When we look at the life of a
human being it is always bound with a next milestone or next objective. For
instance to attain Graduation, post-graduation, job, family but what is the
ultimate goal? Is the ultimate goal to earn more money that satisfies
pleasurable needs or drives your passion i.e money fame and partner, but our
question is; is this sole motive/objective of life? A few great people have
realized that ultimate objective is to attain peace and harmony in simple words
a peaceful goodnights sleep.
Bill Gates Spent his entire
lifetime in building technology and amassed a vast amount of wealth. He could
have purchased an island in Caribbean and been partying there, why would he
want to spend his time in Bihar and UP, helping rural people in building
toilets, helping woman build skills. Same is the case with Warren Buffet who
drives his own car and doesn’t even use a mobile phone and has contributed
billions of dollars to Bill and Melinda gates foundation. Why did Arvind
Kejriwal quit IRS and fighting against corruption? Why did Ela bhatt started
SEWA (Self Employed Women’s association) and helped women with small loans, why
did Green warrior Jadab Payeng build a social forest in Assam or Salumaradha
Thimakka in the Karnataka planted thousands of trees. Life is Unfair: Some
people are more fortunate than the others. The above mentioned people have
achieved enlightenment or fit into Self-actualization section of Maslow’s
hierarchy theory. They believe that selfless service to mankind brings in inner
peace and harmony. This was exactly what Shankaracharya or Buddha or
Vivekananda did long ago.
But this does not mean you quit
all the worldly pleasures and serve the society. Definitely not. It’s a balance
between material and spiritual power. It is important to satisfy the basic
needs and then contribute to the betterment of the society. Harish Hande, Magsasay award winner IIT and
MIT, spend dedicated his life to electrify rural homes through a profit
venture. Dabbawallahs of Mumbai who have attained perfection in their venture
at the same time have helped millions of families in delivery of food.
In the current socio economic
situation it is very important to cooperate and coordinate to lead a peaceful
life. Why is Jamshedpur called TATA nagar, because TATA has built Jamshedpur
through brick and mortars and has built the entire ecosystem. Same is what
Toyota did or Infosys Foundation which has connected with people very closely.
Why should ICICI and State bank fight amongst themselves to attract more
customers? Ultimately their objective is providing financial security and
services to the people. So if you provide best service people will definitely
come to you. If they fight against themselves and end up in a cold war would it
benefit anybody in turn they would lose their inner peace. Classic lesson is
what Akbar practiced by respecting all religions and allowed them to coexist
whereas other Mughal rulers tried to destroy our temples.
In corporate world, simple things
that could make a difference is that respect people, most importantly
employees. Keep in mind they are not numbers which most companies think they are
and treat them like humans. Don’t try to reduce operating cost or increase
EBITDA at the cost of people. In your difficult times the world does not
remember how much profits you made for the company but the good relations and
people you built in the company will stand by you.
Very interesting vision of
Marriott groups of hotels is to always keep their employees happy because they
know that if their employees are happy they will keep their customers happy.
Simple isn’t it. Indeed this was exactly
what Kautilya said in Arthashastra.
You have to keep in mind that
people when they come into your organization already come motivated with aspirations
and the adaptability and adjustment is already embedded in our DNA’s. Never underestimate them and try to capitalize
in each one’s potential on how they could benefit your organization.
Religious Perspective – One of
the Buddhist virtues is to serve society through building toilets, and planting
trees. Islam practices fasting during Ramzan primarily to feel the hunger of
the downtrodden. At Golden Temple Amritsar, people get down from Mercedes and
prepare food for the visitors and also manage the whole operations. What these
denote is that path of all religious leads to the same objective and service to
mankind is service to god.
Our appeal is please do something
for 30mins a day just not for you but for others selflessly. For example, what
SFC (students Facilities Committee), Placement committee, Peer learning
sessions, minds of IIM team, Samarpan are doing. When a person gets placed and
thanks the Placement committee members, I’m sure it means a lot to them.
Best things in life can only be
felt with eyes closed so don’t price each and every thing. As MasterCard says
best moments in life are priceless.
“If you want happiness for an hour take a nap,
If you want happiness for a day go fishing,
If you want happiness for month get married,
If you want happiness for a year inherit a fortune,
If you want happiness for lifetime help others”