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8/13/2019 21 the World of Duality - Relevance to Our Work_0
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TheWorldofDuality:RelevancetoourWork1
BMahadevan2Everyoneofusconstantlyengage inwork24x7.Nobodyescapes thisuniversalrule.Even
the8hoursofsleepingthatwedoonadailybasisisalsoanimportantandusefulwork.We
seemtobesubjectedtoanotheruniversalrulepertainingtowork.Thisisjudgingtheresults
andthroughthatmakingourownassessmentofhowwehavedonetheworkandwhether
theresultsarecommensuratetoourefforts.Letusreturntothissimpleexampleofsleep.
Letusstartbysettingatargetthatwemustget8hoursofsoundsleep.Insimpleterms
soundsleepreferstoaconditioninwhichanyconsiderableamountofsoundmadearound
thesleepingpersonwillnotdisturbhis/hersleep.
Oncewegetupfromsleep,thefirstthingwemaynoticeisthatwedidordidnotsleepfor
the targeted8hours. This can, forexample,potentiallybotherus andmakeus feel that
despiteourbesteffortstogetagoodsleepfor8hourswesleptforonly6hours.Forthose
whogettoomuchintosuchathoughtprocess,itisalmostcertainthattheymaynotget8
hourssleeptomorroworthedayafter.Theywillburnsomemidnightoilworryingabout
howto
get
longer
hours
of
sleep,
which
will
further
induce
some
more
sleeplessness.
For
suchpeople,evensleepingpillscannotsolvetheproblemathand.Ifthisiswhatcanhappen
toa simpleactofsleeping, imagineourplightwithahostofwork thatwedoonadaily
basis.
Thereforeitishardlysurprisingthatourlevelsofhappiness,satisfactionetc.areallrelated
totheworkwedo,theoutcomeswegetfromtheworkandourownassessmentofthese
outcomes.Somefeelthatworkisnotrewardingenough.Despiteputtingeffortstheresults
arenotcommensurateenough.Thisdampensthespiritofdoingworkandleadsoneintoa
vicious cycle.The interconnectionbetweenwork,outcomes and assessmentneeds tobe
wellunderstoodotherwise,wemayendupinasituationthatworkcanbeaboringactivity
andan
act
of
drudgery.
Many
in
the
modern
society
already
feel
this
way
and
they
escape
fromtheclutchesofworkthrougharitualcalledweekendgetaway.
LordKrishnaofferssomeinsightstoArjunapertainingtotheinterconnectionbetweenwork,
outcomes and assessment. FurtherHeprovides some adviceonhowweneed tohandle
theseaspects.Weshalltakealookatthisinsomedetail.
Work,Outcomes,AssessmentandFeelingsInBhagavadGita,LordKrishnapoints toArjuna that ifheengages inworkwithacertain
understanding,theeffectsofworkwillnotbotherhimatall.Sincetheimminentproblemat
handforArjunawaswhethertoengageinwarornot,hetakestheexampleofwaritselfto
drivehomethisidea.AccordingtoLordKrishna,warleadstoaresultwhichcouldbeeither
winningorlosing(jyajyaE).Thiswillinturnleadtoanoutcomeofgainorloss(la-ala-aE)and
1 Mahadevan,B.(2013).TheWorldofDuality:RelevancetoourWork,SadgurusBlessings,Vol.10(9),May,2013,pp.2627.
2BMahadevanisaProfessorattheIndianInstituteofManagementBangalore.
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itaffects thepersonengaged in thewarbywayofhappinessorotherwise (suo>o>).He
urgesArjunatoengageinworkbytreatingthepairsofoppositesalike(smekTva)sothatthe
workandoutcomesdoesnotbotherhim(nEvoesmekTva la-ala-aEjyajyaE,
ttaeyuay yuJySv nEv
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allthetime.Inotherwords, in life,there isanelementofsurprisewithrespecttothe last
threecomponents.Unlessweunderstandthispartandknowhowtohandlethis,workcan
bedrudgeryandaboringactasmentionedbefore.Therefore,the focusmustshifttothis
aspect.
SensibleapproachtoWork
Themaster strokeof LordKrishna lies in addressing this aspectofhandling theworldof
dualities thatareassociatedwith thework.HeurgesArjuna todevelopmentalequipoise
towardsthe lastthreecomponentsoftheframework.That istheonlywaytoensurethat
workcannot leaveany traceof ill feelingorbad taste inan individual.There isapopular
misunderstandingofthese ideas.Developingmentalequipoisedoesnotmeanstopsetting
targetsforwhatwewanttodo.Thisframeworkneverprohibitsonefromsettingtargets.It
merely addresses the aftermath of that when the reality unfolds in a manner throwing
surprisesattimes.Itenablesonetosettargetswithoutasenseoffearorapprehensionof
whetheritwillbeattainedornot.
Similarly,developing
mental
equipoise
does
not
mean
developing
acasual
attitude
or
approachtowardsperformanceappraisal,outcomesetc. Itmerelypreparesthemindtoa
stateofgraciousacceptanceofoutcomesandassessments.Intheabsenceofthisattitude,
badresultmeanshatredor ill feelingsandgoodresultsmeansclimbingtocloudnine.On
the other hand, developing mental equipoise will lead an individual to a state of mind
wherein theseaspectswill stopbothering. In thisprocess,a lotofmentalenergywillbe
freedup,whichcanbegainfullyredirectedtowardstheworkitself.
Anindividualtakingsuchanapproachwilleventuallyfindthatthisincreasesthepropensity
tosucceedinwork,althoughthelongingtosucceedandthefearoffailurehaslongfadedto
thebackground.Thisistheultimategoalforuswithrespecttoengaginginwork.Thisisthe
basicprescription
of
Lord
Krishna
in
Gita.
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