Dilemma can be a cause of inaction. Such inaction caused by uncertainty on how to act, can lead to despondence, which over time hinder us from building positive momentum in our undertakings. That ‘s all from an external perspective; in terms of what the world sees. It is driven by internals; internally dilemmas can lead to us being unsure, and not having mental fixedness or equilibrium. Therefore, it is recommended that we do what we can to remove doubts, dilemmas, and uncertainty from the paths of progress in our lives. In the workplace, should we act morally? If so, how morally? When should we act morally? These doubts can be eased through exploring with intelligence some examples, themes and consequences.
The workplace is often a volatile place, full of so many different ambitions, motivations, characters, and is rarely short of drama because of the bringing together of all of this. It is full of very different people; so many archetypes, so many layers of management, peer pressure at times to conform a certain way, and not least, competition. In this web of dynamics, the most successful people in progressing have more often than not, been very conscious in how they go about maneuvering through understanding of dynamics and having a brand and style that works in that environment. His Holiness Keshava Bharati Das Goswami said that “whenever you have more than one person in a room, you have a political situation.” What governs peoples behaviours is such a range of things; from pride, to desire to differentiate themselves, to desire to be content, to sometimes even stop others from progressing in order to protect ones interests either individually or collectively. At any one time, the underlying drivers for one’s behaviour will tend to change, and therefore it becomes increasingly difficult to understand and therefore interact in an informed way, with people. The environment, can be very opaque- are they lying or are they telling the truth? It’s sometimes difficult to know. Because it is hard to understand, and sometimes people in it are driven by selfish motives, it can be a challenging environment to maneuver in. The inability of people to understand the nature of such dynamics and move intelligently can be a huge limiting factor- how often do you see people who work extremely hard, so sincerely, for so many years, yet do not progress as much as others who don’t perhaps work as hard, but can maneuver in a more conducive way to progressing? So I hear some devotees say it is karma, but karma also has a way of manifesting itself, it does not simply present the result. There is a dynamic that enables the results to manifest. In the spirit of seeing the world through the eyes of scripture, we should try to be conscious of these dynamics so we can continue to affirm our understanding through direct experience rather than remaining ignorant and dismissive about it all. Srila Prabhupada said, “Be conscious, then be Krishna Conscious.” We will find in fact, it is more difficult to be Krishna Conscious if we are not first conscious of what we’re dealing with.
Satyam eva jayate - Truth always triumphs
Arjuna stood in front of the battlefield, ready to fight, with no desire for personal gain. Yuddhistirra Maharaj lamented on the throne of Hastinapur that so many people died, so that he could be King. These great souls were not selfish. They did not want anything for themselves. They were free from the desire to enjoy things for themselves. They did not want to succeed at the expense of others. The reason for their success was beyond their own ‘ambition’ or determination to ‘do well’ in their field. The reason for their success was due to acting with a higher moral goal, which was actually for the benefit of every single person involved, ultimately even those who lost. Their power and inspiration therefore came from the supreme source of morality- Krishna. After the battle of Kurukshetra; Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to step down from the chariot first. Arjuna politely said, ‘No, you please step off.’ Krishna insisted Arjuna step off first. After Arjuna, followed by Krishna stepped off the chariot, the chariot, crumbled to the ground into small shattered pieces of ash. Arjuna was amazed. He asked Krishna what happened. Krishna replied, “That chariot was only intact because of My being on it. It would never have survived the attacks of warriors like Bhishmadeva, Dronacharya, Karna and the other kuru warriors if I had not been there.” It may seem that the people who act sharp, sometimes undermining others, getting a sneaky one in every now and again- it seems they win. They progress. It’s quite evident in fact. If you don’t play the game, if you don’t get in there with the right people, it’s very difficult to make it. However, if this is done at the expense of higher values, for some short term result, according to the Vedic scriptures, whatever benefits may come from it, will be short lived. In other words, it is simply not worth it. The term “selling your soul” is sometimes used in this context when people give up morals for some materialistic target. Many have proven that truth is always victorious; none better than the example of Arjuna above.
Applying true morality
Sometimes in scripture it says that lesser principles can be overridden for higher principles. For example, it would be ok to lie if it was going to save someone’s life. In fact, speaking the truth in that situation would be morally worst than lying. On the other hand, it is said that being truthful is a virtue that should not be sacrificed. One of the great Bhishmadeva’s teachings was that “The entire Universe rests on truth.” So, how to go about practicing such a principle in the workplace? There are a number of guiding principles that may help in this dilemma. You may be surprised by how much good sticking by good old-fashioned truthful principles of honesty, willingness to serve, being committed, looking out for others, will help you in progressing right to the top in your workplace- am not saying this should be the goal for everyone by any stretch, but illustrating that there is certainly not a contradiction in pursuit of success and morality. The most successful leaders also acknowledge it. They even write about it. In the books of Stephen Covey, the worlds best selling author today on leadership you will not find him telling you that to be successful you need to have complete mastery of politics and need to be deceitful and always guard yourself from others. He speaks of good, old-fashioned moral principles- which work. Many of these are the same principles that the Vedic scriptures talk about in far more depth, and completeness from personal and worklife angles both. This is not as simple as becoming a yes-man, always telling the truth, etc. Arjuna was intelligent, he was not blind. He was not naive. We must use our intelligence sharply, but must always trust in the power and importance of morality. Acting morally will bring self-satisfaction. Acting immorally will not only bring about a bad taste in the mouth- but you’ll always have to look over your shoulder to check for what will “come around.” Over time of practicing this, one who becomes fixed in this sense of morality in the workplace, will begin to see their work as a service more and more, and will therefore derive deeper satisfaction and realisation rather than resentment towards it. We should try to keep at the forefront of our minds, that it is not only about maintaining our families, paying the bills, etc, yes that is there, but we should try to shift our thinking that the work and progress should be done for even higher causes than all of this, then it can be extremely progressive for us.
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