So, in today’s world, you know, when our people are struggling to establish
themselves, in an Organization, in a society, in a family, I think,
‘Inner guidance’ is more important.
How can organizations, like today’s organizations, which are going through so
much of anxiety and stress, business leaders, especially company CEOs, how can they put
this practice in their lives or rather how can they prepare themselves to accept this?
Well, acceptance is the main thing.
Do you think you need it?
Once you think that you really need something like this, something that can
take you further in your consciousness, if it can help you make decisions faster,
if it can make you emotionally stable, if it can make you wiser, if it can make you
rightfully discriminative and if it can make you heartfully rich, then this is the way.
I do believe that, you know you should not go into spirituality or things like
this so much, that my family life suffers.
At the same time, I should not go into material proliferation so much,
that my spiritual life suffers.
I must be able to integrate them both, masterfully.
Not being able to do that, will be like a bird trying to fly with one wing
and that will be a tragic situation.
And that is why, there is frustration, anxiety, tension and depression.
So, in today’s world, you know, when our people are struggling to establish
themselves, in an organization, in a society, in a family, I think, ‘Inner guidance’ is
more important - Inner Guidance coming from your own heart, very clearly, it must come.
Then it has some value to it, you see.
So meditation promotes, though not directly, but indirectly, it will
lead us to permanent happiness.
And that is only the beginning.
It is a stepping stone.
Happy mind is more creative.
So, if you are going to be a creative person, see, take time, go back, relax,
pause and see how creative you can become.
A calm mind can create much more than a turbulent mind.
You started out also as an young entrepreneur at some point of time.
How did meditation help you through that journey, through that stressful
journey of becoming somebody or wanting to be successful?
Well, I started my first business in Pharmacy when I was twenty four.
That was in New York city.
And like many of the immigrants, we did not go with tons of wealth.
I went with twenty dollars in my pocket, you see.
But I had tremendous courage that I will make it.
Of course, the system also was so good.
The system is always promoting the entrepreneurs.
I started with very little amount, with ten thousand dollars from my pocket.
And a time came when I more or less retired in 2003, we had almost
fourteen drug stores in New York city.
And to me personally, it is more satisfying.
During that period, the guidance that I got within from my heart,
was amazing, tremendously amazing; “What to do next, whom to hire?
Is this person right?” Sometime, you find something not very right happening
around you in the business world.
And you try to be revengeful, if you are not very careful, you see.
But you hold back.
If an employee makes a mistake, it is natural that you might get upset.
But then hold back on that anger and see what to do and how to improve that situation.
Because, once you fire someone, there is no other expert who is going to come back.
He is also going to make a mistake.
So it is better to allow that person to learn from his mistake, rather than replace him.
Now, I tell you, the employees that I have since 1984, are still with us.
No one has left.
And each chain, it continues like that.
Now, we have quite a number of stores now, actually, you see, in New York
city, which are being looked after by my associates with whom I started then.
They are all flourishing very well and all of them meditate.
In times of trouble, if at all it comes, I think, it is best to close
your eyes and see for yourself.
But wiser thing would be not to allow the trouble to surface in the first
place by not taking wrong decisions.
You will always take rightful decisions, when you have a meditative mind.
It is a very important part that you talked about the team, like they also meditate
and hence there is that kind of [bonding].
How can leaders do that in their organizations?
How can they build this culture of Heartfulness in their organizations?
In 1980s, and for most part of 1990s, Bulls, the basketball team from Chicago led by
Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson was their coach.
He would ensure that the team players, will close their eyes, atleast for ten
minutes and sit quietly and meditate.
This particular team, I mean, they ruled.
They were Champions for years after years after years.
And when Phil Jackson moved from Bulls to I think LA Lakers, there too he
started this jinx, meditation there, and Lakers became the Champions again.
It shows something, you see, that the team together, when they resonate mentally at
the same level, the reciprocity is there.
And if there is some sort of an enmity, because of whatever may
have happened, meditation washes it, cleans it away from your heart.
Because, you cannot remain conscientious and also entertain
bad feelings about your teammate.
You would confess to your friend and say, “I am sorry, I have been thinking like
this, I should not be [like this].” So, you will end up mellowing yourself, you
will become cleaner from inside, right?
And this is also one of the practices that we offer in Heartfulness – how to
keep our intentions cleaner, clearer and something that can not only
benefit me, but benefit the rest of us.
Also, this aspect of cleaning that we adopt as a Practice, it is almost like meditation.
It is done in the evening.
With this Cleaning, we are able to let go of any complexities or
opinions or impressions that we form about someone, or about ourselves.
We try to get rid of it.
It is like, they say you know, you go to sleep with clear conscience.
Your life will become better.
That is what we try to do, how to remain with a clear conscience.
You cannot just have it by wishing, you better do something about it.
Adopt some practice that can help you do it.