“Where do you see yourself 25 years from now?” Another of those boring interview personals. I see myself as the CEO of XYZ, as the head of finance in PQR, …. I wonder if I would still be alive 25 years down the line. In this dynamic, fast-changing world, I fear obsolescence. Yet, what were I to do if I were alive by then? Most of us would actually be the CEOs or heads of some organization or department or some of us might become entrepreneurs.

The case with our batch is the same as it was with the batch that was 25 years ago. But amidst all this competition and hype and hoopla around corporate life, there was another of the alums – Jasmeet Singh, who decided to follow a path of his own. Two months into corporate life, he realized that he didn’t want to serve any organization, but wanted to serve the world. Renouncing the worldly pleasures, he followed his spiritual inclinations to later become Swami Mukundananda. Swami Mukundananda has completed his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Delhi. All his beliefs and knowledge sessions are thus firmly grounded in logic.

We, at IIMC, were glad to attend one of his discourses when he had been on campus for the reunion of the 1984 batch. The topic of the discourse was “Spirituality for Managers”. The session began with Swamiji explaining how the world is made up of beautiful patterns right from the structure of an atom to the planetary system to the entire Universe and how our life has its own patterns and its ups and downs and how everything that happens has its purpose in the scheme of things. Then, he related this knowledge to work life and how this leap of faith, which comes through knowledge, can make life at work in uncertain times better. Then he explained the principles to leading a balanced life – one where spirituality accompanies materialism.

Swamiji’s anecdotes and stories left everyone spellbound. He answered question after question with ease. His sense of humor delighted the audience – believers and sceptics alike. His life has a message for each one of us – to follow the path less taken, the path of our dreams. The secret of happiness lies in doing that which you have always wanted to do, that which is your inner calling.

Swamiji’s life is an inspiration in itself and I leave you one of the stories that Swamiji told us, “There was a man who once saw a cocoon turning into a butterfly. Such a beautiful sight it was! The cocoon had almost completely transformed into a butterfly. But as the butterfly tried to leave its shell, it got stuck in it. It was struggling to fly out. Seeing this, the man got worried for the butterfly and cut the cocoon and separated the butterfly from the shell. But to his dismay, he realized that the butterfly would never fly again. This struggle was necessary for the butterfly to absorb the liquid from the cocoon for its wings.” We all go through our ups and downs – and they are necessary for us to grow up. The Universe is supporting you to grow. Have the leap of faith and lead a happier life!

For JokaTimes,

Shreyans Mehta

1. Bulusu Ankit Says:
   January 6th, 2010 at 12:17 pm

   Hi Shreyans..

   Nice Blog and a nice message given I copletely concur to what is being said that one should follow his dreams…

2. Myshkin Ingawale Says:
   January 7th, 2010 at 9:22 am

   Hi Shreyans,

   I agree with the message but not the means by which “Swamiji” has reached it. I am personally of the opinion that even by simple individual introspection, by quiet personal contemplation, every one of us is capable of arriving at a satisfactory “inner truth” capable of helping us lead happy and balanced lives. All ‘words’ – especially words that claim to be true on the basis of anecdotal ‘evidence’ or a special and easily marketable form of pseudoscience (such as drawing any ’spiritual’ meaning from a butterfly’s life-cycle) – are just that: words – and as such, a personalized interpretation of facts. So while I applaud Swamiji’s message, I would caution that we must not applaud ONLY his message: That there is ‘truth’ in all of us, and all around us, regardless of whether we have spent years in saffron robes, or in blue jeans and T-shirts.

3. Shreyans Says:
   January 14th, 2010 at 9:53 am

   I believe all of us having a calling in life – some direction that awaits us to do our bit in this world. Swamiji had his own calling and we are in the process of discovery of our own. Some of us have already found out but the rest are in the quest.

   Believing or not believing is a mater of choice, but all I could see is a man from IITD, IIMC who left it all to be a Swami for the rest of his life. Its inspiring for a person who wants to follow his purpose in life