Project management can be a bloody mess. Being a software engineer has taken me as close as possible to being liberated from worldly matters. Initially, I used to go through the standard phases of the life cycle of a software engineer - pun intended. Join, sit on bench, attend trainings, get in to the most useless project, fight for release, resign to fate, fight for onsite, resign to fate, go abroad, enjoy life, have dollar dreams, come back, get married, flaunt the newly acquired parvenu status, join a new (mostly useless) project, fight for.......
One day my life took a sudden turn. It anyway has to right? I'd become a manager. And being a manager gave me new responsibilities and powers. Slowly I realised, the powers are useless, and the responsibilities are actually burdens. I started appreciating spider man movies on a more philosophical level than before. Countless days I used to look in to the mirror and tell myself that "with power comes great responsibility". I was a Peter Parker myself. The most wronged man, yet a super hero. A person who carries the burden of the world on my shoulder easily, but would cringe at the thought of the numerous self problems. Yes, I could implement any system, manage any team, get any work done, convince anyone, sell any idea, but could never keep myself happy with what I achieved. Every obstacle was viewed as a potential pitfall. I lost my plain and sweet sense of humour and suddenly became sarcastic. I lost that warm smile, which was replaced by a cocky smug hmmmf kind of an expression. I suddenly realised, I was myself. Sleepless nights followed. Do I keep myself happy and simple and down to earth, or do I continue taking giant strides in this extremely competitive world?
One fine day all came crashing. Health lost, humour lost, inner peace lost, I realised that professional growth needs to be planned on basic dogma of your firm beliefs. One needs to be flexible within rigid boundaries. No compromise on the persona you were developed in to by the family and friends, which appealed the company that recruited you in the first place, only to find that, all faded away to leave a monstrosity of an extremely mechanical existence. Go back to the drawing board. Why keep moving in the same company of all the frustrated software engineers?
go towards liberation. Let a Monday morning walk to the office feel like a Friday evening bhajan session in the temple! That's when Shankara revisited me. His concept of Advaitha looming large over my drooping shoulder, trying to elevate me.
All this is Maya. Purpose of life is to realise the supreme self. Aham Brahmasmi. And the simplest way of leaving material world behind is elucidated in this verse. Ah, the title needs to be fitted somewhere right?
Satsangatve Nissangatvam, Nissangatve Nirmohatvam
Nirmohatve Nischalatatvam, Nischalatatve Jeevan Muktih.
Hear all ye software engineers! why boast who works for which company? Who commands what salary? Who's market value is what? Who has travelled how many times around the globe? Who has a green card, H1, WP, countless needless other things? Who works on what technology? whether support is inferior to development? who is better a programmer or a boss? All needless arguments.
That's when I decided to immerse in the world of bhajans. With proper company comes detachment. When detached, the mind is free of all worldly passions. when free of all passions, we reach the exalted stage of absolute stillness of mind, thought and philosophy. That, I realised is the path to liberation, as Shankara aptly puts it.
For people who still keep comparing of technology, salary, work, company, material benefits, which had me in that group ages back too, there's answer from Shankara. The second verse of the same song of which one paragraph I've typed above.
Yes. Samprapteh Sannihite kaale, Nahi nahi rakshati dukrin karane.
One day my life took a sudden turn. It anyway has to right? I'd become a manager. And being a manager gave me new responsibilities and powers. Slowly I realised, the powers are useless, and the responsibilities are actually burdens. I started appreciating spider man movies on a more philosophical level than before. Countless days I used to look in to the mirror and tell myself that "with power comes great responsibility". I was a Peter Parker myself. The most wronged man, yet a super hero. A person who carries the burden of the world on my shoulder easily, but would cringe at the thought of the numerous self problems. Yes, I could implement any system, manage any team, get any work done, convince anyone, sell any idea, but could never keep myself happy with what I achieved. Every obstacle was viewed as a potential pitfall. I lost my plain and sweet sense of humour and suddenly became sarcastic. I lost that warm smile, which was replaced by a cocky smug hmmmf kind of an expression. I suddenly realised, I was myself. Sleepless nights followed. Do I keep myself happy and simple and down to earth, or do I continue taking giant strides in this extremely competitive world?
One fine day all came crashing. Health lost, humour lost, inner peace lost, I realised that professional growth needs to be planned on basic dogma of your firm beliefs. One needs to be flexible within rigid boundaries. No compromise on the persona you were developed in to by the family and friends, which appealed the company that recruited you in the first place, only to find that, all faded away to leave a monstrosity of an extremely mechanical existence. Go back to the drawing board. Why keep moving in the same company of all the frustrated software engineers?
go towards liberation. Let a Monday morning walk to the office feel like a Friday evening bhajan session in the temple! That's when Shankara revisited me. His concept of Advaitha looming large over my drooping shoulder, trying to elevate me.
All this is Maya. Purpose of life is to realise the supreme self. Aham Brahmasmi. And the simplest way of leaving material world behind is elucidated in this verse. Ah, the title needs to be fitted somewhere right?
Satsangatve Nissangatvam, Nissangatve Nirmohatvam
Nirmohatve Nischalatatvam, Nischalatatve Jeevan Muktih.
Hear all ye software engineers! why boast who works for which company? Who commands what salary? Who's market value is what? Who has travelled how many times around the globe? Who has a green card, H1, WP, countless needless other things? Who works on what technology? whether support is inferior to development? who is better a programmer or a boss? All needless arguments.
That's when I decided to immerse in the world of bhajans. With proper company comes detachment. When detached, the mind is free of all worldly passions. when free of all passions, we reach the exalted stage of absolute stillness of mind, thought and philosophy. That, I realised is the path to liberation, as Shankara aptly puts it.
For people who still keep comparing of technology, salary, work, company, material benefits, which had me in that group ages back too, there's answer from Shankara. The second verse of the same song of which one paragraph I've typed above.
Yes. Samprapteh Sannihite kaale, Nahi nahi rakshati dukrin karane.
Mani
(the author is currently in the exalted status of self realisation, and will soon come down to worldly levels when the next deadline/ delivery date comes up. Expect more such articles till then!)
