Episode # 1314 – Four types of friendship – Bhishmachaarya elaborates beautifully!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya’s detailed accord on “Aapad-Dharmam” to Yudishtra, as part of the “Raaja Dharma” discussion. Here, the discussion commences with Yudishtra asking an important question as to who is a true friend and a true enemy. Bhishmachaarya picks it up from there and continues by saying that “time” and “situation” makes a good friend / enemy in life. A good friend today might become our most bitter enemy tomorrow and vice versa, depending upon the situation in which we are in. To follow it up, Yudishtra asks Bhishmachaarya as to how do we treat our friends. Given that a king cannot be successful without meaningful alliances, what is the extent to which alliances can help and what is the point of limitation for these alliances. For this, Bhishmachaarya is going to give an important reply, which we are going to witness today. 

So Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! This is a very important question that you’ve asked me. Of course, you are right – Nothing can function in this world without alliances / relationships. In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself has mentioned in the Bhagawad Gita that “Karma Yoga” and “Gnyaana Yoga” are two alliances with which we’ve to approach the “Bhakti Yoga” to attain the ultimate “Moksha”. If such is the case, everything in this world is related to each other in some way or the other. The only person in this world who does not need a “Sahaayam” (Alliance) is Bhagawan Himself. When we offer “Sharanagati” towards Bhagawan, He doesn’t expect anything from anyone. He provides His divine “Anugraha” then and there to those who offer “Sharanagati” whole-heartedly. While Bhagawan doesn’t need any “Sahaayam” for Himself, all of us being normal people, require “Sahaayam” at different points in time. Now let me talk about four different types of “Mitra” (friendships) – “Sahaartha”, “Bhajamaana”, “Sahajan” and “Krithrima”. “Sahaartha” means, people who are friends with us, expecting something fruitful out of this friendship. In other words, it is like “You give me something, I will give you something back!” If the other person doesn’t find anything meaningful in us, he / she might not be friends with us. This is called “Sahaartha”. “Bhajamaana” means friendship occurring due to family bonding. For instance, our immediate cousins, brothers, sisters, and other relatives might fall under this category. All relatives (put together) are considered as “Bhajamaana”. “Sahaja” means people who are friends through kith and kin. Many of us might have “childhood friends”, don’t we? We might have been in the same school from Class 1 to 12, then in the same undergraduate school, post graduate school, etc. and even in the same job as well! In other words, there might be some people in our lives who are with us all through, even though they might not be part of our family in any way. Also, we might have a few friends who are very close to us, who do not expect anything in return from us. We term them as “family friends”, because, whatever we go through in our lives – Happy and sad moments, they are always with us. Finally, “Sahaartha” means those people who are highly opportunistic in nature. For instance, some people would come to us asking for money as a debt. We will also give them and after whatever task they might accomplish, they would repay that money back. After this transaction is over, they might not be in touch with us at all! Next time when they want money again, they will come to us. This kind of “Mithra” (Friendship) is called “Sahaartham”. In other words, people under this category only want “Sahaayam” from us at all times and nothing else!” 

This is a very important point that Bhishmachaarya is highlighting, and for today, let us understand this. We shall wait till the next episode to continue further from here! Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1313 – “How do we identify a true friend?” – Yudishtra asks Bhishmachaarya!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the next segment of the main “Raaja-Dharma” discussion between Bhishmachaarya and Yudishtra – The “Aapad Dharma”. Prior to this, we’ve concluded the discussion on the thirty-six different qualities of a leader and now in this “Adhyaayam”, we’re commencing our discussion with Yudishtra’s important question – Who is a real friend and who is a real enemy? How do we identify? For this, Bhishmachaarya explains straight away thus, “Oh Yudishtra! There can never be a true friend or a true enemy constantly for life. Situations make a person a friend or an enemy. A person who is a friend today, might become an enemy tomorrow. Similarly the vice-versa also holds true – Our bitter enemy today could also become our good friend with time. 

This is a very important point that Bhishmachaarya is explaining here. We can see this happening even today – The obvious place where we can find this is politics, wherein political parties which are in alliance with each other might fall out with time, and the fiercest political enemies can become best friends too! Now moving on further, Yudishtra asks a counter question here – “Oh Bhishmachaarya! You’re saying that people can be extremely opportunistic in nature and it is difficult to ascertain who can be a real friend or an enemy. However, a king cannot accomplish anything without alliances and friendships, isn’t it? So how do we narrow down on a friend? How do we treat a friend? How much do we encourage friends? To what extent do we allow a friend into our house?”  This is an extremely important question which is directly applicable for all of us. First of all, even in today’s context, we cannot be a person who can be without any form of friends or alliances in whatever we do. This itself warrants a separate discussion. As we know, man is a social animal, and we cannot survive on our own at all times. We cannot be Bhagawan Rama at any cost. We might remember this one episode from our previous Ramayana project – Bhagawan Rama destroyed fourteen thousand “Raakshasas” single-handedly. Of course, for Bhagawan Rama’s stature, this might be possible, but for normal people like us, this is a far-fetched thing. We might remember this segment of the Ramayana – Soorpanaka came to see Bhagawan Rama and as she saw Him, she fell in love with him. As she proposed her love to Bhagawan Rama, He redirected her towards Lakshmana, who was without his wife at that time. As Soorpanaka approached Lakshmana, he once again directed her towards Bhagawan Rama. Thus, Soorpanaka became a joker, being pushed from one person to the other, and angered by this, she decides to pounce on Mother Sita and kill her first. Perhaps if Mother Sita is killed, Soorpanaka thought that Bhagawan Rama would come to her. However, Bhagawan Rama signalled to Lakshmana and accordingly, Lakshmana chopped off Soorpanaka’s nose and ears! With her nose and ears hanging ghastly, she ran to obtain the favour of the fourteen thousand “Raakshasas” at Janasthaanam. Annoyed over Soorpanaka’s condition, the fourteen thousand “Raakshasas” attacked Bhagawan Rama. Without even Lakshmana’s help, Bhagawan Rama single-handedly neutralized all the fourteen-thousand “Raakshasas”. 

Hence, for a person like Bhagawan Rama, doing everything single-handedly might be possible, but Yudishtra is asking here that is it possible for the others! For this, Bhishmachaarya is going to give a very important reply to Yudishtra, which we will wait and witness in the next episode! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and we shall wait for Bhishmachaarya’s reply till tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1312 – The “Aapath-Dharmam” – Bhishmachaarya commences an important accord!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya concluding the discussion on the thirty-six important qualities of a leader, which is a part of the broader “Raaja-Dharma” accord that he is giving to Yudishtra. In line with this, we’ve witnessed the last two qualities of a leader – Firstly Bhishmachaarya explains that killing a designated enemy in a war is nothing to brood over. In fact, by doing so, a king performs his “Dharma” by protecting his people from the designated enemy. This is where Yudishtra was caught in two minds for all this while. He was feeling bad after killing Duryodhana and Co. during the war at Kurukshetra, and Bhishmachaarya touched this sensitive spot of Yudishtra’s. Secondly, Bhishmachaarya explains where we should show our aggression and where we should not. If a person is our well-wisher, it is not advisable to show any kind of aggression towards them. However, this concept is not applicable with those who are detrimental to us. With such people, being passive is the greatest mistake that a leader would make. Hence, “Controlled Aggression” is one of the most important qualities that a leader can have, in order to become successful. 

Explaining all these qualities thus, Bhishmachaarya concludes this discussion – “Oh Yudishtra! For a king to be successful, these thirty-six qualities are paramount and you should be an epitome of all of them!” Saying thus, we come to the end of this discussion, and in the next “Adhyaayam”, we are going to witness a very important concept – The “Aapath-Dharmam”. This simply translates to “Dharma” during emergency / catastrophic situations. This is going to be a very important discussion – Not only in the context of Yudishtra and Bhishmachaarya, but also for all of us who are aspiring for success in our professional and personal lives. Commencing this discussion thus, Yudishtra asks an important question to Bhishmachaarya thus, “Oh Bhishmachaarya! All whatever you’ve explained till now makes sense to me. But I have a more fundamental question to ask here – The entire confusion stems from who is a real friend and who is a real enemy. You’ve mentioned as part of the last two qualities of leadership that we’ve to show aggression towards those who are designated enemies. However, how do we understand that this person is our designated enemy? What are the important qualities / characteristics of a real friend (well-wisher) and an enemy? Please explain in detail!” 

As Yudishtra asks thus, Bhishmachaarya heaves a sigh of relief. He understands that Yudishtra has now changed his mind from running away to ruling the kingdom. This itself is a great achievement, given the previous situation that Yudishtra wanted to leave off everything and go to the forest for performing penance. This is something that alarmed Bhagawan Krishna and He immediately brought Yudisthra to Bhishmachaarya. We’ve witnessed all these during our earlier episodes. Now as Yudishtra asks this, Bhishmachaarya replies back – “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve asked a very important question here. You’ve to understand one thing clearly – There is none in this world who can be a permanent friend and there can be none in this world who can be a permanent enemy! People who are friends today, might become your bitter enemies later on. Also, the vice-versa is true as well – People who are bitter enemies today, might become our good friends tomorrow! It all depends on the situation and time at which we are in at that point in time! Hence, there is nothing called “real friendship” and “real enmity”! 

This is an extremely important point that Bhishmachaarya has started a discussion upon! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1311 – “‘Controlled aggression’ – A hallmark quality of a leader – Bhishmachaarya explains!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s important accord on “Raaja-Dharma” to Yudishtra as part of the “Shaanti Parva” of the Mahabharata. Amidst this discussion, we’re witnessing thirty-six important qualities of a leader, which Bhishmachaarya is listing one after the other. In this, we’ve witnessed around thirty of them, leaving us with just a few more to analyze. In line with this discussion, we’ve witnessed yesterday that as a leader, one should always enable others to perform “Dharma-Kaaryam” and should not be a stumbling block for the same. Secondly, we’ve also seen Bhishmachaarya explaining to Yudishtra that while attacking an enemy who is a stranger, it is important that a SWOT analysis is done about the enemy before going for the kill. If an attack is launched without analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy, probability is extremely high that we would end up on the losing side! 

Next, Bhishmachaarya is going to talk about a very important point here, which is directly applicable for Yudishtra’s context. He says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Once you’ve declared that the other person is your enemy and you’ve killed him in the war, you should never regret this act later! You should move on with your next work, without feeling bad or sad about it!” This is an extremely important point and in fact, this entire “Shaanti Parva” discussion commenced with this only! Readers might remember – Yudishtra was feeling let down after he had waged war and killed Duryodhana and the others at Kurukshetra. The entire Kaurava clan of Duryodhana faced destruction and with this, Yudishtra had lost complete interest in ruling the Hastinapura kingdom, with nobody around! This is where Bhagawan Krishna wanted Bhishmachaarya to engage with Yudishtra, so that Yudishtra can learn several key aspects of “Dharma”, in a bid to boost his confidence. Now after this long talk, Bhishmachaarya comes to the main point here. He cryptically explains to Yudishtra that there’s no point cribbing about Duryodhana’s demise, because he was Yudishtra’s designated enemy. Moreover, by killing Duryodhana in the war, Yudishtra had never deviated from “Dharma”. In fact, he has only acted per the “Raaja Dharma”, because Duryodhana was a designated enemy. Killing an enemy in the war is never against “Raaja Dharma” by any means! For instance, in today’s context too we have our Indian army guarding our territorial borders from Kashmir in the north till Arunachal in the east. If there’s a confrontation bid from the enemy side (Pakistan or China), our brave Indian jawans live up to the expectation and fight. In this confrontation, there will definitely be loss of lives. However, this will not be considered “Adharma”, because the greater cause is to protect the entire country from the enemy. Rather, if the enemy is let free per “Ahimsa Paramo Dharmaha”, it poses a grave threat to the entire population of the country, isn’t it? Thus, during the confrontation, there might definitely be loss of lives, and there’s no point in mourning this loss. This is exactly what Bhishmachaarya is explaining here. If a designated enemy is neutralized in the war, it is definitely an act of “Dharma”, and there’s no point repenting over it! 

With this, we’ve witnessed thirty-five qualities of a leader and now Bhishmachaarya is going to explain one last quality of a leader – The thirty-sixth. Here he explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve to be calm and composed with those people who are helping you out during critical situations. In other words, you should never show anger or aggression towards such people. However, with those people who do bad for you, it is dangerous if you go soft on them!” This is an extremely important last pointer that Bhishmachaarya is explaining here. This is what we call in today’s leadership terminology – “Controlled Aggression”. We should know where to show our aggression and where not to! For those who think and do good for us (our well-wishers), we should be extremely respectful and grateful to their contributions for our success and well-being. However, if there are people who outrightly do acts that are detrimental to us, we should never shy away from showing our anger and aggression. Being soft with them will only encourage them to do more and more bad things for us! Hence, Bhishmachaarya explains that a leader should understand how to channelize his anger and aggression towards the deserving people! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point wherein we’ve discussed all the thirty-six important qualities of a leader! We shall commence a new topic of discussion in the next episode and witness what Bhishmachaarya has to say next! Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1310 – “Perform a SWOT Analysis of the enemy before attacking!” – Bhishmachaarya advises Yudishtra!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s key accord on the “Raaja Dharma” as part of the “Shaanti Parva”. As part of this main discussion, we’re witnessing thirty-six important qualities of a leader, wherein we’ve discussed almost thirty of them till now. During yesterday’s episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya advising Yudishtra on two important aspects – Firstly, Bhishmachaarya talks about “time” and “timing” – Everything in life has a definitive timing and decision-making is completely time bound in all aspects. Secondly, he talks about the art of convincing others. While a leader should be smart enough to convince others, so that everybody is on the same page while making key decisions, this quality should not be misused by exploiting others. While “trust” is important for a leader (as discussed earlier), this trust should not be misused to take others for a ride. 

Moving on further thus, Bhishmachaarya explains – “Oh Yudishtra! While someone is performing a “Dharma-Kaaryam”, you should be gracious enough to allow him / her to do it. If possible, you should intervene and enable / help the person in doing the “Dharma-Kaaryam”, but never should you be a hindrance or a stumbling block for it!” This is a very important aspect of “Dharma” for a leader – If we’re seeing someone performing a “Dharma-Kaaryam”, we should do our best to contribute more towards it, rather than ruining it. Some people have this habit – Neither they will do good to others, nor will they allow someone else to do good as well! We have our politicians in India who are epitomes of this! Neither will they do good for the people of the country, nor will they allow someone else to do good. This is one of the main reasons behind corruption in India at several levels – Both at the Centre and States. Ultimately these politicians care for filling up their own pockets, rather than working for the welfare of the people. For instance, if there is a road that is full of potholes, motorists might keep complaining constantly about the pathetic state of the road – But still, taxes would be collected in the form of “toll”. The government will turn a deaf ear to the complaints and because of this, accidents might happen. Subsequently, resident / professional associations might come together to collect funds and relay the road. When this is done, these politicians will come immediately to the road and disturb the process. When complaints were raised and when these politicians were supposed to act upon it, they would not be seen anywhere, but still the toll tax would be levied constantly! However, when someone is taking up that responsibility, these same politicians will come and create stumbling blocks – Because their corruption agenda (in the form of toll tax) is being disrupted by the citizens! This is exactly what Bhishmachaarya is explaining here – If we’re unable to do anything good for others, we should atleast refrain from creating stumbling blocks! 

Subsequently, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! When you’re attacking an enemy, you should know the strengths and weaknesses of that person before doing so. In other words, you should be very careful when you’re on the offensive towards strangers!” This is an extremely important point here, and in Management science, we call this “SWOT Analysis”. The acronym “SWOT” stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats”. While strategizing an attack or an offensive towards an enemy, we should first understand who that person is. For this, we should understand the enemy’s strengths (Core areas), weaknesses (Where the person can falter), Opportunities (When and how the person can be taken down) and Threats (When and how the enemy can be extremely dangerous). As a leader, knowledge about the enemy in this regard is extremely important. When I use the term “enemy”, it doesn’t mean “war” every time. This can also be equated to a competitor for an organization in the market. Thus, Bhishmachaarya’s point here is that, before we enter into an attack-mode, we should identify whom are we attacking. If the competitor is a stranger, we should be extremely careful and do the “SWOT” analysis before going on the offensive. Without doing this analysis, if we attack, we’ve to get ready to face defeat! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to continue more on this discussion! Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1309 – “You should ‘convince’, but not ‘exploit’ people!” – Bhishmachaarya advises Yudishtra!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s important accord on “Raaja-Dharma” to Yudishtra. As part of it, we’ve been discussing thirty-six important qualities of a leader, as described by Bhishmachaarya. In this line, we’ve witnessed around twenty-seven out of the thirty-six qualities, and in our yesterday’s episode, we had witnessed two of them – Firstly, when we perform offerings (“Yagnya”) towards deities, we should do it with full involvement towards Bhagawan, rather than doing it for name and fame. In other words, we shouldn’t publicize that we are performing offerings towards Bhagawan. It should be a private affair and for the benefit of the world, and not for ourselves. Secondly, Bhishmachaarya explained that while we respect our elders including our “Guru”, it is important that we understand their perspective / advice while taking important decisions, rather than rejecting them outrightly. We might have this practice in today’s scenario wherein we tend to discard elders’ words of wisdom by saying that they are “outdated” and they belong to an older generation. This should not be done and as a leader, it is important that we give respect to the ideas of everyone. In other words, a leader should be “inclusive” with all people. 

Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya continues thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Now I’ll talk about time and how it is important for everything in life. For all actions, time is a very important factor, and as a leader, you should be able to identify the right time to make key decisions and execute them. Only when you’re planning your activities according to the time, will you be able to be successful!” This is an extremely important point even in today’s context. For everything in life there is a “timing”. For instance, only when we are children, will we be able to play with toys. Only when we are in our youth will we be able to get married and have kids. If we miss the timing for all these in life, it will become too late, and there is no point in doing these. For instance, there is no point in playing with toys after growing up! There is no point in getting married after we cross the age of forty or so. Post this, we will automatically start losing our motivation for certain important things that have to take place in our lives. Similarly when we adorn leadership positions in organizations, we should ensure that timing is adhered to while decision-making. If the timing is missed and if decisions are taken late, the entire mission / project might go for a toss. At the same time, if there are a few compelling decisions to be made, we should not have an emotional rush towards doing so. We should at some point in time wait, analyze, discuss and then make decisions. Thus, “timing” is extremely important for all activities in professional and personal lives. 

Moving on, Bhishmachaarya is now going into the next level. He says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! As a leader, you should know the art of “convincing” others. For this, you should be excellent in communication. While convincing is important, you should ensure that you convince people for their benefit, and not yours!” This is a very important point, especially for those of us who are in management positions today. As a leader, we should be able to rally people around us. But at the same time, we should ensure that we rally people behind us for the right cause, which would be of benefit for them. In other words, we should not end up rallying people for our own personal brownie points (selfish reasons) and leaving them in the lurch after that. In today’s context, we are witnessing a lot of advertisements in the media – Both mainstream and social media. While we sell a product to a customer, it is important that we convince the customer to buy our product, however, this should not lead to cheating the customer by giving false promises. This is one of the biggest mistakes which sales personnel make. If the customer buys the product and then comes to know that whatever promises that we had given him are false, it would create a very bad image and a reputation about us and our organization in the customer’s mind. Thus, the entire probability of “repeated purchase” of our product by the customer goes for a toss! Further, the “bad word of mouth” will start spreading, which would further dent our image in the market! 

Hence, the point here is that, while it is important that we learn the art of convincing, it should be channelized in the right way, so that there is a benefit for all of us together. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1308 – “Do not worship ‘Devatas’ for your own name & fame!” – Bhishmachaarya advises Yudishtra!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s accord on the “Raaja-Dharma” to Yudishtra. In particular, Bhishmachaarya is currently explaining thirty-six important qualities of a leader and we’ve witnessed around twenty-five of them till now. During the last episode we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya explaining how a leader should always be an epitome of humility, especially towards elders and the Guru. Especially when it comes to our teachers, we should be extremely humble towards them, no matter how much we might have achieved in our professional and personal lives. If our kindergarten teachers hadn’t laid the proper foundation for us during our early years, we would have never reached great heights in our lives today. Hence, we should always be grateful to them for all that they have imparted to us – especially the value systems and discipline aspects of learning. 

Next, moving on further, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Whenever you’re offering prayers to “Devatas” and Bhagawan, you should do it for the upliftment of your “Atman” and your kingdom, and not to obtain any kind of name and fame out of it!” This is also a very important point here. Whenever we perform offerings to Bhagawan, it is better not to invite a lot of media / social attention. This should be the formula even when we visit temples to worship Bhagawan. Nowadays, it has become a trend of taking “selifes” and posting them on social media accounts, whenever we visit places. It is saddening to see that many people are more interested in their own self-propaganda while visiting temples, rather than being interested in worshipping Bhagawan. When we visit a temple, our focus, involvement and conversation should only be towards the Deity in the temple and not anything else. Even casual conversations with people around should be avoided while being in a temple. The conversation should only be with Bhagawan. Silence is the best aspect to follow while being in a temple. While we say this, it automatically implies that usage of mobile phones and other electronic devices in a temple premises should be strictly prohibited. Usage of such devices not only disturbs our own concentration and purpose behind visiting the temple, but also disturbs others who want to be focused on Bhagawan. Even if we disturb ourselves, we do not have any rights to disturb others while being in a temple. These are some basic etiquettes that we’ve to follow while visiting a temple or any place of worship across all religions. 

Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! If elders say something, you should not be adamant and stick to your stance. You should have the heart to relent from your hard stance and accept the words of elders!” We also have this problem today – We might narrow down on a decision, but if we have elders at home who might advise us an alternative decision for a problem, we might not be ready to consider it. Instead, we retaliate towards elders by saying that they are from an older generation and they do not understand the impact of the current day problem. Little do we understand that elders always talk out of experiences that they’ve had throughout their lives. Past experience is always like gold dust, and we should always pay heed to it. Perhaps, all their experiences might not be directly applicable to our current-day problems, but we can always filter them and take whatever is applicable, isn’t it? Moreover, rather than outrightly discarding the words of elders, we can always have the courtesy to listen to them patiently, right? This is a very good quality of a leader and we should try and introspect into this. 

So for today, let us understand these two important qualities and we shall wait till the next episode to continue further. Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1307 – “A leader should be an epitome of humility!” – Bhishmachaarya advises Yudishtra!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya continuing with his accord on “Raaja-Dharma”. In this, he is explaining thirty-six different attributes of a leader to Yudishtra and as part of this, we’ve witnessed around twenty-three of them. During yesterday’s episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya explaining about how a leader should take care of women and ensure their upliftment. However, the leader should be careful enough to know the boundaries up to which he can engage with women. In today’s context, this can be applicable to organizations which are more and more women-driven. However, having said that, every organization should ensure that their women leaders / employee’s are treated with utmost dignity and professionalism. There should not be any iota of misbehaviour or abuse against women in any form. Secondly, Bhishmachaarya was talking about the food that we consume. As a leader, it is nothing wrong to consume food according to our preferences, but that should not come at the cost of spoiling our health. Only if we are healthy, will we be able to take care of the others in the organization / territory properly. 

Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You should ensure that you respect all kinds of elders without any hesitation or ego towards them. If there are people senior to you, ensure that you give utmost respect to them without any expectation!” This is a very important point here, which explains “humility” as a very important aspect of a leader. No matter how much ever we achieve things in our life – We should never allow pride to take over us. At any point in life, we should be humble and when it comes to elders, we should respect them with our humility at our heart. This is the sign of a learned “Panditha” being a leader. Are we having this quality today? We should introspect within ourselves. The moment we receive a higher academic degree or a promotion in the corporate, we start thinking no end of ourselves! At this point, even if we see some aged people in our family and outside who might be less qualified academically or professionally, we tend to discard them very easily! We might be young in age and might have achieved a lot of professional laurels. However, we should always understand that our age (in number of years) might be equal to their number of years of experience in their lives! We should always remember that life is the best teacher for any living being, and life experiences can make or break an individual. If someone who is elder to us is sharing their life experiences with us, we should listen and learn from them with humility, rather than discarding their words openly. Hence, the point here is that, the more and more we achieve in our professional and personal lives, the more humble we should become! We might have enormous qualifications, but that doesn’t mean that we would keep flaunting them every time. 

Moving further, Bhishmachaarya is now talking about an allied pointer here. He says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You might be well-educated, but your respect towards your “Guru” should never diminish even an inch. You might know several things more than what your “Guru” knows. But if your “Guru” had not laid that foundation for you, please remember that you might not have been able to learn all that you know now!” This is also an extremely important point. Some people might have this practice – Even though they might have completed a PhD and would be working in several high positions in corporate, they would never forget their roots! They will make it a habit to go and visit their school and meet all their school teachers. This is extremely important and I think all of us should try and do this atleast once a year, if not more. It is not only about reliving our past school-day memories, but is also an opportunity to seek the “Anugraha” of our teachers, who have shaped us up as successful individuals. Post our school days, we might have pursued several forms of higher studies, but foundations laid in a school by our teachers are things that can never be forgotten. 

Hence, the point here is that, no matter how much we may achieve in our lives, we should respect our teachers (“Gurus”) at all times. We might have overgrown them in several walks of life. However, if that respect and courtesy is absent for our school teachers, there is no point in achieving whatever we do in life! So for today, let us understand these two important points and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1306 – “Consume food that is nutritious & unharmful for health!” – Bhishmachaarya advises!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s important “Raaja-Dharma” accord to Yudishtra, as part of the bigger “Shaanti Parva” of the Mahabharata. In this, we are currently witnessing an important segment wherein Bhishmachaarya is talking about thirty-six important qualities of a leader. We’ve seen around twenty of them so far and in the last episode, Bhishmachaarya has explained that a leader should be a very conscientious person. In other words, a leader should be clean, systematic and orderly with whatever he is doing. However, having said thus, it doesn’t mean that the leader should neglect and underestimate those people who are not up to his / her level of cleanliness or orderliness. A leader should be respectful and compassionate towards everyone, irrespective of how people are. Also, Bhishmachaarya explains that a leader should take care of his / her family, just as close as the kingdom. Just like how the “Raajyam” is important for a leader, family is also equally important. Hence, a leader should find a balance between both and should not sacrifice one for the other. 

Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve to ensure that all women folk are taken good care of in your kingdom, however, you should know your limits in this pursuit. You should be well within your boundaries while doing so!” This is also important here – Even in today’s organizations we talk about “Women empowerment” and bringing women to the forefront of decision-making and policy framing. Many organizations are successfully implementing this as well. While this is extremely welcome, the leader should also be careful not to breach boundaries. In the same organizations, we hear a lot of complaints about harassment against women, molestations, wrong behaviours towards them, etc. A leader should on one hand give a lot of empowerment to his female colleagues, but having done that, he should not misuse women in any way. Women should be respected for all their contributions and should be treated with dignity and professionalism. This balance is very important to be achieved. 

As Bhishmachaarya says thus, he also says next – “Oh Yudishtra! You are free to consume any type of food you wish to, however, you should also ensure that you consume food that is healthy and without any form of contamination! Food is directly related to sound health of an individual, and as a king, you should maintain good physical and mental health to serve others!” This is extremely important especially in today’s context. Gone are those days wherein we gave enormous importance to home-cooked food. We used to carry lunch boxes to our workplaces / schools and colleges, but nowadays, if we do the same thing, we become a laughing stock amidst people! This is because “fast food” and “eating out” culture has started booming exponentially. While it is not wrong to consume food once in a while in quality restaurants, this should not become a habit. We’ve discussed this once during our earlier episodes as well – Consuming food outside has several risks – Firstly, the quality of ingredients used to prepare the food in restaurants might not be good enough to maintain a sound physical health. These days, we listen to a lot of doctors saying that “Fast foods” contain a lot of harmful chemicals which can even be carcinogenic (can cause several types of cancer). As youngsters, we might be attracted towards restaurants because of the taste of the food and also the ambience and experience that they give, but as we age, we will slowly start experiencing side-effects for whatever we’re consuming today.  Secondly, there are subtle energies that get transmitted via food that we eat. If food is prepared with a lot of tension and dissatisfaction in the restaurant by its employee’s, the same negative energy gets transmitted into us, which results in developing unwanted negative thoughts and feelings. This might directly lead to a drop in our productivity, intelligence and mental capabilities.

This is why it is better to consume food that is cooked at home. Firstly, the ingredients that we use to cook food at home will definitely be of a good quality. Secondly, we wouldn’t use much external “Masalas” and other preservatives in the food that we cook everyday at home. This can save us from extremely life-threatening side-effects at a later stage of our life. Thirdly, when we cook food at home, we shall always chant some “Mantras” or talk about Bhagawan while we do so. This ensures positive energy while cooking, and this will weed out all kinds of negativities. This will in turn ensure that we stay “Saathvik” in our way of life, rather than becoming “Raajasic” and “Taamasic”. This is exactly what Bhishamchaarya is explaining here – He says that Yudishtra should consume food according to his likes and preferences, but at the same time, it should be healthy and nutritious in nature. 

So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue with the next quality of the leader. Stay tuned! 🙂 

Episode # 1305 – “A leader should be conscientious” – Bhishmachaarya advises Yudishtra!!!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s accord on “Raaja-Dharma”. Specifically within this accord, we’ve been witnessing thirty-six important qualities of a leader one after the other. So far we’ve covered around nineteen of them, and in yesterday’s episode we’ve spoken about how “trust” is a very important factor in leadership. If a person has performed any kind of an “Apakaaram” (Hinderance), the leader should never trust him / her for anything. Similarly, while talking about performing “Dhaanam” yet again, Bhishmachaarya explains that there is no point in giving something to a person who is an epitome of greed. This is because it is next to impossible to satisfy a greedy person as his needs and wants will always be on the rise with whatever we do. Hence, while performing “Dhaanam”, Bhishmachaarya once again reiterates that we should know to whom we are giving something. Wealth going into wrong hands will create disaster, and in the pretext of “Dhaanam” if we’re doing it, we are inviting danger for ourselves! 

Moving on further thus, Bhishmachaarya now shifts his focus towards the leader’s personal family life. He says to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! While you take care of your kingdom effectively, it is also important that you take care of your family with equal effectiveness. You should take care of Draupati and your children with equal love and care. As a leader, you should not become jealous of your wife and children leading a luxurious life. In turn, they also should not feel jealous that you are leading a luxurious life. Thus, your family should be united at all times in whatever challenges life might present to you!” This is yet again a very important point that Bhishmachaarya is highlighting here. Of course in those days, wives weren’t working anywhere, but in today’s context, the relevance of this point is even more as women have started working in high positions. This is where jealousy can creep in within a family. While both the husband and wife might be working to earn a living, it is important for both of them to complement each other, rather than engaging in egoistic fights between them. This is where we are seeing in the present day, many families breaking down without this basic understanding. We should understand the fact that earning money is just one part of life. There is another beautiful part of life wherein we should experience the togetherness and love of being in a family. This will come only if we are ready to mutually cooperate with each other within the four walls of the house. 

Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Cleanliness is very important for a leader to be successful. As a king, you should be orderly, systematic and clean. Only then you will be able to be organized in your decision-making as well. However, at the same time, just because you are an orderly and a clean person, you cannot expect others to be like that. Just because others aren’t as clean as you are, it doesn’t mean that you would completely reject and hate them. You should strike a fine balance here too!” This is yet another important point that Bhishmachaarya is highlighting here. We would have seen this in our daily lives too – Some people might be extremely neat and tidy and even if there is a speck of dust or dirt in their homes, they would always be with the mop to clean it then and there. If such people see those who are exactly opposite to them, they would get extremely irritated! For instance, if we go to some people’s houses, everything would be haphazardly strewn here and there! There will absolutely be zero orderliness in the way in which things are kept. Upon seeing this, we would feel as if we’ve entered into a haunted house! 🙂 If we’ve to get something from their house, we would never be able to find it, as it requires an extensive search operation! Even they wouldn’t be able to find it because they themselves might not know where they’ve kept what! However, the point here is that we should not hate such people! We should develop that maturity to understand different ways of people’s approach towards life. Some people might be extremely orderly and organized, while some might not be. But that doesn’t mean that they lack in intelligence or capability to perform well in the job! So we’ve to respect all people equally, irrespective of whether they are conscientious or not. 

So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂