4 2 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 3 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 • The root of comfort and happiness is virtue. The support of virtue is in economy and polity. • The root of economy and polity is right governance. • The root of right governance is channeling the energies of the senses in a contemplative and meditative way. • The basis of relationships from which such a way emerges, and in turn supports the same, is control of ego in humility and discipline. • It is the respect to mentors and elders that leads one to re-channel one’s ego and inculcates discipline. • It is thus that one gains experiential knowledge. • It is knowledge that leads one to cultivate oneself as a person. Cultivating oneself is synonymous with self-conquest, for, one who has not conquered and learnt to govern just one mind, his own, how would he govern a whole empire? Such a governance of oneself leads one, naturally and effortlessly, to success in all one’s undertakings and desired goals whether material or spiritual. Meditation is the art and science of self-governance. The Himalayan tradition of dhyanā yoga does not merely provide the technique for meditation but teaches the methods whereby one’s meditation practice may be applied to cultivate, enhance and beautify one’s personality, leading to very practical benefits in personal, interpersonal and corporate life. 3 Management as Sādhanā Here we use the termmanagement in a very wide perspective of all social, economic, political relationships and interactions. Let us take the subject point by point, as follows. There is a fourfold definition of puruṣārtha, purpose of a human. The four aspects are: dharma (virtuous duty), artha (polity, economy, and social order), kāma (desire), mokṣa (final spiritual liberation). Artha and kāma are sandwiched between dharma andmokṣa. The purpose of artha and kāma is thus to support dharma andmokṣa. Thus, too, (a) all economic relationships (pay scales, etc.) among various members of management order, (b) all social relationships such “hiring”, “firing”. “Management hierarchies and mutual expectations among them” are to be based on this scheme. Based on this concept of puruṣārtha, now we come to general economic interactions. Prakrti, all Matter, is a gift of God to the human to fulfil the puruṣārtha. It does not have a price. What is the price of a glass of water if one is sitting in a boat in a clear lake of drinkable water? What is the price of water in a desert hundred miles from an oasis? Can you actually pay a suitable price for quenching your thirst? Then there is the principle of nish-kāma karma, altruistic action, all action performed without seeking a benefit. As we shall see below, this is not an impossible principle to practice in daily life. It has to do with the mental value we place on our transactions, and not on the act itself. On these principles of puruṣārtha the following thoughts are presented. The principles have to be applied to all our transactions. How does nish-kāma karma work in our buying and selling potatoes in a market place? In our altruistic mental system of economic relationships, the potato seller is making us a loving gift of the product of his labor. This is priceless. He is giving us this gift because we need it. We are giving him some money altruistically because he needs it. So, at mental level, it is not an exchange of “this much” for “that much”. The same applies in an organization (especially spiritual ones). There are no paid employees. They are providing services that are needed. Their needs are fulfilled, in a limited way, in order to enable them to provide a particular set of services. Elsewhere they could be receiving more, or less. It is not an employer-employee relationship; it is an interpersonal love relationship. All family leaders need to cultivate that mental attitude. This is the path of spiritual purity in economic relationships. Thus, in the relationships within the organizational family of sādhakas (a) authority does not proceed from above (except from the guru), (b) authority does not proceed from the title, position or designation one holds, (c) authority proceeds from below, (d) authority proceeds from one’s selfless service, personal temperament of taking care of all, and one’s spiritual stature. Others then honor one and create his/her authority over them. Thus, in a spiritual organizational family no one hold “authority”, “power” or “position” in itself. All of us only serve and teach and in doing so must practice humility at all times. “Authority” and “position” or “title” is only conveniences to facilitate the work in a legal world.
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