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Part I

 Taking to Industry means that one gives up Peace of Mind forever. This is almost a truism in the world of human affairs. Mother is an iconoclast who has broken many icons. Her goal is to break all the mental icons. The greatest icon She has broken in the Indian context is karma. She has declared that karma is not inevitable and demonstrated time and again in the lives of Her devotees that karma can be wiped out.

To the modern industrialist She would say that Peace of Mind need not be destroyed by owning or running an industry. There are grades of Mother’s Force acting in industrial life. If at the beginning She denies the popular belief, at its height She would say that Industry fosters Mental Peace. In Her view, the bigger the industry, the greater the Peace of Mind.

Human wisdom has been collected over several millennia. Many of its expressions may change from culture to culture, but a few will hold good in all climes, in all centuries and in all cultures. Though they are all the acme of wisdom, it is after all human wisdom. Mother has come amidst us to change human life into Divine Life by changing human nature into divine nature. The practical goal She has set for Her yoga is to conquer death, suffering, pain, falsehood, etc.

If they all are the exalted aims of yoga, SHE has their versions of life. Living with us for nearly a century, SHE has demonstrated the following in the lives of those who took to HER. 

                         Human Life                                     Mother's version of Human Life             
1.  Life is a mixture of good and bad.Only good happens in life.
2.  Peace of Mind is a rare gift.Peace of Mind establishes itself in our lives.
3.  Resources are limited and fixed. The more you      take out of them, the less you have.Resources are unlimited. The more you take out of them, the greater they grow.
4.  Some problems are insoluble.God gives man only problems within his capacity. Therefore there is no insoluble problem.
5.  Some diseases are incurable.There is no incurable disease for the faithful.
6.  Karma is to be endured.Karma can be wiped out.
7.  Many prayers are answered, but not all.Every prayer is inevitably answered.
8.  Worship means puja, stotra, archana, dakshina,      sloka, mantra, festival, etc.Pure mind and moved emotions are the best of worship.
9.  Man reaches God at the end of an arduous      effort.God is seeking for the pure heart of man. He is moving towards us.
10. Industry robs man of his Peace of Mind.Industry enables man to have greater Peace of Mind.

What is Peace of Mind? When the physical necessities are assured, human relationships are secured by affection or authority, and a man understands everything he does very well like an expert, Peace of Mind enters him. Security of understanding and authority yield mental peace on the solid foundation of guaranteed physical comfort. Thus mental peace is erected on the foundation of security. The smaller the work, the easier it is to achieve it. Security is shaken when the operations are bigger.

The principles of mental peace which I wish to discuss in great detail are basic truths fully applicable to family, organisation or business. My emphasis here will be on corporate activities. Whether it is trade, commerce, manufacturing or organisations like government departments, colleges, libraries or political parties, these rules hold good. They equally hold good for families of all sizes.

In reaching for Peace of Mind, there is a great deal that man can do. Mother’s part is comprehensive and descends from above. Her Force is effective in proportion to the organisation available in the work. She acts even without human cooperation. In times of crisis, SHE is most effective and miraculous for the moment. Otherwise, in works that are not organised, She offers a general protective atmosphere that prevents tragedies.

As our aim is to achieve ever-increasing Mental Peace, our emphasis is on maximum organisation of the work we have undertaken. From among those who have taken to industries successfully, we hear comments that resemble the following:

“I am a successful industrialist. My company has been doubling itself every four years. By any standard, I am a success. After all these years of hard work, ups and downs, and success, I begin to wonder whether all my efforts are worth it. Now that I know with material success on one side, I have impoverished myself inside, I have not had a moment of peace. My children are seriously thinking whether they should take after me.”

“It is the greatest mistake of my life that I chose to be in an industry. Now it is impossible for me to get out. All the great good work you do in years is undone by a sudden change in rules or a lightning strike. All that the industry can give is no compensation for ruining your inner life.”

“In the early years I was enamoured of the wide scope for work and its rewards. Now rewards have disappeared. But you are yoked to work.”

“I wonder why I was lured to industry. In the sixties it was labour that ruined us. In the seventies raw material disappeared. In the eighties a dozen departments are harassing us. I have more debts than assets. I won’t advise even my enemy to enter this fray.”

People are lured by the monetary rewards but find themselves unequal to the demanding situations in the shape of dissatisfied customer, uncontrollable labour, inefficient staff, transport bottlenecks, bureaucratic hurdles and above all, the disgruntled family with which you have no time to spend. All the above is true and fully true. But we also see the phenomenon of certain entrepreneurs who have a knack for handling labour and who have not had a single labour situation for years. There are those whose contacts always help them to get around the bureaucracy. Funds and their paucity have ruined many companies but we do find a few who each time tide over the crisis of funds and have earned a reputation for being financial wizards. There are go-getters who successfully demand a listening even with striking lorry owners. Some stars are there who can select the super-efficient typist, expert manager, etc. What it is, God knows. While most of us draw 10% response to our advertisements, some evoke 30% response. We are unable to see what their ads specially contain. Finally, there is the man of luck who is always blessed with success. Each man is endowed with one capacity but several do not have any. Hence the stress in the industrial world. All these harassing situations do have a permanent organisational solution. In the following three books, all these problems are discussed in great detail and solutions suggested:

1.  Vital Difference by Frederick Harmon and Garry Jacobs

2.  Executive Odyssey by Frederick Harmon

3.  Vital Corporation by Garry Jacobs and Robert Macfarlane.

As these books are American publications and can only be secured from the USA, in this article I wish to touch upon an outline of these principles and practices.

For those who believe in spirituality, Mother offers Her Force whose effectivity in any situation can be drawn upon. Her Force combines the power of these people of unique endowments. She can be invoked in any situation and the crisis resolved. One can test it for himself. One can learn to bring Her Force permanently to play in the affairs of one’s company, thereby avoiding any crisis, rather converting a crisis into an opportunity. One can organise his work at all levels and avoid breakdowns, pinpricks, etc. Mother invoked by such a company comes down in greater measure to support all activities at all times.

I shall try to explain the cardinal principles in outline. Before that let me give some illustrations that spotlight Her Force or highlight Her effectivity. These will enable the industrialist to see why Peace of Mind is not that rare.

Peace is shanti (சாந்தி) that calms down our nerves, stills the mind and cures the restlessness of the physical being. The mantra ஓம் சாந்தி invokes this spiritual peace into us. Those who have resorted to repetition of the mantra ஓம் சாந்தி know of this spiritual peace. With Mother no mantra is necessary. She advises us to call Peace simply by repeating, “Peace, Peace, Peace…” One can witness Peace entering into his being. In reviewing a book on Mother, The Indian Express commented that all those who had visited the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo were familiar with the spiritual peace permeating the atmosphere. A lady who took to this practice found Peace entering into her in cascades and it would not stop even after her chanting stopped. Spiritual peace is concrete and can be invoked into us. The harassed industrialist calling Peace will find his being invaded by Peace and his whole body enveloped by it. In its origin this Peace has the capacity to cure diseases, but here we consider only dissolving tension, restlessness, worry, occupation or preoccupation. Mother has suggested invoking Peace over a collection of people engaged in a quarrel or violence. Many a devotee has tested it with success. Once there was a political murder. The body of the dead person was taken in procession. The procession was to pass the point of murder which was a workshop. Several thousand people carrying arms and kerosene were in the procession. They set fire to the workshop in revenge and started a rampage. Near that place devotees dwelt in a house. They all came out and stood there invoking Mother’s Peace. Some of them imagined that Peace fell over the spot as rain. What could have been a major tragedy resulting in the death of many, arson and looting, melted away in minutes. The unruly crowd of thousands armed with weapons and inflammable material suddenly chose to be ruly. The procession continued unhindered.

A man returned to India from East Africa and started a big factory. Within six months of its inauguration, his raw material was in short supply. He was placed under a quota system and at the mercy of the government. His hardship began to increase day by day and his factory faced closure in weeks or in a month. He came to Mother and appealed to Her to save him from this threat. Mother replied, ‘I shall try.’ The situation gradually changed. The allotted quotas were available with less difficulty. In a few months, as the market situation changed, the quota was removed. The raw material was available. Next year the raw material was available in plenty. The following year the raw material was in such abundance that India even thought of exporting a small quantity. Mother’s Force acts unfailingly and spills over the localised situation to wider national fields.

In the early seventies, a young man who was engaged in producing auto parts was hit by the oil crisis and closed four out of his five lathes along with others in his industry. His friends were amazed at how he could operate one lathe in such a bleak market situation. He sought advice. Mother valued cleanliness as godliness. She loved to pay full attention to machines even if they were inanimate. This man was intrigued by the idea that the market could be attracted by the internal organisation. He was skeptical. But he was willing to try any method. He followed the advice given to him. It was:

  1. The Machines must be cleaned as if they are working.
  2. The power, lubricants, raw materials should be utilised to the maximum and wastage must be eliminated.
  3. He should himself speak very low and speak as little as possible.
  4. Attention to men, material and machines must be upgraded.
  5. Every day in the morning he should speak to Mother for half an hour or one hour about the problems of the day.
  6. He should invoke Peace as often as possible.

The market remained the same. In a short period orders began to increase and he commissioned one after the other all the five lathes. When they all were working for three shifts while the outside market was as bleak as before, he asked for more advice to double his profits. He was an eager listener then. Basic organisation, systems, registers, cooperation, coordination, punctuality, value of training and two other values of Mother in work were explained to him. He took to all of them seriously, particularly to maximum utilisation, elimination of delay, understanding the other man’s point of view, conservation of energy, etc. He came to us with a turnover of 11 lakhs. Before three years were completed, he crossed 50 lakhs turnover.

In the late sixties, an engineer invested Rs. 7000/- and started a small industry. In about five years his enterprise paid him well. He started two other industries as well. They were not big operations since each unit of his was turning over a lakh of rupees, but for the start he had had, he was a success. He was satisfied with his performance. His labour was satisfied with him. Being an educated man of integrity, he never encountered much of the bureaucratic hurdles. Life was rosy. His part was hard work which he willingly gave. While he was a government officer he had inspected the Ashram factories and was impressed by the perfection they were striving for. He was a non-believer but admired Mother's work. He never became a devotee. While at the Ashram he used to listen to the various discussions, especially about the industries and their management. One day a telegram came from him asking for Mother’s Blessings. Coming as it did from a non-devotee, it was a surprise to all those who knew him. Soon after, he too came and everyone was anxious to know what had made him a devotee.

The smooth operation of his units was disturbed by a new move of the labour and all the three units were closed. It was then he sent a telegram. The next day the strike was withdrawn. The ringleaders were forced to resign by the general labour force. The atmosphere changed. He later explained, “The labour that had become an allergy has now become quiet. Labour is no problem. Orders to the extent of 18 lakhs have come to one unit. Of this, 3.5 lakhs are orders with advance. Now production is the problem.”

Availability of power often determines survival of an industry. It is a determinant. As it is not something in our hands, people do not even try to think about it. If the present profitability admits of a generator, they go in for it. Otherwise, they resign themselves to the situation. What uncertainties it can raise and how much tension issues out of it, only those who have faced the situation know. For those who rely on spirituality and are willing to resort to Mother’s Force by prayer or to one of Her methods, there is a solution for every problem. And there is one for power shortage too. Let me illustrate.

In an agricultural operation of extensive area, once the government announced a power cut. Crops that were raised expecting 24 hours of current suffered because power supply was reduced to four hours. District Collectors had appealed to farmers not to raise the second crop in view of the power situation. A group of devotees in charge of agriculture desired to resort to Mother’s Force and chose the method of maximum utilisation. As any method of Hers will work, devotees choose what suits them. Prayer, consecration, mantra, japa, calling Mother, meditation, cleanliness, low speech, etc., etc. are Her methods. Here the method chosen was maximum utilisation of four hours of available current. Arrangements were made to turn on the motor the moment current arrived, leakages in pipes were plugged, channels were cleared so that no water was wasted and every other conceivable effort was taken. All concerned were enthusiastic. In a week the government raised the supply to seven hours and in the next month to ten hours. Later the government passed an order that as a priority agriculture must be given 14 hours of power supply. After several years the government came forward to abolish the fee for the electric consumption by the farmer. Electricity is in nobody’s hands, but Mother’s Force can make it available to us. Instead of choosing one method, if you comprehensively employ Mother’s methods, any shortage can be overcome.

It is the experience of devotees that when funds are in short supply, if they pay attention to money and resort to any method of prayer, funds come from all sides to the point of satiation. A man in government service raised the question of funds when his friends asked him to venture. He was a man of perfection in work. Mother loves perfection and perfect work and responds to it without prayer. In this case, his buyer offered an advance to help him. In the first year he sold for Rs. 80,000/- with no capital of his. In seven years his company rose to sales of 60 lakhs. Work organised very systematically, accounts written promptly, cleanliness of the work spot, orderliness in the inventory, quality of work, and perfection in execution attract funds copiously even without prayer. Prayer added to these fortifies them.

            A man started a project in two crores and wished for help from banks. The banks shied away from the project because of its size and nature. The founder resorted to prayer doing all that he could do in his power. The situation changed. Attitudes changed. The All India headquarters of the bank took a different view that this project fell into the top priority category. He got all his FUNDS without the usual bureaucratic paraphernalia.

Industry is a public work at the disposal of various forces. Each such force introduces an uncertainty in the mind of the industrialist. Cash flow, fluctuating market, unorganised office, erratic rules of government, sudden changes in the tax structure, process of production that is chaotic, uncertain supply of raw materials, non-cooperative labour are the forces that are sources of uncertainty. As there are so many contributors to chaos, tension comes to stay and converts into permanent worry in the mind of the proprietor, the physical expression of which is high blood pressure or diabetes. This is history. How do we go about bringing a change in the state of affairs so that the change that comes in will pass through several stages and finally come to convert the blood pressure and diabetes into stable mental peace?

As I said earlier, there are two parts to the process, one spiritual and the other organisational. The spiritual part gives the basic force and gives immediate relief. The organisational part makes the immediate relief into a permanent status.

Anyone can make an experiment of his own and base his future course on what he observes in his own experience. Calling in Mother or Mother’s Peace will fill up one’s mind with a Peace he has not so far tasted. That is the first step and the first experiment. Anyone who takes to it permanently can enjoy Peace of Mind in a considerable measure. Many stop with that because it serves their long-felt purpose and they do not venture beyond.

There will always be unsolved problems for long in any company, both small and big. Let the first experiment be made with a small issue like the long overdue collection of an outstation cheque. Calling Mother or prayer to Her to have the money collected will yield immediate results. What was delayed over 35 days will come now. Here, the result is secondary. One can repeat such experiments in many small matters. When they move, one can learn the value of the power that moves, disregarding the convenience of the result. Should he see the power behind that moves affairs in response to prayer, it is the second step.

A question arises in the mind: small things move, will big things move too? A licence for which the company applied two years ago, a coveted technology which is elusive, or sanction of higher credit limits by the bank will be considered things of importance. By repeating the prayer here with respect to one of them, one finds them moving. If the big issues too respond to prayer, he can repeat the experiment as many times as he wants. Here too, one who receives the convenience of the result is very likely to miss the power behind it. Should he come forward to disregard the result and observe the power behind, the knowledge of that power is important.

Now we have seen small things move. We have also seen big things move. Are they random responses luckily come our way? One more experiment can be made to ensure that the responses are not random. Till he is sure that a prayer is unfailingly answered, he should repeat the experiment. If a prayer is not answered because the work is incomplete, an element is missing, etc., he should complete the work, supply the missing element and then test. If the prayer is answered, he should satisfy himself that all prayers are answered without fail. He is sure to find that all prayers, big or small, when the work is not incomplete, are answered without fail.

Several people are apt to forget the problem as well as their prayer, because of the long expected relief. Instead, if one makes the desirable results secondary and the Force that made it possible primary, that Knowledge will give rise to a Faith in his mind that will erode the very roots of doubt, uncertainties, tension, etc. To arrive at the knowledge of the Presence behind the appearances and rely on that Presence is the key to wiping off mental worry and creating in its place a well-established Peace of Mind. Once that is created, one has to foster it by further observation and experimentation. This may be a cherished goal for any industrialist. To supply the unshakable foundation for this at the physical, material level, organisational work is necessary.

To supply a foolproof system to every activity in the company, to support every system with the appropriate registers, to look at every issue from another man’s point of view, to learn to look at them from a point of view wider than personal profit, to ensure punctuality at all levels, to keep the work spot spic and span, to bend over backwards to satisfy the customer, to constantly study the technology from the user’s point of view, to keep the different aspects of the company balanced, to write the accounts on time, to create an accounting system that truly reflects the work, to energise people by giving them personalised attention, to energise every act so that it releases energy, to constantly review the systems installed and upgrade them, to set oneself a goal of higher and higher perfection and to learn to work for the fun of it, are parts of organisational work that would provide the solid foundation for work. This will enable Mother’s Force to enter the work copiously and nonstop. Should a company be organised in its essentials as above and should the proprietor discover the Presence of the spiritual power behind the work that infallibly acts, the mind will come to have a faith in things hitherto unknown to it. With that, a peace will be generated by the mind from inside. When we speak of Peace of Mind we mean a mind left to function in peace. Mind has a peace of its own which will issue out of it and saturate it. This is a force by itself, known as ஆழ்ந்த நிம்மதி, deeply felt peace. As the soul has a peace of its own, this is the Peace of Mind that will issue from inside the mind and saturate it. This is possible because the challenging circumstances of the industy demand its creation from inside the mind. It is irrevocable, infallible and in a sense self-existent, not assailable from outside by events. The greater the industry in size, the greater and deeper is this peace.

That is why in the beginning I said that in Mother’s logic, industry does not banish mental peace but creates a greater Peace of Mind than what man knows ordinarily.

Sri Aurobindo says the body cures itself. The medical world has also endorsed that thought. Body has a curative power of its own and exercises it when it is not under the domination of mind. In danger, we often see the phenomenon of a man miraculously escaping but not being aware of how he did so. Body has a knowledge of its own to save itself. Because it is a subconscious knowledge, it does not remember it afterwards.

As in the case of the body, every part of the being has its own knowledge, its own power. The soul, mind, heart, body are the four parts of our being. Each part has its own capacities. Knowledge and power are two of them; Peace and Silence are another two such powers. Sri Aurobindo and The Mother speak of mental silence, spiritual silence, emotional power, etc. Man by his upbringing gives a certain knowledge to the mind while the mind itself in its own constitution has an inherent power. What man gives his mind as knowledge is on the surface and feeble. What mind has as its own knowledge is in the depths and more powerful.

When we speak of mental peace, we mean that the mind is left undisturbed and allowed to function peacefully. This is what we know. This is on the surface and is shallow. Mind, in its origin, has inbuilt into itself all the powers, viz. knowledge, silence, peace, cognition, force, etc. That Peace is the Peace of Mind. It is in the depths and is very powerful.

Mother’s Force brings a Peace of Her own and helps the deeply lying Peace of Mind to come to the surface. Any wide work, when organised, helps to bring it out. The idea that I am advocating here is to combine Mother’s Force and the organisation of an industry to unleash that Peace of Mind. It is everlasting, unshakable, irresistible and infallible. Industry helps man to unleash that peace; Mother enables it to come to the surface.

That is why I started by saying the bigger the industry, the deeper is the Peace of Mind.

The Mother’s Service Society has long experimented with the principles of work given to us by Mother. We can say they were tested at the lowest and highest points of society. In dealing with people whose ways of life are organised falsehood, we have seen the truth of these principles. Man, caught on the wrong foot, finds lying a way out. By organised falsehood I mean people consciously using falsehood as an instrument of living and in that process organising it in several ways. Our members who have written the above mentioned books have worked in Europe, Japan, USA and South Africa. In companies of ten crore turnover as well as 1000 crore turnover, they had occasion to see these principles at work. Their experience resulted in these three books.

Mother has written about 6000 pages and left tape recorded messages of another 6000 pages. Those who are familiar with HER writings, HER ways of life and HER Consciousness would instinctively know the truth behind life.

This article mentions only the basic truth in the context of business management. These are principles of life and as such hold good in the context of families and any non-business organisation. I repeat the two parts of my explanation: (1) The spiritual atmosphere of Mother and (2) The human capacity for organisation.

When an Indian businessman was elected the Businessman of the Year for having achieved 60% growth in his company in one year, one of our members approached him with an offer of consultation. Our view is that growth is splendid, but along with that, growth brings problems demanding a greater organisation. He concurred with us. With forty new entrants in his field, he faced formidable competition, some of them being international leaders in that business. We do not speak of spirituality or Mother in our field work. We studied the Company affairs and advised them on many things including 120 specific recommendations. Mainly we gave our views on how to:

  1. work in an atmosphere of intense competition;
  2. raise people’s enthusiasm for work inside the company;
  3. retain the commanding position in the market.

After that we had little touch with them. That was eight years ago. What they did, whether they implemented our ideas or not, we do not know. Their profits which were slightly lower than 30 crores in the year of our study crossed sixty crores the next year. The following year profits crossed Rs. 180 crores. Last year too they performed very well. This year it crossed 500 crores of rupees.

Another Indian company which was the first of its kind in India heard of us. Its idea of a new venture was so popular that 350 companies were floated in the following years. It was doing very well with 2.5 crores of profit but, in the competitive atmosphere, it was not sure of anything. We studied the workings of this company and gave detailed recommendations. Its chief was happy with our ideas. He became a devotee of Mother too, after a fashion, as it happened that he had had Mother’s Darshan a decade before. Here also, in spite of our continued contact with him, we are not aware to what extent he implemented our ideas. The following year he advertised that his profits rose to 5.2 crores. In the two subsequent years they crossed 10 crores and 14 crores.

We worked with a 100 year old company in Tamil Nadu which had accumulated losses to the tune of 12 crores. When we went there, we found out that what bothered them was not so much the losses as the lorries that had to wait in the hundreds outside the factory for anywhere between six and twenty hours. On the spot our member gave a commonsense idea of how the arrivals of the lorries could be monitored. Later we heard that they solved the lorry problem and liquidated their losses and turned profitable.

One of our members approached a leading manufacturer last year with an offer to double his profits. He responded favourably. As our member was an American visiting India, he offered to continue the proposal during his next visit six months later. He subsequently postponed his visit and in the meantime from the newspaper we learned that the company’s profit last year was 64 crores, which rose this year to 140 crores. Perhaps, our member joked, we have brought the companies and Mother together in the subtle plane!

Organising the work pays rich dividends; Mother blesses with HER Presence. Our recommendation is to organise the work fully and invoke Mother’s Presence.

By organisation we mean to put every work under a system, to insist on corporate values like regularity, punctuality, elimination of waste, etc. etc. Invoking Mother’s Presence means to think of Mother before initiating any work.

All those who are working with partners either from inside the family or from outside can tell us how many times the partnership has come to the brink of collapse and how it is the one major source of tension all their life.

A man with several factories entrusted his affairs in the hands of his family, the near and dear. They were digging his grave for long, which he was oblivious of. He woke up too late. Now on the agenda they kept one item: remove the old man. It caused him concern, anxiety, tension. He took a trip to the Samadhi, invoked Mother and went back to the official meet. His one thought was Mother, not the imminent danger. The ring leader stood up and proposed that the status quo should continue! It was a relief to everyone.

An industrialist of very small size was resisting the idea of his parents that he should take to Mother. Finally when he understood that it might do good to his work, he agreed to follow Mother and Her principles in his work. He visited the Samadhi and listened to Mother’s principles in work, and returned home. To his pleasant surprise, he found out that collection of outstanding bills was good. It was so good that in the first 30 days he received as much as he used to collect in 4 or 6 months.

In nationally famous institutions, sometimes there arises a feud between partners, often family members, which, because of the national and international standing of the firm, gets publicity in foreign countries too. As an extreme step, parties go to court, hoping to have the interpretation of the law in their favour. These are situations that can close a century old institution. We know in England that Rolls Royce closed down, and a newspaper of international fame had to suspend publication. In such situations, if one party invokes Mother’s Grace, She acts in the best interests of both and the institution. What appears to be an insoluble tangle suddenly reveals the loose end through which the whole thing can be unravelled.

Mother does not simply remove tension. If continually invoked, She turns tension into everliving Peace.

When hard work, which is well-organised through high values of life, is offered to Mother as a consecration, it becomes the bedrock of physical security that generates psychological ease. Mother constantly pours peace, சாந்தி,over the operations and fills the beings of all the people involved, including the proprietor, with eternal peace which is spiritual bliss. 



book | by Dr. Radut