Day-150

Man’s Search for Meaning -8

Winning the Game of Life

"LIFE IS A GAME;

 SO WE SHOULD KNOW VERY WELL HOW TO PLAY IT".

Lilly Ghalichi

Everyone is in the Game of life and the sole aim for many is to win/succeed at any cost- even if parents are to be put in jail or thrown out  of their house or partners are to be dumped. ( (such extreme examples are also  before us!)

·    The methods and strategies may differ but the single most aim of “Winning” remains constant down the millennia.

·        It is also a fact that finally many don’t win as intended.

·       So people are  questing for that elusive success relentlessly and looking for the “Success Formula” over the centuries albeit without  much success.

·      There are answers available for such issues. But to get those answers, one should be destined.

My first spiritual-philosophical book was Winning the Game of life (2002).

This book received outstanding feedback from senior bankers / others and also a letter of appreciation from the then President of India, Dr.  A P J Abdul Kalam.

 The reader will get some insights of the book by going through the foreword of this book, written by late  Dr N A Mujumdar, a very senior and respected central banker of that time. Whatever he had stated then are relevant equally to the present day-hence it is reproduced.

"The title of Dr. Balachandran's book "Winning the Game of Life is likely to give the impression that it is modeled on the pattern of similar books by modern management gurus of America. “Life is a ruthless game: there is cut-throat competition you will succeed only if you work out a strategy to overpower others Success must be sought at all costs and so on". Fortunately, the theme-content of the book clearly convinces us that the book does not belong to this genre.

It is indeed refreshing to find that Dr. Balachandran lends a broader perspective to the whole issue of what can be regarded as "success in life”. Not by mere accumulation of wealth, nor by climbing to the top of corporate pyramid, not by acquiring ephemeral fame, can one claim to be really successful in life.

The course content that Dr. Balachandran's self-development programme offers aims at achieving "a lasting peace of mind, harmony and happiness in one's life.” Equally significant is the fact that the course-content is not a copied version of something from the Harvard Business School but is firmly rooted in the India specific socio-economic milieu. In this sense, the theme extends beyond the narrow conventional self-development programmes designed for those who seek promotion in their corporate career.

Contemporary Indian Society is plagued by moral pollution and is high time that social scientists address the issue. This poses a far more dangerous threat to development than say environmental pollution, which has attracted a good deal of attention, nationally and internationally. Rampant corruption frequent scams in the financial sector, erosion of medical ethics: in the academic field, primary school teachers paid reasonably well but "visiting” their village schools only once in a month or so; marks-fixing at the higher levels of education and promotions by considerations other than merit, match fixing in the sports field: and fiscal termites as exemplified by the fact that in one State about one third of the electricity consumption is not "billed" or treated as transmission and distribution losses. How can any development plan, howsoever well designed, succeed in such macro environment?

From times immemorial Indian philosophy has maintained that the all-round development of the society is best achieved through the betterment of the individual and this concept of betterment includes economic wellbeing but extends far beyond its Intellectual effort is an indispensable element in the process of individual progress. But it is only a halfway house. If one stops there and is satisfied with mere intellectual knowledge, one misses' life’s ultimate objectives and is likely to fall a prey to pride and arrogance. Social conscience must be super-imposed on the intellectual attainment. We must be sensitized to the abject poverty that surrounds us, by the squalor, disease, ignorance and literacy and we must begin to think in terms of what is our dharma or duty towards alleviating some of these infirmities that afflict our fellow human beings. We must be also conscious of the depths of degradation to which unbridled greed both corporate and individual can lead us. This is what in effect meant by the Spiritual Quotient that Dr. Balachandran writes about.

The Brihadaranayake Upanishad enjoins that our life must be guided by the following three "Da's", "DAMYATA" that is control yourself, "DATTA that is, give to others, and "DAYADHVAM that is to be compassionate. Thus we must practice self-control, charity and compassion. Attuning to these guidelines is a self-development programme and it most of the individuals work in this direction, it will lead to the evolution of a compassionate society

Dr. Balachandran has thus given a new dimension to the concept of self-development programme and I hope that this will provoke further debate and discussion on the theme, which is of utmost concern to all of us."

Dr N. A. Mujumdar, Former Principal Advisor, Reserve Bank of India

February, 25, 2002

Thank you Mujumdar Sir, RIP.

A close reading of the foreword will show that what is stated by him has not lost its relevance and will be relevant for all  days to come. There is no time limit to the wishes expressed in those few lines and they are prophetic in nature.

This was written almost 2 decades back yet it looks so contemporary. Unless corrective  actions are taken, one may have to repeat the same thoughts, say, even after another 2 decades.

 Let us hope such a need won’t arise.

Umid Pe Duniya kayam hai.

Be happy. Be safe.

ॐ 

 8 AM