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TheWorldofDuality:RelevancetoourWork1

BMahadevan2Everyoneofusconstantlyengage inwork24x7.Nobodyescapes thisuniversalrule.Even

the8hoursofsleepingthatwedoonadailybasisisalsoanimportantandusefulwork.We

seemtobesubjectedtoanotheruniversalrulepertainingtowork.Thisisjudgingtheresults

andthroughthatmakingourownassessmentofhowwehavedonetheworkandwhether

theresultsarecommensuratetoourefforts.Letusreturntothissimpleexampleofsleep.

Letusstartbysettingatargetthatwemustget8hoursofsoundsleep.Insimpleterms

soundsleepreferstoaconditioninwhichanyconsiderableamountofsoundmadearound

thesleepingpersonwillnotdisturbhis/hersleep.

Oncewegetupfromsleep,thefirstthingwemaynoticeisthatwedidordidnotsleepfor

the targeted8hours. This can, forexample,potentiallybotherus andmakeus feel that

despiteourbesteffortstogetagoodsleepfor8hourswesleptforonly6hours.Forthose

whogettoomuchintosuchathoughtprocess,itisalmostcertainthattheymaynotget8

hourssleeptomorroworthedayafter.Theywillburnsomemidnightoilworryingabout

howto

get

longer

hours

of

sleep,

which

will

further

induce

some

more

sleeplessness.

For

suchpeople,evensleepingpillscannotsolvetheproblemathand.Ifthisiswhatcanhappen

toa simpleactofsleeping, imagineourplightwithahostofwork thatwedoonadaily

basis.

Thereforeitishardlysurprisingthatourlevelsofhappiness,satisfactionetc.areallrelated

totheworkwedo,theoutcomeswegetfromtheworkandourownassessmentofthese

outcomes.Somefeelthatworkisnotrewardingenough.Despiteputtingeffortstheresults

arenotcommensurateenough.Thisdampensthespiritofdoingworkandleadsoneintoa

vicious cycle.The interconnectionbetweenwork,outcomes and assessmentneeds tobe

wellunderstoodotherwise,wemayendupinasituationthatworkcanbeaboringactivity

andan

act

of

drudgery.

Many

in

the

modern

society

already

feel

this

way

and

they

escape

fromtheclutchesofworkthrougharitualcalledweekendgetaway.

LordKrishnaofferssomeinsightstoArjunapertainingtotheinterconnectionbetweenwork,

outcomes and assessment. FurtherHeprovides some adviceonhowweneed tohandle

theseaspects.Weshalltakealookatthisinsomedetail.

Work,Outcomes,AssessmentandFeelingsInBhagavadGita,LordKrishnapoints toArjuna that ifheengages inworkwithacertain

understanding,theeffectsofworkwillnotbotherhimatall.Sincetheimminentproblemat

handforArjunawaswhethertoengageinwarornot,hetakestheexampleofwaritselfto

drivehomethisidea.AccordingtoLordKrishna,warleadstoaresultwhichcouldbeeither

winningorlosing(jyajyaE).Thiswillinturnleadtoanoutcomeofgainorloss(la-ala-aE)and

1 Mahadevan,B.(2013).TheWorldofDuality:RelevancetoourWork,SadgurusBlessings,Vol.10(9),May,2013,pp.2627.

2BMahadevanisaProfessorattheIndianInstituteofManagementBangalore.

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itaffects thepersonengaged in thewarbywayofhappinessorotherwise (suo>o>).He

urgesArjunatoengageinworkbytreatingthepairsofoppositesalike(smekTva)sothatthe

workandoutcomesdoesnotbotherhim(nEvoesmekTva la-ala-aEjyajyaE,

ttaeyuay yuJySv nEv

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allthetime.Inotherwords, in life,there isanelementofsurprisewithrespecttothe last

threecomponents.Unlessweunderstandthispartandknowhowtohandlethis,workcan

bedrudgeryandaboringactasmentionedbefore.Therefore,the focusmustshifttothis

aspect.

SensibleapproachtoWork

Themaster strokeof LordKrishna lies in addressing this aspectofhandling theworldof

dualities thatareassociatedwith thework.HeurgesArjuna todevelopmentalequipoise

towardsthe lastthreecomponentsoftheframework.That istheonlywaytoensurethat

workcannot leaveany traceof ill feelingorbad taste inan individual.There isapopular

misunderstandingofthese ideas.Developingmentalequipoisedoesnotmeanstopsetting

targetsforwhatwewanttodo.Thisframeworkneverprohibitsonefromsettingtargets.It

merely addresses the aftermath of that when the reality unfolds in a manner throwing

surprisesattimes.Itenablesonetosettargetswithoutasenseoffearorapprehensionof

whetheritwillbeattainedornot.

Similarly,developing

mental

equipoise

does

not

mean

developing

acasual

attitude

or

approachtowardsperformanceappraisal,outcomesetc. Itmerelypreparesthemindtoa

stateofgraciousacceptanceofoutcomesandassessments.Intheabsenceofthisattitude,

badresultmeanshatredor ill feelingsandgoodresultsmeansclimbingtocloudnine.On

the other hand, developing mental equipoise will lead an individual to a state of mind

wherein theseaspectswill stopbothering. In thisprocess,a lotofmentalenergywillbe

freedup,whichcanbegainfullyredirectedtowardstheworkitself.

Anindividualtakingsuchanapproachwilleventuallyfindthatthisincreasesthepropensity

tosucceedinwork,althoughthelongingtosucceedandthefearoffailurehaslongfadedto

thebackground.Thisistheultimategoalforuswithrespecttoengaginginwork.Thisisthe

basicprescription

of

Lord

Krishna

in

Gita.