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5 life lessons Krishna teaches usSeptember 04, 2015 09:00 IST

The Bhagvad Gita offers ample lessons in life about handling crises situations, managing people and paving the path tosuccess.

W e often run a Google search on the top industrialhonchos to learn from their words of wisdom.

However, we seem to have lost touch with our own richintellectual heritage.

Why not go back to our own roots, and learn from wordsof wisdom that are truly eternal?

Our great epics (religious or not), surely have quotes thatstand true to the modern times, even better than everbefore.

I am sure many of us must have explored or heard somegreat treasures hidden in ancient scripture Bhagvad Gita.

Below are a few shloks which I tried to decode.

I hope it will help entrepreneurs take away somethingfrom them.

#1. Do your karma

"KarmanyeVadhikaraste Ma PhaleshuKadachana,

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Ma Karma PhalaHeturBhurmaTeySangostvaAkarmani"

Translation: Do your duty and be detached from itsoutcome, do not be driven by the end product, enjoy theprocess of getting there.

A lot has been said and heard about ‘karma’, but thetrue essence lies in these two simple lines.

Every entrepreneur should focus on their work i.e. karma without anticipating the result or outcome.

You should not concentrate so much on the final product and just enjoy the process of reaching there.

We get swayed by our vision and rely on its success too much.

We forget it is pivotal to enjoy the whole process rather than just hoping for something that you know is anyway uncertain.

Remember, having hopes or being optimistic is not wrong, but without actions, your path will be dreadful.

The art lies in walking the tightrope and enjoy doing it.

If the guy who walks the literal tightrope is scared or too excited, he will certainly fall.

The trick to his success is that he enjoys it while he walks in order to reach the other end successfully.

#2. Master the art of adaptation

"vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya

navani grhnati naro ’parani

tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany

anyani samyati navani dehi”

Translation: As a man shedding worn out garments, takes other new ones, likewise, the embodied soul, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others that are new.

It is easy to say versatility and adaptation are the keys to success. But the biggest lesson for any entrepreneur is learningto adapt to changes quickly.

Do not get stuck with your initial vision.

Learn to adapt, innovate and implore new opportunities.

Pave your journey like a traveller, who is not attached to the city he visits or the hotel he stays in but enjoys the experience ofit all.

Do not be adamant; be innovative, open minded and ready to absorb experiences like a sponge.

The faster you adapt to a change, the better it is.

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Remember, change is the only constant.

#3. Manage your anger

“krodhaadbhavatisammohahsammohaatsmritivibhramah '

smritibhramshaadbuddhinaashobuddhinaashaatpranashyati ''”

Translation: From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confused memory; from confused memory the ruin of reason;from ruin of reason, man finally perishes.

It is imperative for all entrepreneurs to have control over their anger.

With anger goes away our ability to reason and we tend to become delusional.

The confusion and chaos generated by anger leads to memory loss.

The individual is moved away from his purpose and goals.

Anybody who seems to have forgotten their goals or lost their clarity of thought cannot succeed. Therefore, it is important forpeople to free themselves from anger.

A simple solution to this problem is focus.

Never lose your focus and never underestimate the virtue of patience.

#4. Detach yourselves

"tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samacara

asakto hy acaran karma param apnoti purushah"

Translation: Go on efficiently doing your duty at all times without attachment. Doing work without attachment man attainsthe supreme.

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Inculcate the habit of being open to everything and being attached to nothing.

Attachment does give strength to work and love beyond ourselves, but it also limits us and makes our journey and growthdifficult, especially if the object of our desire is taken away from us.

Too much desire can be bad, as it turns into greed.

Greed takes you away from your true calling and dream, be it to achieve, create or innovate.

Do not be super attached to your work, as it makes your journey as an entrepreneur difficult and closed.

You cannot wear binoculars and run the rat race.

You have to keep an open mind about the ever-evolving market changes, adapt to them.

Keep a close eye on your goals but do not get obsessive.

#5. Do not be misled

"dhumenavriyate vahnir yathadarso malena ca

yatholbenavrto garbhas tatha tenedam avrtam"

Translation: As fire is covered by smoke, mirror by dust and embryo by the amnion, so is knowledge covered by desire.

This simple shlok has the deepest meaning.

It is like a dissuading curse -- as everything pure has a covering that can often be misleading.

For example, fire is covered with smoke, which prevents us from nearing it and if a mirror is covered in sheen, we cannotsee what it is reflecting before removing the sheen.

Similarly knowledge is covered with desire that we must ignore or get rid of.

We must ignore the curtain of desire in order to imbibe knowledge that will help us grow.

This isn't as easy as it looks but wise man is one who knows what to avoid and what to select.

The author Atul Pratap Singh is the co-founder and director of V Spark Communications, a branding agency for start-ups.

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Atul Pratap Singh

Tags: Bhagvad Gita, Atul Pratap Singh, V Spark Communications, Krishna, PhaleshuKadachana

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