Karma Capitalism and The Increasing-Returns World

Today the Economy of the world is typically the Economy of Increasing Returns What would happen if Marshall’s diminishing returns were reversed so that there were increasing returns? If products that got ahead thereby got further ahead, how would markets work?Let’s look at the market for operating systems for personal computers in the early 1980s when CP/M, DOS, and Apple’s Macintosh systems were competing. Operating systems show increasing returns: If one system gets ahead, it attracts further software developers and hardware manufacturers to adopt it, which helps it get further ahead. CP/M was first in the market and by 1979 was well established. The Mac arrived later but was wonderfully easy to use. DOS was born when Microsoft locked up a deal in 1980 to supply an operating system for the IBM PC.
For a year or two, it was by no means clear which system would win. The new IBM PC DOS’s platform was a kludge. But the growing base of DOS/IBM users encouraged software developers such as Lotus to write for DOS. DOS’s prevalence and the IBM PC’s bred further prevalence, and eventually the DOS/IBM combination came to dominate a large portion of the market. That history is well known. But notice several things: It was not predictable in advance (before the IBM deal) which system would come to dominate. Once DOS/IBM got ahead it locked in the market because it did not pay users to switch. The dominant system was not the best:DOS was derided by computer professionals. And once DOS locked in the market, its sponsor Microsoft was able to spread its costs over a large base of users -it enjoyed killer margins.These properties, then, have become the hallmarks of increasing returns: market instability (the market tilts to favor a product that gets ahead), multiple potential outcomes (under different events in history different operating systems could have won), unpredictability, the ability to lock in a market, the possible predominance of an inferior product, and fat profits for the winner
Today , we see this similar story happening with Google . Microsoft has to now allow Google docs&spreadsheets to open in its Internet Explorer . This is a huge loss consdering the fact that it has its own Office Suite for over a decade now. A straight cut in the revenue clearly means that Google is locking in the market by superior technology ofcourse and Microsoft only has a graceful exit to make or go up one level higher in abstraction to sense the next business oppurtunity (wave) and when that happens they are ready to lock-in the market.

It is with this Macro Economic situation that allegations like (Un)Fairness , Choking out Market Competition ,Pricing etc are being made
But , should you penalize success ? Just because somebody was smart enough and took huge risks , suffered initial losses to gain the market ,Not Enjoy the lock-in period ?
This is what has prompted management guru's and top consultants across the world to propound what is now being called Karma Capitalism

The ancient spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita seems at first like an odd choice for guiding today's numbers-driven managers.Karma Capitalism has its roots from the Gita .Karma Capitalism can be defined as a more moral approach to what is often seen as the dirty business of business.Where once a company would bow only to the demands of its shareholders and customers, under the new order it must take on board its impact on everyone with a
direct or indirect interest. Top business schools have introduced "self-mastery" classes that use Indian methods to help managers boost their leadership skills and find inner peace in lives dominated by work. And Indian-born strategists like C. K. Prahalad are among the world's hottest biz gurus.The major themes? Executives should be motivated by a broader purpose than money. Companies should take a more holistic approach to business - taking into account the needs of shareholders, employees, customers, society, and the environment. It's business as seen through karma. The Longer view. Greener.

The seemingly ethereal world view that's reflected in Indian philosophy is surprisingly well attuned to the down-to-earth
needs of companies trying to survive in an increasingly global, interconnected business ecosystem(Increasing Returns Market).
While corporations used to do most of their manufacturing, product development, and administrative work in-house, the emphasis is now on using
outsiders. Terms such as "extended enterprises" (companies that outsource many functions), "innovation networks"
(collaborative research and development programs), and "co-creation" (designing goods and services with input from consumers) are the rage.



Will Karma Capitalism Work ???

Self Realization - The Pure Atman

What on earth does anyone mean by Self-Realisation? What do you mean by God-Realization? We, with all the stretches of our intelligent imagination, cannot but be human. The human foibles and weaknesses are not merely confined to what we call desires and aversions, likes and dislikes, prejudice, passion and anger. These are, no doubt,weaknesses, but there are more subtle weaknesses which pass for the wisdom of life. There are more dangerous troubles to life in the world than the usually well-known wickednesses which are listed in our catalogues and available in the notification given to us through the scriptures. But the more dangerous and surreptitious intrusions of invisible forms of weakness in human thought are to be a greater matter for our concern than merely an effort to get rid of likes, dislikes, ego, prejudice, etc., which are all publicly known. There are difficulties which are not so well known, and cannot so easily be known also, because these weaknesses are the very constituents of the individuality of man. Man is made up of these weaknesses only, and, therefore, he has no avenue to discover the existence of these weaknesses. The components of human thought are themselves involved in these fundamental weaknesses and, therefore, human thought cannot be permitted entry for any investigation into these matters which concern its own makeup, the very building bricks of its existence itself. These matters are serious in the light of the fact that they are the final barriers, the checkposts, the chungis, which will put to set our hard-earned advantages through the austerities and the Sadhanas we perform to the extent of our knowledge and capacity.
The concept of Self-Realisation can stir up divine visions and a highly balanced outlook of life, a sober approach to every event and factor in life, a policy of impersonality in regard to any kind of encounter in the world. Yes, this is fine, and this can be there, and this is sometimes there. But there can also be something else. John Bunyan in his beautiful work,"The Pilgrim's Progress," says in a fine passage that even when you are sure that you are at the gate of heaven itself, you are likely to step into a pit there which can lead to hell at the very gate to heaven. This pit to hell is nothing but the natural incapacity to overcome the human interpretation of the nature of God's existence. And what is this human interpretation? That God also is positioned in this universe, something like a large individual, though He may be as large as this universe itself. Nevertheless, He is there, somewhere, as we are also here. Now, it is not true that God is somewhere sitting, though we may not be able to understand why it should be so. That we cannot escape the notion of God being somewhere sitting in some position, whatever be the extent of His personality, is related to our spatial way of thinking. God may be in heaven, in Brahmaloka, He may be in the highest possible universality and comprehensiveness of being, yet, He is ‘somewhere.’ The is-ness of God ‘somewhere’ creates a subtle difference between the location in which we are and the location to which we attach God. This notwithstanding the fact that we are honest in conceding an all-encompassing universality to God’s existence. Our honesty is one hundred per cent, and we agree that God is universal, is everywhere, and, therefore, He is everything, and at all times. But, still, I am also here conceiving this universality of God, and that the permission granted to God's universality will not permit our existence does not occur to our minds. This is a fright to many of even the philosophers, both in the East and the West. It is difficult to believe that many of us have a clear notion as to what will happen if God-Realisation is to be our blessing. What will happen to us? You may scratch your head up to the core of your cerebrum, but you will not find an easy answer to this terrible question:What will happen to me after I attain God? You will have a hundred answers from a thousand people, all confusing and contradicting one another, leaving you at sea finally and landing you nowhere. This is a predicament we may escape if we have a competent guide. These days we feel that libraries are our Gurus, and travelling also brings experience. Well, this may be true in some percentage, but this is not a final support. Because, whatever be the extent of your study through books and encounter with personages in the various cultures of the world through your itineraries or tours,though they may be cultural tours,you will find that you are the interpreter of the books and you will see in these books only what you want to see, and you will not see there what you do not want to see. You go to these libraries and you go on tours round Ashramas and universities with some spectacles which you have manufactured for yourselves. These spectacles will determine the way of your vision of things and these mental glasses will also decide what you will read in these books. You will read only what is capable of being received by your mind through these spects that you have put on, and nothing else will come to you because you have become your own judge, you have become your own teacher, you have agreed to be your own Guru, finally, and many a young man feels that his judgement can be a final judgement. "What is wrong with them? I do not believe that the suggestions given to me should be wholly accepted. I feel and think and argue in this way and these ways of my thinking and arguing seem to be my ways." So, a situation has arisen in the modern educated mind, where it considers itself as its own sole support, guide, friend, philosopher, and no other suggestion is acceptable. And even if any suggestion is given, instruction is imparted or knowledge is communicated, it will be received, through these spects, these mental glasses which condition everything that is communicated in any way. They will be sifted according to the idiosyncrasies, the background of education and the social circumstances of the person.

Self-Realisation is not an easy thing to achieve, because the notion of the Self is a barrier and a handicap. What do you mean by the Self when you speak of Self-Realisation? Where is this Self situated? "It is within me." This is a usual glib answer available for any person. "I seek to know my own Self." And why do I seek to know my own Self? Because I want to live in peace. What do you mean by peace? No answer can be given. Here, again, we are in a state of confusion. Why do you want Self-Realisation? To know my own Self. Why do you want to know your own Self? To be in a state of balance in my mind and outlook. What for is this effort? To be peaceful. What is peace? That cannot be answered. We do not know what this peace means, about which people talk so much and which is the theme of the various rostrums in the parliaments of cultural discussion the world over, which are taking place from Peru to China! But, what is this Self? While you may say, ‘it is within me,’ and this may appear to satisfy the person who has put this question, you will be sure that it does not satisfy even your own selves. There is no use merely saying ‘the Self is within me and that is my God.’ We have a curious notion of Self and God, indeed. It is within you! When you say, ‘the Self is within me,’ what do you mean by this ‘me’? What is this ‘me’ or the ‘I’? Again, the same question arises. Here, again, we are bodily shackled. We are men and women, we are human, and we cannot be anything else. So this ‘within’ in which the Self seems to be situated is the ‘within’ ‘this body.’ You have confined the notion of yourself to your bodily existence finally, though your intention is to break through the barriers of bodily consciousness in search for the Self. The thief has subtly entered through the back door, while you are keeping police and army at the front door to prevent an entry of the dacoits.They have come through the back door and they have done their work, because the Self which is supposed to be the means to break through the barriers of bodily consciousness has confined itself to the body only, again, for, when the Self is within, it cannot be but within the body. If it is not within the body, within what is it, when you say that it is within? Here is a difficulty before you. Many of the books will not answer this pose. If God is not within, where else is God? And if you say that He is within, within what? Within the body? You are caught again by the very answer that you are giving, which is supposed to be the solution to your problems.


**The Blog is an Excerpt from Self−Realisation, Its Meaning and Method by Swami Krishnananda of The Divine Life Society

What is Karma Yoga ?

Haft-hearted service is no service at all. Give your whole heart, mind and soul when you serve. This is very important when you practice Karma Yoga. Some people have their body in one place, mind in another place, and soul in another place. That is the reason why they do not realize any substantial progress in the path.Forget not the goal of life amidst selfish activities. The goal of life is Self-realisation.

Areyou attempting to reach the end and aim of life? Are you doing Japa, Pranayama and Meditation?

Have you kept up the ideal before the mind?s eye? That day in which you do not practise any spiritual Sadhana is wasted. Give the mind to God and the hands to work. You will have to analyse and scrutinise your motives. It is the selfish motive and not the work itself that binds a man to Samsara. Prepare the mind for Karma Yoga. Mere selfish work cannot be taken as Yogic activity. The mind is so framed that it always expects something for a small piece of work. When you smile you expect a return of smile from your friend. When you raise your hand in salutation, you will expect a salute from other people. Even when you give a cup of water to another man, you expect him to be grateful to you. When such is the case, how can you perform Nishkama Karma Yoga?Life is very precious. Live in the spirit of the Gita teaching and work without expectation of fruits and egoism. Think you are Nimitta in the hands of Lord Narayana. If you work with this mental attitude you will become a Yogi soon. Work never degrades a man. Unselfish work is Puja of Narayana. Work is worship. All works are sacred. There is no menial work from the highest view-point of the absolute, from the view-point of Karma Yoga. Even scavenging when done with the right spirit and mental attitude is Yogic action. Even a scavenger can realise God in his own station of life by service. The famous butcher-Sadhaka of the Mahahharata realised God in his meat-shop (through serving his parents). You have got inside all materials for wisdom. There is a vast magazine of power and knowledge within you. It wants kindling. Now wake up, O Saumya! When you work disinterestedly without any agency and when you surrender the works and fruits as Ishvararpana, all Karmas are transformed into Yogic Kriyas. Walking, eating, sleeping, answering the calls of nature, talking, etc., become offering unto the Lord. Every bit of work is Yoga for you. Think that Lord Siva is working through your hands, and is eating through your mouth. Think that your hands are the hands of Lord Siva. In the beginning some of your actions may be selfish and some may be unselfish. In the long run you can do all actions in an unselfish manner. Scrutinize your motives always. This is the key-note for Nishkama Karma Yoga. Every act can be spiritualised when the motive becomes pure. Work is meditation. Serve everyone with intense love,without any idea of agency, without expectation of fruits or reward. If you adopt the path of Jnana, feel you are a silent Sakshi and the Prakriti does everything.

It is selfishness that has deplorably contracted your heart. Selfishness is the bane of society.Selfishness clouds understanding. Selfishness is petty-mindedness. Bhoga increases selfishness and selfish Pravritti. It is the root-cause for human sufferings. Real spiritual progress starts in selfless service. Serve the Sadhus, Sannyasins, Bhaktas and poor and sick persons with Bhava, Prema and Bhakti. The Lord is seated in the hearts of all. The spirit of service must deeply enter into your very bones, cells, tissues, nerves, etc. The reward is invaluable. Practise and feel the cosmic expansion and infinite Ananda. Tall tales and idle gossip will not do, my dear friends! Evince intense zeal and enthusiasm in work. Be fiery in the spirit of service.

Have Nishtha with God and Cheshta with hands like the Bahurupi who has the Nishtha of a male and the Cheshta of a female. You will be able to do two things at a time by practice. The manual work will become automatic, mechanical or intuitive. You will have two minds. A portion of the mind will be at work; three quarters of the mind will be in the service of the Lord, in meditation, in Japa. Karma Yoga is generally combined with Bhakti Yoga. A Karma Yogin offers to the Lord as an oblation whatever he does through the Karma-Indriyas. This is Ishvara Pranidhana.

TRAINING OF KARMA YOGA

A raw untrained aspirant feels, ?My preceptor is treating me like a servant or a peon. He is using me for petty jobs.? He who has understood the right significance of Karma Yoga will take every work as Yogic activity or worship of the Lord. There is no menial work in his vision. Every work is Puja of Narayana. In the light of Karma Yoga all actions are sacred. That aspirant who always takes immense delight in doing works which are considered by the worldly man as menial services, and who always does willingly such acts only will become a dynamic Yogi. He will be absolutely free from conceit and egoism. He will have no downfall. The canker of pride cannot touch him. Study the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhiji. He never made any difference between menial service and dignified work. Scavenging and cleaning of the latrine was the highest Yoga for him. This was the highest Puja for him. He himself did the cleaning of latrines. He annihilated the illusory little ?I? through service of various sorts. Many highly educated persons joined his Ashram for learning Yoga under him. They thought that Gandhiji would teach them Yoga in some mysterious manner in a private room and would give lessons on Pranayama, meditation, abstration, awakening of Kundalini, etc. They were disappointed when they were asked to clean the latrine first. They left the Ashram immediately. Gandhiji himself repaired his shoes. He himself used to grind flour and take upon his shoulders the work of others also when they were unable to do their allotted portion of work for the day in the Ashram. When an educated person, a new Ashramite, felt shy to do the grinding work, Gandhiji himself would do his work in front of him and then the man would do the work himself from the next day willingly. In the West, cobblers and peasants have risen to a very great position in society. Every work is a respectable work for them. A boy applies polish to the boots in the streets of London for a penny, carries newspapers and journals in the afternoon for sale and works as an apprentice under a journalist during his leisure hours at night. He studies books, works hard, never wastes a minute and in a few years becomes a journalist of great repute and international fame. In Punjab some graduates have taken to hair-dressing work. They have understood the dignity of labour.

A real Yogi does not make any difference between menial and respectable work. It is only an ignorant man who makes such a difference. Some aspirants are humble in the beginning of their spiritual career. When they get some name and fame, some followers, admirers, devotees and disciples, they become victims to pride. They cannot do any service. They cannot carry anything on their heads or hands. That Yogi who carries the trunk on his head without the slightest feeling in the railway platform amidst a multitude of his admirers, disciples and devotees, without making any outward show of humility must be adored. Sage Jada Bharata carried the palanquin of King Rahugana on his shoulders without murmuring. Lord Krishna shampooed the legs of a Raja when his barber devotee was on leave. Sri Rama carried a pot of water for the ablution of one of his devotees. Sri Krishna took the form of a menial servant as Vithoo and paid the money to the Nawab on behalf of his devotee, Dhamaji. If you really want to grow in the spiritual path you must do all sorts of service daily till the end of life. Then only you are safe. Do not stop doing service when you have become a famous Yogi. The spirit of service must enter every nerve, cell, tissue and bone of your body. It must be ingrained in you. Then only you will become a real fullblown practical Vedantin. Is there any greater Vedantin or Karma Yogi than Lord Buddha? He still lives in our hearts, because the spirit of service was ingrained in him and he spent his whole life in serving others in a variety of ways. A magnanimous soul, one without a second! You can also become a Buddha if you apply yourself diligently to selfless service with the right mental attitude.

WHAT IS KARMA

Karma means work or action. According to Jaimini, rituals like Agnihotra, Yajnas, etc., are termed Karmas. There is a hidden power in Karma termed Adrishta which brings in fruits of Karmas for the individual. Karma is all for Jaimini. Karma is everything for a student of Mimamsa school of thought. Jaimini is the founder of Purva Mimamsa. He was a student of Maharshi Vyasa, the founder of Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta. The Mimamsa school denies the existence of Ishvara who awards the fruits of works. According to the Gita, any action is Karma. Charity, sacrifice, Tapas are all Karmas. In a philosophical sense, breathing, seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling, walking, talking, etc., areall Karmas. Thinking is the real Karma. Raga-Dvesha constitute the real Karma.

HOW TO FIND RIGHT OR WRONG ACTION

Have right thinking. Use your reason and commonsense. Follow the injunctions of the Sastras. Consult the code of Manu or Yajnavalkya Smriti whenever you have doubts. You will be able to find out whether you are doing right or wrong action. If you say, ?Sastras are countless. They are like ocean. I can hardly understand the truths that are inculcated. I cannot fathom and gauge their depths. There are contradictions. I ampuzzled and bewildered.? Then strictly follow the words of a Guru on whom you have absolute faith and confidence. The third way is: Have fear in God.Consult your conscience. The shrill, inner voice will guide you. As soon as you hear the voice, do not delay even a moment. Start the action diligently without consulting anybody. Practise to hear the inner voice in the morning at four. If there is fear, shame, doubt or pricking of conscience, know that you are doing a wrong action. If there is joy, exhilaration or satisfaction, understand that you are doing the right action.

INNER VOICE

When the diverse, confining sheaths of the Atma have been dissolved by Sadhana, when the different Vrittis of the mind have been controlled by mental drill or gymnastic, when the conscious mind is not active, you enter the realm of spirit life, the super-conscious mind where Buddhi and pure reason and intuition, the faculty of direct cognition of Truth, manifest. You pass into the kingdom of peace where there is none to speak, you will hear the voice of God which is very clear and pure and has an upward tendency. Listen to the voice with attention and interest. It will guide you. It is the voice of God.

PRAYER FOR A KARMA YOGIN

(By Sri Sankaracharya)

Atma tvam girija mitih sahacharah pranah sareeram griham.

Puja te vishyopabhogarachana nidra samadhisthitih,

Sancharah padoyoh pradakshinavidhih stotrani sarva giro;

Yadyat karma karomi tat tad akhilam sambhotavaradhanam.

Repeat the Sloka at the end of your meditation.

Thou art Atma: Buddhi is thy consort, Parvati (who is born of mountain); the Pranas are thy attendants; this body is thy house; the action of sensual enjoyment is thy worship; deep sleep is the establishment of Samadhi; walking by my feet is the perambulation around Thee; all my speeches are thy praises; whatever actions I perform, are all Thy worship; Oh Sambho!?

*Reference : Swami Sivananda - The Essence of Yoga , The Divine Life Society.

When the mind is encompassed with negative thoughts

Upon being exhorted by his Divine Teacher Krishna, Arjun got millions killed in the war of Mahabharata. This great confrontation, during which the entire battlefield became littered with corpses, took place because Arjun agreed to take part in the war. In this way, Arjun could have been considered as a great sinner, but Chitragupta gave credit to his motive for waging the Mahabharata war. Arjun’s intentions were pious. He had fought only to re-establish the ‘Moral Order’ (Dharma Sthapana). Chitragupta’s ledger did not take into account the slain bodies of the dead soldiers. Physical objects have no relevance in the invisible realm. Chitragupta simply ignored the number of toys of flesh and bones destroyed during the war. Does a king bother about the number of toys broken or the number of grains spilled? In this world billionaires are held in high regard but in the realm of Chitragupta they are paupers and non-entities. On the other hand a poor man of this world, if he is kind hearted, could be counted in the realm of Chitragupta amongst the king of kings. Whatever a man does, only his motives-good or bad are recorded in the corresponding account of Chitragupta. A public executioner, who, in course of duty,hangs a person condemned to death without any malice, could be considered a virtuous
person by Chitragupta, whereas a priest, who meticulously follows the rituals, but is secretly engaged in corrupt practices, will be labeled as a sinner.


Yoga is a perfect practical system of self-culture. Yoga is an exact science. It aims at the harmonious development of the body, the mind and the soul. Yoga is the turning away of the senses from the objective universe and the concentration of the mind within. Yoga is eternal life in the soul or spirit. Yoga aims at controlling the mind and its modifications. The path of Yoga is an inner path whose gateway is your heart. Yoga is the discipline of the mind, senses and physical body. Yoga helps in the co-ordination and control of the subtle forces within the body. Yoga brings in perfection, peace and everlasting happiness. Yoga can help you in your business and in your daily life. You can have calmness of mind at all times by the practice of Yoga. You can have restful sleep. You can have increased energy, vigour, vitality, longevity and a high standard of health. Yoga transmutes animal nature into divine nature and raises you to the pinnacle of divine glory and splendour. The practice of Yoga will help you to control the emotions and passions and will give you power to resist temptations and to remove the disturbing elements form mind. It will enable you to keep a balanced mind always and remove fatigue. It will confer on you serenity, calmness and wonderful concentration. It will enable you to hold communion with the Lord and thus attain the summum bonum of existence.
If you want to attain success in Yoga, you will have to abandon all worldly enjoyments and practise Tapas and Brahmacharya. You will have to control the mind skilfully and tactfully. You
will have to use judicious and intelligent methods to curb it. If you use force, it will become more
turbulent and mischievous. It cannot be controlled by force. It will jump and drift away more and more. Those who attempt to control the mind by force are like those who endeavour to bind a furious elephant with a thin silken thread.A Guru or preceptor is indispensable for the practice of Yoga. The aspirant in the path of Yoga should be humble, simple, gentle, refined, tolerant, merciful and kind. If you have a curiosity to get psychic powers, you cannot have success in Yoga. Yoga does not consist in sitting cross-legged for six hours or stopping the pulse or beatings of the heart or getting oneself buried underneath the ground for a week or a month.
Self-sufficiency, impertinence, pride, luxury, name, fame, self-assertive nature, obstinacy, idea of superiority, sensual desires, evil company, laziness, overeating, overwork, too much mixing
and too much talking are some of the obstacles in the path of Yoga. Admit your faults freely. When you are free from all these evil traits, Samadhi or union will come by itself.