The Dharmic Challenge – Putting Sathya Sai Baba’s Teachings into Practice

Compiled & Edited by Judy Warner

Excerpts shared for educational and spiritual purposes with reverence to the author. This is a non-profit project dedicated to selfless service.

SWAMI'S WAKE-UP CALL:

Integrity and Spirit at Work 

Jack Hawley

A few years ago, Swami directed me to write a book on human values and spirit in management, tentatively entitled Dharmic Management. At first I thought it would be a relatively easy assignment because I had been working and teaching in the field for over a generation. I set out to draft a straightforward management book about how to transform organizations toward being more dharmic - that is, more honest and more spiritual. But the deeper I dove into the ocean of questions facing managers (and any working person) these days, the more profound the issues were. Ultimately, I found myself plunged into the big questions of life that people of all kinds (not only business people) are increasingly asking: Is what I do in life of any value? How can my life be more fulfilling? How might I live a life of more integrity, more wholeness - a life more attuned to what's truly important to me? What is life all about, anyway?

Those were deep questions, far beyond what I was prepared to write. I began to lose confidence and turned inward to seek help. Within a few days, Baba called me into His interview room and, out of the blue, assured me that I already possessed or would receive everything I needed to write the book. Emboldened, I launched into the writing and made substantial headway. But problems of self-trust didn't just disappear. At several points during the writing, I bogged down as I tried to explain particularly knotty issues. At one of these times, Baba again called me in. “You sometimes waver, wondering whether your writing is correct or if I will approve,” He said, slowly shaking His head. Then He leaned closer. “Your inner voice is me,”He intoned seriously.

I’m not so egotistical to think that He - this loving, small, brown man - was simply telling me that He agreed with what I was writing. Something far deeper and higher was being communicated. He was telling me (and this applies to all of us) to follow inner truth. He was imparting the great truth that real Truth – capital - T Truth - resides in us. And He was saying that this inner Truth is God! - no less than that! He was also teaching that we have to learn to listen to that inner Truth and live by it.

I also soon discovered that any talk of spirit in business without addressing the issue of integrity in business is incomplete. Spirituality and dharma are inseparable. You can't, if you think about it, decide to be a more moral person without spiraling inward to considerations of what it is that gives rise to human morality (i.e., spirit). We may try, in our fiercely secularized Westernized societies, to divorce morality from spirituality but, sooner or later, we begin to see that they are the same thing. To paraphrase Bhagavan's educational philosophy and apply it here: the real end of business is not profits, it's character.

The next three years writing the book was a wondrously blessed sadhana. Bhagavan, my beloved mother-father, took me strongly by the hand and led me through those swamps of low confidence and past the barricades of ignorance and shyness. “Your inner voice is me”continued to echo in me and bring strength. As I travelled this amazingly graceful path, I was made to see that, for today's managers and leaders and everyone else (because everyone, nowadays, is a member of some sort of organization), the key questions are no longer about task and structure but about spirit, integrity, and human values. The book became a humble presentation of Swamiji's clear truths about the erosion of spirit and the pattern of thoughtless dishonesty that is sweeping the world these days.

During those years of writing, it gradually dawned on me that this assignment was part of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's clarion call to dharma. This call is for everybody, for all persons in all walks of life, at all times, in all situations. And people who know Baba know that, whenever He says anything, He “means business” – in both senses of the word: He's serious about His mission to restore dharma to the world, and He fully intends to restore it in the business world as well.

And yet, too many business people don't seem to be hearing this divine wake-up call. They seem to forget or ignore this important spiritual directive, or they simply don't think about issues of spirit and integrity. That's an important perspective – people just don't think about these things. “Business is business,” they say, “and business has nothing to do with spirituality.” They behave as though the moral standards we live by in life don't apply to business. “Almost anything goes,” they say. They seem to take it for granted that the norms of honesty and integrity we use in life are justifiably bent out of shape when applied to commerce. When they think about it, of course, they see that this bending is not right. But, alas, they almost never seriously think about it. Nowadays, more and more people are carrying those big questions about life values and life fulfillment with them into the workplace. They're beginning to see that living a more meaningful life at work requires facing up not only to spiritual issues, but also to questions of personal and organizational integrity.

In my book, Reawakening the Spirit in Work: The Power of Dharmic Management, “I” (Swamiji, really) explain that the word dharma is Sanskrit for deep, deep integrity - having the courage and self-discipline to live by your inner truth. I also explain that dharmic management means bringing that truth with you when you go to work every day. Dharmic management is the fusing of spirit, character, human values, and decency in the workplace and in life as a whole.

At one point, I reached out to a group of business managers for their straightforward comments about character in work. We talked for several hours about the competitive world out there and how one has to maneuver for position or get left out. They complained about the explosion of greed in the world and spoke of kickbacks and double-dealings that are so common in certain places that people think it's natural. They fussed about being forced into all this by “the system.”

“That's the way it works,” was their thin excuse for the lack of integrity and character in business. “It's the pattern,” they said, their voices tinged with resignation and sorrow. “Take, take, take – after a while taking becomes second nature. Giving? Ha! You never even think about it.” (There is that “don't think” again.) They summed up their woes: “Fact is, you have to make a living, and to do that, you have to be in an organization, and to be in one without self-destructing, whether as a manager or as a worker, you have to compromise yourself. Personal integrity gets sanded away. You erode your principles every day so you can live to erode themanother day. After awhile, you stop thinking about it, and the numbness helps somewhat.” But that wee voice inside won't let them forget. “Man's conscience will always tell him,” says Sai Baba.

I had asked them to shed light on the subject and was a bit surprised when they directed the glare smack in my face. Suddenly, somewhat dismayed, we found ourselves squinting at the harsh realities of life suffered by people in organizations. Their comments can be distilled down to a few heart-rending queries:

• How do we live a dharmic life in a world that tears at our integrity?

• How can we scrub away the deceit and self-interest that sticks to us in organizations?

• How do we guard our values in this hard real world?

• How do we harden ourselves against compromise?

• How can we stop sandpapering truth?

• How can we overcome this widespread selfishness and greed that we are (actively or passively) victims of?

These are beastly questions forced upon us by the powerful demons that Swami tells us are devouring us: ego, greed, desire, anger, fear, and deceit. This is where spirituality enters. There is simply no way that we mere mortals can win against such monstrous adversaries. We have to enlist the aid of a power mightier than these demons; we have to turn toward spirit. We must heed Bhagavan's teaching to “always, always turn God ward.”

In one part of the book, inspired by Baba's teachings, I developed some prescriptions for building character. They relate to the workplace but bear on all of life. Here are the edicts that pertain here:

First of all, think about it.

It's not simply that people are dishonest, and it's not simply that they are non spiritual. In fact, it's just the opposite. People are honest inside and basically spiritual. Amajor part of the problem is that they don't ponder issues· of honesty and have lost touch with their innate spirit and inborn goodness. They just never give it much thought, and they live in a society that doesn't give it much thought, and theywork in human systems that don't provide support for living a more pure life. They're members of organizations that, passively or actively, contaminate people. People accept half-truths as just part of the game and, thus, they condone them. And now, of course, they have a dim (or glaring) disquiet about the value and meaning of life.

A significant part of the remedy is simply to think about it! Thinking is the first step toward realization and awareness. Thinking about it is a definite act, a turning in the right direction. Once we begin contemplating these matters, instructions begin to flow to us.

Be in the world, not of the world.

Although we have to act out our parts in this worldly drama, we must not succumb to the dishonesty that exists throughout the world. We can, and must, play our roles with utmost reverence for dharma.

Listen to your inner voice.

Through thick and thin, remain attached to your inner truth. This is your direct line to and from your higher self, your personal connection with Source. Indeed, "Truth is God," states Baba. Living by our inner truth is what dharma is about. When people hear that, they take a quick breath and lean forward, their eyebrows arched: "You mean it may be possible for me to actually live by my inner truth?" The question may be more wishful thinking than a real question, but I answer it anyway, "Not only possible. It's imperative!"

Develop your own life "credo."

The greatest decisions of life are made daily in the silent inner garden of the soul. We must cultivate and nurture that private place. Writing up a personal credo, a manifesto of dharma, of integrity and character, is a way to further this. The credo can be used as a staunch life policy, as a personal constitution, as no less than a private covenant with God to guide our every act.

Do no harm.

Above all else, hurt no one. Sometimes, to get things done, it may seem that we have to bend certain rules. The point, as Bhagavan points out, is to never, ever go so far that it harms others or yourself. Never step even a little beyond your own sense of rightness, because that sense is inner truth signalling.

Put a ceiling on desires.

Most people nowadays suffer fromthe disease of “more” (more material things, more status, power, prestige, etc., etc.). As carriers of this deadly ailment, we have to get serious about Baba's injunction to limit desires. We know by now that more is never enough! All desires, including even satisfied ones, just add lust for more! This malady is hatched from desire, which is one of those powerful demons. Turning toward spirit is the only way to fight it.

I'm reminded of a guest lecture given at Swami's university by an eminent economist. Speaking carefully in his British public school accent, he lamented the dire, bordering-on-fatal condition of the world's economy due to rampant greed. Searching for a cure, he turned to Bhagavan's “Ceiling on Desires” program. Pausing for a moment, he slowly wagged his head as though in disbelief at the elegant simplicity of it. “It's so uncomplicated it almost slips past,” he said, “but limiting desires is the solution. Economists may refer to it as 'demand management' or something that sounds more complicated, but ceiling on desires is the answer!”

Empowerpurity.

When you feel contaminated in work or in life, you have to scrub-up, and the sooner the better, even if it isn't being caused by a major circumstance. Contamination doesn't just sit, it accumulates. You're always becoming either cleaner or dirtier. The way to empower one's purity is keep it always in mind, to constantly think of it. Sounds simple, but it's true. When we continuously place our attention on something, it grows stronger. When we think constantly of our own purification, we become purer.

Bringing pureness so clearly into consciousness makes that the strongest part of us. Rather than continuing to suffer our dishonesty, we become beneficiaries of our purity. What's more, we can make it happen automatically. Steadily focusing on our innate purity each time we feel we're being corrupted not only helps us ride through the bad situation, it also becomes a habit. It's a form of mental reprogramming. Purity, after a while, is actually triggered by the Intrusion of its opposite and, thus, purity becomes self-enacting. It's just the opposite of thoughtless dishonesty.

This, of course, is the same mechanism as namasmarana, repeating the name of the Lord, which Swami prescribes for all of us. This wonderfully simple act actually brings the Lord and installs Him in our heart and, thus, transforms our life. We can do the same with purity, installing purity in our being and transforming the foulness that inevitably comes our way.

Regrow wholeness.

Swamiji tells us to give ourself to Him. This means that, no matter how bad our past mistakes, we can give the mover to Him. Whatever it is that we lost along the way - heart, courage, purity – we can, with the help of spirit, grow it back. Slowly, and surely we have to reclaim, refill, and become whole – and thus regain our true self. The main task of the dharmic leader is to make integrity workable in the organization. An environment saturated with integrity soaks those who inhabit it in integrity. Coming to an organization already awash in integrity makes personal integrity easier. Good leadership creates the conditions in which people are always keeping what Swami calls “good company.”

The dharmic leader does this three ways. First, he or she takes the lead in practising integrity. Swami says, “As is the ruler, so are the subjects.”The leader has to model personal integrity and then has to demand it. There is no other way. The moral character of an organization is leader-bound. The leader is either part of the solution or part of the problem. And yet, this applies to everybody. People below the official top who aren't in a position of leadership must also take the lead toward dharma. You can't wait for higher-ups to do it. Each person in an organization is at the “top” of their own particular segment of it (even if it comprises only one's self). Character is always worked from the top down, and individuals have to take responsibility for their own actions from their own personal “top” down to themselves. Secondly, the dharmic leader brings character to the organization by being crystal clear about his or her own basic values and the organization's values. The leader with character sends crisp signals: “This·, by God, is what we stand for!” Thirdly, the leader of character takes as the primary task of leadership nothing less than conferring integrity. It sounds audacious at first, conferring right action or simply bestowing goodness onto a human system. And yet, the leader has to assume that this can indeed be done and that it is his or her responsibility to assign character.

You have to endow your people with the heart and grit to live by integrity. You literally "in-courage" them. You veritably grant fearlessness. You resolutely require self-discipline. You expect, adamantly and openly, that the organization lives by its collective inner truth. This is spiritual leadership. This is dharmic leadership as Bhagavan would have us practise it.

All of these tasks may appear to be new responsibilities for managers, leaders, and others in organizations. That's because people haven't thought. about it much yet. But they will. And when they think about it, they will see that this is yet another facet of Swami's mission to feed the roots of integrity in the world. When people think about it, they will hear this as another note in Bhagavan's clarion call to dharma, and they will feel the rightness of it in their hearts.

"Dharma cannot be restricted to any particular society or nation, for it is closely bound up with the fortunes of the entire living world. It is a flame of light that can never be extinguished. It is untrammelled in its beneficent action."

–       Sathya Sai Baba