I work in an IT (information technology) firm and in our industry, the moment a graduate student joins a project, he or she dreams for the day he or she will be promoted to sit in the “Management Cubical”. 😆
Most of us, in any fields of work, are madly attracted by the post of Manager and dream to be one someday.
Propensity of becoming Manager or Boss or Owner is not restricted to Offices. Even at home, husbands (mostly wives 😝) try to be the boss of their home, people try to cage animals so that they get a feeling of “Ruling the Beast”, even in a group of toddler – there is an “innocent” competition to be the Alpha, how can we forget the political parties and what to say about dominance tension between Nations. So we understand it is an inherent desire of each and every human to Lord over others. Upon a closer look, not only human but even a blind, one legged dog given a chance would at once try to be the Pack Leader. Therefore it is not just human issue, it is the common attribute of all spirit souls we come across.
Most of us, in any fields of work, are madly attracted by the post of Manager and dream to be one someday.
Propensity of becoming Manager or Boss or Owner is not restricted to Offices. Even at home, husbands (mostly wives 😝) try to be the boss of their home, people try to cage animals so that they get a feeling of “Ruling the Beast”, even in a group of toddler – there is an “innocent” competition to be the Alpha, how can we forget the political parties and what to say about dominance tension between Nations. So we understand it is an inherent desire of each and every human to Lord over others. Upon a closer look, not only human but even a blind, one legged dog given a chance would at once try to be the Pack Leader. Therefore it is not just human issue, it is the common attribute of all spirit souls we come across.
Why do we have these propensities?
... As one of the innumerable spiritual beings living in harmony with God in the spiritual world, Jivatma, exercising his God-given free will, desires to enjoy separately from Krishna. He becomes envious of Krishna and other souls. Because envy is not permissible in the spiritual world, Krishna, the most compassionate father, has created a material world, separate from the spiritual world, where the living entity can enjoy independent of Him. So Jivatma leaves the spiritual world for the material world and begins to enjoy there, thinking himself the owner, trying to take all that is there for the taking.[Source: http://www.krishna.com/story-jivatma]
Now, the problem is that everyone else in the material world is trying to own and enjoy the place.
So we have come to this material world, some millions of birth back, carrying the enviousness and propensity to Enjoy. The more we try to enjoy the more we get entangled in this material world, forgetting core message of real religion as mention by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita - 16.18
ahańkāraḿ balaḿ darpaḿ.
kāmaḿ krodhaḿ ca saḿśritāḥ
mām ātma-para-deheṣu
pradviṣanto ’bhyasūyakāḥ
Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the demons become envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in their own bodies and in the bodies of others, and blaspheme against the real religion
We should control the demoniac weaknesses like - false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger. But isn’t it difficult to attain in this material world – especially for those who belong to corporate life?
Simple thing like a Résumé (Curriculum Vitae) is stuffed with Self Boast (it is all about I, I, I, ... , My, My, My) which is indirectly puffing up our False Ego. These work zones are focused in “manufacturing” self-centered machines rather than human employees. In a vaishnava community, a devotee glorifies other devotees but in a non-devotee community, people are busy glorifying about himself.
If we really ask honest opinion about why anybody would want to be a Manager, hardly would anyone say – “I want to help the company grow” – because if they would have really thought that way nobody would have switched companies or jobs. The majority of reply would be condensed to “ability to manage (control)”, “social prestige” & “financial growth” which finally dries down to “Enjoyment”.
Irony of the Situation.
With so many budding managers around, from various reputed Management Schools, ironically, surveys say “Key Reasons for Job Dissatisfaction and Poor Employee Performance” as mentioned in http://smallbusiness.chron.com and many other places is Management / Manager.
The reason is – None of us are actually “Manager-Material”. We need to understand that our constituent position is that of a Servant. Like it is mentioned in (Chaitanya Charitamrita - Madhya Lila 20.108)
The reason is – None of us are actually “Manager-Material”. We need to understand that our constituent position is that of a Servant. Like it is mentioned in (Chaitanya Charitamrita - Madhya Lila 20.108)
Jīvera 'svarūpa' haya-kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa': every individual soul is eternally a servitor.
Real Meaning of Being-A-Manager.
We may happily think we are the Boss, but, to an intelligent mind it is crystal clear that we are mere servant. Like a man walking with a large dog might proudly think he is the master-of-the-beast, but, the fact is – he is actually serving the animal by timely feeding it, cleaning it, bathing it, taking it for walk, getting it treated and even cleaning its stools and urine.
The real meaning of Manger is not – becoming the Master, rather becoming a Humble Servant.
In scriptures like Isopanisad it is advised that we should not try to Lord over anything as everything originally belongs to Krishna:
The real meaning of Manger is not – becoming the Master, rather becoming a Humble Servant.
In scriptures like Isopanisad it is advised that we should not try to Lord over anything as everything originally belongs to Krishna:
isavasyam idam sarvam[Sri_Isopanisad TEXT 1]
yat kinca jagatyam jagat
tena tyaktena bhunjitha
ma grdhah kasya svid dhanam
Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong
So what should we do?
Instead of aiming to become a Supervisor or Leader or Manager we should try to become an Elderly Member of the team / company / home / friends.
A typical manager sees his team members as “resources”. He identifies “his resources” as “Developers” and “Testers” and not as Human Being. This is why they are so favorable to fire employees - need quick profit during recession, cut down headcounts; someone is underperforming – replace him / her like you replace a used cell from TV Remote. In fact most of them are emotionless, head choppers in suit and tie.
On the contrary Elders are friendly, they are concerned about their younger members, they scold and they cheer, they know the weaknesses of the young and help them grow. If we become an elderly member rather than a lead, we will no longer see others as “My Resources” – rather we would see the team as “My Family” and each and every person as “My family member”. They would actually be gelled with His Team Members – not just Tagging, Liking and Commenting in Social Media Profiles.
Srila Prabhupad in one of his lectures on BG 8.20-22 -- New York (November 18, 1966) had said –
Similarly duty of managers is to extend the same service towards his people.
A typical manager sees his team members as “resources”. He identifies “his resources” as “Developers” and “Testers” and not as Human Being. This is why they are so favorable to fire employees - need quick profit during recession, cut down headcounts; someone is underperforming – replace him / her like you replace a used cell from TV Remote. In fact most of them are emotionless, head choppers in suit and tie.
On the contrary Elders are friendly, they are concerned about their younger members, they scold and they cheer, they know the weaknesses of the young and help them grow. If we become an elderly member rather than a lead, we will no longer see others as “My Resources” – rather we would see the team as “My Family” and each and every person as “My family member”. They would actually be gelled with His Team Members – not just Tagging, Liking and Commenting in Social Media Profiles.
Srila Prabhupad in one of his lectures on BG 8.20-22 -- New York (November 18, 1966) had said –
… duty of the parents, duty of the guardians, duty of the husband, duty of the father—everyone's duty is how to elevate a living creature who has got this fortunate human form of life.
Similarly duty of managers is to extend the same service towards his people.
Our Extended Responsibility.
Krishna, by His own sweet will, offers each one of us multiple opportunity to mingle with other spirit souls in form of our grandparents, our parents, our in-laws, our sons & daughters, our grandsons & granddaughters, our brothers & sisters, our husbands & wives, our friends, our colleagues.
We should not try to be their Boss. We must understand that they are not ours but rather they belong to Krishna. So we have no direct ownership over them. However Krishna, has given them to us and we need to render them our humble service. Of all the service offered top most service is – sharing with them the Most Confidential Knowledge of Getting out of this Repeated Birth & Death Cycle and Returning Back to Godhead.
We should not try to be their Boss. We must understand that they are not ours but rather they belong to Krishna. So we have no direct ownership over them. However Krishna, has given them to us and we need to render them our humble service. Of all the service offered top most service is – sharing with them the Most Confidential Knowledge of Getting out of this Repeated Birth & Death Cycle and Returning Back to Godhead.
Additional Benefit or "Positive Side Effect".
The additional benefit of being Humble Servant is, the very moment we understand that everything belongs to Krishna, all the problems in the world resulting from Jealousy, Envy and Hatred will be solved as mentioned below:
The day, when everyone becomes God Conscious, there would be just one country - Planet Earth, with no boundaries, where no one invades, no one robs, no one steals, no one terrorizes, there is no dominance, no hatred and no ill-politics. World, Office, Home will be a happy place to live.
yas tu sarvani bhutany[Sri_Isopanisad TEXT 6]
atmany evanupasyati
sarva-bhutesu catmanam
tato na vijugupsate
He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all entities as His parts and parcels and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything, never hates anything nor any being.
The day, when everyone becomes God Conscious, there would be just one country - Planet Earth, with no boundaries, where no one invades, no one robs, no one steals, no one terrorizes, there is no dominance, no hatred and no ill-politics. World, Office, Home will be a happy place to live.
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