Oh, what a tangled web we weave…

…when we first practice to deceive!

Ramalinga Raju, the CEO of Sathyam mentioned in his now infamous letter to the Board of Directors of his company, that his fraudulent activity felt akin to riding a tiger. He didn’t know how to get off and so kept riding it until he was forced to dismount.

Rhetoric aside, the very first time we make a CHOICE to deceive instead of doing the right and moral thing, we end up weaving a web that soon becomes hard to unravel. There is no way out of the snag other than to cut the string finally. And that is what happened to Ramalinga Raju. Sadly, his crime did not just impact himself and his family. His multitude of employees, shareholders, the Indian public and press – everyone has been affected.

The more power a person has, the longer the fall. And they take other innocents down with them. It comes down to my oft-repeated refrain – It is imperative that Corporations, since they actually are, ultimately a collection of individuals, have a social conscience. Something that will keep them honest, something that will alert them when they start to tread the wrong path – a path that will lead to everyone’s downfall.

When I was working for a large Fortune 300 company, one of the annual goal setting exercises included a vision and mission statement. Now, if only the vision statement, in addition to the company’s vision for its growth and financial bottom line, included a social responsibility statement, it would help keep the focus on being a wholesome company that is well-integrated and has a synergistic relationship with the society that helps it grow.

For, after all, which predatory relationship has ever prospered?

Corporations, like individuals, animals and the eco-system as a whole, need to function in a mutually symbiotic manner in their environment. Animals know that you cannot survive if you bite the hand that feeds you.

In the case of Sathyam and in the case of Bernie Madoff, both entities did not understand this fundamental fact – Society is the hand that feeds them. If they act in a predatory manner within the very society that breathes spirit into them, there is no way they can survive. They will be riding a tiger. And when they fall, they bring others down with them.

I urge the corporate bigwigs to incorporate a Social responsibility statement that keeps them on the straight and narrow path. Ultimately, it will benefit them.

The Joy of Absolute Faith

Unlike Oliver Twist, the famed protagonist of Charles Dickens’ novel, Subbu, our cat, did not ask for more! Subbu led an envious cat life – full of petting and feting and loving. He loved being welcomed with smooches and cuddles every time he sauntered into view. He loved our home and neighborhood. He had access to the wilderness he dearly loved, and enjoyed his daily romp in the woods. He loved to watch the birds all the while pretending he was a tiger crouching for his prey. And he loved to slink away sheepishly, if the bird ever dared to look at him. Life was fun. Life was enjoyable. Life was everything he could ask of it. Life was full.

Subbu couldn’t have asked for more.

And that was until 3 days ago when life decided to throw Subbu a curve ball. We closed up home and moved across the country. Subbu watched questioningly, as we loaded up our van with his food and water bowls and his meager possessions. And then he watched helplessly in dismay, as we dragged him squalling and mewling pitifully into the “big gray moving beast” – our van. He climbed on my lap and watched the moving scenery with rounded eyes, filled with fear and disbelief. What had happened to his wonderful life? Why was he cooped up and moving so fast? Where were these people whom he had once trusted taking him? Why couldn’t he go out and visit with his birds and bugs, deer and water fowl? Why couldn’t he spend his days snoozing under the desk with his paws up in the air? Why? Why?

And so, the first half of a day was spent with Subbu resisting and questioning and being fearful. Then came a time, sometime mid way through the day, when Subbu stopped resisting. He suddenly recalled that wherever he was being taken, he was being taken by people whom he loved and trusted. He retreated between our seats and settled in to snooze. Within a couple of hours he was relaxed and soon he was on his back, paws up in the air, sleeping in the abject surrender of one who had reposed his complete trust on his loved ones and knew he would fine. The rest of the 22 hour journey went fine – for Subbu as well as for us.

So, what is the moral of this story? How does this apply to us in these trying times?

We are now at a time in our lives when we know not why “bad” things happen and we know not why “bad” things happen to good people. All over the world, the global economy is melting and taking away livelihoods for millions of people. We watch as years of hard work, responsible behavior and hard earned savings vanish in a whirl of greed and corruption. We watch helplessly as the very same people who recklessly played with our savings, are being bailed out  by the Govt. by mortgaging our future. The world seems upside down. There is war going on in many countries. Suffering does not seem to end. The world as we know it, is a fearful place and we live our daily lives, asking, “WHY? WHY?” Every single time we question, we resist the events in our lives and live out of fear and resentment. And lose the precious seconds, minutes and hours our lives to fear.

And spend our lives second-guessing the supreme power – the one who brought us on this journey. Like Subbu, we don’t understand why we are being taken to this place in our lives. If we too, like Subbu, stopped resisting and remember that we love and trust this supreme power to take care of us, we too, can lie back and relax with our paws up in the air and let life take its course.

And, like Subbu, we too will enjoy the journey wherever it takes us.