DUTY & STRESS : USING DETACHMENT, {SPIRITUALITY} AND A SIMPLE TOOL TO DESTRESS

  

DUTY & STRESS

USING DETACHMENT, {SPIRITUALITY} AND A SIMPLE TOOL TO DESTRESS

UNDERSTANDING DUTY

What exactly is Duty? What are its parameters? And, from a spiritual perspective, what is the link – if any, between Duty and Detachment? How do we gain from the combination of these? And what is the practical real world application of this concept if any? Before we can understand these questions, we need to appreciate the concept of duty in depth.

 

Duty : This word does not just refer to your current job at a professional level, and self/family at a personal level. Neither are these independent of each other. There are several levels of duties enjoined on an individual; these are : Duty towards Self, Duty towards Family, Duty towards Employment Place / Organisation {Not towards person - key difference}, Duty towards Community & Society, Duty towards Nation, Duty towards Humanity, Duty towards Environment

This is the full concept of a Human Being's Duty - and all these operate simultaneously on each individual... they can at times be interdepent, in a complex matrix, as this chart  above shows. The central circle is the sum total of its 6 tangents, parameters - and the task for each individual is realising the extent and nature of this central Duty Circle with reference to his or her life. Realistically speaking, each of us normally operates only in one, two or three of the circles, in my humble opinion. But a truly effective individual will operate simultaneously in all the subordinate circles that lead to the main Duty Circle in the chart. This main white circle is that person’s complete sense of responsibility, duty all-inclusive, at a particular point in time.

CONNECTING THE MULTIPLE ROLES 

One cannot look at any one role in independence; each role impacts others; we make the mistake of operating in one unitary plane of operation. We need to take a bird's eye view, and examine from a larger perspective. This cannot be done successfully unless one operates in a situation of detachment, or in spiritual terms, Vairaagya.  In order to perform your duty fully towards all specified above - detachment is the only way ahead

A PROFESSIONAL EXAMPLE
The reason for this is that detachment removes your personal opinion, interests, fears from it - and you are then able to reach decisions from a much clearer standpoint. Involvement will muddy the waters, hiding the full reality from your perception, disguising options, thus leading to sub-optimal results. Now the Case Study : suppose you are the head of a large department, and receive oral instructions from your manager, who is the Dy-CEO, to sack 80% of them. No proper explanation is given, except that it is a shift in strategy. You check – all branches / sub-departments in your function have same instructions, and are executing them.  What do you do?

 

Examine the levels of duties, the entire matrix in the Chart. The Manager is responsible both upwards AND downwards. He is also dutibound to society, family, nation etc. Removing people without due process means he is the cause of the issues of all the people he removes, who placed trust in him. It is a violation of trust of your team - which effectively supercedes all other duties, save nation and environment.

This is because trust, belief and faith are on a high pedestal. Further, there are national norms & laws, which again specify due process. Third, why cant it be given in written? That means, there is something suspicious. Hence... the only option is NOT to sack the employees and fight for their rights, whatever the cost to you personally, or to your family. In the structure of duties, self - family come last. Again, examine that same chart : fighting for rights does not mean going beyond the law, or arguing with the Heads; it means presenting your case properly, and refusing to fire people without the attendant due process which is required as per societal norms, decency, humanity and the law. Doing just one aspect of duty – obeying manager, is a misunderstood duty. Unless it satisfies the full duty matrix as given in the chart, you should not proceed forward.

 

This is also beneficial to the organization; as it prevents excesses, mistakes, process subversions, and thus creates a strong bond of trust in teams. It establishes and further strengthens processes, and builds confidence in teams. Even for the Management, it creates unprecedented flexibility – as there is little scope for argument left if all parameters are attended to. It creates freedom for everyone in the system. As an extreme example above – people can still be sacked, provided the due process is followed. And it is the process subversion that is among the biggest enemies of organizational performance.

 

The only way to do this is to separate your desires, personal benefits from your duty. Regardless of the personal benefits or losses – one must perform to his or her maximum best. This is, in simple spirirtual terms, Vairaagya. Varaigya is of two types - First is internal, that is being detached towards all material aspects, thoughts, and operating in the world from a position of Duty only and giving your Best.

Second is Sanyaas - Living aloof from the world... this distinction is important, as people think Vairagya is sanyaas - it is not. It is this misunderstanding that drives people away from spirituality in early age, saying we will do this after retirement. You can be a Vairaagi while being siutated in the . Best of all, all other things being in place – this ensures a much higher productivity level with much lower stress. 

DESTRESSING THE SELF 

Perhaps the biggest most fundamental mistake we make- we trace our duty towards Employer ... we are NOT having any duty towards the Employer. We are legally employed by an Organisation - meaning we have zero duty towards the promoter. We are having a duty towards the Organisation not the person. This is, once again, actually in the interest of the promoters – as it introduces a strong element of professionalism. Thus, any order you recieve has no bearing on your duty unless it is in proper process. And the moment Organisation enters, then long term, medium term views have to come into consideration. This is a minefield... and an entire 3 day training programme in itself.... The above is based on pure Vedant, advaitavaad – and is a very useful destressing tool, something which is sorely needed in this difficult modern world with its many pulls and pressures. This simple tool will help people destress, relax while performing the same duties that were earlier stressful…