Work life balance: (Samatva)
Balance is one of the primary laws of nature. “Work life balance” is kind of clichéd because we do not have answers to the following basic questions.
a. What is Life?
b. Where is it going?
c. What is the purpose of life?
d. Where do I fit in?
Over time we have been indoctrinated with the idea that the discussion on life is the domain of philosophy. Therefore, understanding of life is shrouded in a lot of obscure and esoteric spiritual works.
Irrespective of everything Life needs to be understood before we could find the “Life work balance” which has unreasonably tilted in favor of Work. I am lacing spirituality with language of Science to understand life. First we understand it on a physical level.
B1. Where is it going?
Though the energy is constantly changing it has a direction that is defined by the Second law of thermodynamics
“Energy flows from higher potential to lower potential unless it is prevented from doing so.”
It means that it is moving from state of Entropy or disorderliness to state of Evolution or orderliness.
C1. What is the purpose of Life?
To be happy, healthy and peaceful but the entropy or disorder of the mind makes life anguished, diseased and filled with conflicts.
The Third law of thermodynamics provides the methodology to come out of the mess.
“As temperature approaches absolute zero, -273 Kelvin, entropy (disorder) of a system approaches constant minimum (order)”
All negative feelings like hate, anger, jealousy, anxiety and fear have higher energy levels and, therefore, are with more Entropy. The frequencies so generated create disharmony, incoherence.
However, the mind also feels compassion, care, kindness, pity and love that results in lower frequencies that are harmonious, coherent and reduce the Entropy drastically.
A1. What is life?
On the most fundamental levels we are pulsating Energy particles in vacuum. Not only the energy particles cannot be destroyed or created but at the same time they are constantly in a state of flux.
It is defined by the First law of thermodynamics
“Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. E= mc2”
It means that energy gets converted into matter and matter into energy in a perpetual cycle of change.
D1. Where do I fit in?
Unlike any other species in the universe, I am a conscious Human Being. I have an Ego around which I build my universe of love and hate, experience pain and pleasure. I believe I am the center of the universe.
I have a choice to invoke the Devil or the Deva, to be in Heaven or Hell. I am a human being with free choice to act!
The spiritual view of life is as follows.
A2. What is Life?
Life is divided in two parts. Spiritually speaking body and soul and scientifically speaking pulsating energy particles and vacuum.
The manifest energy particles, under a state of illusion, identify themselves with the material aspect and delinks from the vacuum, which is its cause and content.
The material part then becomes a noun “Consciousness” or “Ego” which assigns all actions to itself. It delinks itself from the Cosmic Consciousness, which is what it is, and feels trapped in a material frame.
B2. Where is it going?
This is the beginning of all problems because the ego considers “I” “Me” and “Mine” over all others. It evolves like a cancer cell, self- centered, non- communicative, non- cooperative and expansionist leading to self- destruction. The ego ignores the inherent potential of “Cosmic Consciousness” which is infinite potentiality and
C2. What is the purpose of life?
Life has four objectives
Arth: Earning wealth to make a living
Dharma: By following principles of life
Kama: Procreation, perpetuation of life
Moksha: Live life filled with joy, bliss and ecstasy
Work falls under “Arth”. In its bid to make a good living filled with joy, ecstasy and bliss people gravitate towards Higher, swifter and faster not realizing the other purpose of life “Dharma”, which is to follow the basic laws of nature. A complete imbalance is created in the life-work balance. Sukh (Joy) is related to Arth (Wealth) but Dharm (The law) is the basis of Arth. When Dharm is not followed, or disobeyed then work leads to Anarth (Sorrow, suffering, distress)
D2. Where do I fit in?
The result of imbalance is entropy/disorder in life. What is disorder? Stresses are developed on both chemical and structural level of body. Mind is filled with anxiety and fear Body develops ailments and diseases Mind is filled with sorrow and suffering Hate, anger, jealousy, rule the mind
This is when we begin to think about the “Work Life balance”
Not a single management practice takes into consideration “Dharma” or the Principle, or the laws that governs life.
Not a single practice in corporations has ever succeeded in alleviating the stress, anguish, anxiety, fear, discontent and dissatisfaction of its promoters and employees.
Corporations are driven by a single objective- Profit. What does profit or money do for corporations? Brings goods and services for the promoters and shareholders. But the lure of money brings in an insatiable greed of King Midas.
A corporation and its citizens behave like cancer cells, self-centered, non-communicative, uncooperative, ever expanding. They kill the healthy cells but in the process of killing the healthy cells they also kill themselves.
That’s what we humans have become “Cancer cells” If we want to bring in peace and prosperity, joy and happiness and want to be free from sorrow and suffering we need to change the discourse of life. Corporate Social Responsibility is acknowledgement of the destruction of Environment and society by a company.
What to do?
Bring the laws of nature into action?
Why should Government make a CSR policy and why should a corporation spend 2% of its profits for the welfare of people and environment?
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु
मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत्
May All become Happy,
May All be Free from Illness.
May All See what is Auspicious,
May no one Suffer
This is the law of nature. Welfare for all.
We take a very narrow view of living dominated by eat, sleep, reproduce, work and play. We believe this what life is? We work and work to earn more and more wealth to buy objects of our desire without knowing that surreptitiously sorrow and suffering start to walk along.
The imbalance is between joys and sorrow, the carefree spirit and the imprisoned mind, life supporting environment and human action.
We talk of work life balance because work comes on the centre stage and what we believed life takes a back seat and sometimes even forgotten.
This talk takes its philosophy from the three laws of thermodynamic to reveal what is life and how to find a perfect balance with work.