Gita do?” The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water. ”The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Dada, it’s useless!”. “So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realised that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. “Son, that’s what happens when you read the Gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out.” The Gita teaches reality that makes life more meaningful, stable, peaceful and purposeful. It discards layer after layer of untruth that surrounds us and reveals the shining self that exists in all of us. Great scholars of the Gita say that the scripture fundamentally deals with three primary teachings, which are called the three secrets. The first secret is about duty. One must do one’s duty in accordance with one’s nature (Swadharmacharana). The second is about the hidden self. In every one there is a real and hidden self which is different from the external false self. Everyone must realise this difference between the outer self and the inner self. The third secret is about the omnipresence of God. One must live in this world with the awareness that all that exists in this world is but Vasudeva.
| 3 | Chapter 1 – The Gita And Other Scriptures : An Introduction The Kurukshetra war symbolises the state of the human mind, which is a battlefield where the fight of good and evil forces is constantly on. This internal fight is an eternal conquest in the life of every human being. The Gita starts with the two words ‘Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre’ which signify the domain of dharma or righteousness and the domain of adharma or wrongful actions respectively. The entire Gita focuses on the war between the good and evil forces within the mind. It is important to note that the physical victory was possible only when Arjuna won the eternal conquest in his mind. Is it meant only for Hindus? The Gita is a divine message for the entire humanity and it provides many solutions to day-to-day problems and helps a human being to face each and every situation with confidence. Its teachings are ageless and relevant even today. Its universality transcends all religions, caste, creed and race. Originally written in Sanskrit, the scripture has been translated into many languages all over the world and is available to interested seekers in most parts of the world. The Gita has profoundly affected the Indian way of life for millenniums. Though its teachings have been at the core of the Hindu fundamental beliefs for time immemorial, it attracted the attention of many scholars across the world for centuries. Each verse and every chapter in it is loaded with multiple meanings, enabling each to understand it and interpret it in his own way. The more we read the Gita, the greater is our insight into its deepest secrets. It is a classic example of the famous proverb ‘The more we know, the less we know’. It is an ocean of knowledge. When we feel that we have understood it all and can safely go elsewhere for inspiration, a particular verse or a chapter again lends a new wisdom or insight or a new meaning. That is why we have so many interpretations of the Gita from various scholars. Whether the Gita is a revelation, or an actual event, is a matter of great controversy. Whatever the truth may be, it is undoubtedly priceless and of immeasurable value for mankind. Veda Vyasa is regarded as the author of the Gita. Technically, it is not clear from where Veda Vyasa got the whole information since it was Sanjaya, not Veda Vyasa who was the direct witness to the whole discourse between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. Either Veda Vyasa might have heard it from one of the participants or he got it through his inner experience, which is generally the case with all shruti literature. It is possible that the scripture might have entered Veda Vyasa’s consciousness as a revelation. It is even possible that the entire episode of the Mahabharata might have happened on a different plane and become a part of the human collective consciousness through the inner eye. Whether revelation came to Veda Vyasa or to some other sage, we would rather leave the matter to historians and scholars to debate. The fact is that the Gita reveals wisdom.
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| 5 | Chapter 2 – Relevance to CAs and Professionals amidst the challenges faced by them Chapter 2 RELEVANCE TO CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AND PROFESSIONALS AMIDST THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THEM Difficulties in life: Stumbling blocks or stepping stones? It is said somewhere in the Mahabharat that, when Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas was granted a wish by God to ask for something, she asked for continuous ‘dukh’ or sorrow in life. Astonishing, but with good reason. ‘Sukh’ (happiness) is considered as the prasad (gift) of the lord, but, ‘dukh’ (sorrow) is the mahaprasad (bonanza) of the Lord. Few of us would subscribe to this theory but a little reflection and thought will possibly make us feel differently. Difficulties make a person stronger. We can progress in life only if we have faced difficulties. Take any life story of any great man anywhere in the world. The greatness always stems from hardships and difficulties. There is a wonderful illustration of this message in the life of a butterfly as explained by Shiv Khera. In a classroom, a teacher was demonstrating, with a live example, how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. The new born caterpillar was struggling to free itself from the cocoon. The teacher left the pupils to watch this, with instructions not to interfere with the caterpillar’s efforts to free itself. One student however felt very sorry for the caterpillar and freed the caterpillar by breaking the cocoon. The caterpillar died within a short time thereafter. The message of the story is clear: nature wanted the caterpillar to struggle so as to make it strong enough to face the world. The struggle to free itself from the cocoon, was an integral part of its survival, its strength and its destiny. The assistance given by the student was in fact the detrimental factor. Life is very much or exactly like that. Our problems, difficulties, impediments and obstacles are nothing but stepping stones to success and not stumbling blocks as one normally treats them. Let us first take an overview of the SPECTRUM OF Activities of a Chartered Accountant and various challenges faced in life by CAs and professionals in three different stages of their lives; young, middle aged and elders. A: Issues before young and freshly qualified CA Professional front – Selection of work and issues of compromise. If he opts for professional practice, should he get into the mainstream practice and do what most others do, disregarding morals and ethics or should he remain aloof and wait for the right kind of work to come? – If he does not go into professional practice, should he take up any job that he gets or wait for the right kind of employer or industry, pay package, status and job profile? – Further studies and specialisation. He wants to do this but cannot afford to study further irrespective of the option he selects, professional practice or a job. – Competition and crab syndrome, both in professional practice or a job. He is continuously faced with good and bad colleagues, bosses, and an environment is
| 6 | Gita for Professionals like a strife and each one wants to reach the top at any cost, even by trampling on others. Life can be very difficult for the really sincere and straightforward CAs or professionals. Personal front – How to make two ends meet and live a decent life and when to get married depending upon the progress of his professional practice and earnings. B: Challenges faced by Middle Aged CAs Professional front – Corrupt practices at the next level. Issues of compromise for professional practitioners become more intense. Bowing into clients’ demands becomes the most practical option though unprofessional. Now comes a stage where the temptation of money making is strong in the backdrop of a very corrupt environment. – For those in industry, stagnation in position, unsatisfactory bonuses, increments and salary packages, unsuitable jobs profiles and differences with colleagues and bosses frequently, etc. become common issues. – Crossing the line in wrongdoings. Those who cannot avoid indulging in corrupt practices, get deeper and deeper into quicksand of impending disaster. Some of them indulge into wrong and illegal practices of falsification, fraud and forgeries and abuse of other kind to meet and preserve a standard of living and demands of their family life. These days instances of CAs being arrested and prosecuted are being heard of more frequently than in the past. – Ego puncture when a friend, competitor or even a spouse overtakes or does better in professional practice. Personal front – Intense pressure from family for money and facilities – Status pressures or ‘living up with the Joneses’ – Ignoring health because of work pressure and consequent medical problems due to poor diet, lack of exercise, poor self-control and discipline over habits and activities – A common negative trait developed at this stage are pride, ego, tendency to show off in one’s community, friends and personal life and exhibiting false pretence of one’s capabilities C: Challenges faced by Senior CAs All the problems listed above are applicable to elderly CAs and the following are added as age progresses: Professional front – Age related factors such as forgetfulness, poor health, onset of chronic diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, and many others, start hindering the capability to do work, or work well, to travel, to concentrate and advise
| 7 | Chapter 2 – Relevance to CAs and Professionals amidst the challenges faced by them – Besides the age related challenges, the seniors face the fear of redundancy because of technological advances. These lead to frustration and dependence and eventually translate into depression. In the 90s and the last ten years the IT revolution affected most senior CAs and professionals as they could not cope with that. Personal front – Ill health of family members, deaths in the family, added responsibilities are problems which become more frequent and accentuated – Dependence in general for household matters, travel, medication, etc. on others increases The foregoing are challenges and matters which everyone goes through in some form at some time or the other. The Gita and our scriptures provide comforting approaches in such situations and enable those who sincerely read, absorb and adapt to the guidelines given therein. This enables them to have peace of mind and face issues with dignity. Some of the serious challenges are discussed below. 1. Unethical or corrupt business practices and issues of compromise Let us take the case of a fresh chartered accountant who is struggling to come to terms with life and realities of practicing in today’s corrupt environment. He is pressurised by the environment and his peers to be ‘practical’. He can possibly earn money by being a part of the corrupt system, instead of fighting it. Initially he does this reluctantly, but in the process, does make money, but this is the first step towards a questionable future. The corrupt practice will be rationalised in some way with several convenient reasons: ‘Inevitable, or, everyone does it, or, you cannot succeed without compromising and so on’. It becomes a habit and weakens his conscience. He will become rusty in his academics and professional skills and consequently he will not be able to use it when he needs it the most similar to the case of Karna (who was given a curse by his teacher, for falsifying his clan). He will stagnate intellectually and be known as a ‘fixer’ or a handyman, and will rarely consulted for professional expertise and competence. Such professionals also acquire ill repute. For example CAs may be asked by clients to get ‘expense bills’ to evade tax. This is illegal and immoral, but does happen all the time. Or they may be asked to overlook certain expenses to show a better profit in the accounts and financial statements offered for audit. They may even be asked to represent to third parties such as investors, income tax authorities wrongful status of business, etc. Chartered accountant who refuse to help with this ‘holier than thou’ attitude will be swiftly replaced by someone more amenable and flexible. This is one of the greatest challenges for every professional. What is to be done then? In Chapter 3 this is dealt with at length and a possible solution is also suggested. However the solution given is specific to that case study, but what the Gita attempts to do is to get the reader to develop the confidence that a solution is possible. As long as a person has the determination to stay put on the path of righteousness, rest assured that the Lord will provide invisible forces within the person not only to survive but to emerge successful. Prahlad, Draupadi, Sita are all legendary examples of such grit and determination, but all had to face severe and extremely difficult situations. They had faith in God and He protected them against unbelievable odds. Somewhere in The Bible also it is said that if
| 8 | Gita for Professionals all doors seem to close from all sides, have confidence in the Lord and He will open some window for you somewhere. The Lord is certain to help you. The author subscribes to this theory and advocates it emphatically from personal experience. The real test of human existence is to live these experiences in a manner which brings us closer to God and the path of self-realisation. Vedic scriptures or for that matter all revelations in texts of any religion provide the tools and techniques for just that. However, we find these difficult to practice or dull and mundane. The intention of this write up is to provide analysis of simple messages from scriptures and facilitate their implementation in everyday life in a practical way to lead a better meaningful and useful existence. 2. Competition and the ‘crab syndrome’ Competition in a profession, sport, or promotion, or in an election, are everyday events and realities faced time and again. In all these situations unfortunately one always looks and focuses on the negative traits of the other. Sometimes in professional practice there are situations where one CA steals clients of another CA by offering to do work for lower fees or false promises of better service. This can happen even between friends. 3. Marriage, business or professional partnerships Marriages are partnerships in life and when there is a professional or business relationship involved between husband and wife, the challenges are several times greater. Difficulties on either the home front or the business front get easily translated into worries and sorrow which activate negative emotions such as anger, hatred and jealousy. There was a couple where both the husband and wife were chartered accountants. They were doing reasonably well. While both specialised in different areas they often helped each other in assignments. It so happened that in one particular assignment the husband asked his wife to take over because he was occupied in another assignment where he had to travel quite a bit. The wife did a good job, and the client liked her work. When the husband was free at a later date and went back to continue service to that client, the client brushed him aside stating that the wife was more competent and wanted her to continue working with him. This came as a shock and shook him up quite a bit and the ego emerged. This case study has been described in detail in Chapter 3. In such situations our scriptures provide solace and strength to find solutions. They help us in viewing the situation with an objective mind and facilitate accepting the truth boldly. They also guide us and facilitate in concentrating and directing our efforts appropriately and meaningfully. After reading these scriptures it becomes much easier to accept that the other person can be better or to admit the fact that a colleague or a classmate has done better. Amongst such situations the most difficult is to be able to live down the fact that the wife has bettered the husband. But once the realisation is there, life is wonderful and the ability to deal with problems is enhanced phenomenally. What really this study does is cultivate the habit of facing truth and calling a spade a spade, appreciating good work done by anyone instantly, and working hard at whatever one is good at. All these are catalysts in the process of accepting truth in all situations.
| 9 | Chapter 2 – Relevance to CAs and Professionals amidst the challenges faced by them 4. Generating income, particularly for the younger CAs Generating income is the most serious challenge for every honest, straightforward and decent person. In the world today, there is no dearth of opportunities for earning money, but most of them involve wrong, illegal, dishonest, unlawful, or unethical practices. Therefore generating professional income the honest way is where the real challenge lies. A freshly qualified chartered accountant is always at cross roads. One easily falls prey to temptations of making quick, fast and easy money. Creating false files for evasion of tax, or generating fictitious bills, hawalas or entries or money laundering are temptations very difficult to resist for a person who has the need for money and enjoys good quality of life. Most CAs are forced into generating income the wrong way and those who don’t find themselves forlorn and dismayed because honest work is not easy to come by. Our scriptures help such people in developing patience, and creating an ability to strengthen and sharpen the mind to find solutions. As said before, a sincere believer in our scriptures will most certainly find a way to meet this challenge. In life there is a correct way and an incorrect way for doing anything. For example, to open any item packed in a plastic wrapper, there is a correct and easy way to open it or we can open if forcefully which is the incorrect way. One can use brute force and attempt to tear the plastic which may, in all probability, result in breaking that item. If one can patiently examine the packing, it would be child’s play to find out how to smoothly unwrap and open the packing. We have to look for instructions. Life is exactly like that; every problem can be addressed with anger and brute force of the mind or with patience and understanding. The right choice is clear.
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| 11 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures Chapter 3 ANECDOTAL CASE STUDIES AND PARABLES FROM THE GITA AND OTHER SCRIPTURES Our scriptures have an immense wealth of knowledge and wisdom waiting to be used. This wealth is not tapped by many of us due to reasons such as unawareness, and language barriers, and sometimes even disinterest. This knowledge needs to be explained in an easy form to motivate people of all ages to access and use it. Our sages and wise men in the past realised that much of this knowledge would not be easy to understand. They, therefore, expressed and passed on a lot of this knowledge through parables and anecdotes. Consequently knowledge from epics such as Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Gita was conveyed to disciples in the form of stories (as in Puranas) and anecdotes in an interesting and ‘easy to understand’ manner. While there is an almost infinite number of such great puranic stories, some research has been done to find those which are of relevance. Hence this book has stories which in the view of the author carry a message for professionals. These stories may be relevant not only to the professional but also the social environment. These have been reproduced here with an interface with some situations faced or experienced by CAs, professionals or even businessmen for a better understanding of messages contained in our scriptures. 1. Vikarna, the only Kaurava prince who protested against Duryodhan’s wrongdoing Parable: The Kaurava prince – Vikarna was the only Kaurava prince, the brother of Duryodhana, who had the courage and moral character to oppose the disrobing of Draupadi. Amazingly, not even the revered father-figure Bhishma, nor Dronacharya nor Vidura, all of whom were learned and revered. In fact though they were very fond of the Pandavas they did nothing to stop this shameful act on the part of Dushashana and Duryodhana. There were other pious, learned, elderly, and accomplished people present in the King’s durbar, including the king, who stood by these two sinful princes and did nothing at all to stop them from disrobing Draupadi. Vikarna opposed Duryodhana and Dushashans in disrobing of Draupadi, Vikarna, could not bear the agony of Draupadi. He rose up and said: “O Kshatriya heroes, why are you silent? I am a mere youth, I know, but your silence compels me to speak. Listen. Yudhishthira was enticed to this game by a deeply plotted invitation and he pledged this lady when he had no right to do so, because she does not belong to Yudhishthira alone. For that reason alone the wager is illegal. Besides, Yudhishthira had already lost his freedom, and being no longer a free man, how could he have a right to offer her as a stake? And there is this further objection. It was Sakuni who suggested her as a pledge, which is against the rules of the game, under which neither player may demand a specific bet. If we consider all these points, we must admit that Panchali (Draupadi) has not been legally won by us. This is my opinion.” Vikarna walked away from this scene when his protests were not heeded. Message: Support from the enemy camp for the righteous is not unusual. This story characterises typical situations where one seems to have opposition from all quarters, even from
| 12 | Gita for Professionals friends and allies. Even in such situations, life may spring a surprise whereby someone most unexpected, perhaps even from the opposition, who may stand up for the righteous. Therefore, if you are correct and in the right, never lose hope. Professionals must remain steadfast and upright in their stand and what they believe to be right irrespective of resistance and opposition. Vikarna symbolises unforeseen support for the righteous from enemy quarters in such situations. Illustration: There were two senior directors on the board of a reputed large company, who were in line for the next chairmanship. One of them was a CA. In one of the board meetings just before the election of the chairman, there was an important item of discussion as regards the future of the company. There were two possible alternative options which the Board had to decide on. One option was expansion through further capital expenditure, and the other was to go for a major investment in a new venture with a joint venture partner. The two directors mentioned above were at diametrically opposite end. One director (not the CA) was recommending the new joint venture where a major investment in the business of the partner was necessitated. He explained that the returns and capital appreciation expected on the investment were huge with risks being minimal. He made a well-structured presentation to the Board and portrayed the project to be attractive and rosy. This instantly appealed to most of the directors and it was apparent that they were impressed. The CA director, had painstakingly analysed both the options, was not convinced about the ‘minimal risk’. He politely disagreed with the other director and instead suggested that the funds would be better utilised by having a capital expansion of existing facilities and infrastructure to increase production. His proposal also included a recommendation of providing a housing colony for the company employees. He felt that the hundred odd employees were also a part of the family and should also be motivated. His logic was that if the company invested in its own business where it had the experience and goodwill, the company would be basing its long-term strategy on self-sufficiency and expertise. All that would be required would be an extra budget for greater advertising, publicity and sales promotion campaigns. The end result would be a stronger market position, greater respectability and its progress would be soundly based on self-sufficiency driven also by enthusiastic employees. However the directors were skeptical and most of them took this with a pinch of salt and termed it to be ‘too moralistic and old fashioned’. Objections came from all sides; someone objected on the ground that it would take too long, if at all it did happen that way; someone else objected on the ground that employees can never be trusted and they would not stick with the company anyway. Another objected that managing such expansion plans would bring in a whole lot of added responsibilities and problems, which could increase the exposure of the company. So on and so forth, the salvos kept coming from all sides on the CA director, whereas there was huge support for the director advocating the investment in a new venture. Since the two warring directors were also competing with each other for the next chairmanship this particular board meeting was very important for setting the trend for the voting for the chairmanship that was about to follow. By sticking to this project of expansion, though a good and upright project beneficial to the shareholders and employees, the CA director was projecting himself in poor light. He was being branded as an obstinate and an impractical director objecting to the other director’s proposal only because he was jealous that the joint venture partner had approached that director. At this stage, the sentiment against him was getting stronger and if at all he wanted to have any chances of winning the chairmanship, he would have to shift his stand and endorse the other director’s recommendation. This would have been seen as a graceful gesture on his part and perhaps retained those who were his allies and friends on the Board. However, as a principled and a righteous man, he stayed his ground. He knew that
| 13 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures he was cornered from all sides and, this was perhaps the last meeting that he would attend in the company. Internally he felt defeated and concluded this was a lost cause case. Then, suddenly, one of the senior directors who had always been actually his strongest critic, and one who never really liked him, like Vikarna, actually endorsed the capital expansion plan. He agreed with the CA director that the proposal of expansion though a long-term plan was a plan with character and was more likely to be successful because it depended upon the intrinsic strength of the company itself. The company would gainfully be able to utilise its past experience, technology and employees’ huge support and therefore this expansion project had tremendous merit. This stunned the Board into silence, as he was a senior director on Board of the company for years. Since he was known to be a critic of the CA director, it shocked everyone, including the CA director who had proposed this. This new found support from the director had a strong impact on the other members of the Board. Though the Board approved the new venture investment proposed by the other director, the hostility towards the CA director diminished considerably. The CA director did lose the chairmanship too, but with a wafer thin margin. He lost it with dignity and respect. More importantly, his views were appreciated on record and he was respectfully asked to stay back on the Board and continue to advise the Board. A year later, that new investment failed miserably and the company lost a huge amount in the joint venture. The failure of the new venture vindicated the stand of the CA director and the Board acknowledged his views, and eventually made him the new chairman. The one thing that stands out here is that support which came from a person who had always supported the other director, and who was personally against the CA director; why ? The CA director realised later that the senior director who had supported him was the owner of the advertising company which was providing huge publicity and sales promotion services to the company. That director saw an increased business revenue for his company when the CA director had presented the expansion plan. The CA director had not thought of this while suggesting the expansion, but providentially, this aspect caught the eye of the person to whom it mattered, and eventually that support, even though it was not sufficiently strong at that time, ensured that he retained his image and goodwill in the Board, and eventually retrieved even his chairmanship a year later! Symbolic relevance: We often come across situations where we are surrounded all sides by adverse opinions or protests. We may even be forced to do something that we are not agreeable. It is a common situation for CAs to be pressurised to compromise on certain issues while finalising audits. If they do not, they face the obvious consequence of being removed. There can be umpteen number of such situations where a person may feel intimidated and at that time a practical viewpoint suggests conceding and falling in line with others. In such cases, most people take such a practical approach. In this case the director who supported the CA and favoured the in-house expansion was like Vikarna. He was from the opposite camp but supported the lone CA director. The message here is that one should not compromise or buckle under pressure if one is confident that he is in the right. God will send support from the most unexpected quarters. 2. The stories of the overconfident and disillusioned bhaktas Parable 1: There was a bhakta (religious person, usually a disciple of some respected teacher) who had been practicing meditation for a long time. After a few years the effects showed and
| 14 | Gita for Professionals he started getting powers that come with constant meditation. One day when he was meditating strongly suddenly a bird chirped in a nearby tree and distracted him. In a fit of rage, he glared at the bird, and with the power he had acquired, the bird was instantly razed by a fire from his eyes. Though he had got these new powers, he was still a long way from divinity, since his pride and anger were completely out of control. He was ecstatic and went to the nearby village to collect his food and alms. In those days, bhaktas and sadhus (mendicants) would collect food by going from door to door and accept whatever alms were given as prasad (divine gift) from God. The bhakta knocked on the door of one of the houses in the village for this purpose, where a woman opened the door. She was about to give him some food, when her husband called her from inside the house and asked her to do something. She got engaged in that work and consequently, the bhakta was made to wait a good half hour before she could return to attend to him and give him food. The bhakta was fuming as he felt slighted and offended. He had no control over his anger and as soon as she came back, without thinking, he glared at her, exactly in the same manner as he had done at the bird. His eyes blazed with fire, but to his surprise, it had no effect on the lady. The fire which came out of his eyes died out immediately. The lady was completely unruffled. She calmly told him that his anger would not harm or burn her like the bird in the forest. The bhakta was shocked and asked her how she knew about the bird, and why the fire did not harm her. She explained that she too had done meditation and bhakti but simultaneously had completed her duties of serving her husband and attending to her family duties. She explained that she had read the Gita and always tried to implement what the Gita recommends. This had taught her to crush her ego and control her anger so that neither could overpower her and therefore, she was not affected by what the others said or did to her. The bhakta now understood that though he had undoubtedly got some new powers, they were useless unless humility, service, devotion, kindness and patience are also cultivated. The bhakta learnt the lesson that mind control includes meditation which is complete only when pride, ego and anger are eliminated. Parable 2: There was a disciple of Buddha who had made wonderful progress in mind control but, as in the previous parable, he had become over confident and boastful of himself. Though he had been a good disciple, he had not attained satisfactory mind control and Buddha wanted him to realise this himself. He thought it over and gave him a new assignment. He told him to go and ask for alms (‘bhiksha’), at a particular far off house for the next few days. The disciple had to walk a long way to reach that place and it was a tiring journey. On the way, he wondered what kind of food he would get; he had been longing to have his favourite food – a delicious tasty meal of rasam and rice. When he reached the house, he saw that the occupant was a beautiful woman, who welcomed him warmly and treated him with respect. To his delight, she offered him rasam and rice exactly as he had wished, and he relished every morsel. He was so full, that he longed to rest. His gaze fell on a nearby a huge tree which looked nice and inviting. To his surprise and delight, the woman offered him exactly that by suggesting to him that since he had to walk a long way back, and since the sun was at its peak, it would be advisable to rest for some time. She placed a sheet and a pillow under that tree to make him comfortable. The disciple rested and then went back in the evening. The next day again, as he walked to that same house, he wondered what food he would get that day. That day he wished for curd rice and he hoped that the same woman would open the door. He was overjoyed when the same beautiful woman was there at that house and she actually served him curd rice. As on the previous day, he was once again longed to rest under that tree and per his wish, she again asked him to rest. The third day the same thing happened. Whatever he wished for, the lady somehow would offer exactly that. Now after a few days, his mind started thinking deeply. How
| 15 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures was it that everything he wanted was precisely known to that lady? Could she be reading his mind? After his meal, he casually asked her whether she could read people’s mind. She replied calmly that because of Buddha’s blessings, she could read and see everything in his mind clearly, as if she was seeing through glass. The disciple was wonder struck and impressed. He thanked her and started walking when he remembered something which completely devastated and crushed him internally. The reason for this was his sudden realisation of his own sinful thinking. He remembered that he had often had some lustful and sinful thoughts about this wonderful woman and since she could read all his thoughts he realised that she must have seen those as well. He recoiled in horror and this time on his way back his mind was unsettled and completely in turmoil. He went back to Buddha and requested him not to send him there again. He confessed that he had had some lustful thoughts and that he would not be able to face that woman again. However Buddha said that that was the precise reason he was sent there and he would have to keep going there till he could control his mind. Since that was Buddha’s wish, the disciple had no option but to comply. The next day on his way to that house, he concentrated in his mind only on the Lord and allowed only certain thoughts to enter. There was an actual battle, a Kurukshetra in his mind to ward off all evil and lustful thoughts. His mind was heavy as this task was very difficult and he was unable to come to terms with himself. He therefore toiled and struggled to keep it into focus and had to try and retain only good and noble thoughts in his mind. However because he had been practicing meditation in the past, his effort bore fruit and he managed to conquer it. Now he could control it and think only good thoughts. It was obvious that he had passed his test, because, for the first time in so many days, the woman asked him what he would like to eat. Mind control was the lesson, and the objective that Buddha had in mind. The disciple eventually mastered his mind control. Message: These anecdotes are extremely powerful as they contain a very strong message. Hard work brings success, but success is true only when it is not accompanied by vanity, pride and short temper and lust for material things. The more fruit a tree bears the more it bends down. One should never be disillusioned by short-term success and treat it as a precious gift from GOD which has to be nurtured and taken care of. The ultimate success is a long way off and if we fall prey to some small accomplishments on our way to achieve our main goal, we would most certainly fail in that effort or achieving the ultimate long-term goal. Secondly when we achieve something in life, the pride and ego overcomes our natural goodness. If our status is elevated, it makes us avoid certain people or friends who are not then perceived as equals. We get carried away. These anecdotes make us realise that accomplishments must be tempered with humility and simplicity. We will earn respect from everyone only when our thoughts match our words and deeds. Illustration: There was a CA who was in practice. He was doing well and had a good academic record. He had in fact won the ‘Best paper in audit’ prize in the ICAI examinations (inter CA examination) and was proud of that. Whenever he would meet a potential client or a fellow CA he would somehow bring into the conversation his ‘Best paper in audit’ prize. He had got into the habit of marketing himself by leveraging this achievement. It so happened one day that he was making a presentation to some senior directors of a company where he was being considered for an important special audit assignment. In his usual manner he talked at length about himself and his experience and of course his prize achievement in audit. From past experience he had realised that senior directors and CEOs did not understand accounting intricacies. So he would always try to explain his point of view in a pompous manner as if one is explaining something to an illiterate person. So also in the
| 16 | Gita for Professionals current presentation to the directors he explained ‘… we accountants understand how an MIS report is made, but it is difficult for non-professional executives to understand how they can be manipulated. My team’s experience and my own accomplishment of the best paper in audit prize are the best assurances we can give you to prove that we can carry out this audit penetratively.’ The directors were impressed and he got the job. It was successful and after 3 months when the assignment was over, one of the directors, who had made very good suggestions during the assignment came to thank him. The director had become a good friend of the CA. The CA told him that his suggestions were good and admitted that he was one of the sharpest and most perceptive directors that he had met and in spite of being a non finance man his grasp of accounting and audit was impressive. The director then clarified that he too was a CA, but in all humility he did not wish to say that since this matter never came up. The CA was stunned and asked him which year he had qualified and he realised that the director was a couple of years senior to him. On making further inquiries the CA learnt that not only was the director also a rank holder and had also won the best prize in audit. In fact his prize was in the final CA examination as against the CAs intermediate examination! Thus in effect, the director had by far outclassed the CA comprehensively in every way. The CA went back a troubled man, and it dawned on him that someone else too could be better than him in auditing. In his first impression, he thought that the director was an accounting ‘dumbo’, who actually turned out to be and accounting maestro and undoubtedly better than himself. He examined all the suggestions made by the director during the special audit assignment, and realised the genius behind his thought process and his observations. In sum total, that assignment had been a huge success not only due to his own team’s ability and effort, but also because of the contribution made by the director. With all the conceit, pride eliminated, the CA had the courage to admit this to him later and the friendship and bonding between the two became even greater. The CA was thereafter chastened and never referred to his best paper in audit accomplishment. He checked himself at all times when he made his future presentations and his rise to success was phenomenal thereafter. He learnt the lesson humility. His presentations thereafter were professional marked with humility. From a teacher he became a learner. A learner learns only when he is humble. So also to become a good professional, or for that matter a good artist, or sportsman or to excel in anything, one has to become a good human being and one can become a good human being only when one becomes humble. Symbolic relevance: In life there are many who are better than us. God has ensured this to keep our minds in check. Moreover, we think that others see only our actions and not our thoughts. We couldn’t be more further away from the truth. We may behave with someone in one way and think about the person differently, but this will be exposed someway. One must remember that a person listening to us receives a message not only from our spoken words but our thoughts too. That is why success and peace will come to us only when our thoughts, words and deeds are in harmony with each other. 3. Karna: Symbol of generosity and kindness Karna: Karna’s ethics and sense of fairplay were unmatched by anyone in the massive war of Kurukshetra. Karna was also known as ‘danveer’ Karna, one who was a generous donor and never failed to satisfy anyone who came to him for assistance, irrespective of the consequences. When he was requested by his mother to spare the Pandavas in the war he agreed not to kill any of them except Arjun, even though he knew that any of them would kill him at every given
| 17 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures opportunity. In the war accordingly he did not kill any of the Pandavas though he did have the opportunities to do so. The legend has it that during Karna’s duel with Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war, he even spared Arjun. It so happened that one of Karna’s arrows struck Arjuna who was rendered unconscious. Karna’s friend, the cobra king Ashwasen creeped out of hiding from Karna’s chariot and asked Karna if he could use his poison against Arjuna, (the cobra king was himself an enemy of Arjuna because Arjuna had burnt his forest to the ground in the past). Karna refused because it would have been unfairness and treachery on his part. Such were Karna’s divine traits of generosity, fairplay and magnanimity that eventually after the war and his death, even his bitterest enemy Arjuna realized and acknowledged Karna. It is said that he looked after Karna’s son Vrishakethu when the battle was over. It is further recorded that Arjuna developed a great affection for Vrishakethu and trained him to be one of the best archers in the world. Deservingly, Karna was the only one who achieved divine blessings from Lord Krishna after the battle. He never got his due, but never gave up his efforts, his courageous spirit led him to brave impossible odds in his life and he died with unique courage, valour and honour. In the Mahabharata, Bheeshma and Lord Krishna conceded that Karna was a noble spirit who rarely appears in the human race. Message: Life is all about giving, generosity, fairplay and sportsmanship. Learn to stand by what you feel is right, be generous to all including adversaries irrespective of the circumstances and consequences. Karna gave freely without expecting or demanding any reward. In such situations of generosity the Lord himself will take care of you. Damaji Pant, is a typical example, like Karan of immense generosity. He was an officer under the Muslim kings, and was an ardent devotee of Lord Panduranga. He was in charge of the royal foodgrain warehouse in Magalwede in Maharashtra. The kingdom was suffering from a severe drought and people found it difficult to buy foodgrains. The kind-hearted Damaji Pant threw open the doors of the warehouse to the poor. When a complaint reached the king, he called Damaji Pant to the capital and sought a clarification. Then, Damaji Pant is supposed to have said, “I have taken a loan from the king to feed the people. God alone will repay it.” True to his belief, Lord Panduranga appeared before Damaji Pant and gave him gold coins, equal in value to the amount of foodgrains taken away from the warehouse. Illustration: There is a very nice incident narrated, relevant to this fairplay matter, in Arthur Hailey’s book called ‘The Money Changers’. This book was one of the recommended reference material for the Chartered Accountancy course in the late seventies for its detailed description of banking industry. A relevant episode from this book, in a very abridged and adapted form, is as follows. A bank was facing a severe drain on its cash resources because its savings account holders had a sudden loss of confidence in that bank. They all suddenly came as a big mob together to withdraw all their savings. The mob was obviously hostile and creating tremendous unrest to spread panic. There was a heated discussion in the board of the bank. The Board was considering various fire-fighting options to deal with this situation. Options of calling in police, shutting the bank early, and defensive and negative means were being explored. The situation of low cash reserves was worsening and tempers among the mob were running high. Press and media TV cameras had also gathered and were interviewing the people in the long queues. The bank was facing one of its greatest crises. One of the Senior Vice Presidents (SVP), a finance man, disagreed with all these options; his sense of fairplay opined that what the people were doing was not wrong. After all they were taking back their own money which they were entitled to. The bank had no reason to stop nor even make it
| 18 | Gita for Professionals difficult to them. Amidst tremendous opposition and sardonic remarks from the rest of the senior board members he asked for some hours time to review the situation. He went to the front side of the bank where these huge queues were lined up and getting louder and more belligerent in full view of the media. As soon as he arrived a huge roar came from the crowd anticipating some negative or aggressive measure. They all expected that the bank would close early making it difficult for them to withdraw their moneys. However the SVP did exactly the opposite. He announced that the bank understood the needs of its account holders and in order to accommodate them, the bank’s cash payment counters would remain open for an extra two hours. The entire crowd and the media anchors were stunned. They expected him to do something exactly the opposite. This announcement had a positive impact and some of the people in the queue looked at him with a new found respect. He came and pleasantly met various account holders who had been patiently waiting in the queue and spoke cordially with them. This befriended him to many more of those in the queue and there were lesser shouts and more murmurs which probably were not against the bank. However what took the cake was a small incident which was caught live in TV and telecast all over. This incident turned the tide completely in favour of the bank. An old couple, probably above 60, had just left the cash counter after having withdrawn a large sum of money and they were putting their cash into a bag. The SVP noticed their struggle and went across and helped them to pack the money neatly and bid them good luck. He learnt from them that they had been with bank for over 40 years and were taking with them their entire lifesavings. Seeing that they were old he asked where they were going and where they stayed. The SVP came to know that they were staying at a distant place where it was not very safe to travel and he also learnt they did not have any transportation of their own. The good natured SVP immediately called his security chief and personally requested him to provide the bank car to help this old couple out. The old couple were wonder-stricken. The old man said that even though they had come to cut out all ties with the bank, they were doing all this? The SVP replied that after having banked with the bank for 40 years the least that the bank could do was provide the last visit ride home safely. It was after all a bank for the customers like them. That was it. The old man was completely transformed. He asked the SVP to tell him truthfully whether the bank was safe to deposit money and whether the SVP himself would place his own money in the bank. The SVP replied that he would have no hesitation in putting more money and that the bank was absolutely safe. The old man announced that if the bank had people like the SVP, he was very comfortable and that he did not see any reason to withdraw his money. He announced loudly in front of the TV cameras, to the queue that he was happy and confident that the bank was safe and this was telecast all over the country live. He redeposited the cash withdrawn by him in full view of the entire country. The impact on the mob in the queue was phenomenal and entire mob dispersed within minutes thereafter, crisis being defused and most importantly, the bank’s image was actually enhanced. Symbolic Relevance: Fairplay, ethics, and good natured behaviour when in adversity has its own strength which has to be tried out and experienced to be believed. This is possible only when one does one’s duty irrespective of the circumstances. In the above case, amidst the fury of the mob, amidst protest from the Board of directors, the SVP did what he felt was his duty. He could have easily behaved as an indifferent employee and let the police take control over the bank. However he decided to do what he felt was his duty above everything else. Good traits like honesty, fairplay, compassion will arise only when one gets into the habit of doing ones duty without worrying about the consequences. In the Gita there is the shloka in Chapter 2, verse 47:
| 19 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures keÀce&C³esJeeefOekeÀejmles cee HeÀues<eg keÀoe®eve ~ cee keÀce&HeÀuenslegYet&cee& les me²esçmlJekeÀce&efCe ~~ 47~~ The simplified meaning of this shloka is that one should do what one’s sense of duty says, irrespective of the circumstances and consequences. Thus whether it is friend or foe what has to be done must be done. If this is the case, the consequences are bound to be good. Do not have any such expectations. However remain calm even if the results are not what you expect. In the above example the SVP offered assistance to the old couple as he felt that it was his duty on humanitarian grounds. He felt that the situation demanded a supporting hand even though the old man was actually against the bank and its employees and he was a dissatisfied customer leaving the bank in adverse circumstances. It was obvious that the SVP was not expecting anything from the couple as they had already withdrawn their savings and were on their way out. In life, we do not hesitate a moment to retaliate, resist or fight any kind of opposition. But if we try to return good for adverse or wrong behaviour, the results are certain to be good sooner or later. We must do what our conscience asks us to do whether it is to help a foe or turn against a friend. Case study on fairplay based on a doctor’s experience Sometimes life can be unpredictable and one can be taken aback by unforeseen events with devastating impact on personal and professional life. This happened to a doctor who was a non executive independent director on the Board of a reputed company. On a Saturday morning, a policeman came to his house to serve a notice from the local magistrate’s court. The court had admitted a trial case against him and the other directors of the company with regard to a criminal complaint filed by the landlord of the office premises of the company. The issue was simple; the landlord was being offered a better rent wanted the company to either vacate the premises or match the increased rent. The landlord had resorted to a criminal case because he knew that any case filed in civil courts would take decades to get decided. To get a criminal case admitted, he used corrupt means to register a false and fabricated complaint of anti-social behaviour by the directors and alleged forgery and non-compliance with municipal rules. Without even having met most of the directors, the landlord implicated all the directors as a party to the criminal acts. The doctor who barely spent few hours in an entire year for attending Board meetings, was also named as one of the defendants. The doctor was devastated. He had neither seen, nor heard or met the landlord. He consulted some of the best lawyers who reassured him that there was no serious problem. He was explained that these criminal cases in lower courts were very common pressure tactics used by unscrupulous people and that the courts would eventually dismiss the case in five to six years. However, during the trial period, the consequences were difficult to bear, particularly for straightforward and honest people. The lawyers told him that he would have to attend court hearings regularly when the matter was being heard. Apart from that, he would have some difficulties in getting his passport renewed and he would not be able to empanel or register with public sector companies for rendering services. There would be many awkward situations where he would have to disclose the fact that there has a criminal case against him. However the most devastating impact was that he did not get admission in a prestigious club because a criminal case was pending against him. The doctor constantly worried as this was like a cloud over his head. He kept asking God why was he being penalised for doing nothing. How did the magistrate admit such a case without even hearing him out? He wanted to go and meet the landlord but was legally advised against speaking
| 20 | Gita for Professionals to or meeting with the landlord. Since the landlord’s demands were unreasonable the other directors were not keen on settling the matter with him. However he was a firm believer of Gita. This gave him a lot of strength in facing the situation and continuing with his medical practice. Life went on like this for a couple of years. One day a woman patient was brought to him in an emergency situation relating to a heart problem. Her regular doctor was abroad and she had to be treated for some acute chest pain. He examined her and studied the case papers. The regular doctor had diagnosed a serious heart problem which needed surgery and stents to be implanted. However he did not find the diagnosis satisfactory. Therefore, he advised the lady a detailed check up. His suspicions were confirmed; the reports revealed that there was nothing wrong with the heart and neither surgery nor stents were needed. The lady only had some muscular pains which were addressable with medication. The feedback about the doctor who had been treating her was that doctor indulged in exploitation. Since he was convinced that the patient could be cured with simple medication, he called her to the consulting room. Thinking that the matter was serious she came with her husband. The husband was none other than the landlord who had filed a case against the doctor. Since the landlord had many such litigation cases, he did not recognise the doctor as one of the defendants in one of his case. However the doctor realised that husband was the landlord from his name and address on the business visiting card. The immediate reaction was anger and urge was to have a showdown with him and let the woman suffer and wait for her doctor and get exploited. The opportunity to take revenge was there right before him. However he excused himself for a few minutes to talk to himself and his ethics and his duty to his patient. This break helped him and he discussed the medical treatment very professionally with the patient and her husband. He explained that surgery was not necessary nor were the stents’ implantation needed. He prescribed simple medication, a new diet and some yoga asanas. He asked her to see him after two weeks. The patient and her husband were happy and relieved. The lady came again after two weeks and a detailed check up was carried out. The medical checkup showed phenomenal results. She was declared fit and fine. The lady and her husband came with gifts and the husband actually said that he was the nicest doctor he had ever met and would recommend him to his friends little realising that this was the same person against whom he had filed a case of anti-social behaviour, forgery, etc. A couple of months later, the court hearing came up and this time, among the other directors the landlord spotted this doctor and recognised him. He pleasantly went to meet him and asked him what he was doing there. The doctor then explained that he too was one of the defendants against whom the landlord had filed a false criminal case. The landlord was stunned and couldn’t say anything. He went to his lawyer and asked for an adjournment on grounds of ill health. Two days later the doctor got a pleasant surprise. The landlord came to his consulting room and apologised to him. He had filed in court an affidavit admitting his mistake and error in filing the criminal case against the doctor. He requested in the affidavit that the case against the doctor be dismissed. The court dismissed the case. Symbolic reference and the importance of fairplay in life In a situation where an opportunity to take revenge is available, it is not easy to behave in a fair and just manner. To be able to behave fairly with a person who has harmed you, is extremely difficult and is easier said than done. That is where the challenge lies. This is where the message of Gita helps – Krishna says: ‘don’t be swayed by emotions – do your
| 21 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures duty and I will take care of you.’ Gita guides us and helps us in retaining sanity in difficult times. Gita’s message to man is ‘do your duty’ – without thinking of consequences and casting away personal feelings. So far as we professionals are concerned, it means ‘act professionally’ without emotions and self-interest – giving correct advice even if one is losing economically. 4. The stealing cowherd understands the meaning of a trial balance Parable: There was a cowherd who was a very selfish and greedy person. He was greedy and never missed an opportunity to deceive and cheat anyone for personal gains. One day, he sold milk by mixing 50% water and made a huge profit, a whole bagful of 100 coins. Happy and gleeful, with his ill-gotten earnings, he was on his way home with the other cowherds. On the way, they decided to have a bath in the river. They all took off their clothes and kept their belongings on the beach and went for a swim. A monkey, who was staying in a closeby tree, saw them and came there. He started rummaging through the clothes. He came across the bag of coins and was fascinated by it. He opened the bag and playfully started throwing the coins, one by one, in the river. The cowherd suddenly noticed this and immediately came to the shore and shouted at the monkey. The monkey threw the bag with the remaining coins and went away. The cowherd inspected the bag and found that the monkey had thrown many coins. He counted the remaining coins painstakingly and to his dismay, 50 coins were lost – exactly the percentage of water in the milk that the cowherd had added. God took away exactly the same quantum of coins that he had deceitfully earned through dilution of the milk. Nature and life are like that. Message: The cowherd learnt the hard way the real meaning of the trial balance of life – debit is equal to credit symbolising that the quantum of punishment is equal to the quantum of sin. When you do good life will return the good to you in some form or the other. If you cheat someone, remember that someone will cheat you. The trial balance of an accountant may or may not tally but the trial balance of life will surely always tally. You reap what you sow. Illustration: A CA was in practice for several years. He was a good CA but as it happens, life always has challenges to offer and he had compromised with times. He had started engaging in corrupt practices of getting work done for clients using bribery and wrongful means. Undoubtedly he was earning good money, but as human nature being what it is, greed got the better of him and he started plunging deeper and deeper into his web of deceit. Now he was not only taking money for bribes but also taking much more than what he actually paid by way of bribes. His lust knew no bounds and soon he started a racket whereby he would provide vital information to the assessing officers to facilitate them to extort money from the unsuspecting clients. He would then get them the demanded money and share in that too. He was thus a fixer with ill repute. He had got a client who trusted him implicitly. The CA exploited this trust and earned handsomely and in a matter of just one year he had saved about Rs. one crore. Then began his troubles. He developed diabetes and hypertension and a major heart problem. He had to undergo bypass surgery, and almost simultaneously his wife met with a serious accident and lost one of her kidneys. She too had to be hospitalised and needed huge medical care. His daughter didn’t do well in her studies and he had to spend a small fortune to get her admission in a college. Within one year he found that he had lost about Rs. one crore. One evening he sat back and thought about this development. Exactly like the fate of the cowherd in the parable above, life had taken back the same amount he had earned through wrongful and unethical practices in about the same period. The CA learnt
| 22 | Gita for Professionals the real meaning of a tallied trial balance. From that day onwards he decided not to indulge in such wrong doings and conceded to God that he had made an error. He surrendered to God and resolved that he would make amends. That night he slept peacefully. He pledged his house for a loan from a bank. Because his intentions were sincere, and he was now on the path of divinity and righteousness, God also helped him. He found the bank manager very helpful and got the loan on good terms. Now came the difficult task. He had decided to go to the client whom he had cheated and return the money and admit his wrongdoing. This is really difficult because of the unpredictability of the reaction, the action that could be taken and his own ego. But the CA drew that strength from somewhere and went to meet the client. On admitting his guilt and his wrongdoings he asked him for forgiveness and gave him a cheque to compensate him. The client hugged him with joy because, he was in a crisis situation where the cheque was a life saver for him. He had recently suffered a sudden business loss in an export transaction as the overseas buyer had failed to make his payment. The bank as well the RBI were sending enforcement agencies and he had exhausted his bank finance. He admired the courage on the part of the CA to admit his mistake and reassured him that it was okay. In fact, he philosophised that had the CA not taken away this money from him, even this money would have been lost and today he would have been on the roads. He further promised the CA that he would, in better times, compensate him and even absorb a part of CA’s the loan repayment burden. Now life was returning the good reward for the good deed of the CA. In life debit always equals credit. The CA thus understood the real meaning of the trial balance of life. Symbolic Relevance: Do good onto others so that good always will fall onto you. Even if someone has done you a wrong or an injustice, try and overcome your negative impulses to return his evil act with a good deed. This is the best way of making a long lasting friend. Importantly your mind will be free of all its shackles of bondage from hatred, jealousy, revenge, ego and anger. 5. The demon who grew stronger by provoking and teasing his foes Parable 1: There was a demon (Rakshas) who became very strong somehow and started terrifying the Gods. He seemed to grow stronger every time he faced anyone who opposed him. He would tease and provoke those who fought with him. Incredibly he would get stronger in every such fight and leave the opponents frustrated and helpless. The Gods went to Lord Vishnu for help. They got a simple diagnosis from the Lord for their problem and even a simpler solution. The secret source of the demon’s strength was in fact the opponent’s anger, which provided the energy for the demon and made him stronger. The demon would therefore provoke and tease his opponents which had a double whammy on them; he himself absorbed the energy from their anger whereas the opponents grew weaker. Thus anger was the fuel for the demon and the root cause of the weakness of the Gods. All that the Gods had to do was remain peaceful and calm and automatically the demon would be starved of his energy and eventually weakened to the point of death. Parable 2: Another classic example regarding control over anger is that of Sant Eknath. He was known for his peaceful disposition and ability of great control over his anger. Some youths who did not believe this trait of Sant Eknath, decided to prove that they could provoke him and make him angry. One of them kept a watch on his activities and saw an opportunity to rile him when he went for a bath in the river. When Sant Eknath went for a bath the youth waited for him to come out. As soon as the Sant came out of the river the
| 23 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures youth spat on him. The Sant was unruffled and went again in the cold water to bathe and clean himself. The youth waited and again spat on the Sant when he came out. Once again the Sant peacefully bathed and cleaned himself in the biting cold. This act of spitting on the Sant, the youth did repeatedly but the Sant remained calm and composed and unruffled; in fact the youth started getting tired, till a time came, when after spitting 108 times on the Sant he gave up and apologised to the Sant and accepted his great strength of self-control and anger. The sant replied kindly saying that in fact it was good that he did this because it was ‘ekadashi’ and very auspicious to have a dip in the holy river 108 times, which he would not have done otherwise. Such was the self-restraint that the saint found something good even in this challenging episode in his life. Thus it is well said that that the real strength of a human being is not to be able to win a wrestling match or overpowering someone, but in controlling one’s anger. Controlling anger brings a new colour to life and an ability to find solutions to any kind of problems. If one fasts on 11 ekadashi days, then this trait can be acquired. Message: This parable beautifully illustrates the destructive impact of anger. Anger is the root cause of delusion, loss of memory, loss of intellect and the ability to think and reason, and leads to devastation. The following shloka 63 of the Gita, Chapter 2, is very relevant. ¬eÀesOeeÓJeefle mebceesnë mebceesnelmece=efleefJeYe´ceë ~ mce=efleYe´bMeeodyegef×veeMees yegef×veeMeeledÒeCeM³eefle ~~63~~ ¬eÀesOeeled – from anger YeJeefle – comes mebceesnë – delusion mebceesneled – from delusion mce=efleefJeYe´ceë – loss of memory mce=efleYe´bMeeled – from loss of memory yegef×veeMeë – the destruction of intellect yegef×veeMeeled – from the destruction of intellect ÒeCeM³eefle – he perishes From anger arises delusion, from delusion comes loss of memory, from loss of memory comes loss of intellect, and from loss of intellect one goes to complete ruin (63). Illustration: A small time young consultant was struggling to make ends meet. In the case of one particular client, he was faced with a problem of dealing with a hostile accountant. The accountant was one of the very old trusted employees of the client. Because he was stagnating and had nothing much to look forward to, he was disgruntled with life, and seemed to dislike this consultant since the day he started providing services and getting paid decent fees. The accountant would always try and provoke or put some impediment in the work done by the CA. In particular, he would always enjoy delaying or holding up his bills for some reason or the other. Just as the youth, in the parable above kept on spitting again and again, the
| 24 | Gita for Professionals accountant made the consultant send a fresh bill several times. He would annoy him by stating that he had not received the bill or had lost it, or misplaced it. Sometimes he would raise frivolous queries or for want of more details or some reason on the other he would hold up his payment. The consultant did not want to rub his client the wrong way and he felt that if he complained against him, the client feel that he was bickering and further, he might not necessarily believe him. This harassment went on. On one occasion, the accountant held back one of his bills for a very long time. The bill was for some consulting fee plus out of pocket expenses. Thoroughly exasperated, the consultant brought up this matter before the client, who naturally summoned his accountant. The accountant feigned complete ignorance about the bill. He glibly stated that he would have released the payment immediately had he received it. Though the consultant knew that this was false, he had no way of proving it since he had handed over the bill without any written acknowledgement. The client, clearly irritated, did not want to push the matter further and merely asked him to send another copy which would be paid. The accountant gave the consultant a dirty spiteful triumphant look. The consultant was seething with anger, but did not exhibit it. At this stage there were several possible actions which the consultant could have chosen. One, had the consultant lost his cool, he would have vehemently protested and a bitter argument between him and the accountant would have ensued. He was unlikely to get the benefit of the argument; but in the process he would have lost the respect of the client. The consultant controlled his anger and thought peacefully. Till now his anger was covering his active mind and denying him a solution. It is similar to a situation where a mirror is covered by dust. It will not provide a reflection. When his anger subsided, he realized that long-term solution must be found by getting the client to know subtly about the falsity of the accountant and also to cut the accountant down to size. A solution emerged gradually as he now began to see a way out. Realising the futility of just complying with what the accountant wanted, he came up with an out of the box solution. He furnished a fresh bill, deliberately overstated, and sent it directly to the accountant. To safeguard himself, he sent a copy, (with the correct amount) to the client through email, which was password protected. The client could not see the bill therefore when he opened his e-mail. Meanwhile, as he had expected, the accountant saw the overstated bill. Immediately his anger, spite and hatred of the consultant were refuelled. Just as one of the Shlokas in Gita states, anger controls the mind and consequent action, the accountant mindlessly rushed into the client’s cabin stating that the bill was overstated. His hatred and intention of harming the CA was so intense that to prove his point he took out the old bill with a lesser amount to show the client. In this process he, completely forgot that he had declared that he had not received it at all. Therefore was not supposed to have it. He was thus exposed. The accountant fell for the bait. The consultant had cleverly leveraged the accountant’s hatred and resentment against himself; his strategy of trapping the accountant worked. The consultant calmly assured the client that he did not want to cheat him in any way and gave him the password to open the e-mail attachment which contained the bill with the correct amount. Had the accountant not pointed out, the consultant would have in any case informed the client the correct amount to be paid. He explained that he had deliberately furnished a modified bill to expose the earlier untruth of the accountant. He was certain that the hatred harboured by the accountant was bound to surface and this was the only way he could think of exposing the accountant. The message was loud and clear to the client, but it was conveyed gracefully and patiently. The client promised him that in future his bills would be directly paid and processed by him.
| 25 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures However the greatest gain was that the client’s respect for the consultant sky rocketed from that day onwards. Symbolic relevance Professionals being experts and qualified people will always meet with those jealous and spiteful people who are less fortunate. The above case study is a common experience in the lives of countless such people. One must learn to control emotions such as anger and hatred. The above case showed that while the man who lost control of his mind suffered devastating consequences while another who controlled his mind converted a lost situation into a winning situation. Finding a solution with patience and a calm mind is always more effective and certain to produce an optimal solution. Anger on the other hand rarely results in a solution but always creates a problem. 6. Mahatma (revered and knowledgeable person, sage) who gave poison to a woman to kill her mother-in-law Parable: One day a husband saw his wife mixing some powder in milk which was being served to his mother. He was enraged when he came to know that that was slow poison powder given by a Mahatma to his wife to kill his mother. How could a Mahatma do this? Well, it all started in the backdrop of a universal problem: most mothers do not get along with their son’s wives, and at times things begin to get out of hand. This happened in the case of this particular couple where the husband who had to balance both sides, was driven to ill health and a deep sense of frustration. The wife was convinced that the mother-in-law was biggest obstacle to the couple’s happy living and the only possible solution would be to get rid of her. Therefore something was needed to get rid of the old woman. She went to a Mahatma and pleaded her case and asked him to give something to kill the mother-in-law or otherwise she would commit suicide herself. The old man thought it over and assured her that he would help her. He handed her a powder and told her that it was a slow poison which had to be given to the mother-in-law, in a small portion mixed in milk. He told her that this powder would poison her body gradually and it would take somewhile to show the results, but would be the safest way to do so without attracting suspicion from anyone. He also advised her to do this by being superficially nice to the old woman to ensure that she took the drugged milk everyday. In order to get rid of her mother-in-law, the wife was willing to do anything, even being nice and thus, now she changed her attitude; she started being extremely nice, ignored snide remarks, taunts and abuses of the mother-in- law. She helped her in every possible way, cooked some delicious dishes to the liking of the old lady, and catered to her whims. Secretly she started adding the powder in the old woman’s milk and eagerly waited to see if her conditions showed any symptoms of the poison. Nothing was visible and initially she was impatient and went to the Mahatma seeking his advice. The Mahatma told her not to worry but keep up this effort. Reassured, she continued and as days and months passed by, the artificial affection translated in genuine affection. There was a change even in the mother-in-law and a wonderful relationship developed between the two ladies. Now they started liking each other and to an outsider they appeared more as a motherdaughter duo rather than the traditional bickering mother-in-law-daughter-in-law duo. The old lady glowingly praised her daughter-in-law to all and sundry and showered gifts and money on the smallest of occasions. The goodness was infectious and likewise, the wife would also praise her mother-in-law in her circles. The husband’s health started improving. However one day a tragedy struck, as explained earlier, when the husband spotted his wife mixing the
| 26 | Gita for Professionals powder. The wife was scared and told him the truth. However at this stage, the wife too had changed for the better and now did not want her mother-in-law to die. She went back to the Mahatma and requested him to immediately give an antidote that would remove the toxin she had been feeding the old lady over the last several months. The old man smiled and told her that he had never given her any poison; on the contrary, it was a tonic powder. He told the young lady that the real evil and sin was in her mind and the powder was a poison for that. The Mahatma also explained this to the husband who forgave his wife. The powder had killed that sin and not the sinner. Since she was behaving well with her mother-in-law, the old lady who was oblivious of all the foregoing had also changed and started behaving pleasantly. The trick of love that worked since the wife had devotionally done the chores and that brought about the change in attitude of the mother-in-law. Message: The Gita advocates devotion and love (bhakti) as one of the strongest paths towards God. Professionals would be well advised to do what is their duty even if it is cumbersome, burdensome or something they do not want to do. For they may have to deal with clients, colleagues or others in their course of work whom they dislike, but if they deal with them diplomatically, tactfully and pleasantly, irrespective of inner feelings, the results are phenomenal. Even a half hearted attempt to be good to someone who has hurt you or who you detest, may lead to unforeseen pleasant and delightful experiences. The Chapter 12 of Gita relates to the yoga of devotion to God is very useful in this regard. Sometimes if one does something for another even the wicked and evil among us get transformed. The following illustration has both these elements. Illustration: There was a cashier in a hospital, whose behaviour was suspect. Poor bookkeeping, an arrogant attitude and a high standard of living which was not commensurate with his income, were strong signals for the management to feel that he was dishonest and that he was probably putting his hand in the cash box. One day, they got further convinced when one of the peons reported that he had seen the cashier accepting cash from a patient clandestinely in the corridor outside and obviously without issuing a receipt. It so happened that he was cleaning the floor in an adjoining room close by at that time, unknown to the cashier and that patient. The management with the in-house internal auditor immediately conducted a surprise cash verification and found excess cash of ` 2,450, and reported this matter to the trustees. As expected, the cashier was called, and asked to explain. All that he could say was that was his personal money. However the management did not believe him and unanimously felt that he was suppressing collections. He was dismissed. It so happened that the patient came one day to consult the doctor and the management called him and asked him about the payment to the cashier. The patient was clearly embarrassed but the truth that came out was even more embarrassing to the management and the trustees. The patient said that a few days back, he had to undergo a surgery for which he was ` 2,450 short, and he could not be operated unless he made the entire payment to the hospital, as per the hospital rules. The patient was crying because he did not have the money and asked the cashier whether he would accept a post dated cheque. It is said that even Ravan had some good in him. Ralph W. Emerson also stated once that he had yet to meet a man from whom him he did not learn anything. The same was with this cashier. Thought otherwise arrogant and corrupt, the cashier was apparently moved by the plight of the patient and told him that the hospital rules did not permit that. However, he gave the patient a bearer cheque from his own bank account in the same building and asked him to get that money to pay the hospital and collect his receipt. The patient gratefully accepted his loan and then a few days later when
| 27 | Chapter 3 – Anecdotal Case Studies and Parables from the Gita and other scriptures the operation was over, he had returned the money. This act of returning the money was what the peon had seen. The act of taking money without issuing a receipt and the excess cash found with the cashier on duty, were facts. But the real noble purpose behind these facts was lost as was also the transformation of this cashier. This act of providing service to the patient gave him such a great sense of fulfilment, that he experienced a new kind of bliss and that day onwards he stopped his wrongdoings. Unfortunately he was punished and the action taken against was diametrically opposite to what should have been done: he was punished rather than being rewarded. This is an example with the combined message of an optical illusion which must be distrusted and the power of devotion and service to others. Because the cashier was arrogant, a big spender and a poor accountant, these facts were weaved around the act of accepting money without issuing a receipt, and it was immediately believed that he was dishonest. In all such cases the conclusions are reached as reactions rather than responses. The brain acts at lightning speed and comes up with incorrect assessments most of the times. Something that is too obvious, should be examined and corroborated. Since the human mind gets carried away easily, truth has to be established unassailably with due care, evidence and factual corroboration. Symbolic Relevance: The two messages are crystal clear. One is the need to be of service and devotion to mankind. This will facilitate removal of all evil traits and cleanse our minds. The second message is ‘Distrust the obvious, in particular what is too obvious’ till it is proved by more than one independent source. Have a look at the picture below. Are the horizontal lines in the picture bent or straight? Are the horizontal lines parallel or do they slope? Incredibly, the lines are absolutely straight and actually parallel. What is happening is that the brain has erroneously reached a conclusion that the lines are not parallel because of an optical illusion.