MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS – SAY NOT THE STRUGGLE NOT AVAILETH!
Spirituality is not divorced from reality. Contrary to the popular perception that spirituality is some what “different” from mundane reality, spiritual truths often have more relevance even to our mundane activities. I am planning a series of write-ups based on spiritual legends and how those lessons are relevant to us – in our day to day activities and how in some cases, great management techniques are encapsuled in simple folk tales.
Let me begin with this…..
Once there was an ancient Shiva temple in an obscure village. Some great yogi had done tapasya at that place and upon the yogi’s samaadhi, a Shiva Linga had been consecrated, and in later years it has become a Samaadhi mandir. There was an oral tradition to the effect that whosoever pours 1000 pots of pure river water on the Shiva Linga will have vision of the Lord and all desires will be granted. But, as the river was some distance away from the temple, no one actually tried that procedure. But, the oral tradition passed on from one generation to the next and the belief was sustained without being lost in the mists of time.
In that village, there lived a poor and wretched man whom Fate seemed to test in unique ways. Whatever he did seemed to end up in failure due to strong extraneous factors. As the saying goes “Winds blew when he sold flour, and rains poured when he laid a brick kiln; sun blazed when he tried cultivate, and floods came when he tried to harvest.” He was looking for ways to improve his fortune and almost all astrologers whom he consulted said the same “Your horoscope has hard luck, and all your efforts are doomed to failure; you need powerful remedies to overcome this effect – but we normal astrologers are powerless to suggest such a remedy to you.”
The poor man was living a heart-broken existence and was anxiously waiting for some good turn of luck for him.Once, a great yogi visited the village. This poor man tended to the needs of the yogi and rendered all possible assistance to the yogi’s pooja and occult routines. The yogi was most pleased with the man and told him “My son! I am pleased with your attitude of service. By Divine Intuition I am able to realize your problems. All those problems are due to the 1000 major sins that you have accumulated in various previous births. Now, if you pour 1000 pots of pure river water on the Shiva Linga of this village-temple with full faith and reverence, by the Grace of Lord Shiva, your Fate will be altered positively for ever, and you will attain Salvation at the end of this birth.”
Then, the yogi went on his way as is usual for such people (they are like the air – they keep moving from place to place bringing in their soothing influence wherever they visit).The poor man felt motivated by the yogi’s words and blessings. The very next day after the yogi’s departure, he decided to try out the 1000 pot abhisheka remedy. He began early in the morning and was doing it with full faith initially. After the 100th pot, he expected some development – but alas! Nothing….he was only getting slightly tired….200th pot…300th pot…and so on….When the 500th pot was over, the man started getting doubts about whether this remedy will really work. But, still memory of the smiling face of the yogi and his confident assertion motivated him to continue, nevertheless. He plodded on and on till the 900th pot. Still nothing seemed to be moving. His limbs ached, his head seemed to spin out of exhaustion, stars seemed to fly before his eyes……Still he plodded on and on….thinking I have come this far – let me continue and see what happens……999th pot was over. STILL NO CHANGE.
He had to really motivate himself and push himself very hard to try bringing the 1000th pot. He brought it up near the Shiva Linga – but – at this moment, his anger got the better of him………….Instead of pouring the pot reverentially on the Linga, he dashed the pot with its contents on the Linga saying “You heartless Stone! You never moved even after all this!” The Linga broke into pieces…. Lo! Lord Shiva Himself Manifested from the Linga at that very moment – but said “Oh Unfortunate Man! What have you done? Did not the yogi ask you to do the deed with “full faith and reverence”? Your bad attitude at the last moment has spoilt the remedy.”The man cursed his Fate and lay down in exhaustion. Alas! All his strenuous efforts have been in vain – just because he lost his cool at the crucial moment!Thus ends the legend.
Now, there is lesson in this for all of us.
Most of us do work hard to attain our goals. But, often we spoil our own efforts by our “inappropriate attitude” during crucial times; and then we see our hard efforts going down the drain – just like the poor man in this story. Unconditional patience and perseverance TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED are required for success. It does not matter that we took million steps towards our goal – if we trip down at the last step before crossing the finish line.It is easy to lose motivation when the going seems tough; it is easy to lose focus at work when we seem to receive no appreciation for our sincerity; it is easy to lose patience if the demands at work seem unending. BUT, it is in our own interest to keep our cool and keep plodding as best as we can, without showing out our frustration (natural though it is!). The powers that be, might be noticing you – without you realizing it. Just as the Divine Force in that Sacred Linga of this story was waiting for the 1000th pot to be completed before giving the boon, your superiors at work might be waiting for some crucial landmark – which of course you may not know – before deciding to reward you.
I have seen many unfortunate cases where clients have lost patience and changed jobs just at the moment when the tide changes and there is possibility of the current organization itself might have rewarded them with pay-increase or promotion.Let this legend be a lesson to all of us who feel that our efforts are unrewarded and nothing seems to move. The truth is “things definitely keep moving when we take efforts; but most of the time, the movement is so subtle till the actual moment of reckoning arrives. Most of us lose our motivation and focus at the last moment and change track thereby losing the good script that we have been working on so well and so long!”
Remember “Patience is always rewarding, and it is patience that is the catalyst that turns your sweat and blood into sweet rewards and success; without patience, your hard efforts and sacrifices may go down the drain.” If you are about to change a job just because you seem to think that you are not getting enough chances to improve here….think for a moment more seriously and patiently……are you sure that there is no scope for improvement here? Are you being objective in your assessment of the situation? If you are sure that your decision is based on objective criteria, then, yes, you may change jobs after consulting an intelligent astrologer (or a good well-wisher of yours in your field). Sometimes, our anger and frustration at not getting things move at a pace we love, impel us towards change – without considering the consequences…then we start again from the scratch in a new organization, and in some cases, the same cycle repeats (that of losing the script at the last moment and changing jobs!). Probably a little more patience could have made a lot of difference to our life!
Pandit R.DAKSHINAMOORTHI
Astrological and Remedial consultant
copyright 2009 to 2014: Though the legend is from spiritual traditions, the interpretations and creative way of narration are original to this author; recirculation of this article without prior permission from the author or altering the article and publishing it in other forms without giving credit to this writer are prohibited. However, you are free to circulate the article by way of the links in this blog (i.e. you can email the link of this write-up to your friends and well-wishers freely).
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment