Unconventional Orthodoxy

Any culture represents a civilization. It cultivates over chapters in history and spreads across a larger geography. Culture has an inherent potential to influence masses and govern their beliefs- Beliefs, at times cemented in the minds, which are quick to form and hard to break. Such beliefs mostly stem out of Orthodoxy which dissolves so cleanly within the culture that in certain cases both the terms are referred interchangeably. 

Orthodoxy- as explained by Wikipedia- derives from the word “Orthodox” which is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy must have developed out of certain protocols bound forcibly for the benefit of society at large. Gradually these protocols graduated to become unpublished laws; Laws inherited from ancestors and passed on to next generations who never dared to ask- “WHY?” 

Why do we avoid anything good on an Amavasya (no moon day), why to observe “Suver” and “Sutak” for members born or dead within even the most distant relatives (at times for those who haven’t been in contact over years); Why are eclipses a taboo and what haunts many on Friday the 13^th? Reasons- Laws are meant to be followed. While some laws stand justified even today, for others the changes in social structures have long erased the justifiable reasons. But still, for reasons unknown, we continue being prisoners of our own beliefs and self-induced fear.

Human being’s inhibitive quest to reach God, attain happiness and avoid problems makes him blindly follow the doctrine. To me personally, anything that injects positivity in self is always good, be it faith or blind faith, as this positivity itself makes way for a great life. What if we think to refabricate our beliefs and orthodoxy to suit the needs of changing times? After all it would be a positive attempt to balance the modern day prudence with the incorrigible orthodoxy, without harming the pious intention.

Say- why not feed a needy poor than a prosperous Brahmin to achieve a win-win situation? Instead of offering millions to idols, why not use that amount to feed trillions around. While following a Guru might be a source of assertiveness for many (and in this way, it is definitely helpful), if this over-devotion and dependence overshadows our own thinking, it has all the potential to paralyze the brain and decision making abilities. Isn’t this an under-utilization of the most valuable asset called brain that is distributed for free by God? :-)

We probably should envisage an atmosphere where thoughts challenge the beliefs and pragmatism beats dogmatism. Faith may not always be blind. Adding senses to faith might make it more responsible and productive. Amendments in orthodoxy over time should be accepted as openly as the alteration of laws in the country’s constitution. These being unpublished laws, each individual can be a change bearer, one who is a heretic with an open mind and a sincere faith in spreading positivity. 

So the next time you cut your hair on Saturday or clip your nails at dusk, do put personal hygiene and personal grooming ahead of the blind faith :-) Think about it.

Attack on Indian culture

This article on TOI inspired me to post my thoughts here. I personally dislike Greg Chappel for the games he played against Saurav Ganguly, however more than his comments on the Indian culture, this time I was  interested in the comments (read reactions) posted by the TOI readers.

No wonder- you won't be an Indian if you do not strongly react to such remarks made by a foreigner. We Indians won't mind comfortably jumping the road signals, fighting over petty issues, breeding corruption or spitting on the roads, without the slightest element of guilt that we are causing trouble to fellow Indians; such and lot more acts which have never been advocated in the 5000 year old culture. Old, may not always be Gold (per se), there is always scope for introspection and improvement. Rather than boasting of a glorious past, should we not ponder whether we actually follow what our culture has taught us?

Although some Indians in past and present have displayed great leadership and innovative abilities, still- think over this:

• Agriculture has been a way of life of Indians for thousands of years, still even today Indian farmer has to make ends meet to produce and save his crop. Relatively newer crop-cultivating nations like Israel have overcome dependence and are way ahead in farm productivity, while poor farmers of India still heavily depend on the rains (where is the innovation?).
• India receives more sunlight throughout the year than most of the developed countries, still we are the least consumers of solar energy.
• They say necessity is the mother of invention, lot of inventions happened in the west which necessitated more in the sub-continental climate and populace (e.g. Refrigerator, air-conditioner), yet as usual we were the followers.
• Population control measures- again the westerners had to come up with a solution that benefits the Indians most
• A culture boasting of pre-historic town planning (in Mohenjo-Daro) has some of the filthiest and worst cities on earth
• Indian culture has always promoted peace and harmony, yet we find the westerners to be more polite, helpful and carry more civic sense than Indians.

Every Indian should be proud of Indian culture- undoubtedly for how great it is, however being proud doesn't mean turning a blind eye on the flipper side. I believe Indian culture has instigated an over dependence on nature and God, which has further decelerated the progress of our society (maybe this is what God wants, maybe HE is punishing us for our deeds, etc.). Indian culture has (somehow unintentionally) promoted blind faith, racism, lethargy, arrogance and a few other negative traits observed among Indians.

Reluctance in accepting things with a broad mindset is something very Indian. Why can't Indians introspect, take criticism positively and make it constructive to build a great society that everyone can truly be proud of?

Management begins at home

My PGDBA lesson defines Management as “the process of designing and maintaining performance environment through relations building within and outside an organization by optimally utilizing all resources including human, available to it, and manage efficient and effective use for attaining selected purpose.” 

Management is more of an art (rather than science) which doesn’t follow strict protocols or set of rules; it rather is an open ended process consisting of all those (smallest to largest) activities and policies resulting in efficient and effective use of resources. It may not be limited to corporate organizations, but extends to every entity that can be a termed a “system”. A home, a family, an individual human life too is a system with a closer boundary.

As a human being, we all live for a purpose; have we identified the resources which we can employ effectively to achieve it? Here are a few:

1. Technology: A very important and rather under-utilized, includes mobile phones, internet, machines
2. Manpower: Members of family, friends, agents, helpers
3. Facilities offered by our vendors (be it your grocery shop, your bank, mobile company, insurance company, etc.)
4. Human brain: Most important of all, as this one makes the above 3 work efficiently

Trust your memory, but rely on technology

I believe human brain is the biggest asset offered to mankind- why not use it for a bigger purpose rather than wasting it in remembering mundane activities? Leave this job to your mobile phone. The cheapest of mobile phones available in market can be a great resource at hand, and act as your Personal Assistant. It will take and save your notes, remind you of mundane as well as important tasks (like your in-laws’ birthdays :)), wake you up every morning, securely store important documents which might help at the eleventh hour, organize your contacts, act as a calculator and what not.

Get Online

Seems ages since we are using the Internet, but do we really “juice it up”? Major banks provide the online banking facility- a great relief to the “queue” phobia. Internet as a “resource” can prove a boon when employed for all banking transactions (even automating periodic transactions), utility bill payments, travel reservations, and much more.

Google is known to all as something that fetches what you are looking for, but that’s not all. It offers a range of applications which- if implemented judiciously can make Google a great “resource”. Google documents allows you to create and maintain your online catalog, where you can manage all your content online, just the way you file documents at home. The advantage- you don’t carry your bulky documents everywhere, since its on Google, it’s everywhere. A friend of mine has a habit of scanning all his important documents and uploading them on Google docs- I’ve already stolen the idea :).

Google Calendar is another amazing application which helps managing your personal events and meetings. Load it with all the important dates (birthdays, anniversaries :)), apply an annual repeat, and whoa, Google makes sure it sends you email and messages on your mobile before each event. The advantage- reminders in mobiles get lost after purchasing a newer one, but again- Google is everywhere to remind you. Who says good things always come at a price- Google is absolutely free!

Let your wheels move in parallel

Time and money being the most expensive resources (they also classify as assets) cannot be used as liberally as other resources. Better management of other resources and time saving processes can leave you with ample time and money to invest for good. A step towards achieving this could be identifying regular tasks that can run in parallel, and run on their own. Grocery, vegetable and fruit shopping can happen while returning from office (making your wife (another important human resource) happy :)), arrangements to fix plumbing needs can happen while you are in office, thus saving your Saturday. A collaboration of resource use (technology, manpower and vendor offered facilities) and bit of planning can help automate tasks and save precious time.

Observe thy neighbours, and train thy resources

Corporates don't mind approving huge investments in training resources, as that is aptly the need of the hour. Training resources can reap major benefits as resources become self-reliant and can work independently. E.g.- training and encouraging your spouse and parents on driving your car can save loads of time and (driving) efforts and make them self-reliant- especially during emergency hours. Management bits and lessons can also come from external resources / friends / surroundings- observation and effective implementation can work wonders.

Stay Organized, stay happy

It’s like investing time initially and working on your resources to organize your life, and expect compounding returns in the form of more available time and less physical and mental intervention. Collaboration of resources can work wonders, a few steps to achieve this could be:

• Organize all important documents in physical folders, properly tagged
• Maintain a copy online (Google Docs), this acts as a part of your Risk mitigation plan (another important Management module)- in case you lose your physical papers
• Checklists for mundane activities (monthly grocery list, travel kit, taxation requirements, festival requirements, etc.)
• Monthly expense planning (Google docs offers some cool templates for this, and Google Calendar can send reminders :))
• Organize mobile contacts, make relevant folders, make sure emergency numbers (doctor, ambulance, bank & credit card call centre) remain on speed dial

Management is a process which calls for frequent review and continuous improvements. This blog is a very small attempt to identify and improve some of the very basic activities of daily life. As Henry Ford quoted- “I’m not a hard working person, rather an absolutely lazy one who keeps finding easier ways of getting his work done”; a thought worth implementation, lets strive to be lazy in this manner :)