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Redefine HRD: Human Relations Development

Redefine HRD
Human Relations Development
K S VENKATARAMAN



Managing man power
If we want to do something, we need the time, money and manpower for it. Without organizing these three, we cannot do anything.

The time is an infinite flow. Here we refer to a given length of time necessary to complete a work. When we want to organize and manage a project, we calculate the time needed for it. Suppose a bridge has to be constructed. Based on experience and availability of other resources, we estimate the time it would take, say, two years. Based on our calculations, we recruit say, a hundred persons. Each person works eight hours daily. Management of time of the individuals and that of the project are inter-related. The time factor becomes part of the human factor.

The money is a transformation of human energy over a period. Management of money is thus a specialization of man-power management.

The idea is not to belittle the significance of management of time and money or to refute their claims as distinct specialties. My intention here is to analyze the scope for the improvement of the definition of HRD.

There are also thinkers in this field, who classify the factors of organization as physical resources, financial resources, information and knowledge resources, and human resources.

Evolution of HRD

There was a time when the importance of human factor was not recognized. The factors of Time and Money were considered very important. The organizational managers, referred to human beings just as `hands' needed to finish a work.

From the times of slavery, we have come a long way. After several improvements, it became `Personnel Management' and then has attained the present form `Human Resource Development'.

Still, the definition of the management of the human factor in the organizational scheme of things has not become perfect.

It is true that now by Human Resource Development we mean the proper management of the human factor. We do recognize the needs of development of human being and corresponding obligations of the organization. However, we still commit the mistake of equating the human factor to other factors like time and money.

Present definition of HRD is: Human Resource Development is helping employees develop their skills, knowledge, and abilities. It does include providing opportunities for training, career development, improvement of standard of living and so on.
All aspects of Human Resource Development focus on developing a more efficient workforce, capable of serving the organization and the customer in a better manner.

William R. Tracey defines human resources, "The people that staff and operate an organization"; as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization.

Human Resource Development includes the organizational function that deals with the human beings and matters like compensation, hiring, performance management, and training. Each person in the organization is a Human Resource.

Don McIntosh differentiates Human Resource Management (HRM) and Human Resource Development (HRD). He concludes, "In practical terms, the core practice of HRD consists of two major areas of activity: training and development, and organizational development."
It is a matter of general acceptance that the goal of HRD is improvement of the performance of the organization by maximizing the efficiency and performance of people. That is, HRD represents efforts to develop knowledge and skills, actions and standards, motivation, incentives, attitudes and work environment of human factor in an organization.
Need for Change in understanding HRD

Firstly, there seems to be no need or possibility for improving the term Human. We have eliminated the indignity attached to the workers and restored the dignity by having adopted this word `Human'.

Secondly, the term Development also perfectly suits. The term Development ensures that the human factor is not to be slighted. It has to be valued, preserved and improved.

There cannot be two opinions that the focus is on the project completion and so on organizational efficiency. If the term Development is linked with organizational development and secondarily, with individual (human) development as a means for it, it is understandable. The human development here can be designed and drawn only on the larger canvas of organizational development.

Thirdly, when we analyze the term Resource, we see a lacuna. Other factors, like money and machines are capital resources. The Oxford Dictionary describes the word `Resource', "an expedient or device; the means available to achieve an end; a stock or supply that can be drawn on; available assets" and so on.

A resource is something material, capable of being improved but without volition. A human being is much more than that.

It is true that a human being can also be improved. For this, the cooperation of the human being is important. Teachers improve students, only by interacting with them. Not by chiseling or polishing them in the workshop.

For an individual, his or her ability to sing or dance may be a resource. That ability or talent is the individual's resource and only by his own efforts, he can improve them or spoil them. In an organizational context also, this is very relevant.

The organization influences the human being first and then his resources. If the organization takes efforts to improve the employee's resources, it cannot do so on its own, without the involvement and cooperation of the employee. Such involvement and cooperation could be gained only by improved relations with him or her.

While other resources do not admit of any possibility of interaction or relationship, human beings are influenced only by that; and not by anything else.

When we use the word `Resource' it sounds somewhat impersonal and distant. We need a word that would indicate closeness, friendliness and mutual well wishes.

As such, it should be Human Relations Development and not Human Resources Development. The acronym remains the same. However, for the HRD practitioners, such a revised perspective would mean a lot. It would go a long way in strengthening unity among the people working in the organization.

A new definition of HRD

I have attempted to draw a revised definition of HRD as follows for kind appraisal by our learned brethren in the great field of HRD.

Human Relations Development (HRD) is systematic understanding of the physical and mental conditions of employee(s), including their potentials. It includes helping them develop their skills, knowledge, and abilities by bringing about better relations with them and by enabling them to take advantage of suitable opportunities for training, career development, improvement of standard of living and so on, in consonance with the organizational objectives.

K S Venkataraman is the associate editor of Dynamic Youth online magazine. He could be reached through e-mail: dynamicyouth_development@yahoo.com

June 2, 2009 | 5:06 AM Comments  0 comments

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Sri Lanka: Let There Be Peace
Related to country: Sri Lanka

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Sri Lanka: Let There Be Peace
K S VENKATARAMAN

LTTE: An Epitaph

LTTE was; is not there now. In Dynamic Youth (March 09), T Joseph Benziger wrote sorrowfully:
Having taken resort to wrong methods with vengeance, the LTTE has become a criminal and loathsome organization in the eyes of the world. It has become victim of parochialism, adoption of wrong policies and programs, and blunder of choice of violence.

The entire Tamil population in Sri Lanka has suffered beyond limits for about five decades. Those who sowed the ideas of separation of Tamil Eezham, those who misled the LTTE and supported its wrong moves, and those who gave them wrong hopes have not been the sufferers. They are well off with their families and friends in safe places of the world!

Of all the countless blunders committed by the LTTE, the worst was the annihilation of responsible Tamil political leaders in Sri Lanka as well as abroad. The number of LTTE’s terrorist crimes steadily increased and it wrongly believed that terrorism and militarism would bring success. The Hindu in its editorial on May 19, 2009 has observed:
It might have been very different had an organization that started out, in the 1970s, with some kind of emancipatory political vision and even idealism not turned Pol Potist in its extremism, cruelty, and horrific disregard for human life and welfare… As the years went by and numerous proposals for a negotiated political solution fell by the wayside, the one thing that remained constant was the LTTE’s uncompromising secessionism and militarism, and the rising graph of its terrorist crimes, which included the assassination of a former Indian Prime Minister, a Sri Lankan President, a Foreign Minister, a presidential contender, and numerous democratic Tamil leaders, the massacre of Sinhala and Muslim civilians, ethnic cleansing, child conscription, and economic offences of various kinds.

By forcing a boycott of the Sri Lankan presidential election in November 2005 LTTE brought about the defeat of Ranil Wickremasinghe, who had some belief in ceasefire and negotiation; and made the election of Mahinda Rajapaksa possible!

Unfortunately LTTE virtually killed all normal political involvement of the Tamilian population in Sri Lanka. It simply killed not merely individuals of different political leanings; it finished off institutions like the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), and the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). LTTE began to express violence on July 27, 1975 when Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah was simply butchered! From then on, several leaders, who championed the causes of Tamilians of Sri Lanka in their own ways, were assassinated by the LTTE, like A Amirthalingam in 1989, Neelam Tiruchelvan in 1999 and so on.

LTTE has been destroyed by its own folly and terrorist deeds. In general, taking Tamil population of Sri Lanka, LTTE has not done anything good to it; only caused havoc to them, even in the last stages, by holding a large number of Tamil civilians as hostages and using them as shield to protect them, hoping against hope that by orchestrating political gimmicks abroad some unexpected opening for survival would appear! Understandably, it never happened.

The Role of Indian Politicians

The role of Indian politicians, especially those of Tamil Nadu deserves a deep study. The idea of secessionism was sown in the minds of Tamilians of Sri Lanka mainly by the politicians of Tamil Nadu, who themselves had such secessionist ideas in the early period of Indian independence. In India, they conveniently and cleverly gave up officially such ideas; but in Sri Lanka the damage had been done. The support given to the LTTE by the Indian government and Indian political leaders in the early stages is part of history.

At least a section of Sri Lankan Tamilians should have believed that their Indian political friends would support them in a big way, making establishment of Tamil Eezham possible. They did not understand that their Indian friends were seriously building a career for themselves and should not be taken seriously.

As a democratic neighbor and having traditional relationship and connections, nobody can say that Indian interference was incorrect. But the support should have been for development of a strong political leadership; for strengthening democratic values and convictions; for making the Sri Lankan government realize that they could not treat Tamilian population as second grade citizens and get away with it. Indian government should have used its good offices to influence the Sri Lankan government to stop any discrimination in the country against the Tamilians.

When Indian government, which initially contributed to the growth of the LTTE as a terrorist organization based on the advice of the Tamil Nadu politicians, gained a correct perception and wanted to correct itself, it was too late. The sound and sagacious advice of Indian leadership was not acceptable to the LTTE; and it did not want anybody else in Sri Lank to accept it. Having, by that time, become hardened in its terrorist stance, the LTTE had become strong enough to dispatch a team to India and assassinate Rajiv Gandhi;

Even though it was very clear that the problem of the Tamilians in Sri Lanka had only become more complicated by the LTTE; though it was evidently a case of remedy becoming worse than disease; some of the politicians in India did not hesitate to make the most of the Sri Lankan human rights problem to their own advantage and gain mileage out of it.

At least now, it would be good, if Indian politicians act honestly and try to help the suffering mass of Tamil population in Sri Lanka and offer packages of assistance that would practically ensure peace and prosperity to them.

It is a good thing that the political leaders of Tamil Nadu who were talking like terrorists themselves about the Sri Lankan issue have been snubbed by the people.

It is encouraging to note that when Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa spoke to Indian External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee to inform of the victory over the LTTE, Pranab has replied that the root causes of the conflict should be addressed now. He has said:1
It is our view that as the conventional conflict in Sri Lanka comes to an end, this is the moment when the root causes of conflict in Sri Lanka can be addressed. This would include political steps towards the effective devolution of power within the Sri Lankan Constitution so that Sri Lankans of all communities, including the Tamils, can feel at home and lead lives of dignity of their own free will.

Root Causes of the Conflict

I wish to reproduce what T Joseph Benziger wrote earlier in March 09:2
If Sri Lankan government considers the annihilation of the LTTE as a major victory, it means that they have not learnt the obvious lesson. The major victory lies in healing the wounds in the minds of Tamilians; in embracing the Tamilians as citizens of Sri Lanka with equal rights and opportunities; in rehabilitating the people who have suffered severe losses because of the internal war; in bringing about emotional integration of the entire population of Sri Lanka; and in preventing any possibility of rift developing among the Tamilians and other sections of Sri Lankan citizens. The government should identify any selfish leader trying to sow the seeds of dissension among the people based on divisions such as Hindu vs. Buddhists and Tamil vs. Sinhalese as the enemy of the country and effectively prevent him from playing dirty political games.

It is worthwhile to remember what Mr. Kaarthikeyan, who led the special investigation team for Rajiv Gandhi assassination, has said that the elimination of the LTTE only meant doing away with the symptom; the root cause was still there. He has observed:3
The short-sighted majoritarian policies of the Sri Lankan government ignored the democratic representation of senior Tamil leaders and made them irrelevant. That is where militancy was born. Implementing the Indo-Sri Lankan accord is still a good option.

This victory over the LTTE cannot undo the injustices perpetrated against innocent Tamilians in Sri Lanka. It cannot hide the fact that the beginning of the conflict was the arrogant and blunt refusal of the Sinhalese people to treat the Tamilians as their compatriots with equal rights and duties; and the support given by the former Sri Lankan governments to such unjustified discriminations. The severe hurt of a sizeable section of Sri Lankan Tamil population has been the root cause of this armed conflict. It is true that lives have been lost on both sides; but the majority of the lives lost have been those of the Tamilians.

In the modern age, it is utter folly to deny the rights of a section of the people on the ground of real or alleged age-old happenings. Anybody who is born in a country is a natural citizen of that country; and he or she should have the same rights and obligations in that country like any other citizen.

If this fundamental principle is not sincerely practiced, a crooked section of political rogues would always come forward with all sorts of cock and bull stories and twist the history of the country; and create disharmony among the people. This is what happened in Sri Lanka, unfortunately with the encouragement of a section of the ‘politicians’ of Tamilnadu; unavoidably leading to a serious conflict in which about 75000 people have lost their lives.

Lessons to be Learnt

For the humankind, the long and frightening LTTE episode offers many valuable lessons. It is worthy of studying in detail by the political scientists and human rights activists all over the world. Let me mention the foremost lessons that occur to me.

If a section of people forming minority is harassed by the powerful majority at one stage the minority would be surely forced to take up ‘armed struggle’. The results would be bad not only for the minority but also to the majority. The people of the concerned country should understand that it is great folly to drive helpless persons to opt for violence. For all the suffering and loss of human lives, the minority-turned-violent alone is not responsible; really, the majority that induced it is primarily responsible for them. No solution imposed by violence of the terrorists or of the army would last on a permanent basis.

If a section of people, ignored and insulted in a country, opts for secessionism and militarism, guided and encouraged by the politicians of other countries, they are only buying trouble for themselves.

The people should understand that they should never accept the leadership of those who advocate disharmony and hatred. Selfishness and arrogance should be overcome only by logical and lawful means.

The so called leaders who want the people of today to fight among themselves for their purported interpretations of history are perverts, who should be treated with contempt; certainly, such persons would become megalomaniacs if allowed to grow, in due course. The real leader would ceaselessly work for unity, better understanding, amiable relationship among various sections of the society and progress. He would never swerve from the path of harmony and justice. He would try to bring all the sections of the people together.

Encouraging Turns

Partially at least, we may consider the LTTE as the Frankenstein’s Master created by India. When the LTTE came of age, India also had to bear the brunt of it. But in this case, greater suffering happened to the Tamilians of Sri Lanka. India may try to free itself from this sin by helping substantially the remaining Tamilian population of Sri Lanka to regain normalcy. It is a good thing that it seems that India is going to do exactly this.

The government of India has announced an aid package of Rs.500 crores for Sri Lankan Tamilians. Indian Foreign minister has distinguished himself from many half-baked lots in Indian politics by affirming the importance of political solution. He has added:
… Of course maintaining the territorial integrity of that country and (being) within the framework of Sri Lankan constitution is of paramount importance.

It would also be helpful if India controls the section of its ‘politicians’ who want to make hay while sun shines by politicizing the problem of Sri Lankan Tamilians in India. By spreading dissension and hatred they had contributed to a prolonged, tragic chapter in the history of Sri Lankan Tamilians. Indian government should take care that the same technique is not used again by them as a short-cut to gain political prominence. Sri Lankan Tamilians have already suffered ineffably because of the interference of Tamil Nadu politicians. At least now allow Sri Lankan Tamilians to get their wounds healed; to join the mainstream of Sri Lankan political system; to work for reconciliation and assured free life with dignity and unity.

Let not the politicians of Tamil Nadu do anything like the proverbial mother-in-law staying with her daughter and ruining her peaceful, happy life with her husband and children.

Sri Lankan President Mr. Rajapaksa, while announcing the end of the internal war, has said:4
At this victorious moment, it is necessary for us to state with great responsibility that we do not accept a military solution as the final solution… the responsibility we accept after freeing the Tamil people from the LTTE is a responsibility that no government in the history of Sri Lanka has accepted.

The President has made it clear that it was necessary to extend to Tamil people the freedom that was the right of people in all other parts of the country. He has observed:
Similarly it is necessary that the political solutions they need should be brought closer to them faster than any country or government in the world would bring. However, it cannot be an imported solution. It is necessary that we find a solution that is our very own. It should be a solution acceptable to all sections of the people… It is the LTTE that has put the Tamil community to their lowest position in history. Those who raised their voices for the protection of the terrorists, and all those who helped the terrorists should now fall at the feet of these Tamil mothers and seek their pardon. Those who live abroad and supported the terrorists with funds, if they have any love for their own people, should leave no room for terrorism again… We must be now ready to direct our motherland to that new era of national revival.

The President has added that the great battle for national revival would be waged with the aim of raising the living standards of the Tamil people who lived in the North and East. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Vijay Nambiar, the special envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General has discussed with the President Rajapaksa the ground situation in the North as well as the welfare of 2.75 lakh displaced Tamilians. Later this week, Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary General visits Sri Lanka, in response to an invitation of the Sri Lankan President.

Thus far, the LTTE did not allow any other individual or institution to speak or work for the Tamilians of Sri Lanka in any representative capacity. This had created a peculiar situation. The international community, including those Sri Lankans settled abroad, who wanted to do something helpful for the Tamilians, could only think of the LTTE, whether they liked it or not. Now the position has changed. There are chances for new honest public-spirited institutions to emerge from the Tamil community of Sri Lanka. The involvement of the United Nations is also a plus point.

Epilogue

At last, a few words to Sri Lankan Tamilians:

The agony all of you have undergone in the last few decades is beyond words. Passage of time alone could heal your physical and mental wounds. Under such precarious circumstances, it becomes all the more necessary for human beings to think clearly and act with patience, courage and goodwill.

Forgetting the past, especially under these circumstances, is easier said than done. But the nature of life is like that. You have to forget the past and make the most of the constructive opportunities offered.

Luckily, now Sri Lankan government talks sense. The President has promised to extend equal rights to Tamils. He has also invited Sri Lankan citizens staying abroad to come back to their motherland. Please do not give an opportunity for them to say that their reconciliatory measures were spurned by the Tamilians. Firmly ask for your rights and shares but do not show belligerence.

Please do not lend your ears to those, especially the dishonest politicians of Tamil Nadu, who try to push you again in the path of aggression and destruction.

For all those who were born in Sri Lanka, it is the motherland. Make it a reality. Build your own political organizations, aiming at your long term welfare; and, do not fall prey to those who use their rhetoric to sow hatred in your minds and encourage you to hate others.

Your real friends and Diaspora would wish and pray for the return of peace and prosperity in your lives. They may help you financially. They may offer you friendship, goodwill and cooperation. They can never fight your wars.

It is urgent and important to help the Tamilians of Sri Lank to come alive again; regain all their human rights and live with peace and prosperity in Sri Lanka. It is more important not to mislead them again on the path of self-destruction.

References

1. The New Indian Express, Chennai May 19,2009
2. Dynamicyouth, March 2009 (www.dynamicyouth.org)
3. The Hindu, May 19, 2009
4. The Hindu, May 20, 2009



K S Venkataraman is the Associate Editor, Dynamic Youth online magazine dedicated to Global Youth Development. (www.dynamicyouth.org) He may be reached through dynamicyouth_development@yahoo.com


May 21, 2009 | 2:06 AM Comments  0 comments

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Importance of Value System


Dynamic Youth – May 2009 – Editor’s Letter

From the Editor



Dear Youth of the World,

The History of the world highlights many exemplary deeds of great men and women. Some of the extraordinary sacrifices made by great souls for the sake of noble ideas and causes make us wonderstruck. We consider them super human beings or Mahatmas and try to emulate them to the extent possible, for we are convinced that their greatness is beyond reach for ordinary human beings.

The same history informs us of some of the animals in human form who had carried out their atrocious inhuman schemes and decimated millions of men and women.

It is our duty to think how and why such macabre crimes should become possible in the modern times, which we consider to be of a highly advanced civilization. The gory crimes perpetrated against the Jews and the Blacks make us shudder whenever we have to think of them. The heartless treatments meted out to the women in many societies even during the modern times make our hearts bleed.

At the bottom of all these crimes there is a cruelty beyond description. How and why a human mind capable of reaching divine heights as mentioned earlier, instead chooses to stoop down to this kind of evil and fall into the abyss! What sort of degeneration of mind makes it possible!

We may wonder often how a person blessed with human life can commit such serious offences against his or her fellow human beings. The answer is that cruelty and sadism are diseases worse than blood cancer; simply because they afflict human mind we miss to notice or ignore them in the early stages.

Nobody becomes cruel enough to commit organized serious crimes overnight. It is the failure to entertain good ideas, and lack of appreciation of the good things one is blessed with unasked for, - that opens the door in human mind for the viruses of cruelty and sadism to enter. Once ensconced in our minds, these dangerous emotions grow and become strong. They feed on thoughts of violence; create an attitude that makes us feel justified in harming others. They erode the good value system and install in its place ideas of vengeance and massive destruction. At one stage the individual becomes a slave of his own destructive thoughts that wipe out from his mind the compassion and goodwill. He looks around, searches for and brings in cunning ideas; and soon becomes an expert in chicanery. Such a person strongly believes that he can adopt any means, - however bad, crooked or cruel they may be – to achieve what he wants to achieve.

You have to understand the importance of your value system. All the religions have stressed the importance of universal love. But it has become the order of the day to spread hatred in the name of this or that religion. You should take efforts to spread the message of universal love and harmony; and build a strong sense of justice in your minds. You should do everything to develop a courageous, straightforward and moral attitude.

Wishing you all the best,


T Joseph Benziger

May 16, 2009 | 2:05 AM Comments  0 comments

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Detachment vs. Attachment
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Detachment vs. Attachment

K S VENKATARAMAN

Our Mother Earth is sometimes referred to as ‘Karma Bhumi’. Karma is action. It generally means what we do. We perform action through body or mind or intellect or by all possible combinations of these three. But from birth to death we ceaselessly keep on doing something, either consciously or unconsciously.

We are not aware of our food getting digested inside us. It does happen. Even while in sleep thought-waves project themselves as dreams; we do not plan or direct them. They just happen. While walking, sometimes, we step on somebody’s toes. An angry stare of the victim usually accompanied by an unfriendly epithet, makes us realize what we had done. Leaving alone such things, let us consider here those actions consciously taken up with specific aim(s) in a responsible manner.

One may teach or manage a business or work as a doctor; the possibilities are too many to describe. Whatever may be that, - one important thing is the level of efficiency shown in the work. The mark of a professional is that he has a clear-cut plan of action, proceeds to execute it with clinical precision, adjusts whenever necessary, makes the right choices all along and carries his project to success. Such success stories are marked by personal involvement and result-oriented approach.

The question for consideration here is whether for attaining maximum efficiency, one should have the attitude of detachment or attachment.

We have to bring out the best in us and ensure that no stone is left unturned. We have to take every step personally and show deep involvement. We should not allow any sentiment to interfere with our progress. We should keep our aim of positive result always in mind. We should allow our whole personality to be infused with what we want to achieve by our work. We should not allow anything or anybody to stand between us and our success; any such obstacle should be ruthlessly eliminated. All these definitely call for an attitude of attachment with the task on hand. This is more common approach.

There is another school of thought that insists that we should have an attitude of detachment always. We should be like a lotus leaf that keeps the water drops but never become wet. We should do things objectively but we should not lose ourselves in the whirlpool of action. Work is no doubt important but it not the ‘whole’ of life. We should never allow work to make us forget our values and natural aspirations. Life is multifaceted and work is just a part of it.

Many people raise the question: How can one do his best if he is not particular about attaining a specific result? Without an attitude of attachment towards the fruits of action one cannot retain a sustaining interest on his work and he is, therefore, bound to fail. Detachment and efficiency cannot coexist.

There are others who argue that when one is attached, his vision is blurred. He tends to forget the importance of the means but only cares about the end. His understanding of others becomes poor. He only divides all others into two categories, i.e. friends and enemies. Those with the attitude of attachment would develop a frenzied mood and would also lose their mental balance. Anxiety about the success would be ever present in their minds. It is absolutely impossible for them to sustain maximum efficiency. The attitude of attachment would force one to work in fits and starts. On the other hand, one with a detached attitude would be free from self doubts and suspicion of others. Only he can retain a balanced frame of mind always and concentrate on work unperturbed manner. Only the attitude of detachment paves the way for maximum efficiency.

C E M Joad says: “Detachment, I am suggesting, is one of the most potent ingredients of that power so easy to recognize, so difficult to define, that we call moral force, a power which men, alone of sentient beings, possess.” This goes on like this. A great person Swami Vivekananda (in the company of many others) speaks in favor of the attitude of detachment. A small person, as I am, can say: “Whenever it has been possible for me to function with an attitude of detachment, I have been able to excel myself.”

I have made my option known. What about you?



K S Venkataraman is the Associate Editor, Dynamic Youth online magazine dedicated to Global youth Development. He could be contacted through e-mail: dynamicyouth_development@yahoo.com



April 15, 2009 | 4:12 AM Comments  1 comments



Detachment vs. Attachment

Detachment vs. Attachment

K S VENKATARAMAN

Our Mother Earth is sometimes referred to as ‘Karma Bhumi’. Karma is action. It generally means what we do. We perform action through body or mind or intellect or by all possible combinations of these three. But from birth to death we ceaselessly keep on doing something, either consciously or unconsciously.

We are not aware of our food getting digested inside us. It does happen. Even while in sleep thought-waves project themselves as dreams; we do not plan or direct them. They just happen. While walking, sometimes, we step on somebody’s toes. An angry stare of the victim usually accompanied by an unfriendly epithet, makes us realize what we had done. Leaving alone such things, let us consider here those actions consciously taken up with specific aim(s) in a responsible manner.

One may teach or manage a business or work as a doctor; the possibilities are too many to describe. Whatever may be that, - one important thing is the level of efficiency shown in the work. The mark of a professional is that he has a clear-cut plan of action, proceeds to execute it with clinical precision, adjusts whenever necessary, makes the right choices all along and carries his project to success. Such success stories are marked by personal involvement and result-oriented approach.

The question for consideration here is whether for attaining maximum efficiency, one should have the attitude of detachment or attachment.

We have to bring out the best in us and ensure that no stone is left unturned. We have to take every step personally and show deep involvement. We should not allow any sentiment to interfere with our progress. We should keep our aim of positive result always in mind. We should allow our whole personality to be infused with what we want to achieve by our work. We should not allow anything or anybody to stand between us and our success; any such obstacle should be ruthlessly eliminated. All these definitely call for an attitude of attachment with the task on hand. This is more common approach.

There is another school of thought that insists that we should have an attitude of detachment always. We should be like a lotus leaf that keeps the water drops but never become wet. We should do things objectively but we should not lose ourselves in the whirlpool of action. Work is no doubt important but it not the ‘whole’ of life. We should never allow work to make us forget our values and natural aspirations. Life is multifaceted and work is just a part of it.

Many people raise the question: How can one do his best if he is not particular about attaining a specific result? Without an attitude of attachment towards the fruits of action one cannot retain a sustaining interest on his work and he is, therefore, bound to fail. Detachment and efficiency cannot coexist.

There are others who argue that when one is attached, his vision is blurred. He tends to forget the importance of the means but only cares about the end. His understanding of others becomes poor. He only divides all others into two categories, i.e. friends and enemies. Those with the attitude of attachment would develop a frenzied mood and would also lose their mental balance. Anxiety about the success would be ever present in their minds. It is absolutely impossible for them to sustain maximum efficiency. The attitude of attachment would force one to work in fits and starts. On the other hand, one with a detached attitude would be free from self doubts and suspicion of others. Only he can retain a balanced frame of mind always and concentrate on work unperturbed manner. Only the attitude of detachment paves the way for maximum efficiency.

C E M Joad says: “Detachment, I am suggesting, is one of the most potent ingredients of that power so easy to recognize, so difficult to define, that we call moral force, a power which men, alone of sentient beings, possess.” This goes on like this. A great person Swami Vivekananda (in the company of many others) speaks in favor of the attitude of detachment. A small person, as I am, can say: “Whenever it has been possible for me to function with an attitude of detachment, I have been able to excel myself.”

I have made my option known. What about you?



K S Venkataraman is the Associate Editor, Dynamic Youth online magazine dedicated to Global youth Development. He could be contacted through e-mail: dynamicyouth_development@yahoo.com

April 15, 2009 | 4:04 AM Comments  0 comments

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