Rembering my eternal friend Osho on Guru Purnima

There are people all around who are out to destroy your individuality, who are trying to enslave you and turn you into their camp-followers. It is their ego trip; it gratifies their ego to know so many people follow them. The larger the number of followers, the greater is their ego. Then they feel they are somebodies people have to follow. And then they try to enslave those who follow them, and enslave them in every way. They impose their will, even their whims on them, in the name of discipline. They take away their freedom and virtually reduce them to their serfs. Because their freedom poses a challenge to their egos, they do everything to destroy their freedom. All gurus, all masters do it. This statement of Krishna is extraordinary, rare, and it has tremendous significance. No guru, no master can have the courage to say what Krishna says to Arjuna, "Be immaculately yourself." Only a friend, a comrade can say it. And remember, Krishna is not a guru to Arjuna, he is his friend. He is with him as a friend and not as a master. No master could agree to be his disciple's charioteer as Krishna does with Arjuna in the war of the Mahabharat. Rather, a master would have his disciple as his charioteer; he would even use him for a horse for his chariot. (1970)

(Osho - Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy #4 )

A CASE OF THE MISSING CLIENT

As consultants, many of us are intrigued by the mysterious disappearance of clients, post recession.

Neither have they communicated any reason of their disappearance from the horizons of possible engagements. Nor have they left any forwarding address for us to attempt re-engaging.

What could have happened?

Well, in my experience, in this age of 'constant-beta', it seems that consulting as a profession seems to be going through radical redefinition.

This includes those in legal, medical, technical, financial and such other professions.

A completely new set of client expectations is spawning a new genre of consulting – New Age Consulting.

Clients are expecting consultants – employed with corporations, on contract or independent - to take on different roles. Sometimes that of a parent, sometimes a mid-wife and sometimes even a housewife. As one of my consultant friends aptly eulogized, consultants are now expected to become Draupadis. Not just in being comfortable with polygamy but also in terms of relating to different partners differently.

Are we prepared? Are we equipped to sense and respond to clients' needs of relating differently? From an expert, to a guide, to a facilitator, to a coach or just a trusted agent?

Are we ready to let go of the holier than thou posture of a sage-on-the-stage to become a guide-by-the side?

I guess, it's all about figuring out the nuances of balancing

• Holding on and letting go
• Dependency and independence
• Pushing back and empathizing
• Participating and facilitating and finally
• Clients' expectation and consultants' recommendations.

At a deeper level it's about the readiness to un-carve oneself from the traditional mold of what in my mind a consultant's role is to perhaps re-carve to take on the role of a New Age consultant. Some sort of coping with the insecurities of letting go of the familiar, faith in the unfamiliar and go-getting to respond to whatever seems to be the clients' crying need.

Which is all about listening. Listening that is surrendered, unconditional and devoid of any judgment or interpretation what so ever.

I invite comments from fellow consultants to get some clues to unravel the mystery of the missing clients.

A CASE OF THE MISSING CLIENTS

As consultants, many of us are intrigued by the mysterious disappearance of clients, post recession.

Neither have they communicated any reason of their disappearance from the horizons of possible engagements. Nor have they left any forwarding address for us to attempt re-engaging.

What could have happened?

Well, in my experience, in this age of 'constant-beta', it seems that consulting as a profession seems to be going through radical redefinition.

This includes those in legal, medical, technical, financial and such other professions.

A completely new set of client expectations is spawning a new genre of consulting – New Age Consulting.

Clients are expecting consultants – employed with corporations, on contract or independent - to take on different roles. Sometimes that of a parent, sometimes a mid-wife and sometimes even a housewife. As one of my consultant friends aptly eulogized, consultants are now expected to become Draupadis. Not just in being comfortable with polygamy but also in terms of relating to different partners differently.

Are we prepared? Are we equipped to sense and respond to clients' needs of relating differently? From an expert, to a guide, to a facilitator, to a coach or just a trusted agent?

Are we ready to let go of the holier than thou posture of a sage-on-the-stage to become a guide-by-the side?

I guess, it's all about figuring out the nuances of balancing

• Holding on and letting go
  
• Dependency and independence
  
• Pushing back and empathizing
  
• Participating and facilitating and finally
  
• Clients' expectation and consultants' recommendations.
  

At a deeper level it's about the readiness to un-carve oneself from the traditional mould of what in my mind a consultant's role is to perhaps re-carve to take on the role of a New Age consultant. Some sort of coping with the insecurities of letting go of the familiar, faith in the unfamiliar and go-getting to respond to whatever seems to be the clients' crying need.

Which is all about listening. Listening that is surrendered, unconditional and devoid of any judgment or interpretation what so ever.

I invite comments from fellow consultants to get some clues to unravel the mystery of the missing clients.

Teachers or terrorists?

It was a painfully eye-opening experience.

We were in Mangalore in the last week of May' 2010 to conduct a 2-day session for about 60 teachers of one of the most reputed schools in out there. Very hopefully and perhaps a shade foolishly we had named the session Enabling the Enablers. A complete misnomer when I look back at the two flawed assumptions on the basis of which we wanted to facilitate the program

1. The teachers were 'enabling' the students and
   
2. They were open to being 'enabled'.
   

As a practice we get the participants to 'contract' with us that they have come with intent to go through the experience of unlearning and learning to take away some actionable insights for individual and institutional development. Here also we did it. And this time, may be sensing some dis-connect, we at length explained the objective behind this process, the learning and participation norms that they are required to follow and how crucial it is to be authentic about their statements for us to partner in the learning process and make it effective.

Only y'day I was going through these forms which we call as Expression of Intent to Participate only to realize most of what most have written were outright lies. Just some good words, the right thing to say and something that will make me seen as 'respectable'.

Right from the word go, it seemed that they were doing a favor to us by feigning to participate. When I say 'they' I mean 90% of the 53 teachers present on day one, session one. Otherwise engaged in random side-talks, getting response from them to any inquiry was almost like magic. Barring a few, unless solicited, beseeched or provoked, most will look at you dumb as if they even haven't heard or seen anything, which was quite likely looking at their pre-occupation with their side-businesses during the workshop.

Only thing that worked sometime was provocation. And that too would be more a reaction of judgment, aggression or defiance.

Towards the end of day one, when they were brought together to work on a common agenda as a large group what came out to their shock and dismay was rampant false agreement and in authenticity. What came to our shock and dismay however was their collective defense of their in authentic behavior the excuse being that is the only way to be socially acceptable.

Day two wasn't much different. Even after we shifted gears and moved into being appreciative most of the group members continued to lie and defy. The writing was very clear on the wall – YOU CAN NOT 'ENABLE' US. WE ARE ALREADY 'ENABLED'. Enabled to disable. Designed to be resign. Their learning disabilities shamelessly peeking out of their masks as they reveled in being their positions (as custodians of knowledge and learning), finding the enemy out there (which included the management and parents) and of course finding comfort in the collective misery of the 'boiling frog'.

I was beginning to feel alarmed thinking of the 1400 students whose lives these teachers were impacting day in and day out. The best I thought I could do is wake them up from their self-imposed stupor of arrogance and aggression to hold a mirror for them to see what they have become. Getting them to see the ugly masks that they were donning. Some shied away, some cried while most, in their disgust and hatred of their own persona threw stones at the mirror breaking it into may more pieces. Showing them more of their self-imposed false-hood and incongruity.

Towards the end, I realized it was an organized movement of collective lose-lose. They have imbibed their conditioned comfort zones as operating beliefs. They have built a culture of collective disability. And they have co-created for themselves collective agendas to sabotage the mission of the institution believing that to be the right thing to do. With awesome conviction and passion. So much like the terrorists.

As one of the minority members of this group of teachers had commented, some teachers were there by choice and some by chance. It seemed, most of the group, which by now had reduced to 47, were there by chance, engaging in fooling themselves and believing that they could fool others too. Totally dis-interested to seek ordination to the very cause of them being in that role, that is, of molding 1400 young lives to be honorable and honest citizens of this country. And on the contrary pursuing for themselves their own selfish designs to take care of their deep seated sense of malice and misery.

Death is lurking in corporate corridors

Sometimes it takes a series of events, so unfathomable, for reality to truly hit home.

Since the beginning of 2008, 24 employees at France Telecom have committed suicide and an additional 13 have attempted suicide. Many of these victims left suicide notes implying the company’s working environment was a key factor in their decisions — one even explicitly cited “overwork, stress, absence of training and the total disorganization in the company.”

In September, the telecom giant announced the launch of a training program that will teach its 22,000 managers to recognize signs of depression. A reactive measure akin to handing out first-aid kits and addressing the symptom rather than the root problem:

Closer home, the sad demise of Ranjan Das, MD, SAP India, late last year was another of those many reminders that have been trying to knock open the doors of our collective consciousness.

This is not the first time. There have been natural and not-so-natural deaths of members of India Inc reported galore over the last few years. Not necessarily due to reasons of failing physical health but also because of suicide, depression and other emotional dis-ease.

The tendency has been to look at the cause of such unfortunate event to try and get a corrective fix. Not ever wonder that death after all, from a systemic perspective, is a natural intervention happening to restore the overall systemic harmony.

The questions here are more fundamental. What are we doing to ensure a harmonious existence at workplace? What are we doing to ensure that certain amount of ease prevails amidst the entire struggle? What are we doing to call upon the collective consciousness to look within and figure out how each one of us is contributing to the systemic dis-harmony and dis-ease? What are we doing to bring in a state of watchfulness, a much required awakening of the individual and institutional awareness?

Warming up to a game that is got up

The sun shines

Withering leaves

Blossoming fragrances

The sun shines

Scurrying ants

Kids without pants

The sun shines

Wailing widows

Rolling meadows

The sun shines

Thirsting travellers

Drunken revellers

The sun shines

The dying few

The drying dew

The sun shines

The sun sets

Never to rise

Getting on the nerves

Of the fool and the wise

"Who asked you to switch of the light

To take away the heat

To stop the flight"

After all, aren't we all

Waiting to warm up

To a game that is got up?

Year 2010 - a year of awakening and evolution

The Year 2010 is a year of awakening and evolution.

Awakening to the truth of transcendental reality beyond the illusion of dyadic realities. Evolution of mankind from the 'maya' of drawing power from external sources to discovering and uncovering the infinities source of The Power Within.

It is a year of co-existence and harmony of the dvaita (2) and the advaita (1) amidst the primordial truth of the shunya (0).

The essential energy of the prime number 67 snuggles inside life-force inherent during this period. It will manifest in seemingly disruptive changes in the external environment calling upon us to respond from the freshness of our conscious presence. It demands a sustained spirit of inquiry and expanded consciousness for us to sense and see beyond the limited linear logical view that we are habituated to.

While the Universe in it's own way will intervene to accompany us in this journey of awakening and evolution, The Power Within @ Home - as the event has been ground up meant to be - would be a catalytic process for us to co-discover and co-create new evolving realities for ourselves. In harmony with other fellow humans. Sharing the pleasure and pains of movement. Transforming our loneliness to alone-ness.   This note is a gentle knock on the doors of consciousness. A call of compassion to move out of the dream of being awake to experience true awakening.

Stand out and watch

I loved with fanatic zeal
Single-minded and completely
Absorbed
Justifying it as an act of faith
Of purpose and cause
I drew from this love the nectar of existence
The very reason for my substinence
Till existence
Chose to distance
My love from me
Making me feel
Painfully abandoned
The blinding pain
Of severance
Not allowing me to perceive
To ackmowledge and receive
The love of mankind
The gentle balm of
Univeral compassion
That promised to engulf
To protect and preserve
Till I could move out of
The orbit of
Attachement
To stand out and watch

Lest I get to Him

Was looking for him for many ages
Through many paths, many stages
Many doors knocked
Worshipped my sages
Many rituals and rites performed
Many books and scriptures adorned
Was looking for him everywhere
In all my acts, in all my crazes
Till one day I reached his doorstep
Had glimpsed him earlier sometimes
Somewhere far away near the stars
And by the time I could go there
He was not near anywhere
But today finally I have reached his doorstep
Even the sign shows his name
Excited and joyous having reached my destination
Took in my hand to knock the chain
Was about to tap the door
When suddenly was overcome by a fear
What will happen
If the door opens and
And he comes near
What will I be left with to do
What will I left with to pursue
What goals and objectives will lead me now
What pre-occupation and passion will drive me now
If I get him
There won’t be any more
Any journey, any sojourn
No destination, nothing to earn
Trembling with fear
I released the chain, softly
Lest the knock makes him open the door
Took off my shoes to
Gently tip-toe down the stairs
Lest that the sound of my footsteps
Are heard
I ran with all my might
Away till I was out of sight
Never daring to look back
At what could have been the end of my fight

You will find me looking for his house everywhere
In different places – dark and fair
Though I know where it is
I still ask for his address
Though I know it full well
I still look for him, the place of his dwell
Far far away, sometime, somewhere
I glimpse his awesome presence -
And I am sure he would have left
Till I could manage to reach him there
So I continue to look for him everywhere
Except the place where he lives
I never ever go close to his dwelling
My pathways now designed
To keep me away from straying

Lest I get to Him.

Your illegitimate children

Realities of life
That you were running away from
Shook you up awake today
And made you open the doors
To let life in
Life - that was abandoned
Ages ago
Along with Shame
Guilt, Remorse and sorrow -
Your Illegitimate children
Who you believe
Do not have a right
To co-exist with your
Adopted child - Happiness
They have been hovering around you
Waiting at the door
Hoping innocently it would open one day
And you will let them in.

Today they are staring in your face
Right at your doorstep
Looking for their step sibling
Compassion
With a silent prayer to be let in
Knowing that they belong to you
You watch them from a distance
You have no option now
But to give them space and let them in
Worrying what will happen to your
Designer children - Joy and Peace
And to your dream adopted child
Happiness

Illegitimate children -
Never mind even if they belong to you
Are illegitimate after all
You see your distanced children
Closing up on you
Seeking ownership
Yearning to to be held by your
Essential other - Love
You allow them, accept them
Continue to watch them -
Growing, overwhelming, overbearing
Making you loose your identity
Making you believe
You are them
Your illegitimate other
Till love enters - lightening up the space around
In soft hues of gold and pink
Dispelling the gloom and doubt of identification
Bringing your awarness to your awareness
That you are not your emotions
Your feelings, your sense perceptions
You are not your dreams and imaginations
You are the space in which they appear
And you are the one who is aware
You ARE the awareness
The knowing
The Now.

The original sin of knowledge acquistion

Original sin is said to result from the Fall of Man, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.


And we still continue to crave for knowledge - the most potent hallucinogen which is not only postponing the awakening of man's consciousness but also making him dream that he is awake.

Ironically, knowledge therefore is the biggest cause of ignorance, the inner darkness.

The addictive nature of knowledge acqusition makes it a never ending, ever increasing pursuit.

And more he acuires knowledge, farther does man move away from the realties of existence.

"Missing the mark" again and again.

PS : The root of the word sin in Hebrew means "missing the mark". :)

Enterprise Awareness – the way out of the econo-karmic cycle

The industry over ages has been in the karmic shackles of economic busts and booms. Each crash and recovery has given opportunity for emergence of management gurus propounding theories and practices for deliverance. Yet, as we all know that in an act of collective powerlessness, organizations have given up on the hope of getting out this econo-karmic cycle calling it an economic reality.

It is absolutely fallacious, in the first place, to view organizations as mere economic entities. All humanistic systems, no matter with what intent or accident they have been created with, are living evolving ecological entities – organismic in nature. This fallacy has led to believing in the lifelessness and powerlessness of organizations to transcend man made forces like that of economy.

No, I am not talking of any breakthrough strategy or best practice drawn by analyzing from the past for attaining enterprise nirvana. Enterprise deliverance or nirvana is on the contrary possible by moving out of analysis and awakening the enterprise awareness.

Enterprise awareness is not about thoughts, words or actions. In fact all that you label as actions are reactions. Come to think of it all action plans – be it responding to a customer enquiry, designing a solution or even ‘proactive’ customer support - all of these are ‘reaction’ plans based on the picture-framed thoughts of the past which you often call knowledge. Ordinarily most enterprises as they are today are not capable of any original action unless they have awakened the Enterprise Awareness.

Enterprise Awareness is a collective intelligence of the enterprise which is much higher than the collective rational and emotional intelligence. Like a mirror it reflects the present and gives rise to fresh, spontaneous actions. Such action is a response and demonstration of true response-ability. Conscious awareness-led actions are not governed by any limiting laws of economy. However, they create and enhance value of the overall ecology. All innovations, pioneering initiatives and practice leaderships have emerged from such awareness and actions emanating there from.

How does one awaken the enterprise awareness? The obvious answer is by mastering the enterprise thinking which is easier said than done. You don’t ‘think’ – it does not happen by choice. On the contrary you are a slave to your mind full of thoughts. So then how is enterprise awareness awakened? The simple yet alien technique of all techniques which can bring any entity to a state of conscious awareness is witnessing.

It may be worth recognizing at this point in time that awareness – whether it is individual or institutional - is eternally virgin. It is gifted at the instance of inception and with it comes the natural ability of witnessing. To be a witness therefore you need to unlearn the habituated language of thoughts and to do that you need to quieten the mind. In fact you need to negate the mind as a silent or quiet mind is an oxymoron. In silence the mind dies and with it the thoughts and the sense of identification.

Another important rule to observe is to slow down chasing your competition. It will take you no farther than the next traffic signal where you are stopped along with your contender. Slowing down and stepping back throws you out of your habitual pattern of mindfulness and gets you in touch with your primordial awareness.

All thoughts and words emanating there from are judgmental and evaluative in nature. Remember even when you are complimenting someone you have intruded with your thoughts into the pristine presence of the other. Withhold judgments and evaluations. In fact withhold, if possible any language, for most language learnt and used by us are judgmental in nature.

Finally stop identifying yourself with the events around you. Being a witness demands non-association with problems solutions, opportunities, threats, constraints and enablers. It demands a certain amount of passivity as a witness and therefore a certain amount of surrender to accept things as they are. The actions that will arise from such innate intelligence will not only help you transcend the karmic cycles of economy but also tap into the non local ecological awareness – the universal awareness in which all life exists – leading to being in perfect harmony with enterprise evolution.

The Ten commanments for New Age Human

Myth of emptiness

Emptiness has become one of the favorite words of glossary of the noveau spritual wisdom. It's promiscous use has hardly left any scope of any emptiness around.

Just like a ray of sun peeping in through an open window into an empty room shows up the suspended dust particles, so does awareness show the suspended thoughts in our space of mythical emptiness.

Surrender to the fleetingness of this reality. Accept all that is there suspended. Afterall, emptiness is a something that comes with infintite potential to be filled.

Wake up from the dream of being awake. And be(a)ware of the dangersously trojan ego of egolessness.

There can't be anything more suicidal than the ego of egolessness .

Let there be love and only love!!

A call of compassion

Most of us, most often, have been conditioned to believe that we are powerless and helpless. No wonder, in face of calamities, the impulsive behavior we get to see is of helpless anger and withdrawal. We also conveniently believe that the source of power lies outside us. In the positions we hold, in the assets we own, in the money we make and status we enjoy. And therefore frantically cling on to these illusive ‘power points’ in hope of survival.

In the current context, however, if we look around at what is happening around us, it will be evident that the existence of all that we are deriving power from is being threatened – the money that buys us comfort, the workplaces that promises our position, the social security, the energy that powers our devices, the fuel that runs our vehicle.

Have you ever thought what could be the scheme of things? Where are we being led to?

Could it be that the humanistic system is calling upon us to discover and anchor ourselves in the infinite source of The Power Within? Something that we have been blissfully unaware of and postponing the discovery for a long time?

Could it be that in the coming years, which according to some is as close as 2012, we shall have nothing in the external to live upon and that in order to survive we shall be required to create our own realties by consciously investing in our innate life-giving forces, our potentials, which incidentally, are much more than what has been realized?

Could it be that because we, as human beings, have not exercised the choice that was given to us to evolve consciously, we are being confronted with threats of extinction?

Well, the choice to perish or preserve our being lies with us. Unlike most other natural beings, Nature is not going to take care of our evolution. We are privileged to have been endowed with the power to self-transform and the choice to do so. And those who do, shall evolve (and therefore survive). Those who are working towards surviving somehow shall not.

Here's a call to those who sense the urgency and wish to take the first step towards creating their own reality and set out on a journey of conscious evolution, without any further postponement.

A call to wake up from the dream of being awake and re-claim the innate power that we are born with. As humans.