Speech at Sri Aurobindo Foundation Conference; May 19, 2012
Good afternoon friends. Thank you very much for inviting me to talk to you today. It is my pleasure and honour to be talking today to such an august gathering. At the onset, I would like to confess that I find myself quite inadequate to comment on the profound topics that are being discussed today. I am only in early stages of my life journey where I have more questions than answers. I am happy to share with you my beliefs and hypothesis. Please take my thoughts as a student’s exploration and certainly not as absolute truths from a Guru.
Let us come to the theme of this session – How to find unity and alignment between self and organisational values? I would like to focus my talk on two core foundational values, Spirituality and Materialism, and finding balance between them. I have chosen this topic because if we want to achieve true success in life, whether it is at the individual level, the organization or the nation, we have to find balance between these two contradictory but necessary set of values.
True Success – achieving the purpose of your life
To start, let us ask the question “What is true success”? That is a complex question and can have many different answers. To me, true success is achieving your purpose of life. That brings us to the next question, “What is the purpose of life”? I think a lot about this and have come to a realization that the Hindu scriptures offer a good answer to this fundamental question. They suggest Kama, Artha, Dharma and Moksha to be the 4 objectives of life. Let me share my interpretation of each of these 4 objectives:
- Kama – is about seeking pleasure. It is fulfilling the needs of your senses i.e., sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. These are often derided by the self-righteous but are a necessary part of our human existence. These are primal needs that have to be fulfilled.
- Artha – is the search for material well-being and success. It is not just about achieving money, possessions and fame but also about excelling in your chosen field of endeavour. All of us are born with unique talents and abundant potential. It is important that we discover and fully realize the abundant potential that nature has endowed all of us with.
- Dharma – is doing what is right. What is right and what is wrong can sometimes be difficult to decipher in the complex world we live in. Our great epic Mahabharata provides a simple guidance on Dharma. It says, “You follow Dharma when in both your thoughts and actions you are doing good onto others”. Human life is a precious gift and I believe with it comes a big responsibility. It is to leave the world a better place than what we found it. You could make a positive difference at many levels. It could be with your family, community, organization, industry, nation or the entire world. It is not important whether the difference you are making is big or small, but that you are progressing on the journey of doing good.
- Moksha – is achieving freedom and divine bliss. Philosophers talk about Moksha as the ultimate state of freedom where you are released from the continuous cycle of life – birth, death and rebirth. Now, I am not in a position to comment on such a profound, meta-physical concept. However, for me Moksha is not just about after-live but something you can also realize in your current life. It is when you stop searching for happiness in the past or the future and find it in your present moment. You accept your present situation; you live it fully, and find joy and contentment in it.
Spirituality and Materialism – necessary to find balance between them
Right in the beginning of my talk I had proposed that to achieve true success it is necessary that we find unity and alignment between Spirituality and Materialism. Now that we have explored the nature of true success, let us discuss the complimentary values of Spirituality and Materialism and why it is important to find balance between them.
What is Materialism?
Materialism is recognising physical matter as the only reality. Therefore, it focuses on material well-being and progress. It gets reflected as the desire for material possessions and the incessant struggle to attain them. It also gets reflected as being driven by the senses and the race to gratify them. It is the search for Artha and Kama.
What is Spirituality?
Spirituality is recognizing the immaterial reality, the soul, the super-conscious. It is letting go of desires and detaching from worldly possessions. It is connecting with your inner self. It is recognizing the oneness of all creation. It is attaining control of your senses so you can get in touch with the super conscious.
Materialism and Spirituality have a contradictory basis. One is about fulfilling desires; the other is about letting go of them. One is about gratifying the senses; the other is about controlling them. One is about the outer, the other about the inner self. One is about satisfying the ego, the other is about subordinating ego and recognizing oneness. However, both Spirituality and Materialism are inseparable part of human nature. They are both reality. They reflect the inherent duality and contradictions in human nature and in our lives. Therefore, we need to recognize and accept both of them.
Materialism is inevitable. Senses and desires cannot be ignored. They have to be satisfied at the right level. If you ignore them, they will rear their ugly head at unexpected times and bite you. Self-renunciation is a difficult path and prone to failure. We often see so called holy men who have apparently renounced worldly desires falling prey to their senses. If senses and desires are a fundamental part of human nature then why ignore them? Without satisfying them it is very difficult to make progress towards Dharma and Moksha. In addition, materialism is the foundation of human progress. Desires are the force that propels us to move forward in life. They are the basis of human endeavour and therefore the drivers of progress for both the individual and the civilization. Now, progress can have negative consequences. However, between the choice of progress and no progress, I think the path of progress is better. We have been born on this earth to live a full life and not just to prepare to die!!
Materialism is necessary but excess of it is clearly a problem. In meeting the objectives of Artha and Kama, you can move away from Dharma and Moksha. If you are driven by Materialism then you are walking on a treadmill of desires that keeps going faster and faster and it becomes very difficult to get off it. You set goals and work hard towards achieving them. You earn money, fame, position and possessions. However, the happiness of achievement is short-lived and you are soon off to chase the next desire. You get trapped in a vicious cycle and do not find peace. You remain far from the ideal of Moksha. In addition, it is easy to lose your balance and lose sight of Dharma. When you get obsessed with self-gratification, you lose judgement of what is right and wrong and awareness of your responsibility to do good to others. This can cause failure not just of the individual but of societies and civilizations. The grave global economic crisis we have seen over the past years is a consequence of excesses of materialism. This crisis originated not in the poor nations of the developing world but from the rich economies of the western hemisphere. Greed and incessant desires led to excess consumerism at the individual level and unethical & fraudulent behaviour at the organization level. This has led to a crisis that challenges the very foundations of the materialistic economic model that has been the norm for the past few centuries.
So are we doomed for failure? I am sure we are not. I am convinced that human race is not meant for a disappointing end. I believe finding balance between Spirituality and Materialism is the answer to our current crisis whether it is at the individual level, the organization or the nation. Spirituality can bring us home. It can help center ourselves and connect with our inner self. In our inner self rest great powers and clarity of thought that our outer self cannot access. Spirituality can provide deeper perspective and the moral compass that can help balance the excesses of materialism. Finding this balance is necessary. It is the only way to achieve the four objectives of Kama, Artha, Dharma and Moksha in a unified way. If there is imbalance then it is very difficult to achieve these core objectives of life.
Living the Golden Balance
Clearly, finding unity and alignment between Spirituality and Materialism is very necessary. However, the big question is how you find the golden balance? Many people might start from a high moral ground. However, daily struggle between moral uprightness and material well being is too much for most and they lose the way. So what practical guidelines and practices can help in living this balance on a daily basis?
Hindu scriptures have answered this question in a very elegant way by prescribing four different stages of life. These are Brahmcharya (student life), Grihastha (household life), Vanaprastha (retired life) and Sanyasa (renounced life). Each stage has different goals and expectations. I think this is a good formula that clarifies focus for different stages of life and thus makes choices easier – materialism being the dominant value in the Grihastha stage while spirituality becoming more important in the Vanaprastha stage. While this clarity is good, I am not sure if it is always possible to compartmentalize life into such water-tight stages. Therefore, I believe there is need to have a certain balance between spirituality and materialism across the two middle stages of life.
So, how do we live life on a daily basis so we find balance between spirituality and materialism? Here again, I feel that the Hindu scriptures provide a good answer. They have identified 4 paths in life – Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, Gyan Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Now, each one of us has to find our own path or combination of paths. I find the paths of Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga to be most inspiring and would like to share my experiences with them (for simplicity, I will be using the terms Karma and Yoga respectively).
Karma
Karma is the focus on action, on the deed in front of you. Karma to me is one of the few unambiguous realities of life. You cannot go wrong with Karma. Karma is the route to success both in the material world and the spiritual world. In either case, you have to focus on the action in front of you. I would like to present three ideas on how to find balance between spirituality and materialism via the path of Karma.
First, approach Karma with the objective of Dharma. Often our Karma is driven by search for Artha or material well-being. There is nothing wrong with that. We just need to ensure there is the balance with Dharma. Where there is a conflict between the two, Dharma or doing good for others should take precedence. Let go of your self interest and seek to give and to add value to people and situations around you. Focus on “We” not “I”. As you do that, something magical will happen. You will grow as a leader and as a human being, and eventually more success will come to you.
Second, remember Gita’s guidance to be dispassionate and not to obsess about the outcomes. It is easier said than done and I certainly struggle with this concept. It is counter to how I have operated through most of my life. I like to set challenging goals and then work hard towards achieving them. However, as I have progressed in life I have realised that you can not control all outcomes. The only thing you can focus on is the action in front of you. If you attach too much weight to achievement of desired outcomes it will lead to feverishness in action and lot of stress in life. Any action performed in a selfless spirit and with dispassion is superior. It also helps you accept your present moment and find happiness in the action itself and the ongoing journey of life rather than seeking it constantly in outcomes in the future.
Third, beware of inaction. Sometimes a misguided interpretation of spirituality can dull the focus on Karma. You have to face up to whatever situation you are in. Even if it is difficult and seeming uncontrollable situation, you need to act with courage and get on with actions in your control. Escapism can never be the answer. That is where I feel India has faltered over the past centuries. It is ironical that the civilization that gave the world Gita – the most beautiful possible inspiration for Karma – lapsed into fatalism and dullness. Equally, I believe the Protestant work ethic was a significant reason for Western Europe’s rise from Dark Ages to become a dominant civilization. It is time we rediscover the powerful messages of Gita. It says “Perform necessary action; it is more powerful than inaction”. Do not renounce the world and become a hermit. Instead, learn to change your attitude while living and working in the world.
In summary, it is time for all us to dedicate ourselves to Karma. That is key to success both in the material world and for spiritual liberation.
Yoga
It is very easy to lose ourselves in the incessant action of lives. It can feel like sleepwalking where you just drift from one scene of a movie to another. Yoga and meditation is a great way to center yourself. It can calm you and provide a medium to help connect with your inner self. It encourages focus on breathing, which is a great way to link and energize different levels of your existence – mind, body and soul. Moreover, from the calmness and silence can emerge the most profound and creative ideas, and guidance for every difficulty. If you close your eyes, still yourself and focus on your breathing, you will find clarity and solutions to whatever problems might be troubling you.
Yoga and meditation is a practical option for all of us who might be immersed in material pursuits. If you can inculcate the discipline of regular practice of Yoga & meditation, you can find spiritual balance even while living in the material world. I have been following Art of Living for more than 10 years and feel that it has played a key role in finding balance in my life. I started doing Art of Living in early 2002. This was a very difficult phase of my life. I was in the process of shutting down a venture that I had started and was going back to McKinsey, the organization I had started my career with. It was perhaps the first time in my life that I had seen failure. Learning and practicing Pranayama and meditation at that stage was instrumental in me rediscovering my spirit and approaching my career afresh with tremendous positivity. I have a hectic schedule, but I try to do one Art of Living course every year and also go for yoga & meditation class every Sunday morning. These activities are critical for me to retain balance and high energy levels despite being engaged in an intense corporate career. Now, Art of Living is just one of the many options for practicing yoga & meditation. India is the home of yoga and meditation and many different schools and approaches abound. Please do choose an option that works for you and pursue it diligently.
Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga and also the paths of Gyana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga provide very good guidance. However, all of us need to find our own specific path and our own individual balance. And, for that there are no deterministic answers but you have to go through a process of personal questioning, self-reflection and self-discovery. What is experienced by own self leads to a more intimate understanding of the right path and conviction to move forward resulting in clear, concrete action.
Alignment between self and organization values
So, we have talked about finding unity and alignment between spirituality and materialism as individuals. Now, the question is whether we can find a similar alignment between self and our organization?
First, whatever might be your individual values, I believe it is very important to have alignment between them and your organization’s values. As human beings it is very difficult to live with dissonance and we are continuously seeking to reduce it in our lives. If there is dissonance between self and organizational values it will lead to great stress for you. Therefore, it is important to choose an organization where there is alignment between your individual and organization values. Don’t just go after financial rewards. You are more likely to find lasting happiness where you have alignment of values. Now, perfect alignment is difficult to find. In that case, you have two options. First is to adapt yourself. Second is to try to shape your organization’s values where you believe you can make a positive difference. It sounds difficult but is not impossible. You should not underestimate the power within you to shape the organization. An organization is a collection of individuals. If enough individuals act in a certain way then it can start impacting the organization’s collective value system as well. Human initiative does matter even though there is much beyond one’s control. This message is especially important for this audience given the senior roles most of you play. Your ability to influence your organization’s values is even higher so get going and do try to make a positive difference.
Specifically on spirituality and materialism, I believe it is important to find balance between these values not just at an individual level but also at an organization level. As mentioned earlier, the Western economic model of the enterprise is facing grave challenges. Many hope that the economic problems we see today in the Western world are temporary. I believe the current problems point to a deeper issue. There are fundamental flaws in the concept of an enterprise that recognizes growth and shareholder value maximization as the primary objectives. This model has had its time in the sun but will see demise sooner or later. I don’t know if that point is now or in 10 year or in 100 years. However, I am certain that the current organizational and global economic principles and approaches will need to be renewed one day.
I believe the next stage of evolution is to find balance between the Western and Eastern approaches. The Western model with its focus on materialism has seen much success over the past centuries. There is a lot of good in it that should be preserved. However, time has come to blend in the traditional Eastern principles of spirituality. I do not have the answer on what this new model will look like specifically, but am convinced that is a good ideal to aspire for. I firmly believe that India can be the source of the many solutions that organizations and at some level even nations are now seeking. India can be the leader in bringing to the world the wisdom and know-how of spirituality and of living the golden balance between spirituality and materialism. For this, we need to rediscover our great heritage and adapt it to the modern world. This is a very exciting opportunity for all of us. I hope all of us will find the grace and the opportunity to live this golden balance – as individuals, within our organizations, as a country and finally as mankind.
Thank you!!
