I hate you because I do not know you

I was listening to the radio this morning and was stuck with a nice quote – “I hate you since I do not know you.” Quite true, isn’t it?

In the last few weeks, I read Rajiv Malhotra’s “Being Different” and listened to my all-time favorite Dr Devdutt Pattnaik. While their story telling is a little different, the central idea remains the same – “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” and the measure of ugliness or beautifulness actually represents the mental state of the observer not the subject itself.

Love, Hope, Fear, Hate are all the different attributes of human emotions that come into play when different people come in contact. Different mixes of these emotions help one formulate their stand during the interaction. This is the same concept as commonly referred to as “Stereotyping” or “Forming Opinions”. The interesting point however is which emotion is stronger?

Like it or not the first default reaction of a human towards anything is of Fear. The fear of the unknown – possibly the largest and the most well-known emotion to mankind. Many a studies have suggested that the human mind is very capable of understanding and remembering ideas that stem from comparisons. It is easier to digest and assimilate the information when presented in a tabular format than a textual format. Images that exhibit comparative information are most liked in communication means. Note that all the different pieces of information utilized help one to understand. The more information available, the better comprehensible is the subject and thus infuses a comfort factor in the minds of the observer.

All humans are capable of the great powers of imagination. However to provide a structure to their imagination, one develops frameworks of ideas and beliefs. The framework keeps changing as well with levels of maturity and information. Everything that happens must fit inside the framework else it causes stress and grief to the one who houses them.

Applying the same understanding towards others, we can easily comprehend that anything unknown is fearsome and hence loathed. This also includes concepts that are a little difficult or are not easily fitted into the well-established frameworks in one’s mind.

Rajiv Malhotra goes to great lengths describing how different incomprehensible structures have often been discarded. But is that right? Being different is no wrong. Just because I do not conform to your framework, does not means that I am wrong. I may be complying with someone else’s framework or probably my own! How do I say what is right and what is wrong? In the story of Shabri, Rama explains his brother Lakshmana not to judge Shabri by their standards as she is neither exposed to their level of thinking or upbringing.

Recognizing differences and acceptance of diversity helps one expand their horizons.

Overcoming one’s primary reaction of fear or hatred towards the unknown makes one an entrepreneur in all aspects. One who is ready to embrace world with utmost zeal and excitement, and I ready to change all around him with all of their energy. Such a person pleases himself and everyone around him.

Maa

On the occassion of Mother's Day, I would like to share a few lines that I read long ago. These words are powerful and meaningful. so HANDLE WITH CARE

माओं को 

मखमल पे रखो 

झूला दो 

फूलों पे 

वे हैं आज 

मगर होंगी कल ना 

सोचो तब 

क्या क्या 

खो जाएगा 

जीवन से ?

सोचो ना !

फिर

सोचो 

What do you see?

Once Dronacharya sent Yudhisthira and Duryodhana to go in the city of Hastinapura and bring to him the most corrupt of all citizens. Yudhisthira returned empty handed, while Duryodhana returned with so many prisoners that it needed him almost an army to control.

Dronacharya was the teacher of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He had a difficult job! He had two competing factions of students – Pandavas, who were trying to gain their excellence and kingdom that they lost upon the demise of Pandu; and Kauravas, who were hell bent on roving themselves worthy of the throne that their father Dhritrashtra sat upon since Pandu’s demise. Dronacharya’s task was to impart the education impartially and then choose the better successor for the throne of Hastinapur.

So who should he choose – Yudhishthra, who found to corruptipn or Duryodhana, who basically ransacked the entire kingdom for the corrupt people?

The question is much deeper than the visible statements.

Yudhishthira found no evil as he had no evil in his heart. He looked every one with the same purity and empathy that he had held in himself. On the other hand, Duryodhana went by the laid out rules and captivated everyone who was not in compliance with even a miniscule rule. What does this show?

There is a saying in hindi – “Jaaki rahi bhaavna jaisi, Prabhu murat dekhi tin taisi”. Which means that you see the god in the same way as you hold his image in your heart.

The same spirit is reverberated when Arjuna is asked to aim at the eye of the wooden bird in a class or at the eye of moving fish by looking at the image in boiling oil. A clear vision leads you to the goal. 

The images in heart, are a reflection of one’s thoughts and the working of the mind. After all, the mind thinks, while the heart helps to live. Yudhishthira, though Dharmaputra, abides by the principles all through his life, is sympathetic to the needs of humans. Duryodhana, on the other hand complies by the rules and cares nothing for the empathies of others. He is a rule follower but does not believes in them. What does this tells us?

Rules or laws or principles are created with a purpose. The purpose is explained given the scenario. Once the scenario changes, they tend to lose their meaning. But what doesn’t changes is the principle or the philosophy behind them. While Yudhishthira is said to be a believer in principles, Duryodhana is a firm believer in rules.

Rules have a constrictive mindset as compared to principles that allow one to be creative. Rules bind while principles allow innovation. Who wins? I am not in a position to say so! Mahabharata was a war between the rules and the principles. And it was named as Jaya – Victory, without saying over whom? Cleverly, Veda Vyasa never named his epic – “Vijaya” – victory over others.

Have we understood the meanings on rules and principles well? What do we follow today? If principles then why do we uphold rituals? What are best practices? Do we understand them? Why do we say what once was correct, will always be so? Wasn’t Bhishma the cause of Mahabharata?

Too many questions, and not a clear answer. This is the meaning of Mahabharata or Jaya – the epic by Veda Vyasa. It means victory but over oneself!

The calculus of Brahma

I have been writing a lot about Brahma. But please do not assume my writing as if I am pro-Brahma or against Brahma. I am just trying to understand the universe created by him and the universe we all live in. As I said, the journey is my quest and not the goal itself, because there are many goals depending upon one’s thoughts and mights.

Looking back at some of the ideas as discussed in the previous posts, Brahman comes from the summation of two words – Briha and Manas. While Brih means expansion and Manas means the mind. Thus I understand a Brahman to be a person who helps expand the mind. At the same time, he is able to expand his mind trough knowledge as well.

The process of expansion is understood by the thoughts provoked and understood by the mind – which is the seat of thinking and imagination. Imagination is quite beautiful and also awful. Imagination helps the humans to understand their future and the life they want to lead within the realm of nature. Imagination also helps them to realize the time when all the resources would fade away. This leads to the race of greed to satiate their hunger for the future. Still, its imagination – the thought of future, while no one knows what happens in future! Imagination also leads to the vision of oneself. One imagines how he or she is perceived by themselves and others. Imagination is usually driven by fear. Most of the times, we run away from fear in our imagination and sometimes, we try to drive away our fears through some other new fear while imagining. Thoughts or imaginations that are pertaining to self are the easiest for any one. These help create a progressive mind. However, the thoughts or imaginations about others create a sensitive mind which is sensitive towards others and their needs. A balance between the two is what makes a human great.

The thinking process thus leads us in three ways –

1. Seeking the objective truth – One that is evident and is often related to material – the self-centered thought

2. Seeking the subjective truth – One that is immaterial or intangible – the altruist thought or sensitiveness towards others

3. Seeking the subject itself – One that understands the purpose and hence creates a path for oneself and others together

When we say a brahman helps expand the mind, he helps the growth of mind in all three aspects. Growth or expansion can be infinite as the nature. And here comes calculus to our rescue! Ever wondered the power of the limit functions in differential calculus? Well, let’s see it here. In postulations by Dr Devdutta Pattnaik,

= Brahma, where e is the measure of expansion of mind

Brahma is pronounced such because there is no end to it! It is an asymptote to the learning.

Also, Sanskrit gives us a word Brahmand for the universe. Applying the same summation concepts, it is Brahma’s Egg or his creation.

Thus, when a person stops learning, they think of themselves as Brahma and create their own universe and remain oblivious to other universe that exist all around them.

Break this thought. There will always be innumerable Brahmas and Brahmands around you.

Realization of one’s knowledge and the universe around oneself helps them and others around them.

Brahma's fifth head - yet again!

I wrote about the fifth head of Brahma and also on understanding the Brahmin. Today, I just wanted to touch upon the same very topics with a fresh new idea!

Brahma is the creator but is not worshiped. He is considered and is admired as a supreme God along with Shiva and Vishnu, but does not has any dedicated temple or even a faith for himself compared to Shaivites or Vaishnavites! However, wikipedia article mentions a Brahma Sampradaya and very few dedicated temples for Brahma. Thinking of which, the question arises - why? Brahma in his quest for knowledge of his existence, created the anomaly called COMPARISONS and hence led to rat race we are all competing in even today. It was one such competition where in he lied to Shiva and Vishnu to have reached the end of and endless fire pillar (Shiva himself) to win over Vishnu. Brahma realizing his mistake, resorted to learning and enchanting Vedas to absolve himself. The Brahma Sampraday is dedicated towards extending the knowledge of the vedas to everyone interested. Thus expanding their and everyone's knowledge.

Brahmin, as we saw earlier, is an elevated human who is tasked to help others identify themselves and their purposes. Brahmin is expected to share the knowledge with everyone and help all to expand their horizons and ability to think. Basically, the Brahmin represents the mind of a society. Thus, Brahma can be said to be a Brahmin as well.

Even then, we have seen examples of chopping off of Brahmin's head multiple times in our scriptures. What does it indicates?

• Brahma's head was chopped off by Shiva when he got obsessed with his own creation Shatrupa.
• Ravana had 10 heads symbolizing different and vast knowledge he had. But he started believing in himself and the instinct of domination. In return, Rama chopped off his head multiple times before his eventual death. 
• Drona was a teacher and shared his knowledge to raise princes. However, all his acts were obsessed by the thoughts of his son - Ashwathama. He charged tutions, denied knowledge to Eklavya for his interests towards his son. For his son's interests, he allowed the sin to happen in Hastinapur assembly and did not speak against it. Eventually, his obsession for his son was used to execute him through cutting his head.

Consider the society to be an organism and interpret it to be a human body (Thanks to Dr Devdutta Pattnaik for this analogy). There is a mind or a group of thinkers who provide the rules and strategy for the society. There is hands or the executors or the controls that keep the society working. There are legs or the movers who keep the society moving. And finally at the heart of the organism is the set of people who hold the values of the society. The same applies to the organizations as well. 

In a physiological world, when one part of the body starts to malfunction and is beyond correction it is important to remove it from the body to allow the rest to function properly. 

Similarly, once the mind does not performs the function it should - thinking for the good - expanding horizons, sharing knowledge, it must be removed from the body. 

This is what happened to Brahma, Ravana, Drona and many others that we may have come across but not identified in this perspective

Navratri

On the occasion of Navratri, we got together to venerate the forms of the goddess in our little girls. During the veneration ceremony, the girls asked us the meaning and significance of this festival. While there is a lot of information already available on this topic, I thought of sharing it one more time.
Navratri is a festival celebrated for nine nights worshipping the Shakti or goddess Durga in different forms. Navratri festival is celebrated in many different forms all across India with basic belief of worshipping the primal energy – Shakti being the same. Of all the many stories around the festival, there two most prominent ones are as follows –
During the Ramayana war, Sri Rama would cut Ravana’s head or limbs multiple times. However, Ravana’s head and libs would grow immediately causing despair to Sri Rama. It was said that Ravana had amrit or the nectar of life in his heart. At the same time, Ravana also had thoughts of Sita in his heart and hence Rama couldn’t aim at his heart. Narada then suggested Sri Rama to observe a nine day fast to invoke the Shakti to help Ravana forget Sita and hence could be killed.
In another prominent tale, all the Gods and Godesses joined their forces together to give the form to the primal energy in form of Sri Durga. Goddess Durga then went on to kill the demon Mahishasur after a nine day battle and hence is known as Mahishasur Mardini.
However, an interesting thing to note is that Navratri is celebrated twice in the year. While both the stories relate to the events that happen around Dussehra or Vijaya Dashmi. Actually, Navratri as per the Hindu calendar comes five times in a year, but is prominent only twice!
In the Markandeya purana, goddess Durga told that she would return every time there is an excess of demonic, cruel and Tamasik forces on the earth, impeding the good deeds of righteous humans. Another verse in the puranas describe an Asura as someone who remains engrossed in enjoying the life and indulgence of pleasure of objects. Looking in ourselves, such an asur or rather Mahishasur lives in each of our hearts. Only some of us who can disassociate from the worldly attachments, can look towards spiritual attainment. This also explains the various types of fast observed by people during Navratri. Almost everyone tries to abdicate something from their daily life for this duration.
Understanding the return of the goddess is also helpful in understanding the fact that Navratri actually occurs five times a year! Though only two of these are the most popular. The various Navratri are as follows –
1. Vasanta Navratri – In the month of Chaitra (March / April) culminates in Rama Navmi
2. Gupta Navratri – In the month of Ashadha (June / July)
3. Sharad Navratri – In the month of Ashvin (September / October) – also known as Maha Navratri
4. Paush Navratri – In the month of Paush (December / January)
5. Magha Navratri – in the month of Magha (January / February) – similar to Gupta Navratri
Although the Maha Navratri is celebrated by worshipping three main goddesses and their forms on the nine nights – Durga on first three nights, Lakshmi on the second three days and Saraswati on the final three days. However, on each of the nine nights, different form of Shakti is worshipped –

Day	Goddess	Meaning	Symbolism	Science
1	Shailputri	Daughter of the mountains or Parvati	Embodiment of powers of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu She rides a bull, carries a trident and a lotus in her hands
2	Brahmcharni	One who practices devout austerity	Embodiment of Durga with great powers and divine grace She carries a rosary and a water utensil and endows bliss and prosperity
3	Chandraghanta	Has a half moon in her forehead in shape of a ghanta	Brings tranquility and prosperity She rides a lion, has ten hands, three eyes and holds weaons in her hands.
4	Kushmanda	Creator of the universe; Kushmanda = Ku(a little) + ushma (warmth) + anda( a cosmic egg)	She rides a lion, holding rosary, weapons and glitter etc in her hands She is depicted as rays of light emanating from her
5	Skandamata	The mother of Skanda or Lord Kartikeya	She is depicted as seated on a lotus. She has four arms and three eyes and holds infant skanda in right upper arm	The universe has highest amount of smell radiation on this night referred to as “Lalita” in Sanskrit. Veneration during this time, attracts the waves towards the place of worship.
6	Katyayani	Second name for Parvati Daughter of Sage Katyayan	Associated with the fierce forms of Shakti or Durga – closer to Chandika and Bhadrakali
7	Kaalratri	One who is the death of Kaal	Fiercest form of Shakti She has a dark complexion, disheveled hair and a fearlessness posture. She has three eyes that shine bright and terrible flames emanate from her breath. She rides a donkey This form primarily depicts that life also has a dark side – the violence of Mother Nature, creating havoc and removing all dirt.
8	Mahagauri	Another name for Parvati	She wears white clothes and rides a white bull She holds a trident and a damru	On this night, wind is blown into a sundried earthen pitcher. Drying a pitcher in the sun helps water to evaporate. Also the air trapped in the mall pores entails high entropy in the air particles within the pitcher. While blowing any more air, already energized particles come out with a loud sound. Also on this night, the universe is fested with growing deadly radiation from Goddess Durga. These are red in color. To hold the effect of such radiation, an effigy of goddess is kept draped in a red saree. The effigy’s face is made from rice flour as rice has the capacity to absorb good as well as bad.
9	Siddhiratri	One who has supernatural healing powers	Shiva worshipped her to gain Siddhis Through her boon, he became Ardhanarishwara or a complete being	Throughout the Navratri, devotees observe fast and stay up all night worshipping the goddess. Controlling ones desires produces energy which can be used constructively for both health and wealth gains.

While consolidating this information, I learned much more. But what really struck me was the resident Mahishasura in us and the importance of Navratri to kill the asura as the true devotion to the primal energy – the Goddesss Shakti.

What’s your mission?

Last week I was on an assignment where I attended a brainstorming session to come up with the mission and vision statement for a small emerging organization. We spent a long time explaining the importance of the statements and the difference amongst them.

During the process, we analyzed and looked at the mission and vision statements from various organizations. Some of the common themes that we analyzed helped us understand that the mission statement is the internal view of the organization’s philosophy and the vision is the goal that helps other’s estimate the worth of the organization. Also did our analysis showed a few common elements, that are best described in the two columns –

 

Mission Statement Elements	Vision Statement Elements
Integrity	Profitability
People	System (self-sustained)
Service	Market share
Measure	Purpose
Philosophy	Goal

People, Integrity, Service and welfare are the always portrayed in the mission of any organization. This helps the focus on its working staff and everyone involved. At times, this feeling ensures that the processes or the systems are created with people in mind. But is it always true?

Probably the last point in the table sums it all! For any entrepreneur, meeting the goal is always important as compared to compliance to the philosophy. I am very positive that many of us may have felt the same way.

I remember the long boorish texts we went through during our b-school days to understand the concepts and the differences amongst the two. Many eventually shun the texts since we take up the run-of-the-mill corporate jobs and fool ourselves considering the knowledge for elite entrepreneurs.

In my view each one of us is an entrepreneur and we utilize our entrepreneurship skills during the various transactions we conduct during our day-to-day life. As Dr Devdutt Pattnaik rightly puts – as is your belief, so is your behavior and hence so is your business. Hence having a mission and vision in our personal life helps us too. A healthy philosophy helps us conduct our own business in a healthy manner. A positive mindset towards people and their welfare keeps us on the path that serves the community. While vision is important for growth, mission is important for the sustenance.

An example of this very topic can be seen from our great epics – Mahabharata and Ramayana. In the Ramayana everyone is seen focused on the growth of Aryavarta and riddance from the nasty demons. And this is what is seen towards the end of Ramayana. Not only does Aryavarta gets happiness through Rama’s kingdom, all surrounding kingdoms and people gain happiness and prosperity. Even Lanka – the abode of the Asuras gets a noble ruler in Vibhishana and shuns the demonic ways. At the same time, the epic of Mahabharata shows the destruction of Aryavarta and death to entire ruling clans of India. All the Kauravas, their supporters and supporters of Pandavas all died in the war of Mahabharata. Even the Pandavas died in misery as the epic progresses. But why? At the core of Mahabharata is the motive of every central character of the epic – all of them have their mission embedded in vengeance. Enemity of Drona and Drupada creates Draupadi. Forced marriage of Dhritrashtra with Gandhari creates Shakuni. And the inconsistencies in the community and its rituals creates Karna and many other heros. All the negativity and vengeance based philosophies lead to massive destruction and God himself allows this to happen.

So form your mission and vision wisely. Remember, they may change with time, but the central philosophy must remain healthy.