Shri L Ramaswamy is a senior disciple of internationally eminent philosopher and spiritual guide, Swami Parthasarathy. He holds a professional degree in Cost & Works Accounts (ICWA) and has also worked with a leading management consultant in Chennai for a period of two years. Shri Ramaswamy devoted over 5 years to the intense study and research of Vedanta philosophy (knowledge of life and living) under the guidance of Swami Parthasarathy at Vedanta Academy near Pune. He is presently stationed in Kolkata and engaged in full-time propagation of the Vedanta knowledge.
Shri Ramaswamy’s topic for discussion was “Practical Spirituality – Work Life Balance”. A gist of Shri Ramaswamy’s 20-minute invigorating talk on the subject is given below:
* Management has three aspect (1) Manager - the individual; (2) Managed - the object, e.g. a business and (3) Managing - the art of relating with the object, e.g., organizational management.
* The second and third aspects have been the focus of attention and have progressed considerably. The first one: the individual has been neglected to the point of fault. But it is the individual that carries out different roles in his workplace and outside. Therefore ignorance about the individual is causing severe confusion and conflicts.
* It is not easy to point out the individual. To introduce oneself we use a visiting card. But it merely describes one`s job and gives a name that indicates one`s gross body. The value of that physical body comes from two equipments inside, driving it to action - the mind and intellect.
* The mind is the seat of emotions, feelings, likes and dislikes. The intellect is the faculty of discrimination and reason. In short, the mind tells us what we like to do and the intellect - what we should do. They often go in different directions. A diabetic`s intellect will instruct not to take sweets but the mind will demand sweets. Following the intellect will lead to a healthy, balanced life. Self management therefore boils down to managing the mind with the intellect.
* According to the proportion of discriminate (intellect guided) and impulsive (mind driven) action performed, a person may be classified as sane (100% discriminate), emotional (75%), eccentric (50%), hysterical (25%) or insane (0%). Even if 40% of one’s action is impulsive (a common scenario), it leads to a huge distortion in his overall performance.
* Therefore the need of the hour is to strengthen the intellect. Here it is important to differentiate between the intellect and intelligence. Intelligence is information gained from outside sources like a school; it ensures one`s capacity to find a job, make a living.
However, to make a life, everyone has to develop one`s intellect on one’s own by reflecting upon the Eternal truths of life. Wisdom of Vedanta provides one the resources and methodology for that transformation.