THINK CORRECTLY

Thinking Correctly : Lessons from Indian Epics :

Raja Dashratha was a great king .His commitments to Rani kaikeyi landed him in a big mess of his Own making because he did not think of the simplest ways to think the thinkable and unthinkable Through to get out of the mess. Instead of thinking, he began brooding: Let us imagine “kya scene tha!” Kaikeyi was a good queen but unfortunately her thinking went hay- Wire because of manthra who did not think outside her box! Now, if I were dashrath, I would have gone into my thinking kurukhetra and brought to my mental Screen several alternatives and would have held several discussions with my ‘birbals’ and ‘Krishna’s’. And possibly, I would have made a proposal to kaikeyi that ran like this: A. Dear kaikeyi, as a Raghuvanshi I will follow the promises I have made to you. My karma as a king requires me to call Bharat to ayodhya and then send ram to exile… “ Well, it may have worked or not worked, agreed, But falling into brooding was not the right thing to do. Think about it! Since Raja Dashratha, s days, we have not been using the capacity of our minds fully. it is estimated that on an average we use only 10 percent of our mental capacity .if so why, not think and put yourself in the shoes Of dashratha. Rama, kaikeyi manthra and so on, Think.. Do you on your team have any manthra? Or a kaikeyi (a manager) who has a manthra as a secretary or assistant, or as his or her right hand man or woman? Lax man ….was a good brother, a very good brother. But he was quick to anger and slow to think! When suparnakha was teasing him, why did he have to cut her nose and create problems (never underestimate? Any one) If I were him, I would have run away into the jungles with my cap on. Another time when bharat Was coming to return the throne to \Rama, it was lax man who got excited so quickly that he started Shooting his arrows and Ram had to order him to wait and find out first what was in the mind of Bharat.Logical.commonsensical, God thinking.

Now Ravana was a very wise man. The ten wisest heads were on his shoulders; he was not wearing is thinking cap when suparnakha came crying! Ravana, drunk with power did not ask her the right Questions and believed his cunning sister. May be if we were in his situation, you and I would have gone Across to Rama and Laxmana to ask why Laxmana cut her nose off? The moral of us is simple Thinkable and unthinkable, and use our mind to its full capacity instead of taking shortcuts and creating Long-term problems. Dhobi. Look out for dhobis in your company. Department, section, in your family or social circle! What did he do? He asked a stupid question to raise doubts in the minds of the people, thus creating a Dharamsankat for Rama who did the unthinkable thing of sending his pregnant wife into the forest And there were some dhobis on hand to make mischief; I was able to contain the damage by putting on My thinking cap. Vibhishana… do you create him in your department, company section or your family? Ravana did it And called for its own end. If had Ravana had listened to his own brothers. Kumbhkaran and Vibhishan, and kept his thinking cap on, and not become stubborn, he might have gone to Rama And with a simple ‘sorry’ returned sita, and things would have been good for everyone.

Now, you Can also think of simple ways to solve problems in your job or in your family. Try mentally wearing a Chinese mustache and not a Rajputani one! Ra van listened to his chamchas (Yes, yes sir two bags full wala). Don’t forget the concept of KFP (kee pharak painda) (what difference Does it make) saying “sorry” requires courage, conviction and self –confidence. This is possible when During your ‘think times’ you can think thinkable and unthinkable. Sita…. well, why did she ask for the golden deerskin for Rama to practice the meditation on? Why did She cross the Laxmanrekha? Possibly she was not wearing her thinking cap to ask herself thinkable And unthinkable so as to get a better picture of the situation. She really nagged Rama to run after the deer , And in it lies a big lesson for all of us, especially for wives! But she used her thinking cap very well by Agreeing to go in for agnipariksha (self audit) instead of throwing tantrums because Rama had he gall to Think she was unfaithful! We can go on and on but to me The Ramayana is an epic, which can help us Do mental exercises as well as point out the right directions to in which we should lead our lives To reach our chosen goals.

Hanumanjee… stands for loyalty, faithfulness, sincerity and initiative. Each one of us is a Ram and A Hanuman, boss and subordinates, boss and secretary, father and son. And so on When Ram sent Hanumanjee for sanjeevni and when Hanumanjee reached his destination, imagine kya scene tha? Hanumanjee had never seen sanjeevni, he was not given any specifications; there was no phone no fax He had two alternatives to use his initiative and imagination or to fly back to Ram and complain that He was not given the right directions. Hanumanjee thought for a while .it flashed on his mental screen That. Success needs no. Explanation and failure has none, and he went ahead and picked up the Mountain and flew back with it, hoping that sanjeevni was growing on it. Now, in today’s world You and I have to be Hanumanjee, or at least get one or train one or inspire one to do things or get Things done. Hanumanjee inspires me to do my best after thinking the thinkable and unthinkable And hoping that the boss (you the readers, my students) will like it.

Another inspiration for e from hanumanjee is that he did not know his potential and, therefore, whenever I am in doubt, I think of him and imagine someone spurring me on to do it and assuring me that I can Do. You and I cannot have a better “Dronacharya “ than Hanumanjee to remind us that we can do More than we think we are capable of. As was said earlier, we only use 100 percent of our minds and it Is our minds that make the difference.

M.S Oberoi of the oberoi chain comes to mind; he lost his Father at the age of one, sold shoes at his uncle’s shop and yet became a modern “Hanumanjee” In my professional eyes, know your potentials, my friends, and if you become hanumanjee, well you Are on your way to finding your “Rama” one day. Good luck. All of us get plenty of times like shaving time, getting ready, traveling, before going to sleep and so on. During my thinking times I empty my mind 60 to 70 percent and allow my ideas to come in Free for all! When I am on my throne or in front of my mirror I let my mind to towards thinkable And unthinkable, and once in a while some good idea starts to hatch. This process sometimes Produces agony and sometimes-pure ecstasy, and the outcome is my “brainchild”! All of us are capable of producing many brainchildren. Whether they are good are bad will depend Upon the concept of GIGO vs. BIBO! GIGO stands for good ideas in and good ideas out BIBO stands for: bad ideas in and bad ideas out.

Simple: is it or not? Now tell me if we all sit together and talk it over the thinkable and unthinkable – any situation Can be settled peacefully or not. ?

Kaanak srivastava i.a.s .