Before we delve into the human aspect of business, it would be pertinent to understand the perspective of human life, as explained in the following story:
There lived in the olden days a wise old man who was a potter. He was renowned for his wisdom and people from all over would flock to him for advice.
One day, his son came to him and asked, “Father, can you tell me what the real meaning of life is? Is it only the physical comfort and the food we eat? Or is it something much more than that?”
His father replied, “Go and learn the ways of the world. Go, seek deep within yourself, meditate and seek for the answer”.
The son meditated, learnt the ways of the world and when he thought that he was close to a solution, he went back to his father.
“Father”, he said, “Life is all about “life energy”. Life is Vitality. If a person does not have the vitality, the enthusiasm, the zest, the zeal, the will to do, he would be like a worm; a being without a spinal chord. Life would be meaningless without the life energy.
So, Father, life is all about vitality.”
The son continued.
“However, Father, I am not sure if I have the complete answer. I think life is much more than that”.
“Go, meditate and you will have your answer, my son”, were his father’s words.
The son goes and meditates, seeking the answer to life. Something stirs within him. A thought strikes him and then he goes back to his father.
“Father, I have observed that you have the knowledge about almost everything. When any ailing person comes to you, you remember the right herbs and with all empathy treat him to wellness. When the chief of army comes for a strategy, you have the imagination for the right moves. And then when he leaves, he is fully charged; ready to fight. You have the right advice for the husband and the wife, when they come to you with problems of relationship. Your advice is like a soothing balm."
"You seem to have all the knowledge by heart, about almost everything. Not only that, you use it to arouse the right kind of emotions uniquely for everyone. Therefore, to my mind, if I have the intelligence, the power of memory and the right emotional balance, I would have understood life.”
His father smiled at him.
The son was however restless, for something inside him told him that his answer was yet incomplete.
The father again counseled him. "Meditate, my son, you yourself will receive your answer."
After a while he, came back and said, “Father, I think I have the answer. The people call you 'the wise man', because you have that 'wisdom'. Beyond information is wisdom. A person should have the wisdom to know the right from the wrong, the truth from the evil and the good from the bad. If I have the wisdom that you have, father, I think I would have understood life.
The father smiled at his son, understandingly.
But, Father, the son continued, “I am not satisfied. I know whatever I have said is not wrong, but at the same time, something within tells me I have more to learn, to understand life.”
“Then meditate even more intensely, son.”
He mediated more intensely and this time came back with a expression which was almost divine. You could almost see an aura around him.
With folded hands, in reverence, he stood in front of his father and said, “I have the answer now, Father. When I transcended my mind and dived deep within myself, I touched a divine spirit. A spark of divine consciousness aroused me. Oh, father it was a heavenly experience, but so difficult to explain. You would have to experience it yourself, to understand what I am saying. But, I knew for sure, that this is what I was seeking. This realisation was what I was aspiring for, all my life.”
“Life to me is the awakening to the inner reality of my being, realising a spirit which is divine."
Then, the father, with tears of affection in his eyes, embraced his son and said“, Yes son, this is life”.
If you have noticed, not once had the wise father disagreed with his son.
For he knew, Life was,
Not only about being physically comfortable
but also about having vitality.
Life was not only being intelligent,
having the power of memory
and having the right emotional balance,
but was also about having wisdom.
Lastly, life was not only seeking
the spark of divine consciousness within,
but also realising it.
Taking a cue from this story the philosophy of HR policies in organizations would be discussed in my next article:
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