CONSCIOUSNESS APPROACH TO BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

CONSCIOUSNESS APPROACH to BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Garry Jacobs

Mère Cie

6455 Geyser Avenue

Reseda, Calif. 91335

USA

If India is to truly fulfill her high destiny she cannot do so by abandoning her great heritage of the spirit in favour of industrial growth and material improvement. Rather she must once again bring forth the riches and powers of her inner life to uplift and perfect the outer world. An effort must now be made to rediscover the ancient truths in the context of modern life. As a step in this direction we have developed a Consciousness Approach to Business Management based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Consideration is given here to the main lines with suggestions of further application.

I. The Principle of Oneness

The Consciousness Approach is applicable to any field of human activity. It is based on the fundamental spiritual principle of Oneness. All life is one, our inner and outer existences are not separate and different. The external situation is an extension of our inner consciousness -- thoughts, feelings, impulses -- expressed in outer life. This principle implies a very powerful tool for affecting the external world by discovering the point in one's consciousness which corresponds to an outer condition and acting on that point by an inner effort. Normally life events are a reaction to our inner condition. When a conscious effort is made to change oneself within, life responds to that effort.

If one examines the events of a single day in the light of his attitudes, feelings, impulses etc., a pattern of correspondence will begin to reveal itself. In business these correspondences can be seen in all aspects of institutional operation, most easily perhaps in the relationship between management's attitudes and feelings on specific issues and the behaviour of employees. To site one example, when management is interested only in worker productivity without concern for the man as a person, employees tend to care only for monetary reward without pride in the quality of the work they do.

II. The Company

An institution is a living organism with a personality, history, life experiences, skills and capabilities all its own. In Sri Aurobindo's terms, each institution has a mental part composed of the constituting ideals, principles and rules for governing its operations, decision-making processes, systems of communication, etc. It has a vital part composed of the energies and dynamic processes which translate plan into action and yield concrete results and it has a physical part, the building, equipment, tools and machines. The individuals employed by an institution each contribute their own personal qualities and resources to these different levels. But besides these, every institution is an evolving being which has behind and within it a higher element of divinity, a soul spark. The institution can only fulfill itself by discovering this element, bringing all its life into conformity with that living ideal and expressing it in daily functioning. A business institution is a living organism, and like any person, it responds to us.

III. Attention

There is no matter animate or inanimate that does not respond to attention. In an institution the employees, the ideals, systems of functioning, rules, machinery, material and physical space all require a certain minimum attention and all of them will respond to increased attention by serving better. The result is most pronounced where the attention given is motivated simply by respect and concern for the thing and without demand or expectation. The truth is that the Divine is in all things and all things are Divine. By giving attention in the form of mental interest, loving concern, enthusiasm, physical care, we contact and respect the Divine in it. Let us consider the role of attention in a number of areas.

Attention to Employees: Attention given to men creates interest in work. There are a number of criteria to ensure that each man receives the attention he deserves:

1) He should be considered as a human being more than as an employee;

2) The job he does should result in psychological satisfaction making him desire to have more work;

3) He should find constantly newer skills added to his capacity;

4) His work pattern should include a built-in recreation that prevents accumulation of frustration or tension;

5) His work should help to harness all his energies and give them to the work so that tedium, except the physical part, will be minimal;

6) There should be a genuine appreciation and psychological recognition of talents when they are found or freshly emerge. Work must help to reveal and develop these talents.

There is a negative side to attention as well:

1) No man should be given even a little more than he deserves; he must not be in a position to take from the management more than is his due;
2) No more interest should be given than the person's psychological identification warrants;
3) No man should be employed in such a way that only a part of his capacities are utilized. This gives him extra energies which often express in a manner detrimental to the work;
4) No man should be at any work requiring him to give an excessive effort which may create tensions and spread to other men;
5) The surest way of bringing trouble into any relationship is to give someone more than what he deserves.

Attention to Material Things: When a tool breaks or a machine constantly is in need of repair or some item is lost -- all these are warnings that one's attention to these things has not been adequate. Constant use is attention to material things. As with living things so with inanimate objects. Not only our outer handling of them but also the thoughts and feelings or unconsciousness we have concerning them affect their performance and life-span. It is true from our side that an active concern leads to better handling and maintenance. It is also true that that concern elicits an active response from the objects themselves. They serve better and even if lost find their way back to us.

Attention to Systems: Systems of administration, planning, communication, operation, finance, etc., are not mere forms. They are formulations of the mind. They express a certain equilibrium which is capable of constant improvement. If one reviews the working of systems, examines the basic principles of their functioning, gives continual attention to their maintenance and perfection, they have a tendency to reveal better possibilities for innovation or greater efficiency. When not given regular attention, most systems respond by breaking down partially or completely, or some outside element comes drawing attention to the deficiency.

IV. Maximum Utilization Brings All the Supply Needed

V. The Philosophy of Unsold Stock

Stagnation in the sale and distribution of the final product results from a mental inertia or hesitation on the part of management to make decisions and execute them in action. This inertia will also express itself in other places, e.g. backup of work, delay of orders, raw material shipments, payments, etc. Often a product will accumulate in stock and after initial efforts to move it fail, it is ignored or forgotten. The remedy lies in establishing full awareness of the product, of all possible avenues for distribution, removing hesitation and taking active initiative. When proper attention is given and all possibilities are exhausted, even when one's initiative leads only to the movement of a fraction of the quantity, life will respond by attracting buyers for the remainder.

VI. Silent Will

For communication to be effective and dynamic, it must not only convey mental ideas or instructions but must carry with it, the enthusiasm, interest and forcefulness necessary to evoke a clear response in the recipient and motivate him to proper action. When a new idea or plan arises, man has the tendency to speak it out immediately and to elaborate on it through conversation. Much of the energy carried by a new inspiration is dissipated in premature discussion and argument.

If instead the fresh thought is retained and allowed to mature in quietude, it gathers energy and clarity. The very intensity of one's inner concentration prepares the atmosphere so that when the thought is expressed it finds a receptive listening. Often a co-worker will pick up the idea before it has been spoken and present it as his own.

The only prior condition for the effective use of silent communication is a general tuning of the different levels of the institution to its central purpose. This can be accomplished by means of regular staff meetings at which time emphasis is placed on increasing awareness of the central purpose, introducing higher aims, promoting harmony, sympathy, interest, enthusiasm and participation among the members.

One serious obstacle is gossip among the staff concerning other company members. Gossip is a destructive vibration which undermines harmonious relationships and erodes the atmosphere. If one cannot speak positively and constructively about another, it is better to be silent.

VII. The Ideals of an Institution

An institution can expand horizontally in its given field by the application of dynamic practical skills. But if it seeks to grow beyond the limits of its original capacities it must take a vertical step. An upward progress occurs when it accepts a higher or broader ideal and attempts to uplift its level of functioning to be in accordance with that ideal. This requires vision, creativity, and perception. This is yoga.

Any policy change which expresses a greater concern for employees, the quality of the product, the satisfaction of the client or consumer, a sense of social responsibility, ethics or aesthetic values is a progressive movement which brings with it an expansion of the entire institution. As a rule each advance brings not only higher types of gratification but a manifold expansion of the basic economic rewards.

In the process of making institutional decisions one is constantly faced not only with two or more alternatives, but the opportunity to act out of a higher set of values. When one chooses the higher, it leads to growth and incidentally includes the possible benefit of the lower. A few examples are given of priorities which help the institution to expand: Long term over short term, progress over profit, convention over convenience, effort over comfort, resolution into a harmony over solution, employee's utility over management utility, confrontation over appeasement, and compromise at a higher level over confrontation.

VIII. Harmony

Sri Aurobindo has written that all problems of nature are essentially problems of harmony. Harmony in an institution is not limited to cooperative relations among employees or between employees and management. There is a harmony between principles and practise, and between understanding, acceptance and practise, etc. For there to be a harmony there must be a tuning of the different layers of the institution to the central purpose. The ideal of harmonious relations between parts of itself acts as a powerful center for progress and the expansion of the entire institution. Harmony is not a static or stagnant existence. It is the firm foundation of peace and stability upon which creativity, expansion and growth can flourish. Harmony attempted in a situation yields greater results than authority, strategy, force, etc.

IX. Freedom

Sri Aurobindo writes that "Freedom is the highest law and the last consummation". To the extent that a man shows the capacity to exercise freedom in a disciplined manner without letting it fall into licentiousness, he must be given room to exercise his free choice. Only so can he and the institution grow. Man responds to pressure, force, commands and outer discipline by a behavioural conformity which tends to revert to old forms as soon as the pressure is removed. It is only under conditions of freedom that man will impose discipline upon himself and only self-discipline, meaning a true consent of the will, can create true personality growth. Each man will have strong areas where freedom can be given and here he should be given free scope. The very act of giving freedom to a man in a new area serves as an incentive for him to extend his trust-worthiness to other areas.

X. Exercise of Power

Individuals and institutions make decisions on many levels according to many standards of conduct, ranging from motives of pure self-interest, social custom, legal right, moral and ethical right, to spiritual or inner right. At times a business may be faced with a situation in which what is permitted by law does not coincide with what is really fair to the party concerned. Each time an individual or an institution acts according to a higher standard than that which the situation necessitates, he makes a growth in consciousness. The greatest power available to a man is his highest ideal or his deepest faith -- that is the Divine for him. Let his ultimate reliance be on these.

XI. Effort and Token Work

Exhaust your resources and life will respond.

Often it happens that in one or more areas of a project a bottleneck is reached and progress grinds to a halt. It may be a need for new ideas, new information, more men, money, materials, etc. At these times it is good to step back from the particular issue at hand and examine the over all functioning of the institution in the light of the principles already described. Where the atmosphere surrounding the work is unfavourable, where disharmony continues to prevail, it is better to patiently refrain from action until the mood changes. But where the atmosphere is good and all elements seem ready for a break-through, then it may be that a token effort will turn the corner and bring success. This means to make a determined initiation and persistent endeavour to no matter how small an extent may be possible, and do whatever can be done in the given circumstances, exhaust all possibilities, potentials and resources. At the point where one has fully exhausted his energies and capacities, life responds by bringing the components necessary to complete the work. Where human effort is exhausted, one opens to the forces of universal life which take up the movement. But if one stops at the penultimate step, there is no response.

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CONSCIOUSNESS APPROACH to BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Garry Jacobs

Mère Cie

6455 Geyser Avenue

Reseda, Calif. 91335

USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction...................................................................................

As we are to life, so life is to us......................................................

The Company................................................................................

Attention.......................................................................................

Maximum Utilization brings all supply needed.................................

The Philosophy of Unsold Stock....................................................

Silent Will......................................................................................

The Ideals of an Institution............................................................

Harmony.......................................................................................

Honesty.........................................................................................

Freedom and Responsibility...........................................................

Exercise of Power ........................................................................

Effort and Token Work ................................................................

Forked Road Situations ................................................................

Money..........................................................................................

Motivation.....................................................................................

Progress.......................................................................................

The Consciousness Approach.......................................................

Appendix A ..................................................................................

Appendix B ..................................................................................

Employee Questionnaire

Appendix C ..................................................................................

Some Fundamentals of Yoga

Appendix D ..................................................................................

A Program of Yoga for Business Management

Appendix E

"Business and Spirituality", A letter by Sri Aurobindo....................

Appendix F

Letter from an Industrialist............................................................

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to outline a new approach to the operation and management of business institutions. Many of these principles are well known, generally accepted, justified by rational argument and common sense. Others may appear to extend beyond the limits of logic and general knowledge, claiming a chain of causality or relationship not normally recognized. All of these principles are open to direct verification by experiment. The reader is invited to test for himself the validity of the recommendations made in the text.

Upon examination of this report, should any individual or institution request further information, written reply, personal discussion or on-site analysis, the Committee offers to extend these as a public service.

I. As we are to life, so life is to us

The Consciousness Approach is applicable to any field of human activity. Before considering in depth the specific case of Business Management, we wish to discuss the fundamental principle upon which the entire approach is based and to consider its wider application in the life of an individual. We do so because there can be no clear division between a man's personal and professional life; the two overlap and constantly interact.

This principle denotes that there is a direct correspondence between man's inner life of thoughts, feelings and impulses -- his consciousness -- and the circumstances and events in his outer environment. The external situation is an extension of his inner consciousness expressed in outer life. This principle is derived from the most universally accepted spiritual knowledge, the truth of Oneness. There is but One Reality which manifests itself as many. All are essentially One. The sense of separation, independence, difference is a surface phenomenon. Yet even on the surface all beings, things and events are linked in mutual interdependence. Man's ego acts as a knot dividing the individual from the world around, the inner from the outer. But the fact of oneness remains. This principle implies a very powerful tool for affecting the external world by discovering the point in one's consciousness which corresponds to an outer condition and acting on that point by an inner effort. Normally life events are a reaction to one's inner condition. When a conscious effort is made to change oneself within, life responds to that effort.

If one scrupulously examines the events of a single day in the light of his attitudes, feelings, impulses, etc., a pattern of correspondence will begin to reveal itself. This knowledge can gradually be extended to include all the conditions, circumstances, events in his personal and professional life. Then by a firm decision in the mind or an intense will in the heart one can modify his thoughts, feelings, impulses, etc. He can replace negative attitudes, biased opinions, impatient expectations, confused rambling thoughts with clear, objective, positive mentation or even a silent receptivity which allows a higher understanding to be born. He can reject turbulent feelings, insatiable desires, possessiveness and selfish demand to attain a calm, peaceful, harmonious condition in which the deeper emotions of sympathy, goodwill, self-giving and love can emerge. To the degree that this inner mastery and perfection is achieved, outer conditions and events take on a strongly positive and cooperative character. Life brings constant opportunity and fulfills every requirement. The area of one's effectivity depends upon the development of his consciousness and the field of outer life with which he concerns himself, identifies in thought and emotion. It is most powerful in the close proximity of one's personal environment, family, home, profession, etc. As the consciousness grows, expands, enlarges to identify itself with wider fields of human activity, there is an increasing capacity to affect the greater life of the society. This type of effort falls within the domain of Yoga.

In business these correspondences can be seen in all aspects of institutional operation, most easily perhaps in the relationship between management's attitudes and feelings on specific issues and the behaviour of employees. For example, it is a common complaint of management that staff are not interested in the quality of work they do, only in the monetary rewards for the job. Yet in almost all such cases it can be easily verified that the manager is not at all interested in the individual worker for his own sake, only in his productivity. Both look after their own interest and do not bother about any greater good. In unusual cases where the manager truly takes interest in each individual, in his health, welfare, creativity, happiness, etc., the workers are very concerned about the quality of the work performed and the success of the entire enterprise. In either case the attitudes and behaviour of the employees toward work are a direct reflection of management's attitudes toward them.

Another common situation is one in which management concerns itself with the happiness and welfare of its employees only when a crisis comes, such as a threatening walk-out or a strike. The corresponding employee attitude is a refusal to work without constant supervision and reprimand. In either case a sincere attempt by the organizational heads to reverse their attitudes will bring about an immediate change in the behaviour of the staff.

There are any number of examples for this principle, for it expresses itself in an infinite number of ways through every aspect of life. All of the other principles discussed below derive from this truth. These separate principles are considered because it is easier for the mind to see life from a single viewpoint and each of these principle looks at the Oneness of Life from a different angle. If one becomes directly aware of the one Divine Reality through the practise of Yoga, then all mental principles fall away before the clear perception of the true relationship between all the manifold elements of existence.

All of the illustrations which follow are from the author's personal experience testing these principles in actual practise. Many are taken from incidents at Mother Estates, an agricultural and social development project in South India which has been planned and operated for eight years on the basis of the Consciousness Approach. Others are from association with leading Indian industrialists and experiments being conducted in companies in the United states.

II. The Company

An institution cannot be properly described by categorizing it solely in terms of a business, social, political or educational function. It is much closer to the truth that an institution is a living organism with a personality, history, life experiences, skills and capabilities all its own. The original founding idea, concept or ideal, the pioneering individual, the social and economic climate and context, the prior condition of the field in which it is established, all contribute to determining the character of the institution even in the distant future. All present attributes can be traced back to their seed origin in the past. In Sri Aurobindo's terms, each institution has a mental part composed of the constituting ideals, principles and rules for governing its operations, decision-making processes, systems of communication, etc. It has a vital part composed of the energies and dynamic processes which translate plan into action and yield concrete results and it has a physical part, the building, equipment, tools and machines. The individuals employed by an institution each contribute their own personal qualities and resources to these different levels. But besides these, every institution is like every individual and every nation, an evolving being which has behind and within it a higher element of divinity, a soul spark. Like the individual and the nation, the institution can only fulfill itself by discovering this element, bringing all its life into conformity with that living ideal and expressing it in daily functioning. In short, every institution regardless of its nature -- political, social, religious, or economic -- has a role to play in the growth of those who participate in it, a role to play in the growth of the larger community of which it is a part, a rightful seeking for its own fullest and highest development as a manifestation of some aspect of divinity. A business institution is a living organism and, like any person, it responds to us.

The practical value of this viewpoint is immense when rightly applied to a specific institution, a business for instance. First, it makes for a much truer awareness of exactly what the business is and the important role played by so many factors in forming its present make-up. With individuals, it is natural to attribute a particular personality characteristic to a childhood circumstance or other life events. Such an approach yields a fuller comprehension of who the individual is. The same is true of an institution. Secondly, this approach provides a key for the proper understanding and resolution of specific problems in the present. A company is dependent on but not limited by any one element such as owner, manager, expertise, sales potential, etc., though all of these contribute to its character and may powerfully influence its very existence. Whoever seeks to truly know the company or fully relate to it, whether he is management, staff, client, etc. can best do so by recognizing this truth and seeking contact with the central personality. Furthermore, to the extent that any one does relate to the central personality and identify with it, to that extent he gains influence over all aspects of its present existence and future destiny. One individual taking sincere interest can change the functioning of a large enterprise. All depends on the degree of his interest and the application of his will.

III. Attention

There is no matter animate or inanimate that does not respond to attention. In an institution the employees, the ideals, systems of functioning, rules, machinery, material and physical space all require a certain minimum of attention and all of them will respond to increased attention by serving better. The result is most pronounced where the attention given is motivated simply by respect and concern for the thing and without demand or expectation. The truth is that the Divine is in all things and all things are Divine. By giving attention in the form of mental interest, loving concern, enthusiasm, physical care, we contact and respect the Divine in it. Let us consider the role of attention in a number of areas.

(A) Attention to employees: We have stated earlier that attention given to men creates interest in work. To elaborate -- one can see an individual as a whole person and not just in his role as employee, try to know and understand his life circumstances, his goals, strengths, habits, weaknesses, likes and dislikes, problems, attitudes towards work, his feelings towards the work. One can treat him according to this knowledge with due respect for his ideas and feelings, desires and needs, interest in his development, concern for his growth, happiness, health and well-being. One can translate this knowledge and feeling into concrete attempts to help him whenever that falls within the reasonable scope of one's means and does not threaten to cause undue problems in the relationship between management and staff. It is true that certain rules, positions and formalities should be respected and maintained in behaviour but that does not limit one's capacity to understand and sympathize and should not be used as an excuse for hardness and indifference towards those who serve one. The best means to give attention to men is to take interest in the work that they do and give just recognition, and in that context to provide each worker with the opportunity to constantly learn new skills and obtain new knowledge and exercise new responsibilities appropriate to his capacities. It is possible to provide even the lowliest of workers with the opportunity for advancement by setting clearly before him the steps to perfection in his present work and presenting new opportunities when that perfection is reached. No worker can remain indifferent to the sincere concern of the employer for his growth and well-being. He will definitely respond by showing that same concern in his execution of the work. What responsibility one inwardly feels and accepts for his life, he will automatically feel and express in his work. The inner concern must be genuine but in outer expression the attention should be limited by the extent to which he identifies himself with the work. But one will find that when his inner attitude is proper, this identification will follow of itself. Give him the attention he deserves.

One's success can be measured by the effect on an employee's non-work life -- either creatively by preparing him for a better job or encouraging him to further education, or at least functionally in terms of his manners, conscience, behaviour, family life, etc. One should encourage the growth of employees even if it seems to be away from the company. Encourage all expansive movements.

There are a number of criteria to ensure that each man receives the attention he deserves:

1) He should be considered as a human being more than as an employee;

2) The job he does should result in psychological satisfaction making him desire to have more work;

3) He should find constantly newer skills added to his capacity;

4) His work pattern should include a built-in recreation that prevents accumulation of frustration or tension;

5) His work should help to harness all his energies and give them to the work so that tedium, except the physical part, will be minimal;

6) There should be a genuine appreciation and psychological recognition of talents when they are found or freshly emerge. Work must help to reveal and develop these talents.

There is a negative side to attention as well:

1) No man should be given even a little more than he deserves; he must not be in a position to take from the management more than is his due;

2) No more interest should be given than the person's psychological identification warrants;

3) No man should be employed in such a way that only a part of his capacities are utilised. This gives him extra energies which often express in a manner detrimental to the work;

4) No man should be at any work requiring him to give an excessive effort which may create tensions and spread to other men;

5) The surest way of bringing trouble into any relationship is to give someone more than what he deserves.

There are cases in which attention should not be given. A manager of a large government service bureau in California complained about the behaviour of one of his staff who kept his office in a state of complete chaos, who was always speaking in loud and crude language to the staff members, interrupting and contradicting them in staff conferences and disagreeing with the manager on every possible occasion. On hearing a description of his behaviour it was obvious that all this is done merely to gain attention from the manager and other employees. In such cases attention should definitely not be given to these negative expressions which only reinforce occurrence. Rather they should be completely ignored. Efforts should be made to identify the underlying sources of the problem and attention applied either silently within oneself or in conjunction with external measures to remove the trouble.

There are innumerable examples illustrating the benefit which results from acting out of compassion, understanding, patience, goodwill, leniency with the faults of others, giving people the freedom to make mistakes and the chance to exercise responsibility. All such qualities will prove a great asset in any work, only they must be applied with one qualification. To the extent that a man identifies himself with the work project, feels a part of it, sincerely works for its progress, both the work and his own personality will benefit from this attitude. Where a man is only interested in himself or is hostile, one may still be compassionate but not allow him to unduly jeopardise the work. It is wrong to exploit others. It is equally wrong to let others exploit you.

Successful industrialists often respond to this point by saying that they have seen it proved in their own business in the early stages when the staff was small and close personal contact with each worker was possible. The men worked enthusiastically and took pride in the production. But later when business expanded and the labour force doubled or tripled in size, it was no longer possible to get to know every man and attend to him. Then the outside unions come in and everything is further depersonalized. The answer to this is for management to continue to give the same close attention to those with whom they work, to their supervisory staff, aides etc. and in turn to instill the same attitude in these people, encouraging them to take active interest in the lives of those whom they have responsibility for in the work. A manager of 20 men can know each one very well. When the staff expands to 200 he can still take lively interest in twenty and each of them can relate to 20 men under them. It is possible to develop a hierarchy of personal relationship and genuine attention.

Outward attention to another is of limited value if it becomes a matter of policy or habit rather than an expression of genuine inner concern. Yet even in this form it is far better than unconsciousness towards others. Best of all is to strive toward an awareness of the true inner person behind another's appearance, gestures, words, thoughts and feelings. This can only come about by a corresponding effort at self-knowledge and self-discovery. Behind the personality of every man the soul resides, a spark of the Divine. By contacting that point in oneself and relating to that same point in others, one will spontaneously bring forth the best qualities in others. They will offer maximum cooperation and reap maximum growth.

(B) Attention to Other Living Beings: Recently there has been an increasing amount of literature about the sensitivity of plants to various types of human stimulation, thought, emotion and touch as well as their response to mechanical stimuli. It is a fact that plants are conscious, though not with the normal human mentality or emotions, and they are highly receptive to mental, emotional and nervous vibrations as well as various forms of physical energy. Like people, plants respond to all positive vibrations -- thoughts for their welfare, happy emotions, peace, calm and harmony, etc. They express this response by their rate of growth and the quality and quantity of flowers and fruits. It has also been documented that certain negative vibrations like fear, anger, loud noise or violent chaotic music cause retardation of their development. What is true for plants is equally true for animals.

(C) Attention to Tools and Machines: When a tool breaks or a machine constantly is in need of repair or some item is lost -- all these are warnings that one's attention to these things has not been adequate. Constant use is attention to material things. As with living things so with inanimate objects. Not only our outer handling of them but also the thoughts and feelings or unconsciousness we have concerning them affect their performance and life- span. It is true from our side that an active concern leads to better handling and maintenance. It is also true that that concern elicits an active response from the objects themselves. They serve better and even if lost find their way back. For all matter, not only plants, animals and men, possess a consciousness. But while in living organisms the consciousness manifests itself as growth, movement, sensitivity, feeling, thought, etc., in inanimate matter it is involved and invisible to sense perception. Nevertheless all matter responds to the consciousness of beings near to it. Also like the living organisms, it is in its essence Divine. If one has progressed far enough in his own conscious development, the inner consciousness of inanimate objects and their response to conscious attention is a matter of everyday experience. Many famous spiritual personalities have been known to treat the objects around them as if they were living beings and there are numerous stories of how the objects have responded by performing far longer than is normally possible without wearing out.

Not only objects but areas of space, rooms and buildings respond to attention. Naturally in most cases the response is more subtle, less easily perceptible. Yet most people are aware that some places have a nicer "atmosphere" than others. In some, one feels more comfortable, better able to concentrate, more relaxed, happier, more alert. These qualities are directly attributable to the consciousness of the individuals who normally occupy the place and the manner of their behaviour. Cleanliness, orderliness, absence of loud sounds or the expression of anger, positive thoughts and feelings, the presence of beautiful music or fresh flowers, all contribute to creating a positive atmosphere. Once created, this atmosphere actually responds by discouraging the occurrence of such events or the approach of such behaviour that would tend to disturb or diminish its quality. When established in a business enterprise it serves as a powerful influence increasing the efficiency and perfection of the work done as well as the satisfaction enjoyed by those who work in it.

Attention to Systems: Systems of administration, planning, operation, finance, etc., are not mere forms. They are formulations of the mind. They express a certain equilibrium which is capable of constant improvement. If one reviews the working of systems, examines the basic principles of their functioning, gives continual attention to their maintenance and perfection, they have a tendency to reveal better possibilities for innovation or greater efficiency. When not given regular attention, most systems respond by breaking down partially or completely, or some outside element comes drawing attention to the deficiency. For instance, the system of communication in a business between management and staff or between different departments may be primarily a written formal system with a regular chain of communication or an informal system of notes or oral conversation with fewer restrictions or fixed pathways. In either event if the system is ignored or violated frequently or insufficient effort made to maintain receptivity and flow of ideas, a breakdown in communication may result, leading to misunderstanding of orders, requests, information, feelings, procedures, and policy, etc. Any such incident of confusion or failure of adequate communication is an indication that the system itself needs attention and perhaps improvement. Other systems such as mail distribution and response, telephone calls, cleaning, filing, accounting, transportation, food, systems of verification, referral, authorization, education, training, production lines, etc., all follow the same principle.

In any business it is a valuable exercise to periodically list all the operational systems both formal and informal, review their basic function and the procedures established to carry out that aim, and evaluate the quality of the present operation in terms of speed, economy, efficiency, accuracy, harmony, etc. Then take efforts to update and improve the system wherever possible by even a small amount.

If the atmosphere is positive, management can initiate a study of the company including employee relations, use of machines, tools and materials, operation of systems, etc. A questionnaire based on the outline presented in Appendix B may be a helpful source of information from the staff. Such a study should place emphasis on the possibilities for greater progress and perfection rather than on destructive criticism of others, self-defense or justification of the status quo.

IV. Maximum Utilization Brings All the Supply Needed

The principle of full utilization of available resources -- labour, materials, energy, etc. is a fundamental principle of modern enterprise. Wastage, loss, hoarding, carelessness in distribution are all acts of unconsciousness, lack of attention, ignorance of the inner divinity of those things which have come to us. What is not commonly realized is that proper usage of what one has generates a momentum of flow that keeps the supply uninterrupted. At one time the manager of Mother Estates was finding it difficult to attract a sufficient labour supply for the work at hand. Despite all the usual inquiries and efforts no increase was possible. He decided to examine present usage of available labour and see if some lapse was apparent. During the meeting he found that the men had been working under poor supervision and sometimes without any supervision for the past week or so and that their work output had been very low by any standards. He decided to clamp down and require a full day's work for a full day's wage. After a single day the supervisor in charge reported over a 100% increase in work completed and the very next morning three new men appeared for work unsolicited. He continued his efforts and in the following days men continued to come until there was no longer a shortage.

This principle holds good even when the required resource is in general shortage. About the same time there was a nationwide shortage of cement because power cuts had reduced factory production time. When the manager tried to obtain cement for building an irrigation system, the government officers told him there was a waiting list of 500 people or approximately six months. He decided to try another method. First he ordered a search of the entire garden for unused cement, anything from a handful to a bag, and gathered about three bags which he immediately used to begin the irrigation project. Then he reviewed the entire history of cement purchases and utilization at the garden and uncovered areas of wastage and misuse. He made an inner effort to arrive at the proper attitude and feelings towards the cement already used and that which was yet to come. Within three days a cousin of one of the staff called to offer 5 bags of cement at market rates. The cement was purchased and utilized. A few days later someone in town offered 15 more bags and a week later another man came forward with 50 bags which the manager purchased and completed all the pending work.

During the power cut in 1973 there was not sufficient electricity for running the water pumps at Mother Estates. Local officials appealed to the farmers not to raise the next crop. The current supply reached a minimum of four hours per day. Even when the current was on, often the voltage was below the level required for the larger motors. Besides this there were frequent shutdowns during the four hours so that each pump had to be restarted one or more times. Furthermore, the pumps were far apart and the responsibility for starting them was given to only a few responsible men, hence additional time was wasted in travel from one pump to the next. Between all these factors 30 or 40 minutes would be lost daily before all the pumps were commissioned. The staff made a collective resolution that every minute of power must be utilized. New systems were employed to cut down on each of the sources of waste. On the first day all of the pumps were started within the first 5 minutes. Gradually it was reduced to 15 seconds. The next day there was an announcement by the government that 7 hours of electricity would be given. A few days later it was extended to 9 hours. Within two weeks it rose to 15 hours and finally to 20 hours during the hot season.

Besides these considerations, there is also a relationship between the availability of resources and the distribution of the final product. When the product is neglected for any reason, there may be difficulty in acquiring resources. This point is illustrated below.

V. The Philosophy of Unsold Stock

Stagnation in the sale and distribution of the final product results from a mental inertia or hesitation on the part of management to make decisions and execute them in action. This inertia will also express itself in other places e.g. backup of work, delay of orders, raw material shipments, payments, etc. Often a product will accumulate in stock and after initial efforts to move it fail, it is ignored or forgotten. The remedy lies in establishing full awareness of the product, of all possible avenues for distribution, removing hesitation and taking active initiative. When proper attention is given and all possibilities are exhausted, even when one's initiative leads only to the movement of a fraction of the quantity, life will respond by attracting buyers for the remainder.

The son of a liquor merchant came for guidance because business had been unusually slow. In the course of discussions he mentioned a $4000 consignment of wine that had been sitting for 6 months in the cellar without a single sale. We highlighted this unsold stock as the major cause of the business slump and requested him to examine every fact relating to the consignment from the day of purchase, to look for movements of indecisiveness, hesitation, laziness, forgetfulness, unconsciousness in his own and his father's attitude, to take a firm mental decision with genuine feeling that that wine stock must be sold, to exhaust every possibility for sales and report back in two days. In short, to give the product the attention it deserved. The man returned four days later and apologized for his delay. He said that in the intervening days over half the consignment had been sold and general business had increased so much that he had no time to come earlier.

A manufacturer of hand-made paper asked us to study his factory. He said that the local supply of raw material for the paper was in abundance but he was running into continuous delays in getting his own supplies on time. In the course of investigation we came across a stockpile of drawing paper worth $5000 which had been produced about a year earlier and then the order cancelled. Since then it had been lying forgotten in storage. We gave him a similar recommendation, adding that he should take initiative to remove delays from every aspect of his production lines, including delays in his response to other companies or prospective clients. The manufacturer made a firm decision to act. The next morning a truck load of raw materials arrived. But the manufacturer's hesitation remained and he failed to take serious effort to market the paper. A few weeks later he realized his mistake and reaffirmed his decision. Within five minutes a man came in and offered to arrange the sale of the entire stock overseas. The response of life to our decisions is immediate. Accumulation of unsold stock retards the availability of raw materials, the sale of other products and the receipt of new orders.

VI. Silent Will

In any institution, communication plays a vital role. In a dynamic organization such as a business enterprise this communication is composed not only of mental ideas and instructions, but must carry with it the enthusiasm, interest, forcefulness necessary to provoke a clear response in the recipient and motivate him to proper action. Where there is similarity of purpose, language, background, understanding and interest, words and explanations and orders are easily communicated, but where any of these are lacking, difficulties may arise.

First there may be a problem in communicating a mental idea. Even if this is accepted, it requires also a response of interest and enthusiasm to prepare the listener to act on it, and still it requires the proper receipt of instructions to know how the idea is to be implemented in practise.

For all these levels of communication, silent will can be a very effective medium. A prior condition for the effective use of silent communication is a general tuning of the different levels of the institution to the central purpose. This can be commercial in nature or psychological or spiritual. Where this tuning is present, where employees are consciously aware of the central purpose, a climate is created of receptivity and harmony in which new thought is easily introduced. Most often when a new idea or plan arises man has the tendency to speak it out immediately, to elaborate it through conversation, to test it by expression. The result is that much of the energy carried by a new inspiration or fresh thought is dissipated in premature unclarified discussion which often leads to misunderstandings, argument or initially poor response that hampers later acceptance of the finished product. Instead one can retain the fresh thought and allow it to develop quietly for some time, gradually becoming aware of the points of unclarity, weakness or possible objection. The idea is allowed to ripen and mature. One can then silently concentrate on the idea and will that others receive and accept it. One can patiently and carefully put seeds and suggestions into the atmosphere and when the climate is right and the people receptive, give a fuller expression which will come with a far greater intensity due to the conservation and retention of energies. What commonly happens when such a procedure is followed is that either the idea is readily accepted when presented or even before presentation the identical thought will be expressed by another member of the organization. This latter possibility is a very good one, for if one can suspend the egoistic need to impress others with his ideas, and allow them to accept new thought as their own, he finds that the idea is much more readily accepted and supported.

The general climate of an organization can be made ripe for silent communication by means of periodical or regular meetings of staff. At these times emphasis can be placed on increasing the awareness of the central purpose, or introducing higher aims, of allowing open expression among the staff all of which help to create and sustain an atmosphere of harmony, sympathy, interest, enthusiasm and participation among the members. Staff meetings have the further effect of allowing individuals and departments to become conscious of the work in all other areas of the organization and so increase their awareness of the entire institution in its dynamic wholeness. In such an atmosphere communication is made easy and it is not limited to the communication of ideas. Plans are far more effectively put into action when the person involved feels it to be his own idea or at least is given voice in the development and finalising of the procedure and a degree of discretion in the execution. Silent will can bring this about by creating a basic commanality of viewpoint and receptivity.

There are certain people who habitually respond to new ideas with a note of pessimism or by attacking and questioning them. There are others who have a vested interest in the status quo and resist changes or improvements in another's work. Such reactions drain the strength from a new idea, throw up a blanket of confusion and hesitation, reduce one's will and determination. In any situation where communicating a new idea is likely to meet with negativity, resistance, hostility, it is better to refrain from expression and to work inwardly until the idea has gained greater strength or the climate is more receptive. On the contrary, if one has the confidence of another person of similar disposition or close emotional identification, a certain amount of communication strengthens the movement represented by the idea and accelerates effectuation. Still moderation in speech is a valuable guideline to follow and conscious silence is a very powerful means of effectuation.

A related topic is that of gossip. In every institution there is a good measure of private conversation among staff and management concerned with the behaviour of other company members. When this conversation includes derogatory comments, sarcasm, a perverse pleasure in criticizing others, it is a very powerful vibration which undermines the relationship between individuals and erodes the atmosphere of the institution. Gossip is always a negative movement which destroys harmony and good-will. If one cannot speak positively about another or offer a mature constructive suggestion, it is better not to speak at all.

VII. The Ideals of an Institution

We have said earlier that the institution is a living organism capable not only of expansive growth but also of rising to higher levels of functioning, a soul evolution. Like the individual, it makes such vertical upward progress when it looks up to a higher ideal and attempts to uplift its level of functioning to be in accordance with that ideal. This is yoga. The institution has a personality determined by the purpose and circumstances of its founding, the social conditions of the time, the capacities of the founding members and all those who have since participated in its functioning. This personality is capable of a certain expansion; for instance, a business is capable of a certain growth in its volume of business which is limited by the ideal, purpose, social milieu, etc., in short, by the institution's personality. Beyond that limit if the institution wants to expand further, it has to change its personality it has to evolve into a higher order of institution.

Most of the principles so far discussed help to bring about a maximum growth on the horizontal level. But for growth beyond this point, the institution must consent to change itself, it must make the necessary effort of will. Horizontal expansion requires dynamic practical skills. For a vertical expansion, vision, creativity and perception are necessary.

Most business organizations are founded on an economic motive. Within this area there is still a hierarchy of levels. The proprietor can be concerned solely with his own economic security and see all his employees merely as a means to that and nothing more. This can be expanded to include concern for the economic security of the employees as well, and even further to help foster the prosperity of an industry or community or larger social group. But most institutions are moved by psychological motives as well. The founders usually have a need for creative expression, channeling of energies, the urge to adventure or new knowledge and new experiences, the learning of new skills. There is also the area of social acceptance, prestige, advancement. In these areas too it is possible for the institution to grow by working for the growth of these dimensions in those who work for the firm. And on a wider level the institution may begin to work towards a growth of the community. It may develop an interest in perfecting its product or service not only to increase its economic position but also for the sake of providing good service, out of a sense of social responsibility, ethics, aesthetic values. Beyond this there are even higher levels, institutions which function solely or partly for social improvement, charity, political ideals, national or international prosperity, etc. Each time an institution gives attention to a higher level than its present functioning it takes an evolutionary step.

Established business houses often take one or more vertical steps unintentionally or unconsciously: when a firm becomes proud of its product or reputation, when it seeks to reward its employees by a fairer allotment of profits, when it takes interest in working conditions and family benefits, etc. Often such steps are taken hesitantly because they appear to be at the expense of the economic motive which has been primary. But in the history of large institutions it can be seen that this vertical growth brings with it not a loss on the economic levels but a manifold increase in profits. This is a fundamental point. When an institution rises to a higher level all the lower levels beneath receive a large expansion far beyond the limits of that lower level but in accordance with the broader potentials of a higher level.

Every institution is constantly faced with opportunities to take steps to a higher level of functioning. We start from where we are and take the next step. The resulting positive expansion then serves as an impetus for further growth so long as one does not remain satisfied with a single advance and level off there. In each part of the institution one can set an ideal a little higher than is now practised. It aids expansion of the whole. As an institution turns to a wider or higher field of life activities, the corresponding energy of that higher level uplifts the institution.

An added dimension of this principle can be seen in the evolving attitudes of the working staff. As an institution rises in ideals, the ideals and attitudes of employees will change to the degree they are identified with the institution. Where management is concerned solely with profit, employees care only for their wage share. When management shows concern for the quality of its product, employees take increased interest in the quality of work. When the firm actively gives attention to the well-being and development of its workers, the workers take a corresponding interest in the growth of the institution. When the role of the institution becomes primarily one of genuine social service, the employees give service to further the institution. By so doing not only is the institution evolving but the employees evolve as well and receive all the benefits of a higher level of existence.

VIII. Harmony

Sri Aurobindo has written that all problems of nature are essentially problems of harmony. Every living organism depends on the smooth harmonious interaction and cooperation of its composite parts for growth and survival. Harmony in an institution is not limited to cooperative relations among employees or between employees and management. There is the harmony between the idea, the systems or schemes for execution and the actual outer expression. There is a harmony between principles and practise, and between understanding, acceptance and practise, etc. For there to be a harmony there must be a tuning of the different layers of the institution to the central purpose. The ideal of harmonious relations between parts of itself, acts as a powerful center for progress and the expansion of the entire institution. It is the universal harmony which supports all smaller conflicts. Harmony is not, as many think of it, a static or stagnant existence. It is the firm foundation of peace and stability upon which creativity, expansion and growth can flourish. Harmony brings to your service all the possibilities of the past that were missed. A general atmosphere of harmony, sympathy, good-will can be aided by not speaking critically of others, refraining from all unnecessary negative expression, particularly anger, spite, and jealousy. If one foregoes negative expression even when justified, he rises to a higher level. Harmony attempted in a situation yields greater results than authority, strategy, force, etc.

There is a harmony possible on the level of thoughts and the level of feelings; there is also a greater harmony which lies deeper in each individual, founded on the unity of all souls. If any individual in an institution makes an effort to relate to others from the deepest possible center of his being, to harmonize the many divergent and conflicting elements in his own consciousness, he can release a very powerful movement of harmony in the institution as a whole. Such a movement is the most propitious condition for an expansion of the company.

IX. Honesty

Every reader will surely have anticipated our attitude on movements of falsehood such as lying, deceit, misrepresentation, etc., but the basis for this position may not be equally apparent. It is not necessary to add to the age-old debate on whether crime pays. It is certainly true that many an entrepreneur has grown wealthy by following a policy based on falsehoods of every kind. As Sri Aurobindo points out, the law of action and reaction, karma, is valid for each level of existence within its own domain. Lying and the like are actions on the ethical plane of mind, while business transactions are on the socio-economic plane of life. The two are not directly connected. Acts of falsehood may very well lead to economic prosperity but they also lead to moral degeneration and poverty. And since the ethical plane is a higher level of existence than the economic, the total result is a retrogression in development for the individual or institution involved. The aim of human activity is growth, progressive evolution of all the parts of the individual being and every aspect of collective life. This evolution is a movement from unconsciousness to consciousness, from ignorance and falsehood to knowledge and truth, from suffering to fulfillment. There is no possible way to further this development by a conscious act of falsehood. Moreover, though such an action may yield a material fruit, it inevitably evokes a like response from outer life. Where one has obtained business from others by misrepresentation, others will seek business from you by the same means. Where one has charged another an unreasonably high price for a product, one's own staff or suppliers or someone else will do likewise toward you, etc. As one is to life, so life responds in one form or another.

Secrecy, concealment, hiding are conditions in which falsehood thrives. As man and his institutions develop he relies less on such means, cultivates an open and illumined climate for conducting affairs and advances more rapidly in this brighter air.

It sometimes happens that an institution is treated falsely by others even when its own attitudes and behaviour have been true. When this happens it is a good indication that the institution is on the verge of a progress to a higher level of functioning and these lower forces come to impede that movement. The only support they can ever have is from the tinge of false methods the institution sometimes permits. The solution is to fight the falsehood only by Truth. Review one's past and present behaviour. Examine and correct lapses in attitude and modes of functioning. Falsehood can never be fought by falsehood.

A nationally known firm in the U.S. was awarded a large contract by one of the state governments. The official in charge said the only condition was that the consultant must charge an extra large fee and hand over the excess to him. The consultant refused the illegal proposition and lost the job. Some years later under a new government administration the same consulting firm was awarded the largest consulting contract the state had ever issued. This time it was all legal.

One's own latent capacity for falsehood, slander, ill-will, jealousy, etc. even when unexpressed, leaves one open to overt negativity from others. The best protection is a sincere examination of the roots of such vibrations within oneself.

X. Freedom and Responsibility

Sri Aurobindo writes that "Freedom is the highest law and the last consummation". To the extent that an individual is committed to the central aims of an institution and identified with it, he should be given freedom to err as well as succeed, for only so can he and the institution grow. Man responds to pressure, force, commands and outer discipline by a behavioural conformity which tends to revert to old forms as soon as the pressure is removed. It is only under conditions of freedom that man will impose discipline upon himself and only self-discipline, meaning a true consent of the will, can create true personality growth.

To put it another way, to the extent that a man shows the capacity to exercise freedom in a disciplined manner without letting it fall into licentiousness, he must be given room to exercise his free choice. Each man will have strong areas where freedom can be given and here he should be given free scope. The very act of giving freedom to a man in a new area serves as an incentive for him to extend his trust-worthiness to other areas. One should look for this development and encourage it.

Yet the freedom one gives should not become an occasion for another to exploit you. It is as wrong from the higher point of view to allow oneself to be exploited as to exploit others. The fact is that when freedom is given man almost always utilizes it both for constructive growth and for greater self- indulgence -- the two are distinct yet usually go together. To give freedom to others requires that one is himself established in that freedom inwardly, possessing a great inner stability, strength, patience and will for man's growth. If these qualities are not there in some measure it is better to proceed cautiously, otherwise an initial gesture of freedom to others will be followed by a rapid withdrawal of the same and may lead to a demoralized atmosphere in which the individual takes less interest or initiative than ever. Some degree of misuse or exploitation will always be there and is tolerable. It is the price paid for the truest and most rapid growth of oneself, those around and the institution as a whole. Freedom implies and complements responsibility. If freedom is given it should eventually result in evoking a greater sense of and capacity for accepting responsibility on the part of the entrusted individual. As these grow, the man and the institution flourish.

In institutional life freedom and responsibility usually express as an attitude of professionalism. Management implicitly recognizes the qualifications, competence, maturity and capacity of each man to properly exercise a certain degree of freedom and responsibility in a constructive manner. To relate to another as a professional is essentially a gesture of respect for his capabilities. Yet the true basis for respect is not training or experience. It is founded on the essential divinity and dignity which is common to all human beings and the capacity of every man to develop his personality and capabilities further by the unfolding of the hidden potentialities within him. Every man merits a certain degree of respect and possesses a certain capacity for responsible activity. If one relates to the essential core of divinity in man, he responds by bringing forward his best qualities and properly utilizing the freedom and responsibility given to him.

XI. Exercise of Power

Individuals and institutions make decisions on many levels according to many standards of conduct, ranging from motives of pure self-interest, social custom, legal right, moral and ethical right, to spiritual or inner right. At times a business may be faced with a situation in which what is permitted by law does not coincide with what is really fair to the party concerned. For example, law may establish a certain minimum wage for labourers, yet the work required does not truly fall in the normal labour category and one has the prerogative to pay by the law. By ignoring the legal standard and acting according to a more just guideline, one raises the level of the institution and fosters its growth. In fact, each time an individual or an institution acts according to a higher standard than that which the situation necessitates, he makes a growth in consciousness.

An industrialist was plagued with complete shutdown of his three factories due to a labour strike. The trouble had been instigated by a single man who became leader of the workers and made untenable demands on their behalf. After more than two months this leader was caught in possession of a stolen watch belonging to one of the supervisors. The police placed him in jail. The industrialist knew of this principle for the exercise of power and wanted to rely on the justness of his position rather than on legal power. After great hesitation he decided not to press charges and ordered the police to release the man. The leader-thief came directly to the industrialist. He apologized for his behaviour, requested the workers to accept the fair terms offered and abandon their strike, and then he promptly left the company and the city.

The greatest power available to a man is his highest ideal or his deepest faith -- that is the Divine for him. Let his ultimate reliance be on these. Then lower authorities such as law can be resorted to when necessary as an instrument for this power to express.

XII. Effort and Token Work

Exhaust your resources and life will respond.

After such an investigation has been carried out and corrections been implemented, it may still be that the particular problem at hand needs an added impetus to get it moving. Where the atmosphere surrounding the work is unfavourable, where disharmony continues to prevail, it is better to patiently refrain from action until the mood changes. But where the atmosphere is good and all elements seem ready for a breakthrough, then it may be that a token effort will turn the corner and bring success. This means to make a determined initiation and persistent endeavour to no matter how small an extent may be possible, and do whatever can be done in the given circumstances, exhaust all possibilities, potentials and resources. At the point where one has fully exhausted his energies and capacities, life responds by bringing the components necessary to complete the work. Where human effort is exhausted, one opens to the forces of universal life which take up the movement. But if one stops at the penultimate step, there is no response.

XIII. Forked Road Situations

A few examples are given of priorities which help the institution to expand:

Long term over short term

Progress over profit

Convention over convenience

Effort over comfort

Sublimation over diversion

Resolution into a harmony over solution

Institution's welfare over department's welfare

Employees' utility over management utility

Confrontation over appeasement

Compromise at a higher level over confrontation

XIV. Money

What has been said regarding animate and inanimate objects is equally true of money. It responds to attention. Keeping an exact account of what is spent is one form of attention which promotes a non-stop flow of funds for work. The principle of total and proper utilization also applies. It can be seen that when one is left with a few more dollars and further finance is not forthcoming, the incoming money flow awaits the spending of the last cent. If money has been improperly expended on a certain item and efforts are taken to reverse the previous act, before long further sources of funds are revealed.

But money is not merely an object. Rather the material currency employed "is the visible sign of a universal force, and this force in its manifestation on earth works on the vital and physical planes and is indispensable to the fullness of the outer life. In its origin and true action it belongs to the Divine" (Sri Aurobindo, The Mother). "Money is not meant to bring more money -- money is meant to increase the wealth, the prosperity and the productiveness of a group, a country or, preferably, the whole earth. Money is a means, a force, a power, not an end in itself. As all forces and all powers, it is by activity and circulation that it grows and intensifies, not by accumulation and stagnation" (The Mother). The normal human consciousness fails to see the Divine in money, and it wants to possess it for its value in fulfilling desires and the self-gratification of man's ego. Money is a form of the Divine in manifestation and it has a higher role to play in the life of each individual and the collectivity.

A business institution is based primarily on the motivation of economic self-interest directly in competition with others. Yet it can be seen in a larger view, that through this competition, not only a single business and its employees but the economy as a whole grows and prospers. The principle of competition is true at one level. But a higher truth is that of association, mutual interchange and collective progress. Wealth is not a fixed quantity in the world to be fought over. It is an ever expanding movement of prosperity fostered by the creative activity of institutions. In the long run a successful institution is only possible in a strong economy where others also prosper and the individual success adds to the collective prosperity.

When a business institution recognizes this inter-dependence between all elements of the economy and chooses for its motivation and practical philosophy the development and prosperity of the economy as a whole, it oversteps the narrow bounds of competitive self-interest and rises to a higher level of idealism. All its decisions, policies, actions are based on a broader perspective and sounder basis. The result is that having renounced the primary emphasis on its own survival, it becomes an essential component of the larger economic system. Life responds through the entire system to ensure that the company survives and prospers. In its activity the company becomes a broad channel for the flow of prosperity into the system. It attracts wealth to itself and freely distributes it to the rest, far more than was possible by its narrower pursuit.

For an individual or an institution, the true attitude towards money is neither a greed to possess it for oneself nor an active distaste for wealth or the activities which create it. Money is a power of the Divine to be utilized for the development and prosperity of every man, institution, country, all mankind.

XV. Motivation

This subject has already been discussed in terms of the institution as a whole and its governing ideal. The same holds true for every smaller unit of the company down to the individual. Simply stated, the principle is that the higher, less selfish, personal and egoistic one's motivation, the more he grows, and the more he receives. On the lower levels man is motivated by a desire for reward -- money, fame, prestige, respect, success, etc. At a higher level he works out of interest. Interest is a broader, less personal, more mental motive than desire. By choosing it one does not necessarily sacrifice the lower rewards but adds to them the satisfaction which comes from following one's interest. The highest level of motivation is service to another, to the firm, community, society, mankind, the Divine. Service brings with it the pure joy of self-giving and in the process life sees to it that one's desires and interests are also fulfilled. The basis of service is a decision to give of oneself. It is man's highest motive for action and it is the key to life. The principle of giving can be applied at all levels. One can give wealth and material possessions, give interest or attention, sympathy, psychological support, etc. When the management of an institution is able to practise this in its relationship with employees, other institutions and the society at large, then it opens the way for an unlimited growth, expansion and prosperity.

XVI. Progress

Progress is normally thought of as the end result, the goal of all of one's efforts, not something that can itself be practised as a principle. But it need not be so, if one makes progress the governing ideal of all work and at every moment chooses it in favour of any other alternative. Progress means a constant effort to upgrade one's ideas, services, employees, systems, etc. One may strive for the progress not only of the institution but of all its members, of all other institutions, of the larger society of which they are a part. To do this one must remember in every situation that the important thing is progress. No single job, no opportunity for quick profit should move him to waver from this principle.

The key to progress can be found in Mother's statement that one must always strive for perfection and that the particular level of perfection attainable today does not matter so long as one reaches at least one step higher tomorrow. Life never stands still. If we do not progress we regress. The best way to start is by a period of sincere self-observation. Examine the entire institution as a whole and in all its parts and let each man examine himself also. Then whatever the result one must be objective and not criticize or condemn himself or others, only let one know what he is. Then take the decision that tomorrow each aspect or as many aspects as possible must be upgraded one step. It is helpful to keep a journal of one's observations and to then put in writing a plan for progress in the coming day and week. The program must not be just a glimmering ideal one would like to attain. Then that small step should be implemented. This can be done on a group basis for the entire organisation or each department but it can also be done by every individual working member. Daily each man can decide to take one step towards greater perfection in work, a step which he can take himself independent of the behaviour of others. Let him daily take new steps while maintaining all the perfection attained in previous days. This maintaining of what has been previously accomplished is essential.

What one achieves in himself he has the power to pass on to others but only after he has gained complete mastery of it. There is an age-old principle, "practise what you preach". Better than this, practise to perfection and communicate that perfection to others by a silent will and a living example. In this light, every job is an opportunity for progress. If one concentrates on growth, expansion and rising to higher levels of motivation, one creates an atmosphere which attracts success, prosperity and new opportunity. It is not necessary to share these thoughts with others in the institution if there is any resistance to them. All that one has to do if he accepts them is to work silently along these lines, exhausting his personal and official capacities. His responsibility ends there. Where he ends, life will take over.

XVII. The Consciousness Approach

The basis of the Consciousness Approach is the correspondence between man's inner consciousness and events in outer life. Man is normally aware only of physical needs, life impulses, feelings and thoughts. Therefore the outer life of most men is a response to the quality of these inner elements. By changing the inner condition, one brings about a responsive change in the external world.

But consciousness is not limited to this. Behind the surface personality in man lies his true inner being. By contacting this deeper center he gains freedom from all the conflicting elements of his personality and the power to mould them into a unified harmonious whole. He discovers the Divine within himself. So too, behind and within all other living beings and material objects there is a center of pure consciousness. By entering into conscious relationship with that center in other things and beings he gains a direct knowledge of his external environment and the power to influence conditions and events. He discovers the Divine in the world and in life.

In this truer perspective the term Consciousness Approach means that all the problems of life, rather all items of life, positive and negative, are referred to one center in man, i.e. his deepest inner consciousness. That should be the only center of reference. The usual standards of behaviour, viz. mental understanding, ethical norms, social expectations, are for this purpose discarded. Therefore the method is applicable only in so far as one places total reliance on the inner consciousness to the exclusion of normal methods of life. By an inner mastery it is possible to control all outer events.

There has been no attempt here to construct a new system of business management. Systems are mental. Rather it is to evoke a response in the reader to the existence of a deeper center of functioning in man from which all the problems which perpetually confront life and mind can be effectively resolved in a higher order. The detailed discussion of principles is intended to stimulate the mind to seek this deeper center. This center, the true being in man, is the source of unlimited consciousness which can be channeled into creativity on any plane of existence. Yet the greater achievement is to forego the utilization of this consciousness for one's own ends and instead become a conscious personality through which it can flow in effectuating its own creative intention. That intention is nothing less than the progressive evolution of the individual and the human collectivity toward a life of greater knowledge, love, power and beauty.

APPENDIX A

Mother's Service Society is working to extend the application of yoga to the field of economic and social development through its project at Mother Estates and to extend Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of spiritual evolution into all areas of man's intellectual pursuit. The present study of business management is an attempt to integrate the Order's academic approach with the ongoing experiments at Mother Estates.

Employee Questionnaire

APPENDIX B

The following pages contain a number of questions for your consideration. The purpose of the questionnaire is to provide information which may help to:

1. Improve the degree of personal and job satisfaction for employees by relating each individual's personality strengths, educational background, work experience, interests, preferences, areas of creativity, etc. more closely to the organization of work and job assignments.
2. Improve the operational functioning of staff and management.
3. Guide us in moving into new areas of business which are of interest to the staff and justified by the qualifications of our personnel.

The items listed are meant to serve as a guideline for your responses but in no way should they be taken as a limitation. We welcome in depth comment on any or all of these items and any others you wish to include. This information is requested strictly on a voluntary basis and you should feel free to ignore all or part of it.

The first part entitled "Personal Statement" will go into a permanent personnel file. The second and third parts are of a more general nature and no name is required on them.

I. Personal Statement

Name, date of birth, nationality

1. List major places of residence from birth to present chronologically and duration of residence.
2. List colleges and graduate institutions attended -- locations, dates -- general description of program, major, special interest and areas of excellence, outside academic and non-academic activities.
3. Previous work experience - firm - dates -- type of work skills acquired and required -- attitude towards job -- reasons for leaving.
4. Describe your personality strengths, weaknesses. Describe your special fields of capability due to training, private acquisitions, innate skill etc. special fields of interest --intellectual, social, hobbies, etc.
5. Are there any particular problems of health which affect or limit your present comfort or working performance?
6. Are there any other problems or circumstances which affect or limit your present personal comfort or working performance?
7. Do you feel you are given enough freedom in your work? In what areas would you like more freedom?
8. Do you feel you are given enough responsibility in your work? In what areas would you like more responsibility?
9. Do you feel your educational background is being well utilized in your present assignments? Can you suggest ways to more fully utilize it?
10. Do you feel your previous job experience is being well utilized in your present assignments? Can you suggest ways to more fully utilize it?
11. Do you feel your personal endowments, natural skills, areas of greatest interest and enthusiasm are being well utilized in your present assignments? Can you suggest ways of more fully utilizing them?
12. What is your personal attitude towards travel for the firm?
13. Other remarks.

II. Evaluation of Present Functioning

Name (optional)

Comment on the following topics:

1. Salary scale, employee benefits, bonus and profit sharing plans;
2. System of hiring and dismissal;
3. Policy for vacations and legal holidays;
4. Rules and regulations (e.g. appearance, attendance, punctuality, order, cleanliness, etc.);
5. Management: the adequacy of management, attitudes of same, relation to staff, interest in staff;
6. Proper deployment of employees according to capability;
7. Freedom given to employees;
8. Harmony between members of staff;
9. Harmony between members of staff and management;
10. Adequacy of the job training programs;
11. Firm policy on travel;
12. Scope given for individual initiative, enterprise, creativity, continuous education;
13. Suggestions for improved management;
14. Suggestions for improved relations between management and staff;
15. Suggestions for happier adjustment of staff;
16. Suggestions for better organization of operations;
17. Suggestions for better utilization of materials, machines, personnel.

III. Areas for Future Growth of the Company

1. Discuss in detail fields of work which you would like to see the company become involved in because:
A. They are areas of personal interest;
B. They are areas of your own training, experience, capability;
C. They are areas of good business opportunity;
D. They are areas of social importance, vital community need.
2. Suggestions for sales contacts and promotion.

APPENDIX C

Some Fundamentals of Yoga

Man at his highest is a mental being. He perceives, knows, judges and wills action through the power of mind. Yoga begins when man awakens to an existence beyond mind, when he senses or feels a greater consciousness operative in the world, when he turns toward and seeks to discover the Divine in himself, in the world or beyond this world. By this quest he grows in consciousness beyond the limitations of normal human nature and lives in a higher plane of existence with a more illumined knowledge, purer vaster love and more powerful will for action. In his initial attempts to contact the Divine, man commonly resorts to prayer. Prayer is a linking of the human will with a higher power, the Divine Will, for the fulfillment of a particular end, e.g. knowledge, love, happiness, health, wealth, strength, peace, etc. Prayer can issue from a thought in the mind, an emotion in the heart or from a deeper center in man, the soul, which lies behind the heart and is in direct contact with the Divine. The power of prayer depends on its intensity as well as the sincerity and faith of the seeker. When these three elements are present in good measure, prayer is a far greater power for effectuation than any human endowment.

But prayer by its nature is an attempt to harness the Divine for one's own ends. At its highest prayer becomes an aspiration issuing from the soul not for any worldly end but for contact, identification and union with the Divine. At this point yoga begins. Aspiration when it seeks to express in one's outer life of activity leads to consecration. Consecration literally means to make sacred. In yoga this means doing an act as an offering to the Divine and with the Divine as the central reference. Instead of relying on and being moved by the normal human impulses, understanding and will, one seeks contact with the soul deep within and acts from that center with its guidance. In effect one suspends and offers up one's own impulses, feelings, understanding and will power so that a higher impulsion, truer knowledge and more powerful will can act through one. By this means the seeker gradually comes more in contact with the Divine and the Divine enters into and takes hold of his entire inner life and all his outer circumstances. Consecration leads to complete surrender and communion. Still a man must act in the world. When an act is fully consecrated it brings to bear a far greater power of Consciousness than mind or prayer can generate.

The principles discussed in the body of the text are essentially a translation into mental terms for execution by the mental will of truths which are self-evident on higher planes of existence. Their power for effectuation depends on the development of the man's mind and the concentration of his will. In so far as one resorts to prayer or consecration, these methods grow in power beyond the human level and bring in the dynamism of the higher consciousness.

When an act is consecrated, it is no longer necessary to say that life responds to us. Rather it can be said that the Divine in life responds to the inner effort. The outer life becomes an expression of the inner consecration. Every outer obstacle and difficulty is an indication of an inner element to be worked upon and an inner progress to be made. When one exhausts all one's human capacities and resources in consecrated activity, it is the higher power, the Divine Grace, that takes over. When one refuses to exercise human power of legal or moral right in deference to the Divine, the higher power enters through life and acts far more effectively than man, and so on. As the entire inner being is turned towards the Divine and opens to the higher consciousness, the outer life falls under control and all circumstances arrange themselves to aid in one's progress.

APPENDIX D

A PROGRAM OF YOGA

FOR BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Based on the practise of consecration a program has been developed, tested and proven very effective when applied to modern business institutions. The prerequisite for this program is for one to have established at least a minimum level of consecration in all his daily activities.

I. Program of Consecration

One round of this discipline can be completed in a period of two to four weeks and then repeated at a deeper level of consecration.

1. Consecrate the physical body of the institution, i.e. the building, every room, the atmosphere. See them as living things. Mentally recall that all these are manifestations of the Divine. Attempt to make an inner contact with them. Offer them to the service of the Divine. This can be done in one room each day until a full round is complete.
2. Consecrate every piece of furniture, every object, every machine as in #1.
3. Consecrate the organizational hierarchy of the company. Try to contact the deeper levels where all are One and in harmony. See the Divine at the top and within each position.
4. Consecrate every system and subsystem, e.g. telephones, mail, accounting, transportation, etc. Before work each morning consecrate these in advance. Then consecrate every call and piece of mail one tends to during the work day.
5. Consecrate every staff member, his personality, strengths and weaknesses, his professional skills, capabilities and limitations, his private life at home and his relations with staff and management, his interests, enthusiasm, fears, difficulties, etc. This also means a consecration of your attitude, feelings, reactions toward the man. Try to establish a detached disinterested objectivity toward his personality and an awareness of his true inner being.
6. Consecrate in detail the life history of the company -- its founding ideals and emergence from previous types of institutions, its founder and builders, every past opportunity which was missed, every mistake, misdeed, misjudgment. Offer gratitude for every opportunity which came and for every progress as well as for every difficulty. See how each difficulty, when overcome, led to a new advance. Look for a trend of strength which can be traced from the company's inception to the present. Look for a weakness which reappears periodically. Consecrate these strengths and weaknesses. Try to contact the inner being of the company, relate to it, identify with it, offer it to the service of the Divine.
7. Consecrate every new possibility for business, every new client and new sale. Offer gratitude.
8. Consecrate the role of money in the institution and every aspect of money exchange, that received and that paid out. Consecrate the company's policies, attitudes, practices in this regard.
9. See the next step which each element of the business should take in order to progress to a higher level. Consecrate those steps.
10. Consecrate every event and activity that occurs in your presence.
11. Enter into personal, silent, conscious relationship with every person, system, object and nourish them by your consciousness.
12. If any staff member takes up the consecration, the response will be greater.

II. Program of Activity

1. Study every employee silently to learn their talents and untapped potentials. Attempt to upgrade each employee to his maximum capacity.
2. Each employee should be conscious of what he contributes and what he receives. Relieve him of any false sense that he gives more than others and/or receives less recognition.
3. Note simple avoidable sources of friction between employees and try to remove them by silent initiative.
4. Set all machinery in perfect, quiet working order.
5. Examine every system to see if it is working at maximum efficiency. Each system is a resource to be fully utilized.
6. See that all outer events such as mail, telephone calls, obligations, etc. are handled as quickly as possible. Work for maximum speed of response.
7. Work to increase cleanliness, orderliness, regularity, punctuality, peace, silence, etc. even to a small extent.
8. Try to remove areas of secrecy, hiding, etc. where it is out of falsehood or may encourage falsehood.
9. For every outer difficulty or problem, identify the corresponding inner point in the consciousness of management and staff.
10. If the atmosphere is receptive encourage management to initiate a study of the company including employee relations, use of machines and materials, operation of systems, etc. Such a study should place emphasis on the possibilities for positive improvement and greater progress rather than on destructive criticism of others, self-defense or justification of the status quo.

APPENDIX E

"Business and Spirituality"

(A Letter by Sri Aurobindo)

I may say, however, that I do not regard business as something evil or tainted, any more than it is so regarded in ancient spiritual India. If I did, I would not be able to receive money from A or from those of our disciples who in Bombay trade with East Africa; nor could we then encourage them to go on with their work but would have to tell them to throw it up and attend to their spiritual progress alone. How are we to reconcile A's seeking after spiritual light and his mill? Ought I not to tell him to leave his mill to itself and to the devil and go into some Ashram to meditate? Even if I myself had had the command to do business as I had the command to do politics I would have done it without the least spiritual or moral compunction. All depends on the spirit in which a thing is done, the principles on which it is built and the use to which it is turned. I have done politics and the most violent kind of revolutionary politics, ghoram karma, and I have supported war and sent men to it, even though politics is not always or often a very clean occupation nor can war be called a spiritual line of action. But Krishna calls upon Arjuna to carry on war of the most terrible kind and by his example encourages men to do every kind of human work, sarva karmani. Do you contend that Krishna was an unspiritual man and that his advice to Arjuna was mistaken or wrong in principle? Krishna goes further and declares that a man by doing in the right way and in the right spirit the work dictated to him by his fundamental nature, temperament and capacity and according to his and its dharma can move towards the Divine. He validates the function and dharma of the Vaishya (merchant) as well as of the Brahmin (priest) and Kshatriya (warrior). It is in his view quite possible for a man to do business and make money and earn profits and yet be a spiritual man, practise yoga, have an inner life. The Gita is constantly justifying , work as a means of spiritual salvation and enjoining a Yoga of Works as well as of Bhakti and Knowledge. Krishna, however, superimposes a higher law also that work must be done without desire, without attachment to any fruit or reward, without any egoistic attitude or motive, as an offering or sacrifice to the Divine. This is the traditional Indian attitude towards these things, that all work can be done if it is done according to the dharma and, if it is rightly done, it does not prevent the approach to the Divine or the access to spiritual knowledge and the spiritual life.

APPENDIX F

CONSCIOUSNESS APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

(Letter from an Industrialist)

An industrialist approached us last year on some of his problems. Two of his three factories were on strike for months. During a discussion it was explained that men, machines, market, cycles of production, money, etc. will readily respond if they were not treated as material objects or items for utility but considered as centres of consciousness. One must see the external industrial situation as the extension of his inner state of consciousness expressed in outer life. The keys are really inside. The business world will lend itself to be managed from an inner poise. He tried earnestly. Life responded. Strikes were withdrawn. Trouble spots offered to leave the establishments on their own. Production commenced. Business witnessed a phenomenal expansion. Members of the staff collectively approached him for guidance in matters spiritual. Expansion is so much that to manage with that is now a problem. Here below we give an extract from his letter.

"You sent me a note in February 1973, explaining Sri Aurobindo's line of approach to industrial management. Though I read it earlier, I took it up for deeper thinking when I was preparing a plan to expand the cardboard production. Some of the things in the note were tried and we benefited. For us, men were a problem. Now it is no longer so. I have found that men, though irresponsible, and willing to exploit any situation, show responsibility when carefully initiated, and respond to care, love and attention. Machines and materials also respond to care, love and attention. Many instances I can quote when I meet you next.

Your note sent to me is a very valuable work and I would like this to be of use to managers of all industrial establishments. I would like to send this note to all my friends who are in the field.

I studied our capacity and handicaps in terms of machinery, water supply, drying arrangements, etc., and made a fresh approach on many points with reference to your note. Men were always a big problem, a handicap and a limiting factor. Expansion means more men, and more men means more problems for me, then. Now with a new approach, I am confident of managing them.

I am consecrating this new plan of expansion to the Divine and seek blessings.

Quote for the Day

CONSCIOUSNESS APPROACH TO BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

I. The Principle of Oneness

II. The Company

III. Attention

IV. Maximum Utilization Brings All the Supply Needed

V. The Philosophy of Unsold Stock

VI. Silent Will

VII. The Ideals of an Institution

VIII. Harmony

IX. Freedom

X. Exercise of Power

XI. Effort and Token Work

II. The Company

III. Attention

IV. Maximum Utilization Brings All the Supply Needed

V. The Philosophy of Unsold Stock

VI. Silent Will

VII. The Ideals of an Institution

VIII. Harmony

IX. Honesty

X. Freedom and Responsibility

XI. Exercise of Power

XII. Effort and Token Work

XIII. Forked Road Situations

XIV. Money

XV. Motivation

XVI. Progress

XVII. The Consciousness Approach

I. Program of Consecration

II. Program of Activity

Offering / காணிக்கை

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