Business to the Buddha

Category: Buddha

  • Give up Dominion







    Just imagine, there are only humans on the planet earth! I think that was what happened to the Dinosaurs. Perhaps they started killing other dinosaurs just to capture more land – territory – for their survival. They tried to prove their superiority and eventually got over powered by the universe with some meteoroid. Whatever the reality of dinosaurs was, try to see if there seems to be an analogy.

    We humans are almost doing what dinosaurs did. They were the kings of the planet, they tried to capture as much land from other species as well as their own species e.g. other dinosaurs. We are one step ahead – we are eating in the mind-share also.

    Wikipedia definition of mind-share – When people think of examples of a product type or category, they usually think of a limited number of brands. The aim of mind share is to establish a brand as being one of the best kinds of a given product or service, and to even have the brand name become a synonym for the product or service offered. For example – in India Colgate is Toothpaste, Maggi is instant noodle more recent across the world, searching something on net is – Google it!

    The mind-share in larger terms happens to be in many forms – Forbes creates a list of most rich, powerful, etc etc list. Recently, Economic Times published a list of 100 most power CEOs (business people) of India. Product or service as example given above, religion creates another different type of mind-share. But effectively, the problem with this kind of mind-share is – a complex of superiority. My brand is better, my religion is better, my company is better and I am most powerful etc.

    Here is another short video from the movie Instinct staring Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. This is in continuation of the previous blog – We the takers!

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGriwjHA8bM]

    Here, Dr Powell ( character of Hopkins) says something interesting (source – script) –

    …We have only one thing to give up – our dominion. We don’t own the world. We’re not kings here, not gods. Can we give that up?

    Too precious!

    all that control? Too tempting, being a god?

    Dominion - source- http://eremozoic.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/ego-eco.jpg

    Actually, at times I feel that physical ownership can be given and taken easily. You own land and sell it to someone else, now the owner is changed. Tougher is mental ownership. I am a born Hindu, for me Hinduism becomes most sacred religion because I was taught this. Think of a Muslim or Christan child he was taught the same. We fight more wars based on our religious belief rather than anything else. Though I am a born Hindu (actually a Lingayat who do not consider themselves as Hindus as such) but I think the method of giving up this dominion is Yoga, Meditation, Prayers (any religious prayer without superiority complex) or Service (check Sikhism & the Art of Living).

    Why I put Yoga first because Patanjali has said first few very important steps to get rid of this mind problem. Why I specifically put Sikhism and Art of Living because I have seen Sikhs that way (go to a Gurudwara – the richest would be serving) and I have been involved with few service projects of Art of Living.

    Thank you Vijay you made me watch Instinct.

    Related blogs –

    Illusion of control, Ego, Forbidden word, Evolution

    When will we stop?, What more we need?, Cogito ergo sum

    Dichotomy of happiness, Cause, What difference will it make?

    Image source – http://eremozoic.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/ego-eco.jpg

  • We the takers!







    It was 2004 or earlier, one of my friends – Vijay Sharma, fond of watching Hollywood movies – gave me a CD. He told me – must watch. Being a rental CD I went home watched the movie without delay. This movie was Instinct staring Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. Anthony Hopkins is playing an anthropologist – Dr Ethan Powell and Cub Gooding a Psychiatrist –  Dr. Theo Caulder. Ethan studies Gorillas in Africa and is lost in Jungles. After a couple of years caught, as he had murdered two people in Jungle.

    The movie starts with Hopkins leaving African jail to fly back to USA. While traveling from jail to the airbase, he is put in a closed enclosure vehicle with two ferocious doberman dogs. When the vehicle reaches airbase and guards open the enclosure, the guards find that the dogs are lovingly and peacefully sitting by Hopkins. What it means? Well, you should watch the movie to find it. But it is a subtle (well prominent) statement of what Dr Ethan Powell (Hopkins) is. After watching this movie way back, I started liking acting of Anthony Hopkins, a wonderful actor indeed. There are other wonderful clips in the movie on which I would write in future, here is one of the clips. You must watch the movie

    Between 10th and 11th minute in this clip, the gorilla is trying to open shoe lace of Dr Powell. Whatever the Director wanted to show, to me it was as if the gorilla is saying – “…leave your shackles… You are bound with your own stuff, do not be bound to what you have created. Just leave those jails of your own creation” The following is a dialog of the character Dr Powell (source – script)

    … ln there, deep in those forests, away from everything you know, everything you’ve ever been taught… by school or book or song or rhyme, you find peace, Juha, kinship, harmony, even safety. You’ll find more danger in one day in any city in the world… than you will ever find in those forests.

    Do you understand that?…

    In the end, of the clip Hopkins is calling humans as “takers”. We are the takers! We take stuff from others or nature and try to prove our ownership to it. In the movie clip above Cuba Gooding is a taker by asking for his time, saying “you are free, you can leave now”. In the overall movie he is taking Hopkin’s opinion  for his book, promotion and professional success. In Dr Powell’s words we have taken a lot from the nature and claiming it to be ours – for example the petroleum, land by deforestation etc. Apparently many problems such as depleting underground water is our creation, Uttarakhand flood to name a few.

    Lately, I have been working on a project related to sustainability. It was interesting that by chance, I watched the movie instinct once again. We are indeed takers. We have taken a lot from the nature, in many senses destroyed the ecology – natural calamity are results of that. We are the takers – we will die leaving everything here but still we boost our ownership!

    Related blogs

    Ego, Forbidden word, Evolution

    When will we stop?, What more we need?, Cogito ergo sum

    Dichotomy of happiness, Cause,

  • Yoga – Secular or not?







    Patanjali Yoga Sutras
    Source – Art of Living website

    It takes a lot of time for courts to offer a judgement, there are argument and counter-arguments. Logic and intuition fails if you do not have proof. That’s why Indian courts take 20 years even for high profile cases (e.g. Mumbai bomb blast), small cases are either solved out of court or not at all during the life time of an accused / plaintiff. Galileo died and hundreds of years later (in 1992) Churches exonerated him of the heresy – of saying Earth if not flat. People do not think logically and thus recently I have been bothered by fanatics on Twitter (follow me on Twitter @krdpravin). So, I feel petty on some things. Well, today I want to write about whether Yoga is secular or not?

    Disclaimer – I am discussing Yoga as Patanjali Yoga Sutra I am not an “authority on Yoga”.

    There was a case filed in California- “Yoga can not be taught in schools as Yoga is not secular”. Effectively the contention was Yoga is actually Hindu religion. California Judge rejected this claim.  Yet there is little more discussion needed on this.

    Think – is breathing secular or not? In yoga Patanjali has talked about Pranayams – breathing exercise. Is remembering (concentrating, meditating on) any God or whether Jesus or other prophet related to only “Hinduism”? Yoga talks about meditating on deity too. Is speaking truth not secular? I can list few more food for thoughts, however let me instead brief on Patanjali Yoga Sutra. Patanjali was a sage, he existed before Christ and had written Yoga Sutras. The sutras have eight limbs –

    1. Yama – 5 abstinence – non-violence, truth, non-covetousness, abstinence and non-possessiveness.

    In today’s world we need all these virtues, very importantly non-covetousness, non-possessiveness. Financial crisis is result of covetousness

    2. Niyama – 5 observances – cleanliness, contentment, austerity, reading scriptures, surrender to god.

    Here one may argue – reading scripture is religious. Did Patanjali say do not read Bible? Even in Surrender to God it is not mentioned that the God has to be only HINDU God!

    3. Asana – Discipline of the body and body posture.

    Largely – people all over the world (include many Indians and Hindus) think Yoga means Asana. Asana is just 12.5% (e.g. 1 part of 8 fold path of Patanjali) of what Patanjali said about yoga. Also, can you say that whatever games played in Olympics are religion? In this context – Hinduism? No! right?

    4. Pranayam – Control of breath

    Common we call breath and this would be idiotic to call breathing non-secular.

    5. Pratyahar – withdrawal of senses from their external objects.

    Well, many of us would not understand this. This is not talked in many religions – this helps in being non-covetous, non-possessive and being content. This is where I think Yoga is far more evolved and different than any Western religion. Though Yoga is not a religion.

    6. Dharana – concentration of the Chitta upon a physical object (say a photograph of Jesus, a frivolous example – Computer mouse).  Take an example of Rosary (a bead) and remembering any mantra / God. Use of bead is common in Islam too. Who says Dharana is about only one religion? It can be followed by any person whether following a religion or not.

    7. Dhyan – Meditation. It is largely professed by Indian religions e.g. Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. So, meditation is also not specific to only Hinduism. Additionally if someone prays with complete devotion that can become meditation.

    8 Samadhi – oneness with the object of meditation.

    Yoga is a very evolved science, of course developed and practiced more than 2000 years ago. But yes Yoga is science, there is no religious seal on it. My Indian and Hindu friends may argue against me saying – it is Hindu practice with various arguments. Foreigners may argue on same lines and state Yoga is religion.

    Well, I am of the opinion – religion is very personal matter and not a group matter. So, if I follow yoga practice (which I do not) I may say Yoga is my religion. But otherwise yoga is a way of life beyond and above all the so call religions of the world – which effectively are cause of troubles, war (include terrorism), fundamentalism and superiority complexes. And yes, Yoga is above the courts and laws too.

    Most importantly – Now do you follow what religious fundamentalism is? I am putting Yoga above everything which is what happens when fanaticism creeps in making a suicide bombers. I did the same in above para (by stating Yoga is above all).

    Yet please remember – 1st step of Yoga has first abstinence – non-violence. This includes not having superiority complex also.

    Image source – http://www.artofliving.org/patanjali-yogasutra

    One of the Authority on Yoga is – Sri Sri Ravishankar (Guruji)

  • Miracles of life – are we sleeping?







    As usual, this story again comes from – ‘The prayer of the Frog’ by Father Anthony de Mello, S.J. The book has small stories and worth reading one at a time, sleep over the story and think what we can improve in our life?

    A man took his new hunting dog out on a trial hunt. He shot a duck that fell into the lake. The dog walked over the water, picked the duck up and brought it to his master.

    The man was flabbergasted! He shot another duck. Once again, while he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, the dog walked over the water and retrieved the duck.

    Hardly daring to believe what he had seen, he called his neighbor for a shoot the following day. Once again, each time he or his neighbor hit a bird the dog would walk over the water and bring the bird in. The man said nothing. Neither did his neighbor. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he blurted out, “Did you notice anything strange about that dog?”
    The neighbor rubbed his chin pensively. “Yes,” he finally said. “Come to think of it, I did! The son of a **** can’t swim!”

    It isn’t as if life is not full of miracles. It’s more than that: it is miraculous, and anyone who stops taking it for granted will see it at once.

    At times I think the life itself is a miracle, we take it for granted. Naxals are killing, Terrorist are killing, in fact people are dying on pilgrimages to add to the trouble people are leaving ethics and morals to earn few bucks here and there (eventually we would leave everything here). I wonder if they would realize some time – life is a miracle live it, don’t kill anyone and be peaceful with what you have.

    Related blog – Don’t be empathetic

  • Marginal analysis







    We, as a community, are too evolved to be simple. We complicate many things which are Simple.

    One of my friends wrote on Facebook few days back – “Trying to figure out whether the marginal utility of the next shot increases or decreases.” At times this marginal analysis becomes a problem in our life.  We think too much about the outcomes and benefits of taking an action rather than taking the action.

    I believe life is indeed very simple. I have observed struggles of families living on the Footpath of Mumbai. I always wondered the tough life for them. It is another thing that we may talk about them encroaching on footpath and so on, which actually results in few death once in a while, when some people – when drunk returning home from late night parties – drive over the footpath dwellers.

    Poor on footpathWhat surprised me lately was, observing a few kids playing on footpath. The kids were happy, playing with discarded polythene. They do not have toys or an Android (Akash) etc to play. They are enjoying their life, dancing on the footpath. At times they are wearing something, many a times nothing. But they were happy. Also, their families (parents / uncles) were happy smiling with the kids.

    I started thinking – how often we get such time to enjoy with our family?A typical young parent is struggling in office long hours during the week. Do we have time? In Mumbai I travel about 2 hours one way (my stupidity if not Mumbai on the wrong side), how much time and energy I am left with to be at home and just relax? Think of someone who has kids and traveling so much daily. Does he/she have time to be with the kid as I say the footpath family has? For the footpath family life is simple. They enjoy life with whatever they have. I thought that they do not think so much, they do not do a lot of marginal analysis. They take decisions with whatever “limited” options and resources they have.

    They do not own few Mercs and don’t eat in five star hotels, they do not hide behind big words such as inflation, GDP and “we do not need to worry when rupee is sliding!” These people are just working on daily wages not having a proper shelter, yet I have seen the smile with their kids, happy in whatever they have. Most precious thing they have is Time. Time to spend few peaceful minutes with kids though on a footpath.

    We do a lot of marginal analysis – if I buy a Honda Amaze worth X amount and Y liter mileage. Is it going to be a good decision over a  Mahinda Quonto worth A amount and B liter mileage.Than what is the maintenance cost and this and that and whatever and parking place. EMI per month, expense per month. Utility of the vehicle over the cost of the vehicle.

    I feel we have made progress. Alas! we have made ourselves miserable.  We need some introspection.

    Image source- http://www.rediff.com/money/slide-show/slide-show-1-column-can-we-trust-indias-poverty-figure-well/20130724.htm#1

  • Just do it… ok try it







    It was a rainy day of 2007. As usual Sachin and I got down from our 7th floor rented apartment to have a ” morning cutting chai”. Cutting Chai in India is a 1/2 cup tea generally preferred over large quantity. Irony is – people drink as much as 8-10 cuttings a day not realizing it.  I was to go to office after that small tea time and Sachin, back to get ready for office. Evident, I was in formals with my laptop bag. We were talking and enjoying that our tea with some drizzle. The perfect thing – tea during the rain!

    This morning too, without any exception the day for all those small temporary shop owner was starting. The temporary shops are established in the morning and wrapped-up – literally – in evening (many times without a trace). Generally, you may find an ecosystem of shops in India (specially in Mumbai). A chai-wala (tea stall) next to a idly-dosa or Sandwich (breakfast) stall. These things become complementary and good business ecosystem as well as service ecosystem for people.

    We were enjoying tea and Sunil – a paratha wala (temporary shop – sample image) came. He had his paraphernalia in a hand driven cart (Thela gadi – sample image). He asked for help to chai-wala (being neighbor and knowing each other). Reason was – his thela gadi was not balanced and he had to take down stuff, in fact go back and bring something more too. Chai-wala refused – “its raining and blah blah..”. I found it strange, told “him tomorrow you may need his help”. He laughed. I felt bad at the plight of the paratha wala, kept my bag aside went out of shade helped him take stuff down. As it was raining, I was wet and had some blots on shirt because of his few dirty things. I felt happy helping Sunil in need, though I got wet and my shirt was dirty. But the help was selfless act. The whole day my morale was high and I felt very happy.

    Recently when I started reading Sikh literature I see emphasis on selfless act (seva). Seva is preached by the Art of Living foundation as well. Really if you help someone or do something without expecting any returns you feel very good. Just start doing it… ok try it. I bet if you would not enjoy doing it.

    Remember – no expectation and complete selfless act.

  • Don’t be empathetic







    Do an experiment – do not empathize with people. I mean try this, when you are talking to someone or listening to someone just do not empathize. Just listen as if the other person is talking to a stone.Be completely disinterested. Than once the person is through with his/her blabbering just reflect, reflect that the person is/was in this mood or that mood. Continue doing this experiment for few other people. You would realize that this other people or persons are in some mood. You are just “a third party” “an observer”. In some time you would realize that people fall in different mood segments. Our mood changes and therefore we move from one segments to other.

    I was doing this research on relationship between Indian Classical Music and Yoga. In that research I came across music therapy and color system’s relations with it. Each color reflects a different emotion, Ragas do the same. Each Swar of Indian classical Music is associated with a Chakra in human body. These chakra’s have an associated color too. This research made me connect a couple of things. Approach note here. Ragas are called Colors of life that is emotions.

    Each color reflect an emotion, each one of us reflects an emotion. When you observe people disinterestedly (here I have called it without empathy) you would observe people are reflecting a particular emotion or color.

    Now look back – before that person came to you, were things different? Things were same – air was flowing, sun was shining, perhaps it is/was raining, birds chirping.  The nature did not differentiate before that person came to you and after that. It is only you who (if empathize with other person) change your mood. Observe around you the world is same whatever you think, feel or do. That is being consistent (in Hindi – eksar). Related blog – Swasthay – dwelling in oneself.

    We are like a Prism. A “consistent” sunlight falls on it and it scatter the color components of sunlight.

    http://chipl.edublogs.org/files/2010/11/Reverse-light-spectrum-yy6cje.jpg

    We also scatter our mood in surrounding. Otherwise place (space) is consistent. The color can be a rage – red color or a serenity – blue color. We should strive to be a “combination Prism” which reflect light without scattering it. (Image source)

    I say – be empathetic but do not get rundown by the emotions of others. That would be being Swasthay – dwelling in oneself.

    Disclaimer –
    1. The Author does not endorse “being non-empathetic”. The author is trying to make a point “assuming” if we do not empathize for this experimental purpose we would be able to understand that nature does not change if we are in one mood or the other. Nature is consistent with itself (as Sunlight). We are the Prism which reflect particular color of the consistent sunlight.
    2. Most importantly – author does not preach and does not believe he is someone who should preach.

  • The circle, conflicts and avoiding conflicts







    Perform an experiment – a simple 2-minute experiment. Take a blank sheet of paper and a pen. At the center of the page, put a dot. What is it? A dot nothing else right? Now draw a big circle with the dot as the center of the circle. Now what is the dot? It is center of the circle, right? Everything on the page is around it “now”.

    The dot was nothing when there was no circular periphery. The dot was meaningless in itself. The periphery gave it a very powerful definition. It became the center of the existence e.g. the periphery. Now for a moment if you remove the dot (the center of the periphery), the periphery losses its definition. The periphery would not remain a circle without the dot “center”. This is interdependent co-arising in one sense for the center and the circle.

    Visualize the page you took is the universe and the dot represents you. We think that “I am” the center of the universe. This is the case with many of us – if not all. We are self centered. Everything is around me and everything should happen as per my desire. But there are more dots on the page with each one having its periphery, these periphery intersect which causes conflict. How to avoid the conflicts? I see there are three possible ways to avoid it –

    When I was searching for an image for this blog I found this image

    1. reduce the periphery such that only you remain in that periphery
    2. increase the periphery such that everything falls under it without intersection
    3. Make your periphery someone (only one) else with “full devotion”

    In Indian philosophical context first two could be path of meditation and third is path of devotion (Bhakti). Do you know any other? Please share.

    Image source – http://www.astronomyforum.net/blogs/astroval/106-where-center-universe.html

    A different perspective on dot – http://phataktejas.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/dot-hain-to-hot-hain/

  • Incentive to cheat – Problem with Democracy







    I read a book – Games Indians Play by Mr Raghunathan a Professor in IIM-A and CEO of GMR group. I have written on this book earlier too – Individually smart collectively dumb. The problems with Indian – supposedly sharp – minds is given below in story format.

    This story is from a book – ‘The prayer of the Frog’ by Father Anthony de Mello, S.J. This book has very interesting stories on religion, spirituality and human relations etc. The story precisely explains how we – Indians – think and act.

    …

    A great festival was to be held in a village and each villager was asked to contribute by pouring a bottle of wine into a giant barrel.

    When the banquet began and the barrel was tapped what came out of it was water. One of the villagers had had this thought: “If I pour a bottle of water in that giant barrel, no one will notice the difference.” But it hadn’t occurred to him that everyone else in the village might have the same thought.

    …

    This happens in Indian political system. Everyone thinks that yes there is corruption, but I am paid 100/- let me vote this corrupt politician. Others would not vote him… similar to the story above. Every poor person gets an incentive to cheat – that cheating is a responsibility of politician – development Vs one time benefit to voter – 100 rupee note or a quarter of alcohol etc.

    The interesting part is we Indians more complex yet cheat always. We think in two fashion. 1. the way story suggests above and 2. why should I do it when everyone else is cheating?

    Option two suggests that every Indian knows what others are going to do and thinks why should not I do the same?

  • Interdependent co-arising intra-country example







    In previous blog “Coalgate…” I touched on the topic of Dutch Disease. The concept of Dutch disease rebounds me to the interdependent co-arising once again (interdependent co-arising means – we are all dependent on each other.). This concept of Buddhism is applicable in every walk of life. If we (each individual) do not understand it we are going to remain in the problems we face. Check previous blogs on the same below.

    Interdependent co-arising farmers example (ground level example) – this blog is about how interdependent co-arising relates to a smaller level of activity of one businessman / farmer. This could be you or me in our regular work environment.

    Interdependent co-arising macroeconomic example (world level example) – this blog is about how interdependent co-arising relates to macro-economics.

    This blog is a country level example of interdependent co-arising (Pali original concept – Pratītyasamutpāda – at Wikipedia).

    What is Dutch disease?

    The inflow of capital leads to an appreciation of the currency, making imports cheap and export expensive. The name comes from the Netherlands experience following the discovery of gas in the north sea. Natural gas sales drove Dutch currency up, seriously hurting the country’s other expdutch-diseaseort industries.

    In late 50’s Netherlands found huge source of natural gases. This resulted in 1. investments (largely foreign direct investments) in that sector 2. decline in other sectors e.g. one example could be people moving for jobs in that sector (consider Indian IT sector as reference) 3. investments (specially foreign investments) in that sector resulted in stronger currency. The excessive investment made Netherlands currency stronger resulting in making exports expensive eventually resulting in decline of export from Netherlands. Manufacturing suffered and thus jobs in manufacturing too go to step 2.

    This convoluted – action/reaction and impact at not so obvious industries – example again suggests to us that even if industries are not linked directly they are linked in some way. This link is interdependence. This interdependence should make one value the existence.

    The  “Dutch disease” should make us once again think about the invisible connections we share with each other.

    Image source – http://globalprosperity.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/oiling-africas-gears-for-democratic-change/