SPIRITUAL LESSONS FROM RECENT POLLS

Last week, electoral results were declared for four States and a Union Territory. Political leaders, mediapersons, analysts and spin doctors are all giving explanations as usual, based on some kind of a backward calculation leading from results to causes. Needless to say, they all went wrong and now want to go right.

However, there is need to go deeper and explore reasons outside the realms of socio-political boundaries that we often limit our thoughts with in such matters. The first lesson is that voters are not a piece of statistic, or a member of caste or a class only. They are first and foremost individuals who see, think, feel and act. Of course not in the right way all the time, but mostly. And exceptions in the form of die-hard supporters are also there.

But human beings are emotional and not mathematical models and the results of the recent elections reflected this angle more than anything else. While the poll arithmetic, the fallacious yet most popular and supposedly scientific basis for predicting electoral outcomes went awry largely, the individual stamped his seal on the ballot decisively. In fact, this has always happened, only the so-called analysts will not believe or not like us to believe. And rightly so, because they might lose their jobs. So it is thriving on lies, damn lies and of course statistics as famous British Statesman and Premier Benjamin Disraeli had said.

So what do these election results have for the spiritual-minded? First and foremost is the lesson that was given long back by Vidur, the wise man of the Mahabharata. To quote: “Ideas and policies also have a life like human beings.” May we extend this to political parties? Perhaps yes, if we carefully assess how the fate of the oldest party swung this time.

The second lesson came from Bengal. It reiterated in rather unambiguous terms that the age-old wisdom which said that there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics, only permanent interests, is right. So two long-time rivals joined hands. But there is also a corollary to this. It is from the Ramayana that says only noble intentions make alliances work. Alliances driven only by self-interest ultimately get exposed.

The third lesson comes from Assam and it is validation of the hypothesis formulated long ago by US President Abraham Lincoln: “You can fool some people all the time, all the people some time, but not all the people all the time.”

Down South in Tamil Nadu, the return of the incumbent Chief Minister proved that rules do not always work and don’t take anything for granted. So the present Government broke an over three decade rule by returning to power. Kerala results established that change is the only certainty. From Puducherry, the lesson was that the law of averages catches up, after all.

Politics then is the art of the possible, as the German strongman Otto Von Bismarck had said.But sometimes seemingly improbable results raise questions on this assertion. The answer is that possibilities and impossibilities change with time. And as far as politics is concerned, this element of time may not be too long. British Premier Harold Wilson had rightly said: “One week is a long time in politics.” The results are then lessons for both winners and losers. Reading too much into them may not be wise.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD MANAGER?

There is an old anecdote from the life of Henry Ford, the legendary American industrialist. A high profile seminar was being organised in the US where Ford and his friend Alfred Sloan were also present. A young man made a wonderful presentation, full of facts, figures and citations. His presentation was informative and organised. A highly impressed Sloan could not restrain himself and asked Ford how much salary would be paid to the person if he was hired. Ford gave a rather cryptic reply: “$300 for a lifetime.”

Visibly surprised Sloan asked if Ford was serious. Ford’s contention was that whatever the young presenter had read out of his paper could be found in an encyclopedia costing $300. A point to ponder even after several decades have passed. Particularly in view of the recent ASSOCHAM study that found that most of the 5,500-odd business schools in the country produced ‘unemployable’ sub-par graduates, whatever the term employability may mean.

While such questions are raised in other streams of education too, including school education, management education needs to be viewed differently given the exorbitant fees these B-schools charge. Of course, the veracity of such studies also needs to be examined more thoroughly, but the basic issue remains — what makes a good manager?

In fact, in an article titled ‘The Trouble with MBAs’ published in an April issue of Fortune in 2007, a similar question was raised. The crux of that article was succinctly stated as: “Employers are finding that freshly minted graduates lack key inter-personal skills, so B-schools are changing to ensure that quantitative geniuses also learn how to hug it out.”

But it seems that the B-schools aren’t changing or else even eight years after the article, the ASSOCHAM study would not have found what it did in its study. Coming to the basic issue of what makes a good manager, we need to realise first what goes into the making of a manager. Fanciful jargons notwithstanding, the key has to be found in the fact that management as a discipline is of a more recent origin, but management as a practice is ancient.

Whether people in the past were managing or mismanaging may be open to debate and needs research, we certainly can say that mismanagement is rampant in the present times too. Look at those colossal failures, look at those astronomical sums lost in corrupt deals, look at those persistent recessions. Where do we go wrong? The answer is: When we do not address the basics. And the basics are the same as they were.

Managing righteously, managing with the help of dharma, as told in Ramayana. Managing dispassionately as suggested by Lord Krishna in the Gita, managing for the larger good, not for profit alone as recommended by Gandhi.

Looking for the rule book to be the good books in B-schools is perhaps not helping. Rather, we need to look at the good books for the rule book. Of course, for the logically suave this can be utopian and idealistic. But that is the precise point. Unless we aim for the idealistic, how can we achieve it? Unless we identify the right objective, how can we reach there? The answer to the present-day woes does not lie in MBAs — that is Master in Business Administration. The answer lies in MVAs, that is Masters in Values Administration.

IS PROHIBITION A GOOD IDEA?

An interesting incident was reported from Jharkhand recently. A bride rejected the groom who had arrived for the marriage drunk. Maybe a one-off incident, but the issue of prohibition is catching the imagination of powers that be. Politicians either quietly acquiesce to the idea or are openly supporting it. But no one is openly speaking against prohibition.

In fact, in the State, a newspaper reported that more than 90 per cent of the MLAs supported prohibition. Bihar has already done it, and for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the idea seems to be a clincher. Though there is no evidence to support that Nitish won because he promised prohibition. Yet, the strong liquor lobby, with both guns and goons, could not play spoilsport.

The initial arguments of losing considerable State revenue also did not find favour among the electorate. Even Jharkhand finds in Nitish a champion of prohibition. In Tamil Nadu also there is a clamour for prohibition and the present Chief Minister is apparently favouring the idea. That Nitish wants to make it a nationwide campaign may be open to debate. But it is after a long time that someone has so assertively batted for prohibition.

Gujarat went for total prohibition and it still continues. Bihar seems to be the next big State to do so, though Nagaland, and to some extent Manipur and Union Territory of Lakshadweep also have imposed prohibition. Kerala, too, is doing it in a phased manner. There have been sporadic efforts in other States in the past but making it an all-India campaign needs to be seen in a broader perspective.

It is assumed that most women would support the step of prohibition by any Government or political party. Will it win votes or not is still to be tested, but that it finds favour with half of the electorate makes it a prudent strategy. This one issue may represent the class interest of women who bear the brunt of alcoholism.

In families of lower socio economic strata, alcoholism is a big menace causing hardships to the family, bringing complete ruin in some cases. This apart, crime and alcohol have some correlation though we need studies to prove this. Even if it is not established statistically, one thing is certain, many heinous crimes are committed in inebriated condition. Alcohol leads to shedding of inhibitions and thus arouse bestial emotions.

The young generation is fast falling prey to alcoholism as for them it is both adventure and enjoyment. Young boys and girls who have not acquired adulthood take to alcohol, seeking a false sense of adulthood. Alcohol also is the main culprit in road rage and road accident cases. It impairs judgements and leads to definite fall in both quality and quantity of production.

Health and alcohol are also directly related; alcohol abuse being a big reason for many health disorders. From cirrhosis to delirium tremens, alcohol has a clear role. In India, where poverty and health are major concerns, prohibition may be a good idea. More so, because discipline, that is so very important in alcohol consumption, is an attribute we are found wanting in.

A Japanese proverb suggests: “First a man takes the drink; then the drink takes the drink; then the drink takes the man’’. Given our penchant for jumping stages, for most people it’s the drink that takes the man. Naturally, it is dangerous to drink.

WATER OF INDIA

PC Sorcar may be a forgotten name today but there was an era in 60s and 70s when he was regarded as the world’s greatest magician. To believe this is not easy but this columnist had the opportunity to watch Sorcar mesmerise a packed house of audience. What reminds of Sorcar today was one of his tricks that he called ‘Water of India’. This trick comprised taking a reasonably sized water jug and filling it up with water.

The jug would be emptied then and a member from the audience would be called on the stage to verify if the jug was empty. Once this was done, the magician would utter some words like ‘Gilly- Gilly Choo’ followed by his chant ‘Water of the India’. And lo, water would pour out from the empty jug every time Sorcar tilted it after the chant’. Needless to say that this would leave a virtually awestruck crowd in raptures. Water then, was an issue for India way back in the Sixties. It is an issue even today after decades down the line. Only, it is much more serious today.

As we reel under rising mean temperatures year after year, realising that every successive year is doing a shade worse than the previous one that the experts said was the hottest. So 2014 was the hottest till 2015 proved to be worse. The year 2016 is now being thought of as the hottest so far.Who knows 2017 may have worse in store, but rather than coming to formulating action strategies to cope with the impending disaster we seem to be still clueless wasting time on trivia. As studies keep on suggesting that large parts of the world are drying up we fail to heed to the warning.

Ground water depletion is continuing at a dangerously fast rate and one view is that if something serious is not done soon it may completely disappear making large tracts of our heavily populated regions uninhabitable. Despite that lurking catastrophe we are still groping in the dark. Water of India is the issue today and needs to be given immediate attention. The solution is not far to seek. A multi-pronged approach is needed. To begin with the first step is to save the rivers. It is unfortunate that our rivers that used to be a source of water have become source of sand, accidently or inordinately. One needs only to travel across the banks of major rivers to realise this.

It seems as if sand is the purpose of those rivers. State governments across the country must realise that sand could only be a by-product. Thus policy initiatives for reigning in the sand mafia and investments for de-siltation and dredging are needed. Then second requirement is to tackle the strong builder lobby that is largely responsible for ground water depletion of the cities. The deep bore holes without careful planning are pushing ground water deeper. Faulty cropping pattern is responsible for depletion of ground water in rural areas. Ground water recharge and replenishing the local source of water like village level ponds and reservoirs are the need of the hour. Finally, active participation of masses for water conversation is called for. The sooner we do this, the better or else, water of India will vanish for good and no magic would bring it back.

THE MALAISE OF MATERIALISM

Vijay Mallya is a name the whole country seems to be familiar with. Particularly after the news that he has defaulted on bank loans and left the country. These issues, however, are subject to scrutiny and investigation. But for our purpose, Mallya is not just a name. He is not just a person also. He is a symbol — symbol of all that has gone wrong in the present times, from banking to economy, from philosophy to psychology. He is also a symptom. Symptom of a deeper malaise called materialism.

As the so-called global economy, if there is one, continues to reel under recession and we try to put a brave front by quoting statistics of high growth rate, anxieties mount. Anxieties about the future of economy, if not economics. These anxieties as of now are affecting anybody who is somebody. But will subsequently effect everybody if not contained soon.

The question is how? Certainly not by changing economic policies, though they are the root cause. This is a million dollar question, the answer to which lies in philosophy. Philosophy of society that has contaminated the thought processes of the individuals. The philosophy is rather old and is called the School of Materialism or Charvaka Philosophy.

This school of Indian philosophy can be found mentioned in the epics and even early Buddhist literature. While its origin may be attributed to many reasons, its practice is based on just one concept: “Eat, drink and be merry’’. Though this is purely materialist doctrine to life did not find much favour as a metaphysic in the Indian scheme of things in the past, it is unfortunate that the present society is seemingly enamoured with the idea. The result is our obsession with ourselves and our craving for sensual pleasure.

While doubts may be raised on the veracity of this claim, the fact that there is rampant hankering for the so-called good things in life cannot be refuted. This is the reason why the entire value system of the Indian society seems to stand on its head. The Indian society never approved of living beyond means. In fact, simple living and high thinking was the norm.

What has happened today? Lavish living without thinking. Debt or loans that were never approved in the Indian society in the past have become the ‘in’ thing. The society that maintained that “only he is happy who does not owe anything to anybody” is now exhorting people to take loans. People are enjoying life by taking loans and banks are enjoying profits by giving loans.

This enjoyment, however, is a perceived state and mythical. The reality is that both the people as well as the banks are unhappy. And this is what Mallya symbolises. This is the symptom of the ailment that has inflicted society due to vulgar materialism.

To understand the idea of this vulgar materialism, it is important to understand the basic tenets of Charvaka Philosophy as given in Sarva-Darshan-Sangrah. It says that there is no heaven, no final liberation, nor any soul in the other world… As long as life is there, let a man live happily, let him feed on ghee even if he needs to take a debt for that. Now if everyone starts thinking like this there can be no other outcome but chaos. And that is where we are heading to. Thanks to materialism. It is wrong philosophy that leads to bad economics.