Skip to main content

Who needs motivation?

When Hanuman and his group of monkeys reached the sea shore in search for Sita, all of them discussed ways to cross the sea. Some said that they could jump upto 100 yards but it may not be enough to reach Lanka on the other end of the sea! They even started to think ways to lead their lives without returning to their home – Kishkindha and face the wrath of failure. Then, amidst all the discussions, an old bear – Jambvant spoke to Hanuman – “Oh Vayuputra Hanuman! Only you can cross the ocean. You can easily jump across the ocean and reach Lanka in no time. You have descended on the earth for a purpose. You had once flew and ate the Sun itself. Your power and reach has no bounds”. Hanuman had forgotten his powers due to a curse.
clip_image002
Jambvant was praising Hanuman and motivating him to realize his potential. He chose his words carefully, realizing his power and putting the overall goal in front of Hanuman inspiring him to achieve.
In Bhagwad Gita, Krishna told Arjun that one must lead their life to do the acts of God without the expectation of the fruits. He also said that the “Karma” or the acts performed are transactional in nature and can be easily termed as “Yagna”. Yagna is where the doer or the “yajman” performs the act and offers it to the God. The God in return absolves the doer of the outcome and provides solace. It is this solace and notion of peace, which keeps the performer going. Arjuna had given up on his weapons and was ready to renounce the war of Mahabharata, if it was not the motivation from Sri Krishna. He also said that transactional relationships are also causes for stress and may cause either parties to stray away. And whenever such a stress jeopardizes the action, the God himself would descend to correct the course.
Each one of us, need the motivation just like Hanuman or Arjun. We all have potential to achieve our goals, but have forgotten it somehow. It is very difficult for any human being to perform the acts and foregoing the fruits. At the same time, it is very difficult to lead a meaningful life, knowing fully well that there will be innumerable lives after this one! To keep moving on the path of Gita, one needs motivation. When Brahma’s creation lacks motivation, it starts rotting and strays from the path of sustenance. This is the time, the God takes a form to destroy the rotten part and rejuvenate the creation once more, giving it a new life and a new meaning.
Doesn’t it sounds like the corporate story too? Every organization has its own set of employees, leaders, managers and owners. When all the constituents are well motivated, the organization is healthy. Motivation comes in many forms – Power, Attitude, Incentive, Fear, Competence, Affiliation and Achievement.
Those, who have the ability to lead, must not forget the power of motivating their followers. They look upon you to help them realize their potential. Won’t you help them?



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Flags and their meanings in Mahabharata

Last night I was telling the bedside story to the younger love of my life, when she asked – “How do you identify the leader of the troop in a war – particularly in a warzone where a lot of people are fighting against each other”? While I explained to her how the modern warfare works and how the generals lead the army today, I also imagined the warcraft of yesterday and started to describe the vivid imagination fueled by the magnanimity of the movies like Bahubali, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. The job was simple as we both had watched the movies together. And she understood all that I told her. Yet a question from her made me fumble – Do all the warriors have a flag on their chariot, and what do they mean? In my research for the answer, I stumbled upon the information that I would like to share with you too. In the Viraat Parva of Mahabharata, Arjuna under the disguise of Brihannala plays the role of the charioteer for Prince Uttara of Virata kingdom. Under the condition

Ganesha - Reviving the series - 10

The series cannot be completed without mentioning the reach of Lord Ganesha to cultures outside of India. In this last post for this year’s series, I shall try to present some more lesser known facts about the spread of the Lord Ganesha’s influence in Indian and non Indian cultures. During the early medieval period, both Jains and Buddhists incorporated Ganesh into their pantheon. The Ganesha cult thus travelled with the Mahayana Buddhism to distant lands, including Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Tibet, China, Mongolia and Japan. Ganesha’s worship spread in all the regions rapidly. Manjangan ( Ganesha ) temple in  Bali ,  Indonesia Ganesha in Ta Prohm, Angkor For the Jains, Ganesha appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. The earliest reference to Ganesha in Jainism is in the Abhidhanacintamani of Hemachandra. It refers to several appelations of Lord Ganesha such as Herama, Ganavgnesa and Vinayaka and visualizes him as elephant headed, pot bellied

Karwa Chauth - Why does moon rise so late?

I have often wondered as to why the moon rises late on the Karwa Chauth night. It’s probably because our hungry stomachs rebel and start cursing the moon instead of praying, that slows it down! Actually on a full moon day, the moon rises exactly at the time of sunset. The moon takes 27.3 days to travel once around the earth. This is also the next full moon day. To travel 360 degrees in 27.3 days, the moon moves approx. 13 degrees towards the east every day. Thus the moon rise increases by approx. 48 min per day in relation to the sunset. On the Karva Chauth day – 4 days after the full moon day, the moon rises 48*4 = 192 min (3 hrs and 12 min) after the sunset. Now please do notice the moon rise timings everyday and see the pattern!