Parents, teachers and guests

There is an old Sanskrit shloka, which states – “ Matru devo bhava, Pitru devo bhava, Acharya devo bhava and Athithi devo bhava.” It means treat your mother like God, treat your father like God, treat your teachers like God and treat your guests like God.

Today, we seem to have forgotten this verse, in letter and spirit. Our mother gives birth to us and sacrifices almost everything in her life including her career sometimes, to rear us, as good human beings. The love and affection of our mothers, mould us into compassionate and empathetic human beings.

Our father quietly takes care of the family and generally does more than what he expresses in words. He is there around for us ,whenever we need him. He is like the backbone for us, in life. His absence could make us distraught, although we may not truly value his presence, when he is around.

If we move to our teachers, they not only impart the best education for us but also mould our character by their words and deeds. We realise their value ,when we leave the precincts of the educational institutions. We value them more ,when we face tough challenges in life and they are around always, to guide us whenever and wherever ,we need their support.

Lastly, our epics teach us to treat our guests like God. We seem to have completely forgotten this, in our busy lives. A guest today ,needs to seek an appointment ,to visit us. Earlier, we visited friends or relatives without any intimation. Today, we cannot meet anyone including our relatives ,without prior appointment.

I am not sure ,if life has evolved this way or we have erased the good learning of our past and justify it ,by the busy life of today. This is evident from the fact that, not everyone around us ,has forgotten their parents, teachers or guests. It is only some of us, who claim to be busier than others , who behave this way.

If I have to reflect back, I would say ,the best way to be grateful to our parents ,would be to respect them unconditionally and take care of them, to the best of our abilities. We need to remember ,that our parents are not looking for any material support ,in most cases. They are yearning only for our love and affection.

The best way to respect our teachers ,would be to live their values, in our everyday lives. If we say and do things, which our teachers would be proud of hearing, we may make their day. Of course, visiting them whenever possible and enquiring about their health and welfare would be a great tribute ,to their contributions to our lives.

Lastly, how do we treat guests. A guest is called “athithi” in sanskrit. This literally means someone, on who comes without an appointment. We need to welcome guests unconditionally. We cannot have appointments for our siblings, friends or relatives. Just like, we cannot have our team members take appointments to meet us ,if we are their leaders ,working in organisations. It is believed ,that if we treat our guests like God, we could be blessed by the Almighty and some one else in our lives ,could also treat us that way.

Let us rediscover ourselves today and learn to respect parents, teachers and guests and be proud of our heritage.

S Ramesh Shankar

9th April 2024

 

Creativity versus Stagnation

Every one of us want to be novel and creative in every move of ours. But, some of us feel that we are stagnating and not creative enough in our work or lives. Why does this happen and what do we need to do to transcend from stagnation to creativity.

Let us start with our lives. Why do some of us feel, we are always at the dead end of a street while others keep moving forward. We may come from similar backgrounds and have similar resources. But, some of us thrive in chaos, while others stagnate.

I am an avid traveller. Let me share what my experience taught me, when my g p s failed. I was once driving through a ghat section in the interiors of Karnataka near Sringeri. My gps failed. I felt being stuck. It was a dense forest road and no directions or people to guide me.

In such a situation, there are multiple choices before us. One is to sit and cry and curse ourselves or people travelling with us ,for this state of affairs. The other is to consider it as an adventure, with the hope that it will lead us somewhere. If we chose the former, then we may be stuck where we were, for the rest of the day. On the other hand, if we are willing to take the risk and drive on ,with the hope that ,we may meet someone and it may lead us to the destination, it may happen.

In this situation, I moved on and drove wherever the mud path lead me to. I met a few people on the road and when enquired they gave me contradictory directions. But, I did not give up hope and continued my journey. My spouse also told me , let us enjoy this adventure of exploration.

Life is no different. We may at times feel ,that we have reached a dead end in our career or life. We have multiple choices before us. We can feel frustrated and feel low.. Alternatively, we can explore options before us. The pandemic of covid 19, was one such instance. I know people who wasted two years ,of the lock down period. I am also aware of others, who upskilled themselves and also enriched their knowledge, in their areas of interest.

In every situation, the choices are always, before us. If sometimes, we feel ,that we are not able to evaluate the options, we have resources around us. It can be our family members, friends, colleagues or relatives. Nothing prevents us from seeking advice, if we think we are not able to generate options ,for our challenges.

If we look at what differentiates the creative people vis a vis the stagnating people in life – it is their ability to create and explore options, risk taking and trying out new things ,even if they fail. Utilising resources around them when they think they cannot create enough alternatives themselves is their capability.

Let us live creatively and not stagnate in thoughts or action from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

4th April 2024

Curiosity versus Judgement

I was at Kolkota yesterday and was keen to see the new engineering marvel. So, I travelled to Espalanade to take the first under water metro in India. As I was about to board the metro, a young kid asked her grandmother at the platform “Where is the water?”. I was amazed at the “curiosity” of the child. On the other hand, a few co-passengers commented after passing through the under water stretch that it was not a big deal – that is called “judgement”.

As children, most of us are curious and are keen to know ,everything around us. We are not afraid of asking the fundamental questions of “What, How, Why or Where? However, as we turn into adults, curiosity dies within us and we tend to judge on most occasions or sometimes fail to express our curiosity ,so that we are not judged by others.

This phenomenon is true within families, organisations or societies. Parents are keen to answer the questions of children ,when they have their first child and do not consider anything silly. But, as the child grows up or gets a sibling, parents tend to shut up the child ,as they think it is obvious. We may not realise that what is obvious to us, may not be obvious to the child.

A similar phenomenon is seen in the precincts of organisations. When a young trainee arrives on the scene, the trainee is curious and wants to learn everything around. They do not mind asking the questions and more often than not, get their answers. But, as the employee matures from trainee to a mid level or senior level employee, everyone assumes that they are expected to know everything around them. If a mid level employee asks a doubt, it is frowned upon and they are judged. So, curiosity of a trainee dies as they grow in seniority.

The society around us is equally ,non-forgiving. If a child asks a fundamental question, everyone around the child is keen to answer the child. But if a teenager or adult asks a similar basic question, they are looked down upon. This attitude to life and living ,makes us less curious in life and we become like robots ,reacting to situations and environment around us.

It may be time to ask – “How do we keep the curiosity alive in us ,right through our lives ?” It may be a journey of life long learning, if we are curious rather than judgemental. Curiosity quenches our thirst for knowledge ,while judgement kills it. It may not be difficult to preach but a challenge to practise ourselves.

Let the journey begin with our family today. The extension to organisations and communities will become natural . Let us start asking “How do bots work ?” Or “Why will AI take away jobs in the future ?” And trust me ,our future generation will be a learning generation.

Let us start with ourselves today.

S Ramesh Shankar

7th April 2024