Neti Panchatantra

"Fifty Sixty years ago, convincing parents to educate their kids was a challenge.They didn't know what education was. Even now it is difficult to convince them, they still don't know what it is! But they put in all their money into it. What will a parent not do for his kid's future? This  is why the coaching mills are surviving". dialogue by a characer-Dr Anjaneya Prasad.

Princes were educated by Vishnu Sharma, through Panchatantra.He tells them stories and talks about the economy at that time. Can we get someone like that, for this age? But how can we explain this complicated economy and that "career is something beyond a pay-cheque"? We explore these questions. Kids who can't do high school algebra, are made to clear the JEE. JEE is just a goal shaping a great journey.

It's a story of love, love between trust and confidence and love between idealism and benevolence. Its a war between leadership and dictatorship and its a war between positivism and negative attitude. A dictator is born out of negative thoughts and leadership emerges from positive thoughts.

The Characters

Confidence: Kicku is the male protagonist, with infectious enthusiasm and passion. His attitude and ability can only be compared to that of Lord Hanuman who brought the whole mountain, as he didnt know where Sanjeevani was. He believes that success is more of a journey than a destination. He realized that his real kick is in finding his kick, which is never stable. He loves his heart and so he does what he loves and also learns to love what he does.

Trust: The female protagonist is a medico. She had a self-centered life until a compulsory medical camp had completely transformed her. She tries to understand equality and tries to get  insights into economic equality. She resorts to Adam Smith for answers. Apart from this, she is known for her "namakkam theory".She tells people why trust is important and I think this dialogue sums that up.

"When miracles happen, we won't know. If we could, we wouldn't call that a miracle. We must have faith in architects of those miracles. Trust them and be a creator".

Benevolence: Devaki is a techie and has taken a year off to understand her goals. She is into social service. A person pure at heart can't be touched by anybody.  She believes people waste money, on what they don't need. This could be used to feed the needy and that's what she does, it does make a funny watch. The way she gets people to donate money/food, is entertaining part of this character. Inspired by a character in Sekhar Kammula's Dollardreams.

Perfectionism: Shamil wants everything in life to work ideally. He is inspired by Sekhar Kammula's Leader and a big fan of Rana Daggubati. He is a good teacher and is interested in exploring teaching techniques. Its not possible for everything to be ideal, but this never ending never attainable quest leads to human excellence, if led by a guru's wisdom.

Dr Vishnu Sharma: PhD from Stanford and permanent faculty at IAS Princeton. He has left all of that, in search of spirituality. He takes immense interest in philosophy too. He goes around giving talks, to share this excitement of rediscovering himself. He guides Shamil through this questions of ethics and whats right and whats not.

Dr Anjaneya Prasad: Double PhD in Theoretical Physics and Telugu. He had quit a research career to take up journalism. He had fought against corruption and politics. A symbol of courage, wisdom and his careers makes you feel that money is just a piece of paper. He is the human form of "Simhatatvam" he has everything in him, including the timing. However he is no longer following politics and has been concentrating on a bigger evil, the education business. He is Suryabhai's guru.

Suryabhai: A dictator who feels that its a power which can bring prosperity to this world. He feels freedom comes at the cost of public welfare. He is into coaching business and believes in "student export, money import". He believes in change through revolutions alone and is not patient enough to even consider evolution. Every revolutionary had one man cautioning him and here we have Dr Prasad guiding him. He is pro-capitalism and strongly against socialist thoughts. He says if a Leader could really emerge in a democracy, we wouldn't even need that leader.

Media Murthy: An alumni of IIT and IIM and a marketing genius. He consults for business and mostly coaching centers. He is famous for the rare ads he designs,he is mostly into campaign designing.

Neti Panchatantra is journey involving these guys, united by a common goal-the struggle for existence.


PS:

Trust makes nations developed and it is not that there is confidence in developed countries. Irrespective of who came first, a hen comes out of an egg.

Benevolence and Idealism are "never ending never attainable" quests, but it is this search of our soul within, which leads to human excellence.

Leadership: Hear your Soul

Why does Leadership crash? Are Leaders really self-less? Why do Leaders emerge from revolutions? Such questions immersed me into a journey of great thoughts.

A Leader has a vision, driven by not necessarily money or fame. He motivates like minded people into what would intially be just his cause. People's time,money and effort go in. They follow him,expecting a fruit. Self-interest drives everyone. A Leader must know that and tame his self interest, but not too much to kill his originality.

The apparent need to consolidate his power and to keep his words, is the root cause of misdirected Leadership. False sense of reputation/image is dangerous. It takes experience and character, to rise beyond ego and pride.

Nobody is 'God' and it's okay to have flaws exposed. Facing criticism is quite essential. Iron has to be horribly smelted,to put to use. Best bet is to keep things funny. "If you wanna say something on my back, come to me I will tell you more". This realization kills ego and hence enlightens the soul within.

A Leader must know-"Vision not goals". Leader is one who evolves with time. Goals will either change or just remain goals. Vision guides against time. Goals just shape the journey. Success is more of a journey than a goal. Deep vision helps finding life in the journey and an answer within the question.

The Gita says, "be oblivious of victory and defeat". Vision is above everything and not mere exam grades or money. Work with hunger, but don't hope for result. Expectation is the root cause for resentment. Work and wait for a surprise, deserve but don't desire. Love your heart, keep giving it surprises.Disappoint the disappointment with your efforts.

"A Leader must be self-less"! Not a saint, devoid of wealth and materialistic needs. Selfless means learning to put people ahead of oneself, not to lose yourself. It also means taming of necessary evils like ego and pride within. It's the fire which keeps a train moving,but constrain it to the engine.

Purity is just one side of the Leadership story. Understanding the team is the other. That's impossible by bypassing talking. A Leader must interact and maintain transparency in the troop. People have given in everything, to get something. It is the Leader who must ensure justice to their efforts.

Mistakes happen and optimality is usually not a reality. The Leader must resolve them. This responsibility differentiates a  Leader from a follower. Problem solving is the joy of life. Would the world be so beautiful without a struggle for existence? The Leader absorbs the struggle and shows the beauty. It is easy to get carried away! Remember, Leader's job is not to be nice to people, it is to make them better.

I call this "Simhatatvam". Can you hear it? Discover yourself and listen to your inner voice! If it is all going right, this heavenly sound is comparable to no godly creation but the roaring of a Simham. Heard that? It is this Simham within, which gives a deaf ear to criticism. It provides strength for the struggle. Simhatatvam gets you respect, but beware! The wicked wolf ego lives by its grace. You are either a master or a slave, so tame them.

Inspiring Leadership can make wonders happen. It unites the faculties in people and converts resources into utility. True Leadership is a great feeling. You lose yourself and then find oneself at the "pinnacle of glory". Thank god there are worldly troubles, to return back safely!