Every year in August Swami Parthasarathy visits South Africa with his daughter Sunandaji to conduct lectures on the ancient philosophy of India, Vedanta. Vedanta was originally one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, but its detonation has widened to include all thoughts developed out of the Upanishads. Parthasarathy translates these subtle philosophical themes into a practical technique of living, many of which would serve South Africa well. History is the best source of lessons for those navigating a complex world, and one wonders if those in power are taking notes. – Stuart Lowman
By Riaz Gardee*
South Africa is forecasting ‘growth’ of 0% in 2016, has over 5 million people unemployed and facing a ratings downgrade in the short-term. The global economy is also under severe strain and any new ideas that could resolve the dire situation needs further consideration. Can a 4 000 year-old ancient philosophy provide a blueprint to remedy our social and economic quagmire?
Pre-eminent philosopher and arguably the greatest living exponent of India’s 4 000 year old Vedanta philosophy, Swami Parthasarathy, is on a South African lecture tour to expound this wisdom. He has been a speaker at the World Economic Forum, Oxford University, Harvard, Gordon Institute of Business Sciences, Google, Microsoft, NASA and various other high-profile platforms around the world as well as featured in pre-eminent publications such as Time Magazine and Forbes. Often described as the ‘Business Guru’ he has even been referenced by South African billionaire Jannie Mouton in his autobiography ‘and then they fired me’. But who is he and what are all these high-powered people learning from a globe-trotting 90-year old Swami?
He obtained a postgraduate degree from University College, London and then left his thriving family shipping business ‘and Rolls-Royce’ to study Vedantic philosophy which he has been doing for the last 65 years. In the process he has written 10 books of which 3 are best-sellers and still travels around the world at the age of 90 to teach the philosophy.
The cornerstone of his teaching implores people to develop and use their intellect instead of blindly following their mind-driven desires. The human personality consists of an outer body and two inner equipments defined as the mind and the intellect. The mind is made up of feelings and emotions, likes and dislikes. The nature of the mind is to slip into the past and the future resulting in stress, fatigue and anxiety which are typically, but falsely, attributed to being caused by work. The intellect is the faculty to reason, think and judge whereas intelligence is acquiring information used to make a living which universities around the world are focussed upon teaching.
This explains why even highly educated people suffer from stress, anger or addictions. He says, ‘Thinking is an art, a skill which must be learnt just as you learn to play the violin.’ It does not develop instinctively whereas mind-driven emotions and desires are instinctive. By way of an analogy the adult is the intellect and the 3 year-old child chasing every desire is the mind which the adult is constantly holding in check.
The world is a projection of your mind… ~ Swami Parthasarathy #ThinkBIGSundaywithMarsha pic.twitter.com/b2kVwfNt3j
— Hope S. (@HopeInspire) May 22, 2016
People with intelligence start businesses but without a developed intellect it cannot continue as evidenced by perpetual collapses of large business houses and economic crashes occurring ever so often. Companies and economies can be dominant but after a relatively short period no longer even feature. All these problems are due to undeveloped intellects, who are unable to control the rampant and limitless desires emanating from the mind, making poor decisions as a result thereof. A strong intellect can only be developed by one’s self.
Another mistake made by businesses is to encourage
selfishness through incentives instead of initiative. When you conduct business objectively for a higher cause you develop an initiative to work drawing one to work tirelessly with enthusiasm. For example a higher cause to your personal remuneration is the sales of the company. A person with no such higher ideal and selfishness becomes fatigued regularly requiring breaks and weekends. Management try to counter this with further incentives to boost work output which ultimately results in a decline in business acumen and productivity.
This somewhat explains the often cited toxic culture in investment banking. The current need is to carefully study and analyse between initiative and incentive. Many European banks and others are now placing limitations on their bonus structure after realising that incentives have not delivered the intended results but instead destroyed companies and economies.
All unselfish persons are contented and happy whilst a personal selfish motive spoils the quality of work. Dedication to a greater cause has to be initiated by the leader whether it is in the business, in the home or in politics. It is futile for a leader to expect co-operation of workers when he does not take the lead. ‘Whatever the leader does that alone the others would do,’ he says.
Corruption is present when intellect is absent. A corrupt person is one deprived of education and the right values have not been instilled from the beginning.
Read also: “Arms Deal unleashed culture of corruption”
You should assess your own nature and choose projects which reference to your capacity and time available to achieve them. Ensure that it is aligned to your fundamental nature and find a field that you are naturally inclined towards and enjoy working in. Thus a person with an engineering tendency should not choose a medical field and vice versa. Managers must also bear this in mind when selecting personnel to complete a task at hand. Even the Greek philosopher Aristotle said ‘Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.’
All management skill essentially reduces to self-management by developing the intellect to control the mind. After selecting a vocation which you are naturally inclined towards set a higher unselfish objective. Thereafter the intellect must focus the mind on the task at hand without allowing it to slip away into the past and future. The way to develop and strengthen the intellect is to question everything, not take anything for granted, to think independently and originally whereas people the world over indiscriminately follow. Learn how to build a strong intellect and live a happy life.
Public lectures to be held in Durban on the 2nd of August at Durban High School and in Johannesburg on the 10th of August at the Linder Auditorium.
- Riaz Gardee is a mergers & acquisitions specialist, financial writer and contributor to various media platforms including print, online, radio and television.
