Minimalism-இருந்தும் ,இல்லாமல் இரு!

 Minimalism is an old concept but is gaining ground these days when Covid 19 pandemic is trying to devour the entire world.

Minimalism is all about living with less. This is not a fad but a way of life of renunciation and deep withdrawal from worldly pleasures, which has a profound effect on the psychology of humans.

In India, many of our Saints and philosophers have talked about leading life of penance ,sacrifice and total detachment. Even wealthy persons of yester years led a life like that of a Trustees of their wealth. Gandhiji also said this in his seven sins of life:

"Wealth without work; Pleasure without Conscience;Science without humanity;Knowledge without character; Politics without principle; Commerce without Morality; Worship without sacrifice"

It is said that Gandhiji also laid lot of stress on wealthy businessmen and persons to remember that they are Trustees not owners of their wealth which provide them an opportunity to serve the people at large and for social welfare.

Minimalist philosophy emphasizes on getting rid of excess stuff and living life with less and less of worldly possessions.

This is similar to the concept of leading a life like that of water on Lotus leaf. It is a status of living attached but detached explained in Bhagavad Gita. Nishkamya karma yoga in Gita is a path on the same lines without any attachment to the results. If you stretch it , this will show that the emphasis is on being not selfish but living for the sake of greater good of the society.

In Tamilnadu, siddhars gave a concept of "இருந்தும் இல்லாமல் இரு" which is nothing but minimalism of modern era. Siddhars extended this concept even to knowing the meaning of our existence. According to them God Dhakshinamurthy symbolises total silence and  inward withdrawal of soul to know thyself. Arunagirinathar was delighted at being advised by the Lord "to remain in silence".Even getting rid of words or speech is the best way to realise the truth about oneself.

This is Minimalism at its maximum!

Ram temple and the Indian ethos

Ram temple has been the dream of millions of Indians who are Hindus, Sikhs,Buddhists, Jains and even some Muslims if not Christians,Jews etc. Why I said some Muslims, is because some of them regard and pay respect to Lord Ram as one of their ancestors. I learnt that some Muslim women of Varanasi have been performing "Shri Ram Aarti" for the past 14 years every day and sing Ram dhun.

Maryada Purushottam Ram has a special place in the ethos, culture, literature,traditions and whatnot of this country from Himalayas to Kanyakumari.He is a symbol of love and compassion and is celebrated that way in all Asian countries of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Phillipines ,as I know of. Even Thailand's Royal Kings use the name of Ram in their titles.

Ram has been a symbol of Unity and Gandhiji in modern days extensively used Ram for uniting the people of India under the banner of Purna Swaraj for Bharat. Gandhi in his Autobiography says that Ramayana and Harichandra play left indelible marks in shaping his personality defining his principles of Sathya and Ahimsa. All through his struggle for Independence he stressed the need for Ram Rajya and what it symbolises for. In his own words,

"BY RAMARAJYA I do not mean Hindu Raj. I mean by Ramarajya Divine Raj, the Kingdom of God. For me Rama and Rahim are one and the same deity. I acknowledge no other God but the one God of truth and righteousness.

Whether Rama of my imagination ever lived or not on this earth, the ancient ideal of Ramarajya is undoubtedly one of true democracy in which the meanest citizen could be sure of swift justice without an elaborate and costly procedure. Even the dog is described by the poet to have received justice under Ramarajya. (YI, 19-9-1929, p. 305)

By political independence I do not mean an imitation to the British House of commons, or the soviet rule of Russia or the Fascist rule of Italy or the Nazi rule of Germany. They have systems suited to their genius. We must have ours suited to ours. What that can be is more than I can tell. I have described it as Ramarajya i.e., sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority. (H, 2-1-1937, p. 374)

My Hinduism teaches me to respect all religions. In this lies the secret of Ramarajya. (H, 19-10-1947, p. 378)

If you want to see God in the form of Ramarajya, the first requisite is self-introspection. You have to magnify your own faults a thousand fold and shut your eyes to the faults of your neighbours. That is the only way to real progress. (H, 26-10-1947, p. 387)" (Link)

The above defined the course of Gandhiji's path in his life and in his independence movement mobilising the masses.

So Ram is deeply imbibed in Indian culture and Ayodhya is the holy point from where this has emanated and engrossed the whole country. Like Gandhiji , Lord Ram had covered the length and breadth of this country , of course mostly by foot meandering through the thickly infested forests- Dhandakaranya, Janasthan- and then to Sri Lanka.Like Gandhiji, he stood firm on his beliefs and promises come what may. Like Gandhiji, he led a life of renunciation and penance to keep up his promise.Like Gandhiji, he wanted to shun violence and pardon his opponent for his misdeeds by giving him an opportunity to return Sita back .

Gandhiji truly imbibed all the best moral characteristics Lord Ram stood for and that is why even when he was shot he died uttering "Hey Ram".

Gandhiji said Unto the Last and this inclusive concept started from Ram nam.In Vishnu Sahasranam , Parvati asks how a simpleton who does not know 1000 names of Vishnu will ever worship the Lord and Eswar obliges Her saying that Ram naam is equal to 1000 names of Vishnu .So the last man standing shall worship by chanting Ram naam so that nobody is left behind.

So constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya in independent India has been the dreams of millions of indians for over 500 years and the foundation stone laying on 5th August has been the culmination of this dream.

Board diversity and "what if " strategy

The other day somebody told me that Abraham Lincoln after winning the elections , formed his first cabinet with three of the people who were his rivals for Republican nomination. Lincoln had a logic- Cabinet should represent diverse views and perspectives and also fiercely independent.

Should a Corporate Board reflect such diversity and independence? Every director in the Board brings with him or her wisdom for running the business and board diversity ensures that several new windows are opened and explored, new doors are found and hidden doors are unhinged.

One of the tasks for Boards is to form Committees like Audit Committee,NRC, Independent Directors' Committee etc. Now with rapid  and disrupting changes happening around you,the importance of forming Risk Management Committee, Technology Adaptation Committee, Business Strategy Committee etc. has gained quite a bit of traction. Invariably for effective functioning of these Committees, Boards must have requisite reservoir of expertise and experience.

In this respect it is worthwhile to consider what Elon Musk has said about adopting first principles of thinking. Usually first principles of thinking process involves breaking down a larger complex issue into its conceivable parts for a coherent, cogent and cohesive understanding. But Musk says getting rid of preconceived conceptions about what you are creating is first principle of thinking - new age thinking.

Technology with its long hands of IoT, AI, Robotics, ML, DL,Industry 4.0,3D printing etc. ,has occupied the pride of place in managing today's Companies be it Shopfloor or Boardroom.

The second most important part of decision-making in the Board room should be asking "What-if " questions to the Strategy development. Board members must not shy away or hesitate to ask "what if "questions on all problems they foresee and look for the impact of such scenario analysis on the expected results. They should not hesitate to seek the help of outside experts for a report on such objective views with back up sensitivity analysis,data mining etc.

As a corollary, Board must always look for fail safe mechanism and should have a Plan B, Plan C etc up their sleeves, if their strategy meets unexpected risks and Black Swan or Grey Rhino events.

Many a grand strategy flounder when "what if" questions are not asked by Board members before approving the Strategy.