Being in the rat race of life, it all starts from the time you are born. As you breathe life in to this world before your first cry we already have people around you, your Parents, relatives, the environment working on the script for your life. Strange as it may seem, for one as per Indian culture your destiny in this new life is written already by your past actions or Karma. To compound on it we have the expectations of people around you creating that environment and setting the path on what you have to tread in this dear life. Seems scary isn’t it?

What if you had a choice to know if this is how your life is going to be, will you still have taken this birth? Jokes apart, as we all know we do not have that option, so what is the best we can do? Live life to the fullest knowing what it is all about, Mastering your Self which includes all your emotions and passions, knowing your capabilities and limitations and set your Goal which is the highest in life, which I truly believe is Human Perfection and being one with your Higher SELF. This Goal encompasses all other Material and Spiritual Goals we set for ourselves.

From Childhood, I have been trying to Balance the expectations of people around me. For Kindergarten, I did not answer the questions put forward to me in the Convent school interview and I did not get a Convent education obviously. Post that I worked towards getting a double Master’s degree, one in Chemistry and the other an MBA. Moved on within a year of my first job to the Middle East with a Fortune 500 American company. Worked with them for 20 years and then decided to come out of the rat race to see myself in a new light. What made me endure through this work and family life full of expectations, achievement orientation, Result driven targets, ever increasing demands of luxury and social standing was “Meditation”. Way back in 2001 when oil prices were very low, my job security was challenged daily. Torn between losing my job and achieving results I was introduced to Meditation. I started practicing the Heartfulness – Sahaj Marg form of meditation. Meditation gave me the much needed balance I was seeking in my life.

You may ask, how did it help you? First, it gave me immense Peace of mind needed to cope with the pressured work life.

Peace of Mind :
This is what we all seek daily in life and are ready to pay a lot of money for it. But can Peace of mind ever be bought? Your Mind is filled with thoughts and these thoughts create that imbalance in you which disturbs your mental faculty and your peace. So like a friend of mind would always say, “Ignore these thoughts and Lo you have the much needed Peace of mind”.

“It is easier said than done” said one of my colleagues and I told him practice Meditation as this is one of the sure ways to achieve this much needed peace. Daily morning at dawn when you meditate, it brings that necessary Pause in life, brings your mind to a single pointed attention and focus. Sustained practice of Meditation helps in bringing all your mental faculties in your control, where by you are able to discharge its functions as you please.

From your first individual Guided meditation session and subsequent Group and your own morning practice, you start feeling a sense of calm from within. This then leads to the next step of:

Managing yourself :
In today’s corporate world the one who is Self Driven achieves higher results and better noticed by his peers and superiors. Taking stock of yourself in a way is akin to managing self. Daily Meditation helps you to introspect from within, understand the pros and cons of past and present events, and gives you internal guidance for the future. In a way many insights on how to function in your daily work and family life unfold in front of you. These then help you to be prepared when these situations arise. In short, Meditation helps to manage your expectations. Apart from this, Meditation helps you to be stronger from within. It helps you to take successes and disappointments in your stride by controlling your emotions and not being too attached to the fruits of your action or results thereof. Work and Life Goals are there to be achieved and by planning the little steps well you surely end up achieving your goals. Meditation helps you to focus, sharpen your mind and bring the state of balance within. Managing yourself daily to bring a state of balance within can be achieved by Meditation. Once you have managed Self you learn to Manage others. Which brings us to:

Managing Others :
From the first day we enter corporate or work life we are dreaming of growing up the Corporate ladder. “How soon can I reach the Top? I want to be a Leader, I need to manage people, I want to make more money, have all the luxuries in life and so on. Is it possible is the question in your mind?” Yes it is!!!

Each one of us are given equal opportunity in life, and have equal potential within us to seek that Human perfection. We all differ in how we approach this opportunity, how we interact with others which then defines the speed of our Progress. Personal Growth and Corporate Growth both depend on what and how much you put into yourself. Even with meditation it depends on how intense you practice it and with what dedication you do your daily practice. Environment and people play a key role in your overall success. As mentioned earlier Meditation helps to manage your expectations and when you do this you are enabled to Manage the expectations of others. How if you may ask? I would simply answer by one word Acceptance. Interrelation with people is key to corporate life whether within or outside your company. Most of the time it is ‘One up Man ship’ and individual Ego’s which come in the way of a functional and performing team, as stumbling blocks for progress. Being a keen listener, understanding others point of view, acceptance of the situation and working collectively for a collaborative association towards common goals are the need of the hour. Fundamental to achieving this is Acceptance. When you start accepting others in your work and family life, you slowly start taking control of the situation and managing others. In short you move from being self-centered to being centered in others.

This then leads to..

Building your Character :
Rome was not built in a day and so is your Character. It takes brick by brick to build it, but can be shattered by one weak moment. Character is not only about morality, but it is all about how truthful you are to yourself and others. Meditation helps you to build on your strengths and correct your weaknesses by making you conscious of your own self. Who does not like an employee who is Honest, with a lot of integrity, trust worthiness, a positive attitude, eager drive to persevere and work hard and work towards his and organization success. When I have salesmen who come to me to sell or I hire employees, I am ready to pay him that premium for his honesty and integrity as in the long run we tend to benefit from their character.

So this leads to my next benefit of Meditation which is

Discipline:
When I am at the Traffic signal and there are no police or cars around do I jump the signal or do I wait for it to turn green? When my Boss is traveling do I come to office on time? Do I keep to my corporate time lines and report deadlines? Do I