This
article is the next in the series of articles that record my notes
and observations from the Valmiki Ramayana, as part of my
participation in the “Read Ramayana” project.
The
articles written so far in this series have barely scratched the
surface of this epic. But like a modern day cricket match innings
that starts with crackling sixes and fours, there is so much to infer
and absorb even in the initial Sargas(Chapters) of this epic, that I
can’t help but appreciate and write about even the punctuation
marks used in these sections. Also, learning about the details of
the enormous background of this epic story excites me a lot. So here
is one more item that I thoroughly enjoyed while reading and
re-reading Sarga 2 of the Bala Kaanda. And it is here that I couldn’t
but help make a note of the conversation between Lord Brahma and
Rishi Valmiki. There are three slokas, in particular, that caught my
attention -
Na
Tey Vaaganruta Kaavye Kaachidatra Bhavishyati |
Ramakathaa Punyaam Shlokbadhdhaam Manoramaam|| (1.2.35)
Ramakathaa Punyaam Shlokbadhdhaam Manoramaam|| (1.2.35)
Yaavat
Sthasyanti Girayassaritashcha mahitale |
Tavadraamaayanakatha Lokeshu Pracharishyati || (1.2.36)
Tavadraamaayanakatha Lokeshu Pracharishyati || (1.2.36)
YaavadRaamayanakatha
TvatKruta Pracharishyati |
TaavadOOrdhvamadhashcha Tvam Mallokeshu Nivatsyasi || (1.2.37)
TaavadOOrdhvamadhashcha Tvam Mallokeshu Nivatsyasi || (1.2.37)
In
this Sarga, these slokas come at a juncture when Valmiki is
ruminating on the spontaneous poetic Sloka verse that came to him,
and Brahma has come to meet Valmiki. The slokas quoted above are
Brahma’s words.
For
a moment, lets forget the names Brahma and Valmiki. The person in
charge of creating and establishing this Universe, the SrishtiKarta
is speaking to a hunter turned Rishi. He tells the Rishi to pen the
life story of Rama.
So
what is happening here? The assignment is clear - Rama’s life
story, all the known and unknown parts of it need to be recorded. And
Valmiki has been identified as the candidate fit & worthy of this
task, and this is where Brahma shows, by example, how to set goals
and motivations for the the person who you have identified as the
right fit for the task at hand.
All
said and done, when executed, this work will become Valmiki’s first
literary work. For a scholarly writer about to pen his first major
piece, SrishtiKarta Brahma sets incentives, while at the same time
instilling confidence about
his capability
about the task at hand. And the sequence of these is to be
appreciated as well -
First
verse says “Nothing that is away from the truth will be a part of
your writing”. Now, this is a literal translation from Sanskrit to
English, which is how things are expressed in that language, but what
really is being said here is (paraphrased in active voice)
- “Valmiki, whatever you need to know (in terms of facts and
data) to complete this work, you will get all of it, starting with
the brief you got from Rishi Narad. Please use your newly
learnt skill of writing ‘sloka’ verses to put all of this in
an enjoyable readable format.”
Second
verse says “As long as mountains & rivers exist on this
planet, the story of Ramayana will exist.” To paraphrase this in
modern day language, “There is a guaranteed uptake for such a work.
I can foresee this uptake will last for as long as mountains &
rivers shall exist, i.e. till the human race (as we know it) will
exist, and along with it, your name will be remembered for
generations to come.
And
the final third verse(quoted above) says “ And as long as the
Ramayana(written by you) prevails, you will reside in all the three
worlds(Upper world, Nether world and Bramhaloka)”. This would
paraphrase to “Yours will be an established name among all kinds of
living beings in this universe.” Ramayana was written at at time
when name and reputation was valued the way we value money today.
So
essentially, starting from assuring his commitment for all requisite
inputs for the assignment at hand to discussing the future of the
assignment’s output to discussing the assignee’s personal growth
in accomplishing the project, Brahma not only gets the point across
to Valmiki, he also teaches us how to discuss projects and project
goals with people that we want to work with.
Motivation
is one of the oft-quoted and oft-misused terms in today’s
corporatized world. Everyone is looking to instill this in peers and
sub-ordinates, when they themselves suffer from its deficiency. In
such times, it helps to know that motivation will come in abundance
from within an individual automatically when she is presented with
appropriate inputs and relevant goals and outcomes to pursue, both at
the task level and on a personal level.
Image Credit - http://leaderchat.org/2012/09/17/whats-your-motivation-at-work-3-questions-to-ask-yourself/
Image Credit - http://leaderchat.org/2012/09/17/whats-your-motivation-at-work-3-questions-to-ask-yourself/
