An Instrument in the hands of God
One of my all time favorite verses from the Gita has been the one in Chapter 11 where the Lord tells Arjuna “Nimitta maatram bhava sabyasaachi” – what this means is “Arjuna, just be an instrument in my hands..”
These words were said by Lord Krishna, after he had already left Arjuna pretty awestruck by the display of his Vishwaroopa – the divine form! In fact, Arjuna who had so long been used to seeing Krishna as his friend was so bedazzled by the fierce form of the Lord that he begs Him to come back to his normal self!
Krishna shows Arjuna that the war has already been fought and the enemies had also been slayed which shocks Arjuna who had been wondering whether or not he could kill his kith and kin (i.e. perform his duty as a warrior) – bogged down by his attachment to his relatives.
Krishna reveals here to Arjuna that the Lord would even otherwise be able to complete all actions and all Arjuna had to choose was whether or not he wanted to be an instrument of the Lord and thus participate and perform his bounden duty!
I think this Sloka can give us many lessons in management and remains relevant in today’s world..
Stress Management: If there is a divine force at work (whether or not we call it “God”) that would still be able to complete what seems to be uphill/difficult/impossible tasks, it can simply relieve us of the immense stress that we subject ourselves wondering whether or not we will be able to complete any daunting task. Once we keep the focus away from the “result”, we end up working better on the task as well!!
Effective Leadership: Many times, people feel that they are most important in any organization - but there are many organizations that continue to run successfully irrespective of the number of “key men” that seem to leave – one look at the number of CEOs who have recently departed financial institutions is proof of this pudding.
When people realize that they are not as important as they think, it makes them humble and they end up being better and respected leaders.
Team Play: The message is “Be a cog in the wheel” – each person just needs to do their part and that’s all is required. The main problem with teams is when individuals interfere in other people’s jobs or space rather than focus on their jobs..
“Nimitta maatram bhava ” – A wonderful management mantra to keep in mind in this day and age.. isnt it not..
[...] So a devotee who serves the Lord is one who is anapekshaH – free from expectations, shuchiH – pure externally and internally, dakshaH – one whose mind is tuned to the Lord and can perform without being told, udaasinaH – one who is above petty desires, gatavyataH and expects no sympathy. He is a sarvaaramba parityaagi – who knows that he is but an instrument of the Lord and such a devotee is dear to the Lord. Readers may recall that we have also elaborated on this concept in an earlier post “An Instrument in the hands of the Lord“ [...]
God is not a limited individual who sits alone up in the clouds on a golden throne. God is pure Consciousness that dwells within everything. Understanding this truth, learn to accept and love everyone equally.