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..
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.
If we realize this fact that we are instruments in the hands of god then we can get better results and better health too.Most of the time people either blame others or themselves but if they trust him[the almighty]they will have better life to live.
Great post you shared with us.
http://pratibhathetalent.blogspot.com/
So nicely explained in simple words…
Really, we should all aspire to be an instrument in His hands!
Wonderful post…
My Yatra Diary…
Hi Sowmya,
Very good post. Reading between the lines of Gita to unfold the truth and correlate the same with present day life..Wonderful job.. God bless you.
Funnily, Krsna’s words carry a deeper meaning but being the Supreme Consciousness, it does not operate on manifest levels at all.So when we think that It can give us stress free life,etc etc, are we not asking for something from the unmanifest to appear in the manifest world ,when it actually does no work at all in manifest realm and it just is? The laws of Karma work here along with our vasanas.The past dictates the future in the manifest(maya’s) world by means of the prarabdha karma.So destiny does not change but freewill also exists within its framework.It’s really a paradox which only a Guru can explain. Hope he does!
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