“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