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1)

Bhagwad Gita

I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance.


Friedrich Nietzsche

Almost every kid growing up in India is made familiar with the baffling and bewildering central
message of the book you should work without attachment to the fruits of your labour. It doesnt
resonate much, particularly since the kids in India are subjected to the tyranny of comparative
grading, quarterly exams and competitive examinations quite early in life. They are incentivised by
their parents who tell their kids that if they want a cushy job that gives money and respect in the
society, they better crack their exams. More clever parents also use operant conditioning by
rewarding their kids with bikes, fancy dinners and vacations when they climb higher on the relative
grading curve. The message from Gita is ignored as young men and women venture into the world to
grab their share of the pie.

To unravel the mystery behind Gitas central message (work without attachment), lets start with the
workplace (where Indians, who take the entrance exams are doing very well these days, being the
engines of global economy). The wisdom of Gita can be seen working at any office environment. Gita
identifies three kinds of gunas (read energy) called Satvik, Rajsik and Tamsik (read them as White,
Grey and Black). To identify which kind of energy is dominant in a worker, you have to assess him on
three key parameters his self-worth, his perspective, and his process versus outcome orientation.

The self-worth of workers with White (or Satvik energy) is attached to knowledge and wisdom. They
take great pride in excelling at their work and secretly want to be acknowledged as wise and clever.
Their role models are usually businessmen who are driven by knowledge and creativity (Warren
Buffett and Steve Jobs), rather than the size of their business empires. Since they are driven by
knowledge they measure other workers also by their capabilities rather than their rank. They would
not respect a superior no matter what his designation or accomplishments, if they feel that he or she
is all style and no substance. Such workers have a detached and objective view about their
workplace and do not hesitate to give critical feedback about the work culture of their company.
Such workers are generally cheerful though, since they see every high or low in business/job as an
opportunity to learn and create something new and better.

Workers with white energy also tend to have a longer term perspective and see business as a win-
win game. They understand that what is good for them is good for their colleagues, juniors and
superiors and their vendors and ultimately for their customers. Thus it is easier to reason with white
energy workers and easier to invest your trust in them. Due to their long term perspective, they
have a disciplined approach to life and work and understand their hard tasks have to be
accomplished for years before rich dividends are reaped.

Workers with white energy tend to enjoy the process of the assignments they are given. They are
capable of extracting learning even from dull and repetitive tasks and rarely crib about them. Their
ultimate career goal is to find a calling; work where they really enjoy the process of the assignments
they are working on.

The same three parameters self-worth, perspective and process versus outcome will help in
identifying grey (Rajsik) and black (Tamsik) energies in a workplace. Self -worth of a grey energy
worker is attached to money and power. He evaluates his co-workers and superiors by their rank,
designation and perks. They tend to admire businessmen who accumulated money and power even
though the overall means they used may have been unsavoury (think Donald Trump). Such people
are highly aware about the institutional politics in their organization. Since they are opportunists,
they will be very energized if they feel an assignment will set them up for a promotion or monetary
raise.

The perspective of a grey energy worker doesnt go beyond the next quarterly or annual appraisal.
They are easily dismayed if they feel that the fortunes of their organization will be shaky by the time
their next bonus will be due. They appear loyal to organizations but are actually working on a
transactional basis. They are best managed through contracts and incentives.

The grey energy workers have a focus on the outcome of the assignment they are working on. They
will crib if they feel that the current assignment will not create much financial or monetary value,
however will still execute the assignment thinking its professional to do so. Their career goal is to
work for reputed organizations which will pay them more and more for less and less work.

The self-worth of a black energy (Tamsik) workers appears to be on very shaky ground and it is hard
to figure out their drivers. They seem to be more driven by momentary pleasures of the workplace,
like having a good party on the Friday with barbecued chicken and lamb delicacies. According to
them the best employers are the ones who give a lot of vacations and allowing them to chill during
workdays. They seem to be either delusional, in denial or blind about their standing in their
workplace. Sometimes they do not realize how close they are to getting fired.

Its very hard to mentor such workers, as they never seem to get any perspective. Manager feels that
he can neither reason with such workers nor incentivise him by appealing to his interest. The only
way to manage such workers is by keeping a constant watch on them with a proverbial stick in your
hand.

Black energy workers neither enjoy the process of their assignments, nor do they understand how
important the outcome of the assignment is for the organization. They appear unfocussed and are
perpetual cribbers.

Now that I have described the three energies, the reader would have created a hierarchy in his head.
Obviously it makes sense to hire as many white energy people as you can, employ few grey energy
people and keep black energy people as far away from you as possible. In fact the words white, grey
and black itself create a mental hierarchy. Bhagavad Gita also creates this hierarchy multiple times in
the book. However and brace yourself for this, the Gita also says that ultimately all three energies
are equal.

It is perplexing, isnt it? At one hand, the Lord is saying that those with black energy (Tamsik) will
keep falling into deeper circles of hell and those with grey energy (Rajsik) will keep rotating in a
materialistic circle. Then he becomes democratic and says that I see all the energies as equal and so
would a sage who is really connected to me. The Lord says all the energies are coming from me only,
and angelic and demonic within people are all aspects of me. It almost sounds as if the Lord has
sympathy for the devil. Like Mick Jagger, he says every cop is criminal and all the sinners saints. In
the answer to this riddle, also lies the answer to our original quest how to work without
attachment to fruits.

Lets revisit the black (Tamsik) energy. The key trait of such people is that they are almost living for
transitory and momentary pleasure. That is why they lack focus, perspective and are not able to
attach their self-worth to fruitful causes. But dont all of us have some admiration of a person with a
carefree attitude who seems to be enjoying the moment. Perhaps you only appreciate them outside
the workspace. Isnt there something admirable about a person who is capable of forgetting
everything and letting go in a burst of laughter. Dont we all feel that there is something divine about
the ignorant playfulness of children? Rock and roll bands (like Mick Jagger and his Rolling Stones)
were in fact indulging themselves in hedonistic and momentary enjoyments in the sixties. They were
also accused of being spawns of Satan (Tamsik) by many. Was it really the handiwork of Satan or is
there something irresistibly charming about frivolous gay abandon.

Similarly, havent management professors emphasized that a good Strategy (the forte of White
energy or Satvik people) is futile without Execution skills? (the strength of Grey Energy or Rajsik
people). Isnt everyone with some experience of business, aware of the importance of goal
orientation or getting the task done (something which comes better to grey energy people)? Isnt a
sound understanding of how people respond to incentives which is cornerstone of economic
thinking (and something that comes more easily to grey energy people) vital for success in business?
In fact in any healthy organization, the goals of strategic thinkers (White energy) would be aligned
with the incentives of the managers (Grey energy) and the guidelines of the ground level workers
(Black energy).

However, the three energies tend to misunderstand and dislike each other both in workplace and
outside. Artists and creative people mostly dislike businessmen and lawyers. Blue collar worker feels
that the capitalist is out to exploit them (which may be true on many occasions but often the
businessmen among other things is also trying to help organize the life of blue collar workers).
Knowledge driven people find materialistic people greedy and shallow. Carefree people find
knowledge driven people stuffy and snobbish. In fact the swinging sixties can be seen as youngsters
indulging themselves in the creative white energy (more like the Beatles) or the hedonistic black
energy (more like the stones) as they couldnt get enough Satisfaction from the order and
structure of post- world war USA. It is also human nature to like people who are more like you. Thus
artists tend to bond more with other artists and businessmen admire other businessmen.

The sage or wise person according to Gita is one who can engage with all kind of energies without
bias and prejudice for anyone in particular. I think the road to attaining wisdom of a sage begins with
two rare and elusive qualities tolerance and humility. Tolerance for knowledge driven person
means understanding that not everyone is as intelligent or creative as he/she is. Tolerance for a
commerce person translates into understanding that not everyone will be as organized and
structured as he/she is.

The lack of tolerance is responsible for much self-afflicted misery in the world. The more
knowledgeable or capable a person is, more likely he is to be intolerant. The most vivid example
from recent memory is Steve Jobs. The brilliant Jobs only admired other brilliant and creative people
(white energy people) and he was known to be intolerant of grey and black energy people. Jobs
certainly brought many good things to the world, but he also made many people in his personal
space miserable. He also created unhappiness for himself due to his intolerance. The most vivid
example of tolerance from the business world is Warren Buffett. Buffett is by all means a greater
intellect than Jobs. However Buffett is also remarkably patient and tolerant of people who are less
ignorant than him about business (in fact compared to him most people are ignorant and idiotic
when it comes to business). When you become tolerant of all energies, you become capable of
engaging with them.

Even more elusive than tolerance is humility. Knowledge and creativity driven people (white energy)
look down on the vanity of money and power driven people. But the truth is that knowledge driven
people are equally vain. All artists (who perhaps epitomize white energy the best) are vain in the
sense that they are driven by the need for self- expression. Artists like to chide kings and queens by
telling them their material possessions would sooner or later be destroyed, while their works would
echo through eternity. But by chasing the ultimate prize of art artistic immortality; the artists are
giving away their vanity.

It is true that artists have the best shot at immortal self-expression. For example Apple may be a
great institution today, but 50 years down the line it most likely would not exist (such is the nature
of business history). I-phone and I-pad may be the coolest gadgets today but two decades later they
will look like duds. Even the body of knowledge that Apple has created about doing business, would
be redundant as future organizations will learn from their example and create a new body of
knowledge. What is much more likely to survive is the idea of Apple and Steve Jobs as a maverick.
The works of Einstein and Newton would be bettered and surpassed, but the works of Shakespeare
and Mozart would persist as they are. People will connect with these artists as if they knew them as
people for many centuries to come.

So humility starts with the realization that this lofty goal of self-expression is almost unattainable for
most people, except maybe for rarest of talents. If most kings, tycoons, scientists and even most
artists will be forgotten with time, then what is the urge for action?

When Shakespeare and Mozart were writing their works, do you really think they were excited by
the prospect of being remembered for eternity. Truth is they were only acknowledged as genius
some three centuries later. They were doing their work because they were really enjoying it. They
connected white energy (knowledge and creativity) with black energy (pure hedonistic enjoyment).
Since they were really enjoying it, they got better at it and when they got better at it, they enjoyed it
even more. Thus a feedback loop was created out of synergy between white and black energy, which
resulted in some divine music and literature which the whole world enjoys. Shakespeare even had
commercial and organizing instincts (grey energy) which certainly helped the cause. These guys were
doing their work without too concerned about the only reward that lasts a long time (artistic
immortality), and the drive was coming from the black energy. As John Lennon said, its about living
for the day.

Maybe thats why there is something refreshingly divine about rock and roll which is largely fuelled
by hedonistic and momentary pleasure. Sure most of the times you feel that the rock and rollers
have lost it. But sometimes the drive for enjoyment is combined with creativity (white energy) and
the organization and structure of Stadium rock (grey energy) to create a fruit for everyone to enjoy
(a cosmic perspective). The Cosmic Perspective is the ultimate key to inner peace. As Robert Plant
once sang when all is one and one is all

Perhaps that is what Nietzsche meant when he said that all a soul of philosopher wants to do is get
up and dance. After acquiring all the knowledge, a sage ultimately feels that maybe all he can do is
be happy, and make others happy. And in that state he is most close to the divine nature.

And in black energy also lays the answer to our original query. Indian parents should start telling the
kids to choose subjects that they really enjoy (Tamsik), keeping in mind the options available to
them under the current education system (Rajsik) and should study them with discipline and
curiosity (Satvik). If the kids get the black energy aspect right (Tamsik enjoyment from studies) the
fruits will automatically come.

It is not so mystical after all.

- Amaresh


2) Introducing Buddha: A Graphic Guide

As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.
Leonardo da Vinci

Introducing Buddha is part of a much beloved series by Icon Books, which attempts to present
complicated philosophical and art school topics in an easily understandable graphic format. The
particular book is one of the better ones in the series. On my second reading of the book, I noticed
uncanny similarities between many teachings of Buddhism and Bhagavad Gita.

Lets start with the path to enlightenment. According to Gita, path to enlightenment starts when a
person starts feeling dissatisfaction from sensual pleasures (like young Buddha felt as a prince) and
then let go off the emotional attachments of the world (as Buddha did when he left his family). At
this stage person starts looking inward and cuts off from the world (as Buddha isolated himself in a
tree). Finally when a person experiences enlightenment he feels duty bound to spread the message
to the world (as Buddha did).

Both Bhagavad Gita and Buddhism emphasise yoga or meditation as the way to control senses and
mind (mind can be understood as the emotional and impulsive part of the brain as compared to the
intellect which is trained and rational). Once the mind is controlled, the person sees the world with
much more clarity. The concept is not so other worldly as it sounds. Behavioural finance (a modern
branch of economics which probes the irrationality of human mind) also recommends controlling
your impulsive mind to cultivate a more rational temperament. A rational temperament allows one
to see the business world much more objectively and thus increasing the chances for success as an
investor.

Both Gita and Buddhism emphasise the dissolving of ego boundaries as a part of the process to
achieve higher truth. Buddhism says that as long as a person keeps viewing the world from the prism
of I, me, mine; he will remain trapped in the samsara (material world). Gita also says that as long as
a person remains attached to his selfish interests he will keep rotating in an endless material circle.
Behavioural finance also says that people who are trying to derive their happiness from material
things will feel like they are running on a hedonic treadmill. Once they attain a certain material goal,
they will feel a temporary surge in happiness but soon they will be chasing a new goal.

Both Gita and Buddhism say that engagement transcends renunciation. Gita says karmayog (practice
of knowledge) is higher than karmasanyas (gaining of knowledge), as karmayoga purifes knowledge.
Buddha also says - do not believe my teachings but put them to practice and test. The concept is
similar to scientific ethos of putting knowledge to test. And if the knowledge doesnt pass the test,
the failure will only direct you closer to the truth. Thus one should not be too bothered if something
doesnt fit in his existing mental framework. It will make you anxious temporarily, but ultimately you
will emerge wiser.

The highest school of Buddhism is Vajrayana (other major schools Himayana and Mahayana are the
foundations of Vajrayana), whose goal is to put precise experience of enlightenment into everyday
use. The Vajrayana school, emphasises combining seriousness of purpose (satvik gun from Gita) with
a sense of momentary enjoyment (tamsik gun from Gita) but accepts that perfection cannot be
achieved. A little anxiety, confusion or conflict is necessary for progress of knowledge.

Gita as well as Buddhism emphasize awareness of death as vital for gaining true knowledge. Gitas
discourse started when Arjun was scared of the prospect of killing his cousins and teachers.
Buddhas quest started when he became aware of death. Zen school of Buddhism has many poems
to make its disciple confront death. Modern psychology also accepts the tendency to ignore and
rationalize death as responsible for many psychological illnesses. Death is the ultimate fear
(although many people say that public speaking is the ultimate fear) and Gita emphasises
fearlessness. Fear of death can break down many peoples rationality and only a rational person can
get close to the truth.

Death is also one domain where Gita and Buddha seem to disagree. Gita talks about rebirth and
external saviour while Buddha said that there is no external saviour and his point of view started
with his birth and ended with his death. Multiple schools of Buddhism also differ on the possibility of
rebirth. However the resolution to this apparent conflict is present within Gita itself.

The central and enigmatic message of Gita is work without attachment to rewards. To live mindfully
in the moment, to be aware of your duty and to engage with the world through action, is the theme
running through Gita and Buddhism. If you live according to these principles the rewards will come
automatically for you and for the world. You will see the rewards within this lifetime, on yearly or
quarterly basis and in fact if you really put the principles to practice you will get the reward
automatically on a daily basis.

Why should one then be too worried about the reward he will get in the after-life. If there is an
external saviour he will reward you by sending you on a higher trajectory, if he feels you deserve it. If
there is no external saviour you will die happily and peacefully like the Buddha. Either way you do
not have a right over the reward (what else is a better after life but a reward), and you will be
wasting your energies foolishly by worrying about it.

Its actually a win-win situation.

- Amaresh

3) Business Leadership Lessons from Bhagavad Gita

One cannot take business too seriously.

It is a game after all. For every great deal that you negotiate, someone else will be handed over the
bad end of the contract. For every great killing you make in the stock market, someone else will lose
the money. For every great bargain you find for investment; someone else will have sold his family
silver cheaply.

No wonder the game gets tiring after some time. And it doesnt only get tiring for those who do not
know how to play the game. It gets tiring even for those who have been winning at the game all
their life CEOs, Venture Capitalists and Serial Entrepreneurs. Such people have very sharp instincts
about power and money; and more importantly how people react to power and money. They know
how to play their clients, investors and employees by sensing their responses to the changes in the
winds of fortune. Most people just play along in the direction of such tides; winners are playground
instructors.

However how long can you keep playing? Playing builds fatigue in the body after all. It involves
manoeuvring, manipulation and trickery. If business is warfare (as the clich goes), all warfare is
based on deception. Sooner or later you will run into a better player who will make you play along.
Doesnt it make sense to just quit once you have won enough?
If you know that deep down, you have the best long term intentions in mind for clients, investors
and employees, you can keep playing. If you are playing in tune with a higher moral consciousness,
you can keep playing. If you know that your agenda is synchronized with the agenda of the universal
human soul, you can keep playing.And magically your chances of winning will go up significantly.

Such is the game of the enlightened business leader. So how does one get in synch with this
universal human soul. The learning starts when a business leader realizes that most of his effort
will leave only a tiny mark on the cosmos. It is unlikely that whatever he is building will last more
than a few decades. Even the greatest companies in the world would not survive for more than a
century. And people rarely remember businessmen fondly. Sure they can donate a lot to charities,
build hospitals and get university libraries named after them. But like most Kings of yesteryears were
feared rather than respected, business tycoons are loved for what they can give, rather than for
what they are.

This line of thought is bordering on the absurd. After all in the very long run almost everything will
dissolve into nothingness. Countries, continents, our planet and even our galaxy. If nothing really
survives, then should everyone give up.

If you think about it, something does survive and gets passed on. Some energy from somewhere
kindred life on our planet. Evolution of the species finally made way for the human race. At every
stage of progress, human generations were passing some sort of cumulative knowledge, traits and
genes for the future. Every human life is capable of lighting some flame in another one. The churn of
everyday ephemeral life, creates something which is passed on for eternity. That something is very
difficult to express in prose, poetry comes close; but actually you can only meditate on it. Perhaps
that is as close you get to knowing God. You can also call it the higher moral consciousness or the
universal human soul.

The dust and grime of everyday business life, flames something in soul of an enlightened business
leader that keeps him going. Different functions of an organization can be conceptualized as
teachers or gurus, trying to cultivate enlightning qualities in you. Thus the ancient wisdom from
Vedic India, can be tied to the modern contemporary life.

(4) Bhagavad Gita

Suffering is what was born, ignorance made me forlorn.

- Allen Ginseberg

I cannot write enough blog posts on this book. I will quickly whip up one to cement a theory a dear
friend mentioned to me (his profile here- http://varuntalwar.com/blog/) , so it doesnt slip out of my
mind. The much debated concept of the world as maya or illusion. Gita says at multile points that
the human realm is essentially a clash of three primary modes of energies (or gunas) Satvik, Rajisk
or Tamasik. The simplest way to understand them is that they are different modes of ego
consciousness.

A person is born in ignorance (although Ginsberg said he is born in suffering which leads to
ignorance, I cannot get my way around it so I will let it slide). Igonrancre leads to suffering. To
reduce suffering, person starts gravitating towards objects that make him happy. Thus he starts
developing likes and dislikes. He likes objects which makes him happy and dislike objects which
make him suffer.

Simultaneously a person also starts developing his ego. Ego is primarily shaped by the need to find
security in this world. Security can come from money, power or knowledge. People who are driven
by either of these things start developing very different world views. Ego and objects of attachment
are interwined. A knowledge seeker is attached to books and knowledgable people. A power seeker I
attached to his personal kingdom and men in power.

These objects of attachment pull people with different ego consciouness in different directions. A
money driven person is pulled by the currency notes. He makes his chocies in life in the same
manner. He will pick jobs with a short term mindset, that will make him a quick buck. He will make
friends who are good at minting money. Perhaps the most important choice one makes is marriage.
A money driven person marries a women who assures him some financial security. A power driven
person marries a women, whose family has a kingdom of his own. A knowledge driven person
marries a seeker. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at the partner he picked (should not be
harsh on people that marry too early though, they simply were not self aware enough).

The interplay between ego consciousness and objects of attachment is often too subtle and
complicated for many people to understand. When the desire for object of attachment is not
fullfilled it leads to anger. When you feel that your object of attachment can be taked away it leads
to fear. You want more of your object of attachment, which is another form of greed.

A knowledge seeker may feel that he is above the primal emotions like desires, anger, fear and
greed. However even a thirst for knowledge, if left unquenched can lead to anger. And anger can
turn into blind rage. Even an emotion as pure as love between a man and wife (rated in all religious
scriputures as something which makes God happier than anything else), if unfulfilled can lead to
anger and greed.

The most vivid example of the same from classical literature is the character Heathecliff from
Wuthering Heights. His love for Catherine was pure. He didnt love her for knowledge, connections
or money. They connected at the soul level. It was a love so intense and passionate, that no literary
character till date holds a candle to Heathecliff when it comes to making erudite women swoon over
a phatansy male figure. After all every woman wants an intense handsome intelligent and passionate
man, to be under her spell.

Heathecliffs object of attachment was unfairly taken away from him. This made him angry and
harsh to the point of being downright demonic. Heathecliff hated the aristocracy who he thought
was proud arrogant and ostentatious. In his hatred he himself became proud, arrogant and
ostentatious.

Still every reader of the classic, would feel sympathy for the demonic Heathecliff. Bhagavad Gita
itself is sympathetic with the demonic nature at multiple points while warning agains the pitfalls of
such a mode of operation. There is a pattern in Hindu Mythology that the metagods (Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva) are often sympatheic with the demons, while their inherent nature is to trouble other
people.
A failure of a person to control his rage when his object of attachment is deplorable. After all death
will consume all your objects of attachment. But it also a faiure of the world to unfairly take away
objects of attachment, that make people happy. An act of suicide is failure of a person. It is also a
failure of society to accommodate a human being.

- Amaresh

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