| 78 | Gita for Professionals 16. Mayi ca ananyayogena bhaktih avyabhicarini: Unswerving and con-tinuous devotion. 17. Viviktha desa sevitham: Desire and the longing for solitude. 18. Janasamadi aratih: Disinterest in being part of a crowd. 19. Tattvajnanarthdarsanam: Ultimate success in reaching the truth 20. Adhyatma Gyana Nityavam; Constantly seeking the eternal truth.
| 79 | Chapter 4 – Thirteen lessons to make this world a better place to live in
| 80 | Gita for Professionals
| 81 | Chapter 5 – Lesser known things about the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Lesser known things about the Bhagavad Gita Our mind has unbelievable strength and is a powerhouse if used correctly. There are some amazing real life instances which show that solutions in life can come from within the mind if it is developed to be strong and focused. This is where the Gita actually helps. There is one such example of a senior chartered accountant, in Kolkata, who had to face, in life, a very grim, near death situation, a few years ago. He was diabetic and due to some difficult circumstances, he developed a heart problem and simultaneously faced several health issues. The problems snowballed and there came a stage where the doctors told him that he had no choice but to undergo amputation of his leg as the infection was resistant to all antibiotics and thus incurable. If this was done his heart would fail. However the CA was not the one to be defeated and he refused to allow the situation to overwhelm him. He had confidence in himself and was convinced by his inner voice that somehow he did not need to ampute his leg. He reached out to a homeopathic doctor known to him and he was told that he should take certain medicines, perform yoga daily, control his diet and along with that to keep his mind happy, calm and peaceful. He was told that if he could do this, the leg would be healed and there would no need to undergo amputation. He was told that he would even come back to total normalcy. The CA did that, and it is now a fact that a few years later, the CA is leading a normal life at the age of 60 and he did not undergo any amputation. The question is: “Was it because of the medicines, yoga and diet?” Perhaps, but the strongest factor which brought him back to life was his effort to control his mind to remain constantly happy at all times, come what may. It requires a huge effort to remain at peace with oneself, particularly in trying circumstances. That is what the CA was able to do and eventually extricate himself from this problem of amputation of his leg and certain death. The mind can become very strong and promote internal healing. The Gita throughout talks about mind control through positive thinking, meditation, thoughts of devotion and universal love for all beings. The CA has since done a lot of research on simple homeopathic remedies and medicines, only with a single focused objective of helping any person in distress, facing health problems and suffering from diseases which require to be cured. He has set up a new foundation for this purpose. The CA now has the confidence that he can help a person suffering from virtually any disease including even cancers so firm is his belief. He has thus been practicing the tenets of the Gita and that is developing a strong mind and using it for devotion to mankind. For readers who have any difficulties and who may be interested, they may go to the website being developed by the foundation (kewalsamarpan.com) for advice. It is purely devotional and non-commercial. The Gita is a scripture which is often wrongly mistaken for a typical religious book, which would be an incorrect description. It is a book about self-control and leading a better life using a clean, healthy and focused mind. It is reasonably well known that the Bhagavad Gita is a part of Mahabharata which is an epic scripture. It is composed of 700 Sanskrit verses or shlokas spread over 18 chapters. Out of the total 700 verses, Sri Krishna recited 574, Arjuna recited 85, Dhritarashtra recited 1 and Sanjay recited 40 shlokas. But there are many other interesting facts about the Bhagavad Gita which are interesting and knowledge of which would be useful.. Some of these lesser known facts are:
| 82 | Gita for Professionals 1. Why it called the “Gita”: Many people wonder why the scripture is called the Gita. Research in this regard, done by the author, shows that this word Gita had been derived from “Geet” or “git” which means a song. The scripture is referred to as Gita because, its divine message is narrated in the form of a song or a poetic recitation, not as a lecture or a typical discourse given by one to another. The probable reason why the Bhagavad Gita’s message is imparted as a song is because a song is better suited to provide a soothing, assuring and affectionate message from God to his devotees. A song is significantly more appealing than a lecture which otherwise may not have such an impact. A song can influence a mind with a more lasting effect. Moreover, songs are more likely to be enthusiastically received as compared to lectures. For readers who like a technical evaluation, the Gita is recited in a rhyming meter called “Anushtup” which contains 32 syllables in each verse. The general theme is in four lines of eight syllables each. In particular verses, a “Trishtup” meter is used, which contains four lines of 11 syllables each. This is used in various poignant shlokas in the Gita including Chapter 2, Chapter 8, Chapter 11, etc. 2. The greatness of the Gita: There are many other facets about the Gita which may not be known to all. First, why is the word “Srimad” often written before the Bhagavad Gita? The word Srimad is a title of great respect. Gita is considered to impart the highest knowledge across ages, countries, languages and is well received even by people following various different religions. Though written over 5000 years ago, it is extremely relevant today. The Gita is respected even outside India. This respect is given because the Bhagavad Gita relates to a common man and it reveals the essence of all spiritual knowledge to such a common man who is struggling in life. It helps him to meet any challenge that he is facing. Secondly, though the original language of the Bhagavad-Gita was classical Sanskrit from India, Bhagavad Gita, or sometimes extracts of Bhagavad Gita, have been translated into approximately 80 languages. (https://www.quora.com/Into-how-many-languages-has-the-BhagavadGita-been-translated). The first English edition of the Bhagavad Gita was released in 1785 by Charles Wilkins in London, England. Other translations include Latin in 1823 by Schlegel, German in 1826 by Von Humbolt, French in 1846 by Lassens and Greek in 1848 by Galanos. The Gita has reached many corners of the world in such different languages! Unless a scripture is so great, such international popularity is not possible. Therefore the word Srimad is a rightful title for such a great scripture. 3. Paradoxical lessons which provide out of the box solutions to challenges in life: Incredibly, verses in which the Bhagavad Gita talks about peace and maintaining a calm mind, were imparted by Lord Krishna in the backdrop of war and intense violence of its times. It actually advocated fighting the war by Arjuna. Had the Gita not been narrated, it is possible that Arjuna would have gloomily walked away from the battlefield and perhaps the war may have been averted. However, the Gita should not be misunderstood or misinterpreted to suggest that it actually encourages fighting or battles. It fosters clear thinking in the right direction, which may include taking any action as may be necessary, including war. Paradoxically, its core message advocates non-violence, calmness, non-hatred and peace. At the same time the Bhagavad Gita clearly advocates taking the right action is a must without worrying about the consequences. A deeper understanding of the Gita shows that it encourages action without any negative emotion or attachment. Anger, hatred,
| 83 | Chapter 5 – Lesser known things about the Bhagavad Gita jealousy are negative emotions which have to be removed from any action to make it just and fair. Even at times positive emotions like love have to be removed from any action if the situation so demands. Therefore, even if any act involves killing, the Bhagavad Gita does not stop a person from killing another if the cause and the situation so demands that the act be performed and no other peaceful solution is available. While Bhishma, Dronacharya, and many others were eminent, great, good human beings, (whom Arjun loved intensely) Lord Krishna had no hesitation even to recommend using deceptive means to encourage Arjuna to kill them. What is missed out by most readers is the emotion of love in the act of killing by Arjuna. Even though he did kill these great people, he did that with intense and genuine love for them even in the very action when he killed them and in correspondingly, they too gave up their lives and died with the same undiminished love for Arjun even though he was their killer! That is the Gita’s message. Do your duty, but do not harbour hatred or any negative emotion which changes the colour and odour of one’s action. The action may be paradoxical to the philosophy of peace but it is to be performed if and when justified. Take the case of a parent who finds that the child is up to mischief and continuously performs naughty acts which ought to be stopped. If, after several warnings the child does not listen to the parent, the parent may slap or punish the child. But the slap or punitive action does not lessen the love for the child. Duryodhana was like a naughty child who did not listen to repeated requests and warnings. Therefore the act of killing him was permitted by the Gita because the situation demanded it. Take the case of a soldier in an army fighting the enemy soldiers. He has no hatred to any individual soldier of the enemy army. But he is not only authorized but even expected to kill as many enemy soldiers as possible. Does it mean that he is killing bad or evil people? Not at all. The soldiers in the enemy army may also be very good human beings. Under normal circumstances they do not deserve to be killed. But each side are killing for the love of their motherland, for a just cause. The Gita thus advocates taking such action and discourages running away from the battlefield. Another way to understand this concept better, we should consider our life as a stage drama where we are actors along with many other actors and each of us have been given a role to perform as decided by God. In a drama we may have to even perform the act of even killing another which we will be able to do without any hatred. In life too we should perform any given act as demanded by the situation. An act is good or bad depending on the purpose for which it is used. A knife in the hands of a surgeon is used to cut open the ribs of a patient but the purpose is to save his life, and eventually and cure the patient of any ailment. But the same knife in the hands of a killer and the same act on a sleeping person to rob him is a wrong act not permissible. Even battles in those days were fought in true spirit wherein armies followed rules and discipline which showed their lack of hatred for the enemy. Their act was based on clean minds. The Gita thus provides a direction, a method of dealing with situations and no act by itself is completely wrong or right. Therefore it is no surprise that the Gita also inspired non-violent Indian freedom fighters like Gandhiji and revolutionaries like Khudiram Bose alike. Balgangadhar Tilak, Vinoba Bhave even gave lectures on Gita when they were in prison to the prisoners and wrote commentaries on it. Gandhiji used to say that “I open any page of the Gita when I have a problem and I find my solution there”. For him Gita was his “Spiritual Dictionary”. An interesting lesser known case is that of
| 84 | Gita for Professionals Khudiram Bose a freedom fighter, who was one of the youngest revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement who embraced the gallows with the Bhagavad Gita in his hands and Vande Mataram on his lips, making him the hero of pure nationalists. Khudiram Bose was influenced by the notion of karma in the Bhagvad Gita, and was involved in revolutionary activities to free Mother India from the clutches of British rule. Khudiram Bose, was sentenced to death at the age of 19. He was hanged to death on 11th August 1908 (source https://www.mapsofindia.com/ who-is-who/history/khudiram-bose.html). 4. Gita has a unique logic about treating two ‘opposites’ with the same feeling of love. Consider the following shloka. The shloka clearly states something quite difficult to understand. One cannot fathom providing the same treatment to a friend and an enemy but the Gita actually states this. Why? Because one’s action is not to be connected with emotion particularly negative emotions such as hate or anger. In the Mahabharata war, unlike the modern day wars, it is believed that after sunset, both sides would stop hostilities and some of them would even sit, chat and eat together. The fighting and killing would be forgotten till the next morning sunrise time. This really symbolizes the true spirit of the Gita where action is completely devoid of emotion, particularly negative emotions like jealousy, anger, etc. ceeveeheceeve³eesmlegu³emlegu³ees efce$eeefjhe#e³ees: ~ meJee&jcYeheefjl³eeieer iegCeeleerle: me G®³eles ~~25~~ He who is indifferent to honour and igmoniny, is alike to friend and foe, and has renounced the sense of doership in all that he does, is said to have risen above the three Gunas (25). This is difficult to fathom but, the Gita has certain very unusual recommendations. It says that in life there will be pairs of opposites. Happiness and sadness, people who will treat you with love and people who will hate you. Logically one would be expected to be grateful and affectionate towards those who do good to you and it would be quite justified in avoiding or fighting those who are bad to you. In fact one cannot be easily expected to stop hatred towards such a person. Most certainly one cannot be expected to love such a person. The central reasoning of the Gita is that every person, every being, everything we see, feel, smell, hear or touch is God himself. Each such person or object whether hating you or loving you, is playing a role designed by God himself. That is what life is all about. There is story of a skunk and a rabbit. The rabbit hated the skunk because he would create a stink whenever he came close to the rabbit. The rabbit had another good friend a sparrow. The rabbit loved meeting the sparrow but hated the skunk and never made any effort to cultivate any friendship with the skunk. This went on for a few months after which came the winter season. There was intense cold in the forest and the sparrow migrated to a different region but the rabbit was left alone with the skunk in the winter and the rabbit was finding it very difficult to survive. The rabbit knew that many animals were dying because they could not survive in the intense cold and he realized that he too could not survive for very long. As usual in the past the skunk came close to him, and the rabbit was about to go away when he realized that he was generating heat. The skunk in its own detestable way, offered the warmth and comfort which
| 85 | Chapter 5 – Lesser known things about the Bhagavad Gita provided heat to each other’s bodies. Somehow though the rabbit could not stand the smell and irritating habits of the skunk, the closeness provide it the means for survival which saw it through the winter. It then realized that while the skunk was detestable on account of its stink, it was something that it could not help, but after all, it was a representative sent by God which saved him. We too do not realize that if someone is bad with us or rude to us or treats us badly, it is always God who has sent him to us. We should always bear in mind that come what may, God is there with us. Therefore harboring any hatred only affects us and not the friend or foe, and the negative emotion may actually prevent us from performing the right course of action. The Gita has many other shlokas which provide solutions to us for difficult situations. But the most famous one is in Chapter 2 verse 47 which states that one should concentrate in one’s duty unmindful of what will happen. In a way it means that one should focus only on what one is expected to do and forget or disregard what is going on outside our line of duty, whether others are good or bad to us. If we learn to do that, success in life will surely be ours. There is a nice story about an executive who wanted to resign and leave his job in a company. He went to the HR head to offer his resignation. The HR head asked him why he wanted to leave. The executive told him that from morning to evening he saw other employees in the office who were making him uncomfortable. Some of them were rude to him, some were arrogant who looked down on him or some employees who were just generally negative. Because of them he felt that in such an atmosphere he could not work even for one minute more. Therefore he wanted to resign and go to another place. The HR head thought for a moment and requested him to perform one task for him. He told him to stay for just one more day and during that day he had only one task. He motivated him to do that task by saying that if he did the task well he would give a very nice reference letter which would be helpful in his career. That task was to inspect the entire office and merely list out all the ‘blue’ articles in the office. The HR head explained that company was changing it logo and colour theme from blue to red and so he needed to make a list of blue articles with location references so that they could be changed to a red colour. The executive did that and since he wanted a good reference letter as was promised by the HR head, he diligently performed the task. It took him one full day to walk all over the office to make the list. He finally came back with a long list of 360 items which impressed the HR head. The HR head asked him whether he had any difficulties in making this list. The executive confirmed that he did not. Then the HR head asked him whether he saw any negative people or anyone who behaved badly with him or whether it was unbearable for him to do this exercise. The executive thought for a moment and said yes there were such people, but it did not bother him because he was concentrating on the list and it did not matter to him or prevent him from doing what he wanted. He had made sure that no one stopped him from doing his work. As the executive said this he realized the impact of what he said. If one is fully focused in what one is expected to do, unmindful or consequences, unmindful of others around you, your goal is always attainable. The external world cannot harm you or affect you. People around you can be good or bad, but you should treat them equally neither getting upset with those who are bad to you nor getting carried away by those who are nice to you. Both are representatives of God and deserve only love. Life becomes a joy if this is followed.
| 86 | Gita for Professionals 5. Amazing correlation between Bhagavad Gita and modern science: Bhagavad Gita is also a science. Let us consider what is the definition of science. One possible definition is that science is a structured study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged based on observation and experimentation. The central issue of science is that it consists of facts and truth. The Gita is also a systematic structured explanation of facts and truths about life. It has been proved correct by observation and experimentation by people across time, ages, languages and countries. In this regards there are many similarities between observations made in science and in the Gita. Some of them are: – ‘Infinity’ and ‘Divinity’ are parallel concepts. One of the fundamental similarities between Science and Gita is the concept of infinity which matches divinity. There is a number called ‘infinity’ the existence which is acknowledged by mathematics and science. Science requires proof and description for any existence. But this is not possible for the term infinity. The actual number cannot be described or identified by science. Science is unable to prove the existence of nor explain the anomalies relating to the mathematical operations of this term. Infinity plus infinity is also infinity. Infinity multiplied by infinity also results in infinity. This defies the normal mathematical and arithmetic rules of addition, multiplication, etc. Yet science accepts these features about infinity. In much the same way divinity exists as per the Bhagavad Gita and even here divinity plus divinity, divinity multiplied by divinity results in divinity. If infinity can exist and be recognized by science as the largest unknown and un-definable mathematical number then divinity too can be recognized as the formless supreme brahman in the Gita. Infinity actually represents divinity. No one has seen described or identified God, but the Gita says he exists. There is often a challenge given to non believers that what one can’t see or sense, (that is what one can’t see or touch or smell or hear or taste) cannot exist. This statement is not true. A simple illustration can prove this statement to be questionable. One can ask “have you seen your grandparents?” Perhaps the answer could be yes. The next question is: “have you seen your great grand parents?” Possibly the answer could still be yes. The third question could be: “have you seen your great, great grand parents?” Even if the answer is yes, if a question is asked have you seen all your ancestors prior to your great great grandparents? The answer will have to be ‘no’. In that case, since you haven’t seen, heard, touched, etc. them can you say they did not exist? Certainly not, because we do know and we are convinced that they existed. In much the same way even if the apparatus of the five senses we have been given in our body do not reveal God, Gita states that God does exist and we must have the confidence to believe that. – Energy and God have the same attributes. Another similarity is with respect to energy. The famous equation E = mc2 defines energy as mass into velocity of light squared. Science says, energy can neither be created or nor be destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another. Bhagavad Gita also states that the soul, which represents pure energy, can never be created or destroyed. It may change one form to another. In Chapter 2 of the Gita it is mentioned that the soul merely changes its host body from one life
| 87 | Chapter 5 – Lesser known things about the Bhagavad Gita to another just as one changes one’s clothes. This description matches the characteristic of energy described by Science. – Newton’s third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In exactly the same way the virtually every scripture in the world advocates doing good because ‘Good begets Good’. Whatever good you do will always come back to you. – Gita has been studied and acknowledged by eminent scientists. The fact that many scientists also advocated and read the Bhagavad Gita is also relevant in this context. Let’s look at a couple of well known scientists’ admiration and reading of the Gita: Sunita Williams: She is an American astronaut who holds the record for longest single space flight by a woman. She carried a copy of Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads with her to space. She said “those are spiritual things to reflect upon yourself, life, and the world around you and see things other way, I thought it was quite appropriate”. Albert Einstein: One of the greatest scientists freely advocated studying Bhagavad Gita even as a scientist! The scientific fraternity thought Albert Einstein had gone mad! Albert Einstein was the most successful scientist of his era... his faith in teachings of Bhagavad Gita finally paid dividends. It is believed that after following Bhagavad Gita, Albert Einstein made phenomenal progress in science. He truly loved reading Bhagavad Gita, studied Bhagavad Gita whenever he got the time. Though we cannot state with certainty, theory of relativity discovered by Albert Einstein possibly owed its existence to wisdom contained in Bhagavad Gita! 6. It’s a myth that Gita denounces enjoyment in life and to practice severe austerities: Like many books of religion, the Gita is viewed as a scripture which would probably advocate long hours of praying, rituals, penances, fasting and other austerities. People also presume that the Gita would impose a lot of restrictions on living an enjoyable life. This is far from the truth since the Gita actually advocates leading a normal life and to enjoy it. It only advocates moderation in life. One can eat, sleep, drink and make merry as any normal person is expected to do. Nowhere does it require one to give up good things in life. By all means one must enjoy this lovely life. But do not get attached to anything. Attachment means to be unable to do without something. If you enjoy a particular item of food, say basundi or kheer1 , fine, do eat it enjoy it and relish it when available, but do not be sad or desperate or obsessed with the desire to get it. That desire has to be squashed. That becomes attachment and an unfulfilled desire leads to devastation. Take whatever life offers you, but do not demand what is not available. Being happy with what you have, enjoy it, but don’t crave for it if it is taken away or not available. Gita says that if you don’t have anything treat it as a will of God. Value and enjoy the million things we have but we don’t realize that 1. Indian sweetmeat
| 88 | Gita for Professionals we do. Food, clothes, house, car, money, family, friends, relatives, work opportunities, and the list goes indefinitely. Many of us don’t have even half of these things while many of us have twice of what others have. Wherever we stand, whatever we have, we should happily enjoy them, is what the Gita says, and we should not grieve if we are deprived of any of them. The Gita does not advocate practicing any severe austerities. It does not emphasize that it is necessary to fast or go hungry. It actually states that you should eat, but neither eat too much or too little. It also states you should sleep, but that you should not sleep too much or too little. It recommends enjoying food but recommends eating sattvic food which even modern science endorses. Sattvic food in simple words, is any food which one can reasonably offer to God as bhog. Fruits, vegetables, milk, nuts, berries, rice, etc. are typical sattvic foods which one can freely have. The Gita certainly recommends meditation not as a necessary ritual for praying to God, but as a tool for improvement and sharpening of mind and increasing body efficiency. Just as having a bath, combing our hair, brushing our teeth, eating our meals are needed for cleaning, preservation and nourishment of our physical body, the Gita recommends meditation for cleansing our mind of senseless clutter which develops every day. Meditation, if done properly can help get rid of many diseases like hypertension, diabetes, etc. Meditation brings about a freshness and luster to the body and helps in greater enjoyment of life. It is sometime wrongly perceived as a ritual process, a burdensome procedure, to please God. Bhagavad Gita is in fact a ‘Moksha Shaastra’ for mankind–a scripture whose main purpose is to enable freedom from sorrow and experience of permanent bliss and happiness. 7. Bhagavad Gita is a universal scripture: It is not only meant for Indians only or for those following Hindu religion. Historically many very extraordinary and eminent people spanning religions and countries have read and admired the Gita. Albert Einsten, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Herman Hesse, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Aldous Huxley, Rudolph Steiner and Nikola Tesla to name but a few have read Srimad Bhagavad Gita and were inspired by its timeless wisdom. 8. Arjun was not the only one who heard the Gita when Lord Krishna recited its verses: The narration of the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna was heard firsthand not only by Arjuna but also Hanuman, Sanjaya and Barbarik. Let us look at the significance of each of these listeners. Sanjaya was blessed by Veda Vyasa with divine vision in order to narrate the events of the battle to Dhritharashtra. Sanjay was a virtuous character in the Mahabharata who got this divine vision because of his spiritual practice and control over his mind. We all are in the same situation as Sanjay. Just as distance separated Sanjaya from the actual place of battlefield, time and distance separates us from the battlefield. Like Sanjaya, we also have the privilege to learn from the Gita even today. Hanuman was perched on top of Arjuna’s chariot throughout the battle of Kurukshetra. Barbarik, son of Ghatotkach was watching it all from a hill top. Krishna first tried to narrate the Bhagavad Gita to Duryodhana. Obviously, if Duryodhana would have been educated, then the entire war would have been averted. But, Duryodhana told Krishna that he already knows what is right and what is wrong. His argument to Krishna was that there is some internal force within him which does not allow his mind to choose what is right. That his Prakriti is not allowing him to act as per his dharma.
| 89 | Chapter 5 – Lesser known things about the Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita has so many overwhelming and powerful features that no words can describe its greatness. There is a nice story which illustrates the central message of the Gitatrue service and devotion. If we lead our lives for others, incredible support and strength will come to us to meet the challenges and difficulties. There was an old man who had got a ticket to travel in a train free of charge. In that country senior citizens could travel free but they could not get an assured seat. This old man was travelling in a train to a destination which entailed an overnight journey. When the old man got on the train he looked around in the compartment, but found that it was fully occupied and there was no place to sit. As we walked through the aisle, the passengers had kind feelings towards him but being a long journey none of them were willing to offer a seat to him. The poor old man had given up hope and by the time he came to the last row he had decided to go and sit near the door on the floor. Just as he was about to do so, a small girl in the last row got up and standing behind him, and she said in a warm and affectionate voice ‘Uncle, please sit on my seat’. The old man looked at the smiling bright girl with intense gratitude and sat down. After an hour he looked at the girl who was standing and offered her the seat back stating that it was a long ride and that she must have been tired. The girl smilingly replied that she was perfectly fine and fresh and told him to not worry. The old man was really touched and blessed her and immediately fell asleep. A little while later the ticket checker came and he saw the old man sleeping and was about to wake him up for checking his ticket. The girl politely intervened and showed her ticket. She requested the ticket checker to not wake him and let him continue to sit on her paid seat as he was old and very tired. The ticket checker was a good soul and he was touched by the kind and generous act of the girl. He too wanted to help her and so he said to her that there was a vacant seat in the next compartment and he would allot it to her. He asked her to come along. The girl was very happy, but what she did next stunned the ticket checker and all the other passengers who were watching. The girl reached out to the luggage rack above and took out her crutches! She had one artificial leg which no one had noticed and she was a handicapped girl with only one leg. It was extremely difficult for her to stand for more than a few minutes generally, but she somehow got the strength and courage to stand, smilingly for several hours. This is what the Gita says. We have the almighty within us. When we offer something to others, it is nice. But when we offer something that we need or depend upon ourselves that is a true sacrifice which brings us directly in touch with the alight within us and we can draw incredible power and strength. Life is wonderful if we lead it the right way. Life brings us challenges so that we can enjoy life. The Gita provides us the guidelines and the confidence to lead it happily.
| 90 | Gita for Professionals
| 91 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita Chapter 6 Self empowerment by reading the Gita Reading of the Bhagavad Gita facilitates development of mental power, concentration and eventually becoming an overall stronger, healthier and a better person. The Bhagavad Gita in Chapter 2, verse 67, explains to us that our mind is weak and thus it allows our senses to mislead us and takes us away from the truth. For example consider the pictures below. Self empowerment by reading the Gita Reading of the Bhagavad Gita facilitates development of mental power, concentration and eventually becoming a stronger, healthier and a better person overall. The Bhagavad Gita in Chapter 2, verse 67, explains to us that our mind is weak and thus it allows our senses to mislead us and take us away from the truth. For example consider the pictures below. When you see the first horizontal picture containing alphabets you will read the middle letter as ‘B’ but when you see the second vertical picture containing numbers you will read the second number as ‘13’ and when you merge both the pictures you will realize that the middle letter could be either an alphabet or the number 13. Though the middle letter is the same in all the three pictures above you will conclude differently whether it is B or the number 13 in the first two pictures. This is because our mind needs greater power to rein in senses (eyes in this case). Consider this story. There was a guruji (teacher) in an ashram who taught his pupils various subjects. He would take tests and examinations after classes. For the students topping the test, he would offer prizes. He would tell the students to go and select any one painting as their prize from a room which contained beautiful small paintings. Each painting would have the name of the artist who had painted them, written at the bottom. The prize winning students picked up paintings that they liked. However after many tests during an entire semester, one particular painting remained unselected by the winning students for a long time. At the end of the year, the guruji then brought that painting into the class and asked all the various prize winning students why they had not picked up that painting. All the students replied uniformly that since the name of the artist who had painted that painting was Ravan no one wanted to have that painting. The other paintings were painted by artists having good names like Ram, Gopal, Mohan, Laxmi, Sarawasti. Therefore the students preferred to picked up paintings by artists with such good divine names. Then the Guruji replied that that names of the artists on the paintings were imaginery names written by him and he had deliberately named only of them as Ravan. He wanted to see if the students were influenced by the names or the paintings. Actually the painting carrying the name Ravan was the only painting which was a genuine antique painting worth lakhs of rupees while the other paintings were ordinary paintings not even worth more than Rs 1,000. He wanted to demonstrate to the students that they were misled into a wrong decision because of names they saw and not the art in the painting. If the students had a strong mind, they would have used it to carefully scrutinise the paintings minutely and ignore all distractions by way of the artists’ names and they would have realized that the painting by Ravan was far superior to the others. They never stopped to think that there were many paintings carrying names of Gods or Goddess but there was only one painting by an artist called Ravan. They never thought that in life, seldom or perhaps never, is any person named Ravan or Duryodhan or Kans or Shakuni. They did not stop to think that their Guruji would not have kept a painting by a bad or evil person too. However they went by their own perception and in the process they picked up ordinary When you see the first horizontal picture containing alphabets you will read the middle letter as ‘B’ but when you see the second vertical picture containing numbers you will read the second number as ‘13’ and when you merge both the pictures you will realize that the middle letter could be either an alphabet or the number 13. Though the middle letter is the same in all the three pictures above, you will conclude differently whether it is B or the number 13 in the first two pictures. This is because our mind needs greater power to rein in senses (eyes in this case). Consider this story. There was a guruji (teacher) in an ashram who taught his pupils various subjects. He would take tests and examinations after classes. For the students topping the test, he would offer prizes. He would tell the students to go and select any one painting as their prize from a room which contained beautiful small paintings. Each painting would have the name of the artist who had painted them, written at the bottom. The prize winning students picked up paintings that they liked. However after many tests during an entire semester, one particular painting remained unselected by the winning students for a long time. At the end of the year, the guruji then brought that painting into the class and asked all the various prize winning students why they had not picked up that painting. All the students replied uniformly that since the name of the artist who had painted that painting was Ravan no one wanted to have that painting. The other paintings were painted by artists having good names like Ram, Gopal, Mohan, Laxmi, and Saraswati. Therefore the students preferred to pick up paintings by artists with such good divine names. Then the Guruji replied that that names of the artists on the paintings were imaginary names written by him and he had deliberately named one of them as Ravan. He wanted to see if the students were influenced by the names or the paintings. Actually the painting carrying the name Ravan was the only painting which was a genuine antique painting worth lakhs of rupees while the other paintings were ordinary paintings not even worth ` 1,000. He wanted to demonstrate to the students that they were misled into a wrong decision because of names they saw and not the art in the painting. If the students had a strong mind, they would have used it to carefully scrutinise the paintings minutely and ignore all distractions by way of the artists’
| 92 | Gita for Professionals names and they would have realised that the painting by Ravan was far superior to the others. They never stopped to think that there were many paintings carrying names of Gods or Goddesses but there was only one painting by an artist called Ravan. They never thought that in life, seldom or perhaps never, is any person named Ravan or Duryodhan or Kans or Shakuni. They did not stop to think that their Guruji would not have kept a painting by a bad or evil person too. However they went by their own perception and in the process they picked up ordinary paintings when they had a chance to pick up a precious painting worth lakhs of rupees. That is why a constant reading of the Gita helps us in empowering our mind and thus controlling our senses. A little reading, even one shloka in a day can keep our mind cleansed of all clutter. In this chapter we will look at certain shlokas from the Gita, with examples from everyday life, which will greatly help, not only those of us who are professionals, but each and everyone of us who wants to become better human beings The following are the different ways and means of empowering us: 1. Cultivating the art of thinking correctly 2. Cultivating the art of listening 3. The amazing power of ‘giving up’ or sacrificing something very dear for welfare of others 4. The soothing power of ‘eating a humble pie’ 5. Using the power of inner silence 6. Using the power of love as an antidote to hatred 7. Using the power of contentment 8. The power of auto suggestion 1. Cultivating the art of thinking correctly When we were in school, we were taught alphabets, numbers and subjects like English, Science, History and many other useful things. Later, when we went to college we learnt more advanced subjects like physics and chemistry, law and accounting. However, when we look back, we find that we have learnt many things, perhaps everything that we should have learnt, except learning how to think. It is sad that we learnt many important things except the most important thing and that is to think correctly. If we closely observe our minds we will realise that we all are victims of multiple thoughts during every minute of our life. Thoughts ranging include our work, business, family, friends, enemies, food, drink, cinema, servants, money in the bank, weddings to attend, and so on. The list is endless. Most of the time our mind is caught up in things which don’t deserve our attention at all. The secret of getting intense power in our minds is to be able to offload many of these thoughts and reduce them. Single focused mind always works faster and can generate intense power. Unnecessary thoughts clutter up our minds and generate ego, hatred, jealousy and other traits which the Bhagavad Gita calls enemies. Consider a scene at any roadside tea vendor anywhere across the country. It will be seen that the vendor will indulge into loose talk on different subjects, in fact on every popular subject with his customers. While serving one regular customer, he may talk about, say, the country’s Prime Minister. In his wisdom, he will point out several
| 93 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita mistakes that the Prime Minister has made; his decisions in dealing with China or Russia or about enacting some law in India or about how to deal with the opposition. He will even suggest what the Prime Minister should have done to make India a very prosperous country. The same vendor may talk to the next customer, on a subject like, say, cricket, with the same confidence and authority he had when he was talking about the Prime Minister a few minutes ago. He will tell the other customer how many faults a cricketer like Virat Kohli has and how he should play a particular shot. He will criticise Kohli with such authority that perhaps even Kohli’s coach may not have done. And in the same way he will talk to different customers about different subjects like movies, restaurants, politics, sports, songs etc. in an authoritarian way as if he knows everything about everything and that he is an expert. The only thing that he will not talk about is his own tea which is quite ordinary and sometimes even harmful to the customer. When we observe the thought process of this vendor objectively, it is evident that his thought process is unbridled and reckless. In short, he has no control over his mind. Instead of focusing on his own business, he wants to show the world that he knows everything. That is why he remains a tea vendor. This is a typical situation which occurs where a person absorbs, entertains and stores every thought. Ideally, most of these thoughts should be allowed to fade out. But when a person keeps on thinking and thinking, he wrongly believes that he knows much more about the subject than anyone else. Consequently, his own business remains ordinary and stagnates. We all are like that. We often think incessantly about something even when it is not relevant, and we remain ordinary and stagnate in life. The solution to this is that we need to think about a lesser number of things. Furthermore, what we think about, we should think properly and entertain good thoughts. This will ensure that we do not allow our enemies like hatred, anger, jealousy etc. to enter and reside in our minds. The Bhagavad Gita is one such scripture that facilitates us to cleanse and develop our minds. It advises excellent solutions like meditation, using the path of devotion or bhakti, and to eat Sattvic (simple food recommended in the scriptures) food. These will go a long way in controlling our thoughts very well. Listening to discourses from learned speakers, reading good books to foster good thoughts can immensely keep our thoughts in control. There is a nice book called ‘thought power’ written by Swami Sivananda. It is recommended for all those who want to try and strengthen their thinking process. Good thoughts make a person good and in a certain way, beautiful. Good thoughts when repeatedly thought over a long time actually become reality. For example, if you have a quarrel with a person or if there is any reason for you to hate or be angry with that person, just repeat to yourself mentally that you love that person. Initially this will be difficult but as you keep trying to think that way, eventually it will happen and your hatred will be tapered off and you will again become friends. Thinking positively, thinking good, thinking about clean love for others are like tonics and they will become reality and as a person you will become stronger. When you think correctly what you see or hear, will also be understood correctly. Therefore, learn to train your minds to think correctly, and that can be achieved by thinking about fewer good things and keep thinking them again and again. 2. Cultivating the art of listening In the English language, one of the common ways of describing a knowledgeable person is to say that he is ‘well read’. In other words a person who has read many books, scriptures and studied a lot, is considered to be a knowledgeable person. But in our old scriptures a knowledgeable person is described as a person who has ‘heard’ a lot (bahushruti). In other words our scriptures say that a knowledgeable person is one who has heard many discourses,
| 94 | Gita for Professionals lectures, speeches of great people. It is therefore an interesting question to ask: which is better, listening or reading? Both are good of course, and this book does not intend to get into this debate. However it does wish to accentuate the importance of listening as there is a lot of depth in what our scriptures say and there is science and reasoning behind it. Let’s take the case of Hari, a driver of Sushant a respected person. Sushant was a well-read scholar who had done a lot of research and had written a few books on various subjects including the Bhagavad Gita. His driver Hari had been working with him for several years and came from a very poor family. One day something unusual happened. Hari came to Sushant with tears in his eyes. He was weeping inconsolably. He gave Sushant a packet containing ` 25,000 cash. Sushant was surprised and did not quite understand what the money was for and why Hari was crying so much. He asked Hari what the matter was. Hari replied saying that he had been cheating Sushant in the past four years ever since he had been employed by Sushant. Hari confessed that he had been stealing petrol and spare parts of the car and selling them outside for money. Sushant now realised why his car expenditure had been increasing so much in the recent past. He was rightly annoyed but at the same time he was intrigued why Hari had confessed about his theft and also even more surprised that he was returning the cash stolen by him. He admonished Hari but asked him what made him confess. Then Hari told him that he had been also been listening to the Bhagavad Gita CDs along with Sushant while driving the car. Sushant always played and listened to the Bhagavad Gita CDs when he was travelling in the car. He never realised that his driver Hari was also intently listening along with him. It so happened that the speaker spoke so well that it deeply impacted Hari and he started liking it very much. The Bhagavad Gita discourse cleaned his thoughts and his character. He soon realised that his stealing habit was wrong and he wanted to make amends. He sold some furniture in his house, collected the money and confessed to Sushant that he had been cheating him. Sushant was stunned by this revelation. Sushant suddenly started crying himself. Hari could not understand why Sushant was crying. Then Sushant told him that he had been even a greater thief than Hari. He admitted to Hari why he considered himself to be a thief. In some of the books that he had written he too had ‘stolen’ material from some other authors without their consent and he had benefitted from the sale of such books. As a businessman he had cheated publishers and other authors only to make more money. Sushant realised that though he had widely read the Bhagavad Gita itself several times, he had not been able to practice its principles and teachings in his life. But on the day when Hari confessed, the real understanding of the Gita dawned on him. Now when he heard that Hari had the courage to accept his wrongdoing in much more difficult circumstances where Hari could have even lost his job, he realised that Hari’s simplistic listening of the Gita was far greater than his own detailed reading of the Gita. Thanking Hari for opening his eyes, he told Hari to keep the money. He also invited him to come and listen to the Gita everyday with him together in the office. Thus an illiterate person like Hari was able to absorb something more than what an educated and well-read person like Sushant could even through several readings. In the Bhagavad Gita in Chapter 13, verse 25 Lord Krishna also emphasises the tremendous effect of good listening. Chapter 13 Shloka 25 Other ignorant persons, however, worship what they have heard from others, and even those
| 95 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita who go by such hearing, are able to cross beyond death by their devotion (25) Therefore friends while reading is important and necessary it is even more necessary to develop a good art of listening. Listening has several advantages over reading. The pronounciation and the emphasis on certain important words are not possible to communicate through a written paragraph. Great speakers have certain powers of communication which leave a lasting impact on listeners and make it much easier to understand and follow the subject. It may also be possible sometimes to interact with the speaker to clarify doubts. Possibly it is with these advantages that our scriptures define a scholar or a knowledgeable person as one who has heard a lot. 3. The amazing power of ‘giving up’ or sacrificing something very dear for welfare of others We lead our lives working hard for betterment of ourselves and our families. When we earn wealth, and fame we consider that we have been successful. But that success is shallow insofar as it relates only to ourselves. Our life is for others. If we can achieve something which benefits others, that is a true measure of our success. One of the things that Bhagavad Gita suggests is sacrifice and the best form of sacrifice is that which is intended for someone else’s benefit. The sacrifice should be a possession or something dear to us, for someone else’s benefit. If such a sacrifice, often called ‘badha’ is taken for someone else’s benefit, it generates divine power which can do anything. It is believed that when the Mughal King Humayun was still a young man, he fell seriously ill. Day by day his condition worsened, until death seemed imminent. The most eminent doctors were called in, but no one was able to cure him. They all said his days were numbered. Many people prayed to Allah for Humayun’s recovery, but to no avail. Then a saint came to Babar and said, “If you make a great sacrifice, if you sacrifice something most precious to you, only then will your son be cured.” The Emperor Babar asked, “What kind of thing should I sacrifice?” The saint replied, “Give away the Kohinoor diamond. It is most precious.” But Babar said, “The Kohinoor is my son’s possession. What kind of sacrifice would that be? I have to sacrifice something of my own. I have so much wealth and such a vast kingdom. But the most precious Kohinoor diamond is not mine. Therefore, I cannot sacrifice it. And even if I did own the Kohinoor, it would not be a real sacrifice to give it away. Even if I were to give away all my wealth and power — my entire kingdom — I do not think this is the most precious sacrifice that I could make. My life alone is most precious. There is nothing dearer to me than my own life. Humayun is my eldest and dearest son. I am ready to give my life for my son.” After saying this, the Emperor folded his hands and circled his dying son’s bed three times, praying to Allah. He said, “Allah, everybody is telling me to offer. I feel that my life is the most precious thing I have to offer. Please take my life instead of my son’s. Let me die in his place, and let him live on earth. This is my only prayer and my most willing sacrifice.” To Babar’s wide surprise, after he had completed three rounds, his son stood up completely well. But immediately Babar fell deathly ill. History thus says that the Mughal King Babar prayed to God offering his own life if his son got cured. His prayer was so strong that his son got cured and he died thereafter. Sincere
| 96 | Gita for Professionals penance for the benefit of others will bring unknown power. Rest assured that God certainly gives you much more. Guaranteed. Consider this story. Neeta’s mother was admitted to the hospital and was serious. Neeta was crying inconsolably, because doctors had given up all hopes and advised Neeta to call all her family members for the final moments. Her husband Chetan consoled her and gave her a solemn promise that she would survive. How Chetan could say this and was it possible? He took a badha on the spot. His sacrifice was that he would thereafter take a bath only in cold water irrespective of where he was and he prayed to God to grant full recovery to Neeta’s mother. Let us understand more about Chetan. Chetan had been married to Neeta for many years. He had been a very hot tempered person and Neeta had been through rough times during the marriage. Even her parents had found Chetan to be very opinionated and difficult to please. Consequently Chetan was very unpopular not only, with Neeta’s family but many of his own relatives too did not like him. Except for his arrogance, Chetan was otherwise an honest, intelligent and a well-meaning person. He had fixed ideas and everything had to happen in a particular way and whenever that did not happen, he would lose his temper. Therefore, most people would speak or talk only to Neeta and avoid Chetan. He started feeling lonely and left out. Chetan eventually realised that people did not like him and avoided him. Feeling miserable, he wanted to improve himself. He consulted his friend Harshad who was a regular reader of the Bhagavad Gita. Harshad knew Chetan for years and he understood the problem immediately. Firstly he applauded Chetan stating that his decision to improve himself was the first step towards crushing his own ego and that was his first step to God. Among the many good things the Gita teaches, removal of ego is one of the foremost and critical steps towards God. This is achieved when one accepts one’s faults and wants to improve. Harshad advised Chetan to change his behavior and bring tenderness, affection and love for all. Chetan started doing this. However despite his hardest effort, he did not find that people treated him better. The past behaviour of Chetan had been so arrogant that it was difficult for most people, to accept that he had changed for the better. Harshad was happy with Chetan’s behaviour and therefore advised him not to worry. He suggested another step to please God; that is to do penance or badha for someone else’s benefit. If he did this, it would please God immensely and then God would surely give him anything he wanted. The badha could be in any form such as giving up mangoes, or any favourite food, or not seeing movies, or to undertake some hardship or punishment for the sake of others. Chetan thought about this and at that time Neeta’s mother was suddenly admitted to the hospital. She was serious and in a coma. Doctors had given up all hopes and advised Neeta to call all her family members for the final moments. Chetan remembered Harshad’s advice. He took a decision then and there; he told God that from that date onwards that he would have a bath only with cold water even if he was in the coldest place on earth. He told God that that this would be his lifelong commitment to save Neeta’s mother. He was confident that God would listen to him. He went and told Neeta that her mother would recover soon. God heard his prayers and miraculously, Neeta’s mother gained back consciousness and gradually became better. Doctors were mystified and unable to explain her complete recovery. Chetan kept his word and continued his penance. He always bathed with cold water even during winter and even when he travelled to any cold city. God helped him in keeping his
| 97 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita word. He never caught a cold nor did he fall seriously ill after taking a bath in cold water. Since his penance was genuine, it pleased God completely. Soon thereafter his world changed and all his friends, relatives started seeing the beautiful change in Chetan’s nature. Even Neeta’s family also changed their attitude towards Chetan completely. It was now a very friendly behaviour from all for Chetan. However Chetan’s greatest reward came at the time when he had to shift to a new house. Due to an unexpected business loss, he was short of a big amount of ` 20 lakh to pay for the house. Since the agreement with the builder was signed, Chetan was likely to lose his deposit of ` 5 lakh if he did not pay up. A loan was not easy for Chetan to get either. At that time Neeta’s mother showed her affection for Chetan. She sold her own shares and gave him ` 20 lakh as a gift. Neeta’s brother also supported her mother in this decision. So Chetan finally got affection from Neeta’s family too. Thus friends take up some sacrifice or badha for somebody’s benefit as a request to God. Give up something that you like a lot. That proves to God that you have concern for others and you want to ensure welfare of others. 4. The soothing power of ‘eating a humble pie’ Being humble, or even more than that, the humility of accepting one’s pride or ego as mistake has an immeasurable soothing power. When one realises that he has been arrogant or proud, it is often referred to having eaten humble pie. Though it may not be easy, if done with sincerity, it can have a tremendous healing and soothing capability. It has been illustrated in an anecdote of Bhima, one of the Pandavas. During their exile term, the Pandavas had to hide their own identity as nomads wandering through woods and villages. Once in a Narayanasrama forest, the fragrance of a sweet scented flower, ‘Saugandhika’ charmed Draupadi who requested Bhima to get one from the vicinity. He forthwith set out in direction of the fragrance into the thick jungle and enroute saw a huge monkey resting below a tree with the long tail blocking his way. Bhima disrespectfully ordered the monkey to get out the way. The monkey was unmoved and did not pay any heed to Bhima. Proud Bhima was infuriated and growled, “You monkey, do you know who I am? I am Bhima the strongest man on the earth; if you do not clear my way, I will stamp you to death.” The monkey slowly opened his eyes and requested the great Bhima to move his tail on the side as he was feeling too weak and sleepy. Bhima laughed and tried chucking the tail with his little finger, but the tail was motionless. Bhima tried hard with his full hand, later with both his hands and also applied his feet, but the tail was just immobile. The fuming Bhima tried with all his might in the endeavour, but the tail did not budge an inch. Bhima later realised that he was dealing with someone divine and more importantly saw his own arrogance, rudeness and discourtesy in his behaviour. With folded hands he pleaded before the monkey. The monkey forgave him and showed his true self; actually he was the monkey God, Lord Hanuman who embraced Bhima and showered him with blessings. Hanuman showed Bhima the right path to the sweet smelling flowers he was seeking. Symbolically he showed him the right path towards the sweetness in life by having humility. Bhima learnt an important lesson that pride could prejudice a man but humility always helps. A Company was doing well under a leadership of its local country manager, Mr. Raj who was soon elevated and promoted to their headquarters in Europe to head another country. Mr. Raj was a kind man and respected all his deputies and all were willing to go to any extent to support Raj and thus the Company prospered under his leadership. Post Raj’s transfer, the local leadership baton was transferred to Mr. Parag, the then second in chief.
| 98 | Gita for Professionals Parag, was egotistical and carried himself as Mr. Know-all and Mr. Every-thing. Parag was thus diametrically opposite of Raj. He took credit for all the work done by his juniors and downplayed their role in his reports, in his endeavour to depict an image that the Company was flourishing only because of him. Thus, the headquarters, showered good bonuses to him at the expense of others who were given pittance. Naturally, the entire staff started revolting and there was a cold non-performance stemming from low morale. The rebellion reached a point where Parag would have lost his job if the rot was not arrested and reversed. At this juncture, Parag (like Bhima) realised his mistake and bowed to his staff with a changed attitude. He immediately called a meeting and asked in a heartfelt manner, a pardon for his meanness and wrote an open letter to the head office admitting all what he had done and acknowledged the credit and good work of his team. Sincerity is always visible and thawed the situation and soon the rebellion not only subsided but showed a reverse trend with a direction of prosperity. Thus friends if one realises his mistake in time, the effect can be reversed if this is accepted in good grace and done with humility. 5. Using the power of inner silence The Bhagavad Gita points out that anger leads to devastation in chapters 2 (verses 62/63) and is man’s greatest enemy 3 (verse 37). Controlling anger is therefore very important and it is not easy. Several times in the past the author has described various approaches to control anger such as meditation, devotion etc. One more way of controlling anger is using the power of silence. Consider this example. Once two men Chetan and Vijay, were travelling in a train and as it so often happens in trains they became friends and started talking about their lives. Both were of the same age, about 40, but Vijay appeared to look much older as if he was 50 years of age while Chetan looked at least 5 years younger than his actual age of 40. Vijay explained that he was a successful businessman, but his family life was not so good. His wife came from a rich family and expected Vijay to provide her with lots of money and luxuries and constantly nagged him. He was finding it difficult to meet all her expectations and, so he too would get angry and there often used to be bitter arguments. As a result, his health had therefore deteriorated, and he was suffering from blood pressure. Looking at Chetan’s youthful appearance, Vijay naturally assumed that Chetan would be having a good family life. Therefore, during their discussion Vijay mentioned to Chetan that if he had been lucky to also get a good wife and family like Chetan, he would have also been healthier and looked much younger. Chetan smiled and did not say anything, but invited him over to come and visit him sometime. A few days later Vijay visited Chetan and he was stunned to see Chetan’s condition in his house. Chetan was sitting in one corner silently listening to an angry lecture from his wife. His children were also sitting there eating and watching TV indifferently but doing nothing to help him. The house was a completely messy and littered house. Within a few minutes Vijay also understood that Chetan’s wife and her mother-in-law also hated each other and fought regularly. When he spoke to the children he was sad to note that they were rude and arrogant. Vijay realized that Chetan’s life was ten time worse than his own! He was very moved and felt sorry for Chetan and he asked Chetan how he still maintained his good health and youthful look. Chetan replied simply: I use the power of ‘silence’. He explained to Vijay that silence is advocated even by all religions. In fact, in our Hindu dharma, prayers often end with ‘Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti’. This because, by silence we can achieve infinite power. Chetan explained to Vijay that even when the entire world around us is quarrelsome and noisy, if we maintain our inner silence, we get positive energy. Most of us react to bad behaviour by others with emotions like anger or hatred. It is now even scientifically believed
| 99 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita that anger is like a ‘poison’ for our body. Sadly, we generate this poison ourselves due to acts and omissions of others onto us! As said in the Bhagavad Gita, when we get angry we lose our sense of self control, delusion comes in. Eventually everything like our health, our relationships get adversely affected. Vijay was a victim of his own anger which made him lose his youthfulness and good health. Though Chetan’s own family life was far worse than Vijay’s, his ability to maintain silence had given him the power and strength to remain young and cheerful and enjoy good health. So, friends, what is this silence that we are talking about? Is it remaining quiet and not speaking only? No, it is inner silence or silence of the mind. Our mind should be silent to the external provocative thoughts. When we keep our minds free from hatred, anger, jealousy, or any negative emotions, that is what we call being silent. Even if we say something but if we say something without such negative emotions, we will have the power of inner silence and we will never be affected by any arguments, quarrels from others and we will be free from all poisons and toxins that can bring disease to us. True silence can give us infinite power. That is why every religion provides to us places where we can calm our turbulent minds such as a church or a temple or a Buddhist monastery. All these places offer an environment of silence. There are three things that we can do to try and bring about silence in our turbulent minds. Firstly, eat sattvic food. Anything that we can offer to God is sattvic food. Avoid spicy, fried and oily foods. Secondly try to listen more than you speak. The true test of a good silent person is how well he can listen. For this purpose, it is a useful exercise to do ‘moun-vrath’ or a vow of silence for even a few hours. Gandhiji used to observe this vow on certain days too. Thirdly spend some time, preferably in the early morning, but if that is difficult, even during the day, just alone and observe your thoughts without interfering or stopping them. Do not try to fight them, just let them pass. They will eventually die out and over a period of time silence will grow and make you stronger. People with blood pressure, diabetes and even other more serious diseases will benefit enormously from the power of silence. 6. Using the power of love as an antidote to hatred Love wins the battle over intense hatred in any situation. In Chapters 7–12 of the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna teaches us the path of devotion and love, bhakti yoga. This path can be easily adopted by those who express themselves through music, poetry, dance, and other fine arts, and all these use love as an important element in their art. But as common human beings we do not need to be artists or poets to express love. On the path of bhakti yoga, everything can be healed through love. There was a family, consisting of Minakshi, who had two sons Ashutosh and Aroop and one daughter Rita. Both Ashutosh and Aroop were married and staying together with Minakshi till one day when Aroop’s wife Preeti had a fight with him. She left the house with their son Vishnu and started staying separately. Aroop was very sad and this separation made him very ill and eventually he died. Even after Aroop’s death, Preeti continued staying separately. A few years later, Minakshi died. She left behind a will where all her wealth including the house, jewellery, bank balance and shares was given only to the families of Ashutosh and Rita. Nothing was left for Preeti, possibly on account of the fact that she had left the family and gone away. Now the will was to be produced in court. For transfer of all the property in favour of Ashutosh and Rita, a ‘no-objection’ letter was required from Preeti as the other legal heir. Without this no-objection letter Ashutosh and Rita would not be able to get the inheritance. Ashutosh requested Preeti to give that no-objection letter. But Preeti flared up stating that she too had a right to the inheritance. She hated Ashutosh’s family very much and she wanted
| 100 | Gita for Professionals to do everything to create a problem for Ashutosh and Rita to not get the inheritance. Ashutosh’s lawyers clearly told him that if the no-objection letter was not received, the court battle would go on for years and the eventual result could not be predicted. Ashutosh was very sad. It was then that he met a family friend Chetan and he told Chetan about the seriousness of the situation. Chetan realised that this entire deadlock was because of the hatred between Preeti and Ashutosh’s family which had built up over many years. Being a regular reader of the Gita he knew the best way to address the situation was to bring in a greater power and that was the power of love. He found that in all this family fight, no one had thought about Vishnu, Preeti’s son, at all. Chetan realised that the one thing that could possibly improve the situation was doing something for Vishnu. Chetan spoke to Ashutosh and Rita about how he felt about Vishnu. Ashutosh said he loved Vishnu like his own son and Rita also confirmed that she was very fond of Vishnu. Chetan was happy that there was something common that both Preeti and Ashutosh loved. Now the solution was to find something that Ashutosh could do for Vishnu which would melt Preeti’s hatred against Ashutosh. If one is sincere about finding a solution to a problem, God always provides an opportunity. In this case also an opportunity came quickly. Chetan found out that Vishnu wanted admission in a certain college where it was difficult to get admission and hostel accommodation. It so happened that one of the trustees was a close friend of Ashutosh. Chetan asked Ashutosh whether he could speak to the trustee to give the admission to Vishnu. Ashutosh readily agreed because he loved Vishnu. He did make a genuine effort really as got good feelings for Vishnu. As Chetan expected, Ashutosh did this without expecting anything. Vishnu got the admission. A few months later Preeti came to know of this unselfish act of Ashutosh and she was deeply moved by his act of genuine love for Vishnu. Her hatred was instantly removed and she felt ashamed about her behaviour towards Ashutosh. She herself sent the no-objection letter to Ashutosh. In response, Ashutosh offered to her a share in the proceeds of the estate, even though he was not legally obliged to do so. The ending was so happy that Preeti and Vishnu came back to stay with Ashutosh and the family was reunited. Just one act of love, without any expectation completely changed the situation where battle lines had been drawn and huge battle was virtually inevitable. The Bhagavad Gita emphasised that we should love all and hate no being. Sincere love has immeasurable power. Friends, try to find ways and means of settling all quarrels or fights by using the power of love. The strength in love will amaze you. 7. Using the power of contentment As explained earlier, the key to success is to be able to think correctly. Thinking lesser and more positively is one of the many solutions that the Gita recommends. In that context, a sense of contentment facilitates such positive thinking. Contentment is another trait of a devotee which is prescribed by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. There are several shlokas in the Bhagavad Gita where contentment is emphasised. The devotee who is always contented, and self-controlled, is dear to me says Lord Krishna in verse 14 of Chapter 12. There is a very nice anecdote about Tolstoy. One person who was completely frustrated with his life came to Tolstoy and told him that he had lost everything and now he had nothing to live for. So, he told Tolstoy that he wanted to end his life by committing suicide. Tolstoy was a man of wisdom and he said that he understood his state of mind. So, Tolstoy did nothing to suggest that he should not commit suicide, but he made some unusual requests. He told the man that since he was going to die anyway his body would perish. So, Tolstoy
| 101 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita offered to buy his eyes for a certain large amount of money. The man was surprised by this request and his mind started thinking. Before he could say anything, Tolstoy started making more offers for purchase of different parts of his body. He offered huge sums of money for his heart, his lungs, his hands, his brain, his kidneys. Obviously, he was not willing to part with any part of his body. Now this same man who earlier had felt that he possessed nothing of value, suddenly realised that he had possessions worth crores of rupees and he did not feel like ending his life. Thus, he realised that God had indeed given him so many useful things and life was worth living after all. Tolstoy was able to explain to him the true meaning of contentment in life. The man who remains content irrespective of the situation and whatever happens to him, and one who looks equally towards sorrow or happiness is a true bhakt (devotee of God), as described in verse 22 of Chapter 4. Contentment thus means that a person has full confidence that God has given everything in the right quantity and measure and at the right time and whatever happens, even if it is bad, he has full faith that God has a purpose and power to protect him. He is not affected by any bad happening to himself nor is he jealous or unhappy if anything good or better happening to anyone else. Consider this example. There was a long queue of passengers at the gate of an aero bridge to board an aircraft for a flight from Mumbai to Delhi. Since there had been some delay the passengers were a little irritated and there was a keenness for boarding as quickly as possible and getting into the aircraft. During the boarding process, by mistake, the boarding pass collector permitted a passenger Mahesh, who was behind another passenger Ramesh in the queue, to board the aircraft first. Ramesh got very angry and quarrelled and fought with the boarding pass collector and made a huge hue and cry. It took some time to cool him down, but it caused a lot of commotion and anger among the passengers. Though Mahesh was behind Ramesh in the queue, and should have been allowed to board after Ramesh, the main thing Ramesh forgot was that all of them were going to fly in the same aircraft and reach the same destination at the same time. Boarding a few minutes before or after another passenger would have made no difference. But Ramesh lost his cool and unnecessarily created a big issue. Just because Mahesh was allowed to board first, Ramesh had not lost anything, but his mind did not realise this. In life we are very much like this. We are not content with what we have because we see someone else getting something better, or something more than us or even if they get something before us, we feel unhappy. Someone tells us that he was happy to meet us and if he tells another person that he was ‘very’ happy to meet him, we get upset because he did not use the word ‘very’ when he indicated his happiness. We lose our sense of contentment merely because someone else has got something slightly more than us, however unimportant it may be. We should always keep in mind, like all the passengers in an aircraft, that in life, we are all eventually on the same path and destination, towards the same God. Therefore, if we are to have contentment, we should accept what God gives, when He gives, and how He gives us. If we do that, we become very dear to him. Wise people are always contented and are not dependent on anyone or anything external in this world to make them happy. They are happy in themselves. They are “satatam santushta”, ever or always contented. That is the real triumph and victory in life. Similarly, the real victory in life is accomplished not by defeating an enemy but by doing what we can to make him a friend for life. The Bhagavad Gita tells us that we should look at friends and foes alike and we should do whatever our duty is without expecting any fruit. Once this principle of performing our duty is firmly followed by us, then winning any enemy is a matter of time.
| 102 | Gita for Professionals A cricket team of a school was being formed. The school sports teacher along with the principal and other senior teachers were the committee members selecting the team captain. There were several names which came up for this post. Chetan, Anil, Madhu were all senior school students and good cricketers. The selectors felt that a captain should not only be talented but also ethical. Chetan fitted this role better even though Madhu and Anil were more talented and slightly better batsmen than Chetan. Chetan was declared the captain of the school cricket team. Unfortunately Anil and Madhu did not take the appointment of Chetan’s captaincy kindly and they were very upset. They started instigating the rest of the team and being cunning and shrewd, they quickly made a strong rebel group of their own in the team whereby Chetan was isolated. Thus Chetan was one person against 10 others in the team. This group started a movement of subtle non-co-operation so that Chetan would become a failure as a captain. Anil and Madhu were certain that eventually the selectors would get rid of Chetan. And so they started making trouble for Chetan in every way they could. When the practice sessions started Anil and Madhu would deliberately come late, and then just sit and chat and ignore Chetan completely. They would not obey him and even crack jokes on Chetan so that all the team members would laugh at him. They also stopped talking to him in school. The rest of the group, being younger players of the school, were naturally scared of Anil and Madhu. They joined them in the non-co-operation with Chetan. Harassment to Chetan increased more and more. Chetan’s bat was stolen, his pads were torn, his gloves were painted black. In a practice match Chetan encountered huge non-cooperation and disobedience from his team. The players would take instructions only from Anil or Madhu. Chetan was puzzled and distressed because he did not understand why all this was happening. He had done nothing to harm any of them so why was he being treated this way? He felt like resigning as the captain. He went to meet his sports teacher and poured out all his problems to him and expressed his desire to quit. The sports teacher understood the problem and realised that Anil and Madhu were creating a problem for him. He was a regular reader of the Gita. He explained to Chetan some important teachings of the Gita. The first thing he told Chetan was that by quitting, he was running away from a problem and that was not a solution to the problem at all. Life is not meant to be lived like that. The Bhagavad Gita states in one of its most important shlokas of Chapter 2, verse 47 that one must do what one’s duty is irrespective of the fruit or the consequences. So also Chetan should continue his duty and that was to be a good captain and play cricket well. He should do his duty properly. If he was firm in this, the rest he should leave to God and it is God who will find the solution to the obstacles others were creating. He gave the example of difficulties faced by people like Gandhiji when he had gone to South Africa. He was alone facing a huge mob of angry people when he reached South Africa and could well have been killed, but he went there to do his duty. Though the mob was ruthless and aggressive, Gandhiji remained firm. God saved him by sending a lady South African who rescued him. Eventually Gandhiji completed his mission and all of Africa revered and respected him. This example of Gandhiji made a deep impact on Chetan. The sports teacher further explained that no doubt there would be some hardship and pain for Chetan initially, but God would certainly help him as long as he did not deviate from his duty. Chetan went back with a clearer mind and he decided not to quit. He resolved to do his best to make his team play good cricket in spite of all resistance from Anil and Madhu. The next day he called a meeting of his team and addressed all of them with a small speech. He started off by stating that both Anil and Madhu were the best batsmen and the team could not win without them. His compliments for Anil and Madhu surprised the team members and most of all Anil and Madhu themselves. He further stated that though he was
| 103 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita the captain, if any of them had any disagreement with him, they were welcome to speak to Anil and Madhu and come together to meet him with their grievances. Chetan conveyed clearly that he was not against anyone including Anil and Madhu, and his only intention was to make the team successful. His words came out sincerely and meaningfully and they did have an impact on many of the younger team members, but they were still unsure about the consequences of supporting Chetan. Chetan’s words brought about a slight improvement in the next few practice sessions but Anil and Madhu were still against him. Chetan was not disheartened and continuously prayed to God to show him the way. And God gave him his solution soon thereafter in the next match. Anil and Madhu suggested in that match that Chetan should bat at number 7 position instead of his usual number 3 position. They said that there were other batsmen in the team who should be given a chance in the team at the number 4, 5 and 6 positions. It was evident that they wanted Chetan to lose the match, but Chetan, in spite of realizing this, agreed to go along with the suggestions of Anil and Madhu. He agreed to bat at number 7 position. Anil and Madhu had decided that they would get ‘out’ deliberately without making many runs. Since the other batsmen were younger and less experienced they were unlikely to play well at the number 4, 5, 6 position. This would bring in considerable pressure on Chetan, at number 7 position because he would not get enough time to make a lot of runs. They were therefore sure that the team would not be able to score much and eventually lose the match. The blame would come to Chetan. However Chetan’s faith in God yielded positive results. Anil and Madhu played miserably, as pre-decided, and two other team members, as expected played equally badly. However the number 6 player along with Chetan played so well that they comfortably made a big score and the team won the match. This was a crucial match and Chetan’s good batting won him not only the match but a round of appreciation from many more of his team members. Now suddenly a large part of the team started realising the real intentions of Anil and Madhu. In fact, at this stage Chetan had become a hero and had sufficient support in his team to complain against Anil and Madhu and get rid of them from the team. However, Chetan was well advised by his teacher in the Bhagavad Gita, that in life, one’s endeavour should not be to eliminate enemies but to eliminate the enmity. True victory is to convert them into friends. This is what Chetan wanted. Chetan went to Anil and Madhu after the match and thanked them for suggesting that he should bat at the number 7 position. It was because of that suggestion that he could save the team and eventually win the match. He announced to the team that credit for the match should also go to Anil and Madhu since it was their foresight of Chetan batting at number 7 position that facilitated this victory. Both Anil and Madhu knew that Chetan was protecting them and that he could well have got rid of them from the team, but his goodness and decency of not only keeping them but still appreciating their act completely stunned them. This goodness of Chetan pierced their hearts and somewhere within they realised that Chetan was indeed a good human being. They now looked at Chetan with new found respect and decided to support him wholeheartedly in future. Chetan’s team which was completely against him in the beginning, now was completely with him and needless to say they won the championship. Friends, this is what the Gita says. Goodness and decency, good thoughts and love for others eventually are the overpowering forces in life. Defeating an enemy is easy but winning him over on your side is the actual victory. This is certainly possible if we do our duty sincerely without any rewards.
| 104 | Gita for Professionals 8. The power of auto suggestion There is an incident in the life of Swami Vivekananda. He was a prolific reader and often went to a library and took books home for reading. Being a person of high intellectual prowess, and fond of reading, he usually took very fat books which were difficult to read. He would take such books regularly from the library and return them very soon, sometimes within a few days. The librarian who was watching this, got suspicious. Was Vivekananda actually reading these books or was he just taking these books to show off? Next time that Swami Vivekananda came, the librarian asked him this question. Swami Vivekananda confidently replied that he was indeed reading these books and understood everything that he read. He asked the librarian to question him on any matter in the books read by him. The librarian asked him a few questions randomly about what was written in any part of the books read by Swami Vivekananda, and to his surprise, Swami Vivekananda replied accurately and in details to all questions asked by the librarian. In fact some of the questions were answered verbatim from the book. This was the brain power that Swami Vivekananda had within himself. This may surprise us, but all of us have this same kind of infinite power within us. The only thing we need to do is to tap it. How do we tap this power? One of the simplest ways is to use the power of auto suggestion. Convince yourself that you can do anything. Even if you have a very difficult problem, say to yourself that ‘I can solve it’. If you have faith in yourself and if you sincerely make this auto suggestion, you will surely achieve success however impossible it may seem. There is a very well-known incident of a Vice-Chancellor of a university who was flying in an aircraft from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The aircraft crashed close to the runway at Ahmedabad. The aircraft was on fire but some of the passengers were still alive inside the aircraft. The ViceChancellor was one of them and next to him was a young boy. The Vice-Chancellor was badly injured and his feet were aching very badly. However he decided to save himself by escaping from the door which was miraculously open. The boy next to him also clung to him and the Vice-Chancellor, being a good human being, carried the boy and made his attempt to escape. His legs were paining very badly and the team of rescuers were still quite far away from the aircraft. However the only thought in his mind was to escape safely with the boy before the fuel tank of the aircraft exploded. He started running, though injured, in the fastest way that he could. He suspected that the aircraft could explode anytime so speed was of essence. The chances of him escaping alive were almost zero, but he told himself that he would escape and save the boy. He started running away from the aircraft, with the boy in his arms. About 25 feet away from the aircraft, he fell down unconscious with the boy. Luckily the team of rescuers found him and the boy and took them to a hospital. When the doctors examined him, the vice chancellor had not one, or two, but multiple fractures in both his legs. The bones had virtually been powdered. Even if a person has a single fracture, he cannot even get up, let alone walk. But amazingly, with multi fractures in both legs, the Vice-Chancellor not only walked, he ran and that too carrying a 10 year old boy with him. This was nothing short of a miracle, but it was possible only because he had convinced himself that he would survive and rescue the boy as well. The power that his auto suggestion gave him was unbelievable and the doctors were amazed. Science could not give any explanation. However the Bhagavad Gita provides us the explanation. Lord Krishna says that everything in this world is in him. Therefore we have access to unlimited power if we have the faith in him. Chapter 7 verses 10 to 16 are important to read. Essentially, what is required by us is only full confidence in him and faith. Lord Krishna will surely deliver us from all problems, all difficulties and lead
| 105 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita us towards himself. The Vice- Chancellor had full confidence that his attempt to save himself along with the boy would definitely be seen by God and God would most certainly help him. The multi-fractured legs did not become a limitation. Friends, in the same way, no problem in life is impossible to solve. If you have any problem or difficulty in life try this simple solution. Before going to sleep at night, say to yourself that you will be able to solve that problem. Try and surrender to God thereafter and then sleep. The more faith and confidence you have in God, the better you will be able to sleep and faster you will be able to solve any problem. That is the power. Lastly, one of the important ways towards empowerment is converting towards righteousness. None of us are perfect and we all must have made grave mistakes. All these can be nullified if we have a sincere intention of doing what is right. There is a very interesting story behind the naming of the airport in Chicago in USA. It is called the O Hare airport, named after a very heroic person Butch O Hare. This person Butch was a pilot who performed certain heroic deeds in a battle against a Japanese attack. It is believed that after he died a note was found in his pocket that he admired his father ‘Eddie’ and he was his inspiration. One would imagine that his father Eddie must have been a great man who must have performed some good deeds and that is why Butch O Hare was so fond of and admired his father. Actually his father Eddie had not been a good man at all, almost throughout his life. His father Eddie was actually a crooked lawyer who was a part of a very big mafia gangster in Chicago. His father used to defend that gangster for all his crimes and those of all the members of his gang in courts against the police. It was because of his father Eddie that the mafia gang was virtually unstoppable in Chicago. Eddie had therefore amassed a lot of money. Eddie therefore wanted to provide every happiness and the best of everything to his son Butch. One day Butch innocently asked his father what his profession was and what he did to earn his living. That was the first time in life that Butch’s father Eddie realised and felt that he did not want his bad deeds to be disclosed to his son. He felt ashamed and regretted all the evil things he had done. From that day onwards he decided not to continue supporting the gangster, so that his son would not get a bad name. He mustered up the courage and went to the police and testified against the gangster knowing fully well that he would be killed by the gangster. And that is what happened. The gangster took his revenge, but in the process, Butch’s father Eddie died as a good human being, a hero in the eyes of the son. Thus all the wrong things he did during his life were erased by his one sincere deed of righteousness. That is what the Bhagavad Gita also advises us. In life we may sometimes do wrong things. But the first step towards dharma is to realise that you have done something wrong just as Butch’s father realised. The major battle in one’s life is won when this kind of self-realisation happens. Once this self-realisation happens, then our mind starts thinking of solutions to do correct itself and turn towards the right things. Jesus Christ, when he was being nailed to the cross and in great pain, said to God, please forgive those people who had given him pain because they were not aware or ignorant of what they were doing. The awareness or self-realisation of a wrong deed is the main issue in life. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjun that even if the worst sinner in the world realises his mistake and surrenders to God, he shall reach God. In our lives therefore do not grieve if you have done many wrong things. Instead, accept that those were your misdeeds and see if there are any ways to correct them. The best thing is to seek forgiveness from those whom you have hurt and from God. The intention must
| 106 | Gita for Professionals be sincere. If this is done, then the mind will be internally cleansed and it will think in a very positive way. There will be good solutions and all the wrongs done in the past will be slowly erased and good deeds will surely replace them. We may have done wrong things to our family members as a husband or a wife or a father or a brother. There could be intense hatred and distrust among ourselves. But even that can be slowly erased if we try to identify whatever we have done wrong, admit it first to ourselves and then to them, and then ask forgiveness. When this sequence is followed there is always a soothing effect and thought it may take time, the solution will come. The most difficult part in any situation is to be able to accept that one is wrong. For that purpose, it helps if we do continuous meditation, read scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita, go for spiritual discourses, and eat sattvic food.
| 107 | Chapter 6 – Self empowerment by reading the Gita
| 108 | Gita for Professionals
| 109 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals Chapter 7 Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals This chapter describes instances of difficulties faced by chartered accountants, which can be applicable to other professionals as well, and references from the Gita which can facilitate them in meeting and successfully dealing with such situations. Many of them have been based on personal experiences. This chapter now even includes some experiences of lady CAs and professionals in their work environment. Some important lessons which may be useful to professionals have been covered such as: - Self confidence, faith and courage (removal of fear) to face challenges in the life of lady CAs and other lady professionals - Spirit of brotherhood for a better society - Overcoming emotions to become better professionals - Finding solutions from within - Understanding the power of sacrifice - Importance of having a Guru or a teacher - Spirituality and work life for professionals Each of these lessons are discussed below. 1. Perseverance, faith, and courage (removal of fear) to face challenges of Lady CAs and other lady professionals There are always struggles and challenges in life, but, the struggles and challenges for women are greater. Consider the following example. Arti was a hardworking girl in a middle class family. Though in that family, girls were not encouraged to study much, her father had allowed her to do her CA. To everyone’s delight Arti became a young lady CA at the age of 23. Arti was overjoyed and like any other newly qualified CA, she too wanted to look for opportunities to join a good company. However it was not to be. Her father was under pressure to get Arti married and though he was not happy about forcing Arti to get married, he convinced her to get married. Arti got a good husband who was working for a company with a good salary, but the job required him to get transferred every few years. Being well educated himself he did not mind Arti doing some professional work as long as she did not forget her family duties. Arti therefore had to look after her house, her in-laws, do the cooking, and of course keep her husband happy. Under such circumstances it would be difficult to expect Arti to do some work as a CA, but she did. She had tremendous faith in herself and she had heard in some Gita discourse that if you set a firm goal, work hard and persevere, and have faith in God, nothing is impossible. The speaker in the discourse had said as per shloka 47 of Chapter 2 ‘Just do your duties, and don’t expect any fruits;’ The speaker explained that every person should persevere and strive to step forward, whatever be the
| 110 | Gita for Professionals situation, and somehow, the step itself will show you a way towards God’. Therefore, in spite of all these family responsibilities, she pleaded with her husband to find some job where she could use her CA knowledge. Fortunately, she found a small accounting job which took her 2 hours every day and she could work on her computer from home. Because of her sincerity and dedication she did her work so well that she was able to satisfy the client, in spite of all the household duties. But, just as Arti was settling down, the next challenge came up. She delivered a baby boy, and life changed completely. She now had the added responsibility of looking after her baby. However she did not lose hope; she continued to provide service for the client through another CA. Though she herself could barely spend just about one hour in the week she ensured that the work was done well and the client was happy. However challenges continued to spring up; Arti’s husband was transferred to another city where she had no way of continuing to do work for that client. She had a whole lot of new responsibilities. Setting up a new house, looking after her in-laws in the new environment, taking care of her growing son, and of course ensuring that she cooked, cleaned the house and supported her husband in every way. However Arti’s faith in God remained as strong as ever. She did some courses on computers, and did extensive reading of a lot of audit and CA related material. Arti’s confidence in God never wavered and she was optimistic that the situation would change for the better, and that she should continue to do whatever she could and hope for easier times in the future. However her challenges were not over yet. The final challenge that came next was the arrival of the second child – a daughter. Now Arti had the responsibility of two children, her house, her in-laws and her husband. In spite of all this, she persevered and had faith in God’s justice did not give up. She continued her study and research. She would sit up at night, and write articles for newspapers and the CA journals. Finally, after about 12 years after her marriage, her children were well settled in school, her in-laws retired to their hometown, and her husband rose to a high position in his job, Arti was permitted to take up a job. But the question was: would it be possible to get a job? God took care of that and the fruits of her patience, hard work and faith in God were rewarded; her experience in writing articles, her constant research and her hard work had caught the eye of a major international publisher. The publisher asked Arti to join the publishing house as an editor, a respected position. Arti was delighted. Her husband supported her fully, and she, even today in 2016, is the publisher of that same publishing house. She is happy, her children are doing well and above all she feels fulfilled. This is a true story. Friends just think of all that Arti went through. Many ladies go through such problems; but many of them give up thinking that it is God’s wish. But this is a mistake. God gives us problems so that we come out stronger. Have faith in God, continue to persevere, and he will surely show you the way. Solutions will come, provided we don’t give up. Don’t wait for fruits of your action; have faith in God and do what you have to do. There are many shlokas in Gita which encourage us to do what is required and leave the rest to God. Chapter 2 verse 47 is the most popular verse where the Gita tells us to do our duty and not expect any fruit. Chapter 9 verse 3 also clearly states that persons who do not have faith in God will remain stagnant. DeÞeÎOeeveeë Heg©<ee Oece&m³eem³e HejbleHe ~ DeHe´eH³e ceeb efveJele&vles ce=l³egmebmeejJelce&efve ~~3~~ w Parantapa (Arjuna), people having no faith in this Dharma, failing to reach Me, remain in the path of the world of life and death (3)
| 111 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals Other Common problems faced by women at workplace are illustrated by situations commonly faced in offices. - Pressure and intimidation by seniors. Pooja a CA got a new job in an engineering company as a finance manager. She was excited about this job and she had been given a responsible task. She was supposed to approve payments and reimbursements. She was happy with her job for the first few days till she encountered a major problem with her CEO. She had to check and clear a reimbursement of a recent foreign travel bill of the CEO for ` 4 lakh. Being a meticulous person she went through the reimbursement claim carefully and examined the supporting details as she was trained to do. Her alert eyes caught an expense of ` 48,000 relating to personal shopping in a mall. She also realized that the hotel had charged double occupancy rate for the room and the bill showed that the CEO had gone with his wife, though that was a routine, but an official trip to a branch office of the company in the USA. As such even the meal, travel, and stay expenses of the wife on the trip were not permissible as per the service rules, let alone shopping expenses. Pooja therefore put her comment on the voucher stating that the claim was payable for an amount of ` 3,22,000 after reducing personal expenses of the CEO. When the CEO came to know about this he was furious. This had never happened in the past and no one had even dared to question him about even larger payments. Here was a new girl Pooja who had questioned this travel expenditure. He stormed out of his cabin and in full view of the entire office staff he fired Pooja by commenting on her incompetence and immaturity. He asked a senior manager to review her work. The senior manager understood the situation. However he could not overrule Pooja’s remark on the voucher and the claim could be fully paid only if Pooja would withdraw her comment or cancel it on her own. The senior manager tried to reason this out with Pooja and even told her that she would be isolated and all her future progress would be stopped at this stage. Her life would be made miserable. He told her to think it over and submit the voucher within an hour after rechecking it. Pooja was naturally petrified. During lunch time she did not go for lunch, and she was crying on her desk. She decided that she would give in and she was about to cancel her remark when the cleaning maid came to her and asked her in a kindly tone why she was crying. The maid already had some idea about what had happened and she was sympathetic. The maid was an elderly lady who had been doing the office cleaning for years. She told Pooja that she should follow her conscience even if the whole world went against her. She quoted her own example. Her husband was a drunkard and he never worked in his life. He had no income. In spite of that he had done everything possible to stop her from working as a maid. He had beaten her, thrown her out of the house, taken away all her money and given her every kind of pain and suffering. But she said that she never lost faith in herself and somehow found strength and courage to survive all his attacks and continue working. Finally one day her husband fell so ill and he was virtually on his deathbed and that was the time that she got a loan from the office to enable her to hospitalize him and he was saved. Ever since that day, he changed. The maid told Pooja that the CEO had a nature similar to that of her husband and Pooja should not get scared, but do what she felt was right. Somehow, after hearing the true story of the maid, Pooja also mustered up the courage to face the situation bravely. She refused to change the voucher nor cancel the remark. All hell broke loose thereafter,
| 112 | Gita for Professionals and the CEO was immensely annoyed. The senior manager could not overrule Pooja’s remark and the CEO was paid a reduced amount. The CEO threatened Pooja in front of everyone and told her that her days in the company were limited. For some days Pooja was isolated and treated like an outcast. Pooja wondered whether she should resign. God finally rescued Pooja from her plight. The CEO was questioned by the international auditors in connection with some vendor payment which turned out to be a serious matter. Now, several employees who earlier did not have the courage started coming forth and stating that they had accommodated the CEO on many occasions whereby he had benefited in someway. All the CEO’s approvals and reimbursements were checked by the auditors and they found many such inflated bills paid to him. The only exception was Pooja’s bold comment where she had the courage to stop the CEO from getting an inflated reimbursement. This matter was pointed out to the directors who appreciated this uprightness. She was made the deputy head of finance in that division and also a deputy to the ethics counsellor. Pooja finally got her just rewards. This is what the Gita states; just go ahead and do your duty. Follow your conscience. Though we cannot expect or ask for rewards. rewards will follow. - Lustful and leering male environment. This is also an unfortunate truth. Women in workplace have to put up with innuendoes, lustful eyes and lewd gestures. Fear is the worst enemy in such situations as this gives greater encouragement to the aggressors. Rekha had just completed her graduation. Her father was happy that she was doing well and readily agreed to let her take the job since she was still too young to get married. Therefore with great enthusiasm she started her job. However, life was not going to be easy for her. Her boss was a 35 year old man who seemed to have taken a special interest in her right from the first day. Rekha was called to his cabin on the pretext of explaining her job duties. From the very first minute Rekha realized that there was something wrong. When she entered his cabin he looked at her in a very leery and lustful way. At that time she did not worry much because she felt that probably being her first day he was judging her. However thereafter Rekha had a dreadful time. Virtually everyday her boss would call Rekha for some reason or the other to his cabin and make her sit there for a long time. Many a times he would continue speaking on the phone while she was standing in front of him, and continue staring at her. Most of the time there would not be any real reason to call her to his cabin. Though Rekha did not like any of this she tolerated this. However the matter worsened. He started asking her to sit late after office hours and give her some work which she felt was not so important that she had to sit late and complete. Then he started getting bolder. One day he commented on her dress and said that it was too loose. He complimented her hair style and similarly started making other idle talk. One day he made her sit and work till 12 pm at night and insisted on dropping her home. His behaviour was increasingly aggressive because Rekha was scared. If at all she refused or resisted doing anything her boss wanted, that infuriated him and he would punish her by giving her difficult assignments and work pressures beyond her capabilities. It was clear that the boss was giving Rekha a choice: either Rekha did whatever he wanted or face severe difficulties in her office work. Rekha could not bear it any longer, came home and cried. Her parents saw that she was upset and crying and tried to calm her down. Rekha broke down and told her parents that she wanted to resign and stay at home. When the parents learnt that she had been suffering so much because of her boss, they were
| 113 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals distressed too. They advised her to resign. However before taking that step, they consulted their close friend Chetan, who used to study the Bhagavad Gita regularly. Chetan had a long discussion with Rekha to understand this situation. The first thing that he advised her to do was to remove fear from her mind. He illustrated this with a story of a group of people passing through a jungle. They were told that there was a tiger in that jungle and that they should be careful. Naturally all the members of the group were scared and out of that a person Ramesh was the most scared and at night he slept in the middle of the group which was the safest place. However, the tiger did come and took away Ramesh, even though he was sleeping right in the middle of that group where the tiger had a greater risk of getting trapped. Why did the tiger select him? Because that person was the most frightened person from the entire group and the tiger could smell Ramesh’s body and sense that his fear was the greatest. The tiger took away Ramesh realizing that he would give him least resistance because of his fear. Chetan explained that fear was one of the greatest enemies of any human being and would drag the person away from God. In Chapter 12, verse 15, it is clearly stated that no person should fear any other … w He who is not a source of annoyance to his fellow creatures, and who in his turn does not feel vexed with them, and who is free from delight and envy, perturbation and fear, is dear to Me. (15) ³emceeVeesefÜpeles ueeskeÀes ueeskeÀeVeeseqÜpeles ®e ³eë ~ n<ee&ce<e&Ye³eesÜsiewceg&lkeÀes ³eë me ®e ces efHe´³eë ~~15~~ Chetan explained to Rekha that running away from a problem never provided a solution. In her future life she was likely to meet with many other people whom could be as bad or perhaps worse than her boss. It was futile to keep running away from such people. The best way was to find a solution and that could be possible only if one could study the problem closely with a calm mind. For a calm mind it is best to meditate and pray to God. Most certainly this would enable her to find ways to defend herself and remain upright and strong. Therefore, for her mind to be calm, it was important that Rekha should remove her fear of the boss. He told her to start her day by chanting with Gayatri Mantra at least 108 times. He also told her to keep telling herself repeatedly several times a day that she was not scared of anyone. Then he suggested to her that she should find out some facts about the boss. In every war it is necessary to know the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses so that the plan and strategy to win the war can be worked out accordingly. So also Chetan told Rekha to find out from her friends and colleagues about her boss. Chetan assured her that if she did the foregoing, there would be some solution which would come out automatically. Somehow Chetan’s talk and references to the Gita gave Rekha some strength. She went the next day to the office with a better state of mind and though her boss continued his aggression, somehow her fear was significantly less. She started doing early morning meditation and also repeatedly telling herself that she was not scared of anyone. This had a fantastic impact and she found her mind becoming much more stable and her fear of her boss reducing considerably every day. She was now not scared of her boss and she was able to defend herself better. She then got a solution to this problem. Per Chetan’s advice, she decided to get more information about her boss. She decided to talk about her problem with her colleagues at lunch time. Initially nothing happened but one day she got a call from another girl in the office who had been undergoing a similar problem with the boss. They discussed this matter amongst themselves and Rekha came to know that the boss was fighting a divorce case with his wife and the court
| 114 | Gita for Professionals hearing was coming up shortly in the next month. Now Rekha had found a solution. The next time her boss tried to misbehave with her she told him flatly that she would call his house and speak to his wife and assure her of support in the divorce case. The boss was stunned and now he was scared. From that day onwards he did not even look at Rekha. Rekha had found her solution by following Chetan’s advice as given from the Gita. One should not fear fellow beings and one should remove fear from within. If we do this virtually any problem in life is solved because we go closer to God. 2. Spirit of brotherhood There was a case where a client who was getting his tax returns and audit done by a CA Chetan for years together. However, the client came to him one day and requested him to permit him to let his accounts be audited and tax returns filed through another CA Anil. This came as a shock since there had been no dispute or problem of any sort with Chetan and everything had been going on quite well. The client too said that there was no grievance with him, but he had no choice but to discontinue. He explained that he had started a new business with another person and the partners had agreed that the tax returns and audit of the new business would be handled by the other partner’s CA Anil. Of course it was not a pleasant situation for Chetan as for him that income was also significant. However, in spite of it being a difficult decision, he gracefully accepted it. In his heart, though disappointed, he bore no malice and wished him well. He mentally asked God, why this happened to him even though he had been doing his duty why was he penalized. But strange are God’s ways. The Gita advises us to do what our conscience tells us, irrespective of the consequences without expectation. Chetan did just that. But God was watching him all the time. God did not let him go unrewarded. His reward came a year later. The client ran into some financial problem in the following year and approached his bank for a loan facility. His banker asked him to get his accounts examined by a bank empanelled CA. The bank referred him to Chetan, who was the empanelled CA for the bank. This was the same Chetan whom the client had replaced. The client had no choice but to get his accounts audited by Chetan and ironically the client had to pay 3 times the fee, as per rates approved by the bank. Had the client not changed his auditor, the bank may not have insisted on a separate report since Chetan was an empanelled auditor. The bank might have accepted Chetan’s audit report for which the client would have paid his usual fee. This was perhaps justice to Chetan given by God for his unfair removal. God’s justice did not end there, as some years later, even that CA Anil to whom the client had gone, needed some help for which he had to come to Chetan. He too willingly paid a good fee to Chetan. Thus God gave Chetan a reward not only in terms of money, but in terms of stature and respect among his fellow chartered accountants. Friends, the principle of accountancy applies in life too, debit equals credit. Nobody can challenge destiny. What God wants us to do, is to look at life with a stable and balanced mind unaffected by situation around whether good or bad to us. In particular, if someone does anything wrong to us, we should not worry as long as we do not stray from the path of dharma and truth. If someone takes away something from you, accept it in your stride. In fact there is a proverb in Gujarati that ‘loko tamahara hath mathi kaipan juthvi lai shake chhe, pan tamhara naseeb ma thee Koi nahi lai shake’-. This means people may be able to snatch something from your hand, but will never be able to snatch anything from your destiny. If someone is bad or evil with you, even then you should remain unaffected and behave with him in the same way as you would towards a friend. Never worry about the actions of another
| 115 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals person, nor should you crave for fruits of your labour, action, or duty as long as you are doing your duty. Do your duty with brotherhood and love towards one and all. Swami Vivekananda in his 1897 lecture in Chennai said, ‘The first Gods we have to worship are our countrymen. These we have to worship instead of being jealous and fighting with each other.’ Gita also states this in Chapter 6 at length in several shlokas particularly in shloka 9 where the Gita says explains that we should behave well with friends and foes alike. megËeqvce$ee³eg&oemeerveceO³emLeÜs<³eyevOeg<eg ~ meeOeg<JeefHe ®e HeeHes<eg meceyegef×efJe&efMe<³eles ~~9~~ w But more superior is one who with spiritual intelligence acts equally towards natural well-wishers, affectionate well-wishers, enemies, those indifferent to disputes, mediators of disputes, the envious, friends, saintly person as well as the sinful. For success in life, it is absolutely important that we develop the important trait of compassion, love and a spirit of brotherhood amongst all of us and the ability to accept their behaviour and attitude to us without difference to anyone. If someone is nice we can easily be nice to him, but if someone is nasty it is very difficult to be nice to him. Therein lies the challenge to attain success. This can be possible with the habit of meditation, sacrifices in everyday life and self discipline. These practices will facilitate growth of love and brotherhood. In everyday life, among each and everyone of us, there is generally a deep sense of competition and sometimes even distrust among our colleagues and between fellow professionals. Stealing customers, clients or resources, undercutting, and other unethical practices do happen and quite frequently they occur even among friends. Sometimes the people who do this do not even bother to follow the law and codes of conduct and ethics. This stems from the lure of easy money, insecurity and distrust. It is not uncommon to hear that even doctors’ patients, or lawyers’ clients sometimes pressurize doctors or lawyers into accepting low fees by threatening to go to someone else. They are able to get away with this because of simple need of money. Does this mean that such doctors or lawyers or CAs or anyone so affected, must have animosity with the professionals who have stolen their clients? Certainly not. We must have the wisdom, self confidence and strength to wish them well and only then will we contribute towards the betterment of this world. We must have the good grace to accept other professionals as ‘brothers’ and wish them well even if they have committed any unethical act. Therein lies our nobility, an eternal value. 3. Life is all about overcoming emotions for becoming better professionals Chetan was a CA. He was happy and content in life and had specialized in doing financial crimes investigations. He often helped the police in investigating major fraud investigations and even did work for the police without expecting fees, as a social service. The police liked his work and always requested him to help out in important financial investigations. One day, there was a complaint received by the police from a big company against a trust about a financial crime. They suspected one of the trustees Mr. Vardan of preparing a false sale agreement and the mastermind of this fraud and the police had called him to the police station for questioning. Since this was a financial crime, they asked Chetan to come and help the police to interrogate Vardan. When Chetan reached the police station, he was shocked to see Vardan, because Vardan was his teacher when he had been studying for his CA! Chetan had started his career by working under Vardan who was a senior CA and Vardan had actually taught him how to understand and check documents and accounts. Now this knowledge gained by Chetan from Vardan, had to be used against Vardan and Chetan was not comfortable
| 116 | Gita for Professionals about doing this. He told the police officer that it was difficult for him to help them because he could not bear to investigate and question his own teacher and perhaps become the main reason for sending him to jail. Life is sometime very tough and unpredictable situations like the one Chetan above was facing can come up before us anytime anywhere. We feel exactly like Chetan and often we want to run away from such situations. This is where we must think of the Bhagavad Gita. The entire Bhagavad Gita comprises the divine message given by Lord Krishna to Arjun on the battlefield. Arjun had put down his weapons and wanted to leave the battlefield because he saw in front of him, in the enemy camp, his own family members including, Dronacharya his teacher whom he loved intensely. Dronacharya was his guru who had actually taught him how to fight. Now at Kurukshetra, Arjun had to use that skill and knowledge to fight and kill Dronacharya himself. Arjun just could not do this because he felt that getting back even his rightful kingdom was unjustified if it meant killing his guruji, and his family members. Lord Krishna then guided Arjun correctly, through the divine message of the Gita. The entire 18 chapters of the Gita addressed various doubts that Arjun had from all angles to make him realize that our entire life itself is a battlefield like Kurukshetra. Irrespective of the situation and whom we may be facing one’s duty comes above everything else, and it is important that each situation be accepted as it comes. Running away from a problem is wrong and what has to be done must be done. At the end of the 18th chapter, Lord Krishna is finally able to convince Arjun why it was correct for him to fight. In the war he had to kill his family, friends and even his teacher Dronacharya, if necessary. The essence of Gita is do your duty, come what may, have no expectations, dedicate every action to God, and minimize all desires which are the root cause of all emotions and misery. Chetan was also a regular reader of Gita. He consulted his family about this situation where he had to investigate his respected teacher CA Vardan. Though all of them were troubled, after a lot of discussion they agreed that it was their duty to also help the society. Finally Chetan mustered up his courage and decided to go ahead with this investigation. The investigation was difficult and mentally very painful. However Chetan did his best to do his investigation impartially. During the investigation Chetan learnt that since Vardan was the chief trustee, the entire responsibility of this financial crime rested on him. Vardan repeatedly expressed his innocence and stated that the sale document was not prepared or signed by him. However he could not prove it. Chetan therefore realized that his report was going to be extremely harmful to Vardan, but he could not do anything about it. Chetan sincerely prayed to God to give him strength and help him out of this crisis. God always helps those whose intentions are sincere and those who are his devotees. Chetan suddenly found something wrong in the document which Vardan was supposed to have signed. There was a spelling mistake which caught Chetan’s eye. Vardan had taught Chetan that to be a good professional chartered accountant it was important not to allow any spelling mistake in an important document. Chetan also remembered that Vardan was always perfect in his drafting and spelling and his reports were flawless. Looking at the sale document Chetan spotted several spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Chetan was now convinced that the documents were not made by Vardan. Chetan’s confidence that his teacher Vardan was not involved was strong now. He pointed this out to the police who also believed and changed their line or investigation to the other trustees. The forensic investigation on the
| 117 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals other trustee’s computer now revealed a document file of the sale document on its hard disk. This clearly indicated that the sale deed was authored or made at the request of the other trustee and eventually it was proved that the other trustee had done this forgery and Vardan was acquitted. Chetan felt happy and relieved that Vardan was innocent. Vardan blessed Chetan. Friends, doing one’s duty sincerely in the face of the worst of difficulties and challenges is what life is all about. Family relationships, friends, teachers, near and dear ones are important but duty comes first. A mother loves her child intensely, but if the time comes to correct the child, she will not hesitate to even slap him. The pain that the slap is going to cause is fully known to the mother, but she does it because it is her duty to correct the child. Therefore do not hesitate to do what is right. 4. Find solutions from within: The ‘Eklavya’ approach In life we come across challenges which often seem unsurmountable and we succumb and give in. Consider this case of a young newly qualified CA Ajit who was trying to establish his practice. Ajit was a good human being and had passed his CA quickly after his graduation. He came from a middle class family in a chawl in Girgaum area of Mumbai. He had recently lost his father and now he had his mother and an unmarried sister to look after. No doubt his qualifying as a CA had given a tremendous impetus to the family but the real challenges in life were yet to begin. Income had to be generated to survive. He started his practice as a CA with enthusiasm and hope. However he soon realized that the world was a cruel one for honest and straightforward people. Getting work was difficult and good clean work was almost non-existent. With some effort he got some clientele for tax work such as preparing and filing tax returns and attending hearings whenever the tax office had queries. Very early in his career he faced his first huge challenge. The tax officer he had to deal with was a thoroughly corrupt officer. The tax officer posed several queries and asked for almost impossible submissions. Ajit worked hard to provide everything, but he would not take the hint from the officer when he remarked that Ajit was wasting his time preparing so many submissions; there were easier ways to complete the tax scrutiny. Ajit did realize what the officer was hinting at, but his conscience waged a strong battle. Towards the end of the assessment, he was at his wits’ end. The officer’s demands were unreasonable and it was clear that he was going to complete the assessment with adverse remarks which would leave a huge tax liability for his client. What should Ajit do? Ajit thought: ‘Should he give the officer the bribe and get the thing over with?’ Ajit also approached many seniors and colleagues in the profession. However they advised him to be ‘practical’ and give the officer what he wanted. His client too wanted a quick solution though he would have paid the money reluctantly and grudgingly. Ajit’s confidence was waning. This kind of a situation is commonly faced by all of us some time or the other. Ajit had been listening to Bhagavad Gita discourses since childhood and was a regular practitioner of meditation. As per his practice he would get up early in the morning and meditate. At a time when he felt defeated by the tax officer’s demands, he decided to give the entire matter a calm and objective review. The next day, when he got up early in the morning, after his meditation, he calmly thought over this problem. In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that any person who goes to God with a sincere request, is never turned back.
| 118 | Gita for Professionals This is so even for the worst sinner provided his regret and remorse is sincere. Ajit prayed to God and poured his cup of woes to him. He then meditated again and then went to office. Somehow the whole day went well and he was able to sleep very peacefully that night. The next morning he woke up with much more confidence and started looking at his problem anew. God gave him a new confidence. His mind was bright and alert and looking for a solution to the problem. He suddenly remembered something he had noticed about that tax officer- his medicines for spondilysis. His mother too had been taking similar medicines sometime back when she was suffering from spondilysis but she was not getting any relief and was in deep pain. Just a few days ago, she had been miraculously cured by a local ayurvedic doctor with some different ayurvedic medicines. Her relief had been instantaneous. When he saw these medicines, he suddenly remembered that the tax officer had also been wearing a collar belt and taking the same medicines for this same ailment and was troubled as he had been suffering the same ailment as painfully as his mother had been. He decided to show his goodness by explaining his mother’s case history and how she had got instant relief from the ayurvedic medicines. He offered to get an appointment and take him to that doctor. The tax officer had been suffering so much for months together that he readily accepted Ajit’s offer and his visit to the doctor was arranged. By God’s grace, the tax officer also got immediate relief from the pain. He thanked Ajit profusely. Ajit had the decency not to connect this favour with his tax case. But, that is what life is all about. Bhagavad Gita says that do what your duty is, and don’t expect any result. But good begets good. The officer felt ashamed for his behavior, and on his own, he gave a fair assessment and there was no tax liability which was payable by the client. Not only that but he eventually took a leaf out of Ajit’s life and became a better and honest tax officer. He and Ajit became good friends. Ajit’s case is not a case which is plain luck. It is much more than that. The challenge in his life was serious and he was in a tight corner. What one needs to learn from it is his unwillingness to succumb to do something wrong. He had self-confidence. Do what your conscience tells you to do. Put all your worries to God and rest assured, the solutions will appear before you virtually from nowhere. In short, like Eklavya who learnt and excelled in archery without a teacher, the knowledge or the solution will come from within yourself. This is possible when you develop the traits of faith, confidence and perseverance. 5. The power of sacrifice The real strength of a person can be judged by his ability to make sacrifices. Sacrifice can bring great accomplishment because it brings about self-purification. This is well explained in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 verse 5, which is illustrated with the help of the example of Ajit, a CA. Ajit had just started his CA practice a couple of years ago. He had a happy family which included his father, in textile business, his mother, wife and infant daughter. One day, his father had a sudden heart failure and died. Ajit’s world came crashing down. Since he was in accountancy practice elsewhere, he did not know much about his father’s business. After his father’s death, he wanted to close that textile business; but when he checked the books of account they showed huge losses. The main reason was that many of the debts due from customers were actually not recoverable, but on the other hand all the creditors were payable. Since Ajit had never been involved in his father’s business, he was unable to get and collect all dues from customers. He suspected that some of them were taking advantage of his sudden death, but he was helpless. However the worst was yet to come. After the funeral
| 119 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals rites and 13th day rituals, creditors started lining up outside his house to demand their loans and dues from him. He tried to reason with them that he was not a partner in his father’s business and he had himself not taken any of their loans nor was he aware where the money had been used. He explained that some of the customers were also not paying up and there was no money in the business. However the creditors were unrelenting and getting more aggressive. They wanted their money. Ajit just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that he was being targeted by people whom he didn’t even know and for matters of a business where he was no way responsible. Ajit consulted his relatives and friends as to what to do. They all rallied around him and advised him not to worry. They said that since he himself was not a partner in that business and all the property and assets were his own and not his father’s, the creditors would not be able to do anything legally. Even if they went to court, the case would go on for years together and the creditors would eventually tire out. They asked him to go out of town for a few months and come back later and all would have been forgotten. However Ajit was not comfortable about this. He realized that there was some merit in the creditors’ demands. Irrespective of the legal position, there was a moral responsibility. He remembered what he had heard in some spiritual discourse somewhere that there are three debts that a man has to discharge in this world: a) Pitru-rina, b) Rishi or guru rina, c) dev rina- which mean respectively, a) Obligations or debts to father and ancestors, b) Obligations to the Guru and rishis for whatever he has learned, and c) Obligations to God for this world and all the things in this world. Therefore he was accountable for any debt of his father as well. Therefore, though he was not legally required, he decided to sacrifice his own belongings for his father. It is said in Bhagwad Gita, Chapter 18, verse 5, Actions of sacrifice, charity and penance should not be given up, they should certainly be performed. Sacrifice, charity and penance are purifiers of wise people ³e%eoeveleHeëkeÀce& ve l³eep³eb keÀe³e&cesJe leled ~ ³e%ees oeveb leHeM®ewJe HeeJeveeefve ceveeref<eCeeced ~~5~~ He took a decision of selling his beautiful flat, car and family jewellery. He bought another flat almost half the size of his previous one, and that too in an ordinary middle class area. To the fund so collected, he added his own savings and this amount was used to pay off the creditors. In spite of all these sacrifices and best efforts, he was unable to collect enough funds to pay all the creditors. One creditor, a person called Odhavji, was left out because Ajit ran out of funds to pay him. Ajit went to meet him personally and explained that he was unable to pay him, but he would make good the loan by paying him something every month from whatever his earnings were. Somehow, Ajit’s sincerity appealed to Mr. Odhavji. He realized that legally none of the creditors had any legal hold on Ajit and that Ajit could easily have refused to do anything. He had also known Ajit’s father well and knew that he was a good man. He felt that due to his sudden death, some customers had cheated Ajit by taking advantage of the situation and not paying up their rightful debts to Ajit’s father’s estate. This therefore had left Ajit in a situation of a huge business loss. Odhavji was a gentleman, with a charitable heart. He decided to sacrifice this amount from Ajit. He told Ajit not to worry. He advised him to look after his family and look at the future. He explained that he had shared a brotherly relationship with his father, and he did not mind if he did not get any money back. Ajit was deeply touched and he expressed his gratitude and told him that he would always
| 120 | Gita for Professionals remember this great sacrifice of Mr. Odhavji. Both Ajit and Mr. Odhavji thus performed acts of sacrifice which can be considered as acts referred to in the above shloka. Though Ajit had virtually no money left, he continued his CA practice. His sacrifice of giving up even his own personal savings to pay off his father’s debts, paid rich dividends to him over a period of time. Firstly, Ajit got the good wishes of all his creditors and therefore life around him became pleasant once again. In fact, one of the creditors was so impressed by his honesty and sacrifice, that he actually made him an executor of his will. Secondly he got good support in his professional practice since many of the creditors even recommended him to clients to facilitate his CA practice. However, the real benefit, as per the shloka above, was the inner purification process of Ajit. The sacrifices made Ajit mentally stronger, more proficient in his work, and he grew in maturity and understanding. When good work is supported by such a strong character and a sacrifice making capability, the results are phenomenal. Ajit flourished in his CA practice not only monetarily but also came to be known as an upright, honest, clean and respected chartered accountant. About 25 years later, he had gained back everything; a new flat, car, good income and a happy family. He was reminded of the days he once had when his father was alive. One day he suddenly remembered Mr. Odhavji who had been kind to him and felt that he should go and meet him to thank him and also pay him the amount that had been left unpaid 25 years ago. To his dismay he learnt that Mr. Odhavji was no more and that his son had shifted to some distant place. With a lot of effort he was able to locate his son. Ajit wanted to show his gratitude and pay him what he had been unable to pay Mr Odhavji. To his surprise, though the son could have rightfully taken the money, he refused, stating that there were no dues in his books and he therefore he could not accept any money. Further he said that his father Odhavji always spoke highly about Ajit’s father and considered him his brother. So as a family member too he could not accept his money. Here was a Satyug type situation, situation where a debtor is willing to pay but the creditor does not want money because he valued a relationship and righteousness of a principle-that it was not owed to him as per his books. However Ajit was keen on doing something so he requested and insisted to Mr. Odhavji’s son that he would offer him a free service as a CA for his business accounting, audit and taxation. His son welcomed this since he was anyway in search of a good CA and having some difficulty in tax matters. Ajit helped him willingly and within a few days sorted all his tax matters. This friends, is adapted on a true incident which shows the power of sacrifice, charity, brotherhood and renunciation. We can still make this world a better place to live in. Ajit’s sacrifice was that he doled out everything he had, including his own savings, to pay off his father’s debt which was legally not his debt, but by morally considering it his debt. This purified him and that enabled him to reach great heights in his profession. Mr. Odhavji’s sacrifice of not taking his dues from Ajit, particularly when Ajit was in trouble, resulted in a benefit for his son years later. Though his son could have accepted the money he did not so he too made a sacrifice. The kind of sacrifice making capacity is rare and difficult to fathom but such people who can make sacrifices are spiritually advanced and their life becomes meaningful and successful. Friends therefore, to accomplish something, sacrifice, penance and charity are essential. If we get into this habit of sacrifice or renunciation of even small things regularly, we will build up a strong character and our accomplishments will multiply.
| 121 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals 6. The importance of a Guru or a teacher Navin was a simple man from a middle class background. He had a Guruji who was teaching him hindustani music on the sitar. He had great faith and affection for his Guruji and always did his best to keep him happy. He had been educated in Girguam area of Mumbai and had become a CA. He had a small time consulting practice and satisfied with average earnings. One day his friends took him to attend a big conference of CAs and Navin was deeply impressed by speeches of all the learned speakers there. The speakers were also CAs since this was a CAs’ conference. Navin admired the speakers for speaking so well in front of more than 1,000 people. Navin then thought of himself; though he was CA too, he could never speak like these speakers and he himself was so timid that he would be nervous even in a friend’s party in front of 10 people. He was disappointed with himself and very sad that he could not speak so well like those speakers. Later that day, as per his usual practice, he went to his Guruji’s house. Though he did not mention anything, the Guruji immediately noticed the sadness on Navin’s face and inquired about the reason. When Navin told him, the Guruji told him not to worry. He predicted that Navin would shortly get an opportunity to speak at a large gathering in a conference, and that he should not get scared. Navin thanked him and though he had faith in his Guruji, he had no confidence in himself. He merely nodded his head thinking that even if such an opportunity came, he would be too scared to accept it and speak at any function. The Guruji’s word came true. Next month, in one of the functions of CAs, just two days before the event, a speaker fell suddenly ill, and the convener who knew Navin, approached him and requested him to be a speaker. Navin was too scared to speak at that function where 500 CAs were expected to be present and he declined the offer. But somehow, possibly due to his Guruji’s blessings, the organisors could not find another speaker and they again requested Navin to be a speaker. Navin remembered his Guru’s advice that he should not get scared, and so this time he mustered up the courage to say yes. He again went to his Guruji for advice since he was very nervous. Since Navin was his favourite pupil, the Guruji was very keen that he succeeded. The Guruji comforted him and told him to just go ahead and speak. He advised him that a good speaker says something which is useful to the listeners and not to show off what he knows. Therefore Navin should apply his mind to say something that would benefit or be useful to the listeners. Navin was further advised to spend some time doing research and study on this. If he did so his speech would be well received, and it would not then be necessary to even refer to any paper or notes or speech. Navin should speak sincerely from his heart, and say some good and useful things. While this was excellent advice, what Navin did not know was that the Guruji himself prayed to God that Navin was taken care of. The effect of this prayer of the Guruji was phenomenal. On the day of the function, when Navin was on stage, he was very nervous for the first two minutes, but he surrendered his mind to his Guruji and mentally begged him to help him in this situation. The Guruji’s prayer to God bore fruit, and Navin found a new kind of strength, and suddenly, he started speaking simple words but words which were practical and applicable to all the CAs present. People were spell-bound because he spoke with faith and sincerity on the subject that he was given. He spoke so well and clearly, that there was pindrop silence. At the end, the silence was shattered by a thunderous applause and a standing ovation, when he finshed his speech. Navin could not believe this. One of the listeners was so impressed that he came up and invited Navin to speak in Bengaluru. Navin agreed and
| 122 | Gita for Professionals spoke at Bengaluru too, and that speech went off very well there too. Thereafter Navin got invitations virtually every week to speak at some function or the other. His popularity kept on increasing. Very soon he had to speak along with other speakers whom he had admired in the past. Amazingly his speech was rated better than theirs. Navin just could not believe that he was rated better than those speakers whom he had idolized and who he thought were far better than him. He was even invited all over the world to speak in Amercia, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Muscat, Maldives, etc and sometimes he even spoke on topics and subjects which were not his subjects. The people were delighted just to listen to Navin, whatever subject he spoke on. That was Navin’s success. What was the real reason? His Guruji’s blessings. Navin had been very fond of his Guruji and had always cared for and looked after him. A Guruji recognizes genuine affection and bhakti, and rewards his disciple. Navin’s Guruji gave him heartfelt blessings to become not just a good but a great speaker. That was the strongest power that Navin could have, and he got it because he had complete faith in his Guruji and surrendered himself mentally to him. His Guruji blessed him with a power that transformed him from an average person to a world class speaker. The Bhagavad Gita also speaks about the importance of faith and surrender by the disciple to one’s Guru. In Chapter 2, verse 7, Arjun puts forth his problems as a disciple to Lord Krishna whom he considers his Guru. He says, “Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” This is the process for accepting a Guru. When we go to a Guru with faith, the Guru becomes Lord Krishna’s representative; therefore the Guru should be offered the same respect one would offer to God. Thus, if we surrender to the bona fide Guru, we surrender to God. Then, the Guru’s blessings are thus capable of achieving anything in this world. 7. Spirituality: work life balance for professionals Ramesh was a brilliant Chartered Accountant. He was working in a large corporate house in a senior position and had all the luxuries at his disposal. He had a 4 bedroom flat at Napean Sea Road, in Mumbai, one of the very affluent areas. He drove a Mercedes Car, and had both his children schooling in the best private school in Mumbai, and an investment portfolio of over ` 10 crore. One may well ask: ‘What more could Ramesh want in life’? It is obvious that any person would answer this question spontaneously as ‘nothing more’ since Ramesh had everything in life. However Ramesh also had diabetes, and high blood pressure. Ramesh also had to spend long hours in office and travelling out of town for office work. On an average, he would spend about 16 hours a day in office and very often, even after returning home would continue working on his laptop, and have late night calls with his associates in USA. He virtually had to ask for leave from work even on Sundays and holidays, such was the work pressure. Now, with this information about Ramesh, if any person were to ask ‘what more could Ramesh want in life ?’ the question would be much more difficult to answer. When Ramesh himself was asked this question, he broke down. He answered that he would gladly give up all his luxuries for being able to sleep soundly even for one night. The case of Ramesh may not be fully applicable to all of us, but to many of us, it would be applicable to some extent. In life, all of us want to make money. Certainly this is not wrong, but what is wrong is that we want to earn lots of money at all costs, including our health and ethics. Unfortunately money is prioritized over everything else and it becomes an obsession.
| 123 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals For many of us, work pressure is so intense that we even lose out on quality time with our family, friends and all those who matter. We miss out the good things life has to offer to us. We easily succumb to illnesses. In extreme cases we even break our relationships. Lot of divorces are caused due to the spouse being money minded or driven by career as the priority in life. In other words, the philosophy of life has become work, money and wealth only. Consider our daily life. We have food, take a bath, comb our hair, and groom ourselves to keep our body clean and fresh everyday. These kind of activities are done by each of us to keep our physical body fit and clean and good in appearance. Thus most of us ensure that our physical fitness is taken care, but what really matters is mental fitness. What do we do to keep our minds fresh, clean and fit? Many of us don’t do anything in this direction. Millions of working people spend most of their time in office and just a few hours in a day at home. Out of 24 hours perhaps they spend only 6-8 hours at home, within which they eat cold food which is reheated, sleep a few hours, and get up in the morning just to have a quick breakfast which is guzzled down in a hurry to catch a train or bus. Many of them don’t even meet and talk to their children except on Sundays. This is because the children are asleep when they reach home and have not got up in the morning when they leave for work. Of what use is the salary or income they earn if they cant even have a laugh with their wives or spend even half an hour of a day seeing their children grow up? In the process their minds are filled with frustration, tiredness, and sadness. Work life balance is fully tilted in favour of work and drudgery and as such they have no life. There is a complete imbalance between work and personal life. How can they bring about a freshness and zest for life? The best answer to this is spirituality. What is spirituality? There is no single, widely-agreed definition of spirituality. Spirituality denotes focus on the mental aspect and development of life, as opposed to the material and physical aspects of life, and it can be achieved by prayer. This is not the best definition, but it serves the purpose of this discussion. What do we have to do in order to be spiritual? Spirituality includes, good thinking, good deeds and dedicating our life for the well being of others. Spirituality should not be understood narrowly as offering prayers to God, in a temple or church. It means much more than that. It includes entertainment of divine and noble thoughts relating service to others, good deeds, and above all censorship of negative thoughts. When we get obsessed by money making, our minds are filled up with negative thoughts stemming from the environment. Work targets, deliverables, office bosses and competitors foster negative emotions such as anger, hatred, sadness, jealousy, frustration, etc. When the mind allows negative thoughts and emotions to clutter our minds, they open the doors to physical stress too and illnesses like hypertension and diabetes easily come in. Spirituality helps a person in such a stress condition to arrest and even reverse the foregoing effects. It can start by a person becoming positive in life and preventing negative thoughts and thereby removing emotions like anger, frustration etc. A spiritual person who does a little prayer or meditation everyday, say even half an hour, can easily cleanse his mind fully of such negative thoughts, and restore normalcy. Just as a person takes bath to clean his body, a spiritual prayer is a bath for the mind to clean his thoughts. It brings back a much better balance in life. So, in order to be spiritual what does a person have to do? Does he have to sit in front of a statue of God and pray? Not necessary, though that could be one of the ways. The main objective of a spiritual person is to watch and guard his thoughts, which, when achieved
| 124 | Gita for Professionals will make him strong enough to bear any physical pressures. Great men like Gandhiji were spiritual leaders who faced the worst of tortures inflicted by the British and yet able to bear the stress. Gandhiji and millions of others were severely beaten during the Dandi March but because of their noble thoughts, they derived immense strength to not only survive, but to give a fitting reply to the mighty British rulers. Once a person’s mind is spiritual, he has infinite strength and physical stress has no effect on him. This can be achieved by doing meditation regularly. Getting up very early in the morning and reciting any mantra such as Gayatri mantra for about half an hour can work miracles in terms of health and increasing personal efficiency. Meditation is nothing but cleaning out negative thoughts and eventually erasing all thoughts from the mind. However this is difficult to do initially. A person can start his mind control effort towards spirituality by even doing good things. He can start occupying his mind by playing a sport, for fun and not for winning. He can start playing or even listening to musical instrument to enjoy it. Having a hobby can also bring about effects and benefits of meditation provided these are done not for defeating someone else or for gaining superiority. Even spending a half an hour teaching your children something gives great mind cleansing effect. Helping your spouse in cleaning the house, cooking, washing are also all forms of mind cleansing. Any activity that facilitates a person from removing any obsessions, negative thoughts and fosters in positive thoughts is what spiritualism is all about. All focus in life should be to become a good human being. Even in your career focus on doing your work well. Never mind if you don’t get the deserved promotion or increments or fees, or if someone else gets something that you feel he did not deserve. That is the starting point of disruption of work life balance. Anger, hatred and frustration gain an entry point and thereafter they don’t look back at all. Money is important in life but not more important that your life. Money should be treated as a by-product. If you do good work, be of service to others, and above all become a good human being, life will become a heaven for you. Money will come automatically as long as you don’t run madly after it. It is said that Laxmi selected Vishnu in a swayamvar because he was the only one who did not covet or want her lustily. If you nurture good thoughts, everyone will like you, and you will like everyone too. The goal of life is not to create a fat bank balance, but to create a storehouse of good wishes and love from all around you. Spirituality is one of the best and perhaps the only method which will bring about a work life balance and enable you to achieve this.
| 125 | Chapter 7 – Certain important lessons for CAs and other professionals
| 126 | Gita for Professionals
| 127 | Chapter 8 – Important concepts and references from the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Important concepts and references from the Bhagavad Gita While every shloka of the Bhagavad Gita has immense value and depth, there are certain concepts in the Bhagavad Gita which are very strong and impactful. The meaning, relevance and symbolism of these concepts are far reaching and therefore the author felt it would be useful to study these concepts with some given situations we come across in our lives. The author feels that the following concepts are very important: 1. Sthitapragnya: Person with a steady mind 2. Gudakesh: One who has conquered sleep 3. Shankh (conch shell) 4. Lotus: a divine flower 5. Importance of the number 18 6. Ved Rahasya: The gap between understanding and recording 7. Avidya 1. Sthitapragnya: the person with a steady mind One of the very important Chapters of the Gita is Chapter 2 and some very important verses in that Chapter are shlokas 51-56. These shlokas talks about ‘sthitapragnya’, a person who has a balanced state of mind and complete equipoise in good and bad times irrespective of the situation. The shlokas describe a person who can achieve this state of sthitapragnya. To understand this concept better, let’s discuss what our mind is. Mind is what makes a person. When we say that such and such a person is a good man, we are not talking about his physical appearance, or his height, or his weight or his body. We are talking or referring to his mind. As regards our minds, it is said, that when we are born as human beings, we are born with certain defects in our minds. They are ‘mala’ (dirt or impurity), Vikshepa (distraction) and agnyan avaran or ‘veil of ignorance’. These three defects have been often explained in discourses by eminent people with the help of this example. Consider a bucket of water placed out in sunlight. The reflection of the sun in the water in the bucket will be possible to see, if the water is not muddy or dirty. Further the water must be still and not turbulent or wavy. The lid of the bucket must be open so that the rays of the sun can hit the water. In other words if there is no ‘mala’, vikshepa, and if there is nothing covering the water, the reflection which is already existent, will be visible, bright and clear. In much the same way, our mind is like the bucket of water. As long as there are impurities like anger, jealousy, hatred etc, and as long as we are distracted with the material pleasures and pains of the world, our mind will have a lid which will block our real enlightened self and wisdom, and not permit us to deal with the changing situations in the world effectively. Let us use a simple everyday common story to illustrate this.