Tag: human development index

  • Are You Enjoying What You Are Doing?







    I have been writing on Business to the Buddha for 6+ years, 325 or so blogs now. If you have read my previous posts and at times the title, you might have wondered, why such title? One reason you can read it on this link, and other is to look for a way how we can have a more inclusive, economically better and psychologically calmer society? The question of this post – “Are you enjoying what you are doing?” is directed towards that economics and psychological thought.

    What all do we do except our daily chores such as eating, sleeping etc? In those activities there are some mandatory activities and some forced and other times hobbies there are always choices and challenges. Some things we do not like doing yet we have to do, some times we like doing something but we have to postpone those. This is where many people think of such question.

    Long back precisely in Oct 2011, I drafted a blog “Do what you love doing”. Somehow I never completed that article, parts of that are produced below –

    …On this point, I had contention recently in a professional set-up. I also believe that if one does what he/she enjoys doing lot of issues of his/her life could be solved. Take an example – in Mumbai average a person travels 2 1/2 hours per day, works for about 9-10 hours, sleeps say 7 1/2 hours and whatever time is left she/he either stays with family, goes to social gathering or does domestic works. If more than 1/2 time daily goes in office related activities, why not someone do something which is relevant to the interest of the individual? This choice of ‘doing something which is of interest’ has to be a mature and personal decision of a person…

    This was with reference to a reward program in a company. My point of view was very opposite of what many other employees of that company believed in- though the management was appreciative of my opinion. I understood later why employee-employer relations are the way they are in many companies. My observation is – in many cases, beyond money there is a drive that makes a person get up in morning at go to a job. Until one reaches that level of awareness, person looks forward to the last day of month when salary will be credited. If someone has passion and purpose one finds time, energy and resources to do that activity. When this happens a person truly enjoys what he/she is doing.

    This small point what Osho said – “If everybody learns this simple art of loving his work, whatever it is, enjoying it without asking for any recognition, we would have a more beautiful and celebrating world.” is very valid. If we would either start loving what we do, or we start doing what we love our economy and Human Development Index both will fare better.

    I raised this question to some of my email & blog friends, from that discussion the question became topic of Loose Bloggers Consortium. You can read thoughts of other two writers – Rummuser uncleji here and Shackman uncleji here.

    Image source – http://oshoinsight.com/tag/enjoy/

  • Money – what is it?







    This was a very candid question Prof Mankads asked once – ‘What is money?’ and he answered – ‘Money is what is accepted a money.’ True, money is what is accepted as money. Humanity needed some tangible measure so we deviced various forms of money at various time. For example at the time of barter system ‘everything’ was weighted against the other. So everything was acceptable in trade as money. Then came matels and now paper and plastic money (credit cards).

    I started thinking if we needed something tangible as money what if we made something like Camay (soap) a currency? If some other things be made money what would happen? Take an example of age – everyone would gradually get money. Fun or being funny – comadians would have maximum money in the world. Seriousness – patients in extremely intencive care units. Trust – Indian politicians or politicians in general would stand nowhere. Spirituality – the spiritual masters would be at the top, one I know is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

    Now if we ask ourselves – who is rich? The simple answer is one who has ‘more’ money. ‘More’ is contextual (adjective). Now, if we take money as fun, being happy or being funny. How many of us are rich today? Kids in school are competing, people are jealous or many of us have only instant gratification and long term sorrow. Not many of us are rich! Has money made anyone happier?

    Assume Trust be the currency. How many have earned it? Yes trust is hard earned currency, right? Bankers have lost their trust of 100+ years (see the occupy wall street movement), politicians have lost it. Citizen vote because they think someone will improve the systems. On the contrary we all still remember Jesus, the Buddha and other Masters. Plato, Aristotle and Chanakya. We named unit of force on the name of Newton we say Da Vinci was genius. Were they ‘RICH’ in terms of hoarded money? So, what if we measure richness on different factors now and in future. See this engineer mind thinks of formulae (which is not correct, yet I am writing it) –
    Richness = [{(money + Happiness)*Trust/greediness}^(1/greediness)]*(peace of mind)*spirituality
    and other important stuff
    Range of the variables
    0 > Money, Happiness and Trust > 1
    Greediness > 1 upto infinite
    peace of mind and spirituality> 1
    ^ stands for raise to the power

    I think everyone of us has to identify what we want from our life and that one or few things would be The thing(s) which would make each one of us Rich (not necessarily Money). Of course, this richness should not come at the expense of others or harming others.