Concealing Brilliance

 The Baby Leaf

The ongoing debate over destiny over effort is always an intriguing one; to what extent can we shape outcomes, personalities, events, and on the other hand to what extent are these innate, pre-programmed, with minimal room to maneuver. As the information age continues to deepen, learning sources continue to increase, which can be useful. It can also be dangerous as the sources of information can be flawed. Nature however, is a timeless and perfect teacher, it is self-evident reflects an unquestionable sense reality. In the juncture between winter and spring natures spectacles can be so beautiful. Trees whose leaves had fallen, whose bark had become dark and tainted, unbelievably begin to show signs of life.  One tree around 30 feet high, towering and with some glimpses of green at the top, however nothing lower down, exhibiting a very dry crusty bark in its trunk stood out. In between the puzzle-like lockings of bark, a fresh green leaf around 2 inches long struck in huge contrast to the faded darkish tone brown. The leaf was part of a twig, which was fairly robust and there were other small leaves about to sprout also. In an unlikely position, the leaf was beginning to blossom to an eye-catching level.

Revelations of Time

Back in the office, in the lead up to the forthcoming Indian elections, a number of Banks are hosting sharing sessions with officials to give an idea of forecast, outlooks and insights on expectations and impacts. Receiving a request, I made the relevant connections back with the Consul-General in Hong Kong on the topic and connected with our India heads. Within no time, contacts were shared to the extent of “here’s the details, feel free to reach out.” We had a task, we wanted to get it done, and we went about it. It was refreshing. It is Asia, it’s growing and there is ample opportunity for those who want to take it. Market saturation is an interesting stage in the cycle. In places where there are too few spaces, and too many takers, a culture of protectionism, lack of confidence in ability, and greed can lead to people not sharing openly, owning relationships due to the risk of being exploited by others. The case to share and not to share can be argued quite easily. Either way, it isn’t optimal, because the situation is not of abundance but saturation. The saving grace is, brilliance will find a way to shine. In the story of Genghis Khan, whose Mongolian Empire was famous or infamous for having conquered in the Asian subcontinent more than any group until his, the beginnings are very telling of this principle. As a small child, in an environment where invasions and consolidation of villages, towns, and countries were a commonplace, Khan’s family was killed in front of his eyes. In one depiction of the scene, there is an ancient Chinese quote which describes how one should not take advantage with a baby tiger for when they grow older, nothing will be able to stand in its way. The extent of Genghis Khan’s vengeance was unprecedented, he could not be held back with anything that generation and a few more, could come up with. Similarly we see leaders who have experienced bad treatment, they have emerged through many tussles and turn to be victorious in what their nature and ambition led to them doing over time. In this way, time and consistency in outlook will prove over time the extent to which our resolve is fixed.

Brilliance Can’t Hide

In the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic, there is a description of the Pandava brothers who were heirs to the throne. They were ousted by their cousin brothers the Kauravas from the kingdom on a number of occasions, due to ambition to sit on the throne. Dressed not in royal clothing, but in simple cloth with matted hair in locks, the Pandava brothers were enroute to a royal ceremony, and tried to stop by the banks of the River Ganges, the celestial being who was bathing there stopped them saying that they are not royalty, nor celestial, and therefore had not right to share the waters with him and his consorts. Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers refuted and said the waters didn’t belong to the celestial and therefore he will bath in them. The celestial quickly became angered and picking up his weapon charged at Arjuna. Arjuna quickly dispatched of him in an embarrassing fashion. Later in the same journey, a King approached the large-framed brothers and said whilst they are trying to disguise themselves, it is self-evident that they are extremely powerful and of an entirely different constitution to even the average Kings in the area. The Pandavas worked tirelessly, continued to refine their skills, meeting new teachers and acquiring more celestial weapons. They did not rely on their destiny and natural constitution alone. But it did play a part. Growth requires effort, the same way the leaf from the bark required nutrients, and resilience in order to grow, however it’s growth was inevitable. If we pay attention, there is certainly in our journeys understanding this perpetual interwoven relationship and reconciliation of effort and destiny in this world. Ultimately, reality, including brilliance of mediocrity will not be able to hide for long.

"Whether it be night, day or twilight, who can bar others from the ocean, the sides of the Himalayas, and this river? O ranger of the skies, whether the stomach be empty or full, whether it is night or day, there is no special time for anybody to come to the Ganges. As regards ourselves, endued with might, we care not when we disturb thee." Arjuna to the celestial Angaraparna, Chaitraratha Parva, Mahabharata

Action & Destiny

The question is often asked whether we determine our fate, or whether pre-determined by destiny. The word 'crises' is often used when factors beyond our control come into play, and factors accelerate beyond expectation or control. On the contrary, we do seem to have an ability to maneuver, to act, to decide etc, which does influence and shape our future. There is often times a tug of war in ones mind over what is within ones hands, and what is beyond our control. How a leader views this dynamic will determine how responsible the leader is, and how well a leader learns.

Quicker through the Traffic

I was recently walking through Hung Hom station, which connects mainland China with Hong Kong. Next to Hung Hom station is the Hong Kong Coliseum, which is often the venue of many concerts and public exhibitions. Being the busiest land connection between China and Hong Kong, there is almost always a lot of traffic and large movement of crowds walking through this station and its nearby vicinity. Cutting through these crowds very regularly, it is interesting observing the dynamics. Sometimes there is a situation where there is a small gap to go through, of approximately an equal distance between you and an 'on-coming party.' You have one of a few options; Option 1 – you can courteously slow down, and wait for the person to go through first. Option 2- you can continue at your own pace, and arrive at a decision point where both parties have to decide who will go first, or Option 3- you can speed up and make it through the gap before them and avoid waiting for the other party and also having a decision point. When I first saw the sea of people at Hung Hom station, I thought, it will take me far longer than it does when it is empty; that is a certainty. However, by the time I got by to the other side, I had reached there quicker than when the path was all clear. How was this? At each instance when there was this situation of a narrowing of a gap, and there were many such instances, I took Option 2, of moving through the gap quicker than the oncoming party. Of course, if you keep doing that, and going faster than you otherwise would if it were empty, you will cut down the headline time. It is clear, when we are in situations that demand a response, which stretch us, and we have to choose; Do we slow down? Do we fail to react? Or do we speed up and live up to what the circumstance require of us? Swift progress, and personal growth lie in choosing the last of these options. We often do not have control of our circumstances, but we certainly have a choice over how we react to them. The extent to which we are conscious, will determine the extent to which we can make a beneficial choice.

Half Empty v Half Full?

There are two extremes; on the one hand, a very audacious person, perhaps overly self-confident would argue that there is no such thing as destiny; you are free to act as you want, achieve what you want, at your own will. On the other hand, there is the person with no motivation to act, a sense of lethargy, unwillingness to take responsibility, who would argue that ‘everything is out of your hands,’ we cannot control the outcome of our action; as it is pre-destined, and what will be, will be. The pragmatic person understands that there is clearly a balance between action and reaction; they have some ability to plan, to do the best they can, and the outcome is then something that is then, out of our control. Bhishmadeva, the great sage, said that “A leader is a man of action.” This leaves very little ambiguity on what is to be done by a leader. What does it mean to act as a leader. There are various types of action needed at different times. If we are really grounded, thinking at a higher level, being connected to the higher energies, and through these higher energies, to all those around us and everything around us, we will know what action is appropriate as a leader. Such ascertaining of what is right in terms of how to act, should also always be done through consultation and confirmation with the right people where appropriate. The Vedic teachings are extremely dynamic in many senses; and whilst there may be much guidance in terms of morals and principles, often they do not dictate the precise specifics of a situation; rather they understand that those are determined according to time, place and circumstance. They have even gone so far as to state that when a leader is so absorbed in acting under the higher energies, that whatever that leader does, that defines dharma - one interpretation of dharma, is appropriate or fitting behaviour.  For example, Hanumanji, the great servant of Lord Rama, his mentality and his actions, due to his consciousness, in his particular context 'defined' dharma.

 

Humility: an all-important value in action

Many contemporary leadership teaching will speak of the above principles of growth in adversity, however, not many will teach the value of humility through all of this. The Vedic teachings, along with many other ancient teachings, emphasise the absolute need for humility in achieving real success. In the epic Ramayana, Hanumanji had reached Sri Lanka in his quest to find Sita Devi, the consort of Lord Rama, who had been kidnapped to this City full of demons.  Hanumanji passed the house of Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana, the King who had kidnapped Sita Devi. Vibhishana was actually a very saintly person, a stark contrast to his brothers. Hanumanji, recognising this and wanting to speak with Vibhishana, concealed his original monkey form, and took the form of a saint. He began chanting the names of Lord Rama. Vibhishana asked this person, who are you? Are you a great demigod who has assumed the form of a saint? Are you my Lord, who has assumed this form? Please reveal to me who you are. Hanumanji replied, I am absolutely none of those things, I am simply a lowly person, born of a species, whose name if you mention, it is regarded as inauspicious. Hanumanji had genuine humility, he did not at all think about, let alone dwell on his achievements, qualifications, or anything else. Rather he very naturally thought of those things that would keep him very grounded.

Being ready, willing, and able to act is the duty of any leader. Whether things are down to own action vs destiny is irrelevant when executing in the mindset of a leader; the leader gives it their best effort and takes responsibility. Such an attitude should be balanced with continual checkpoints or reviews of the values we are cultivating, how much our leadership is a demonstration of integrity, how much it is encouraging others to live by values, and very importantly, how much it is helping our own internal state of balance in being humble, grounded, but powerful leaders.