yoga and leadership

Verse 3.22: O son of Pṛthā, there is no work prescribed for Me within all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything, nor have I a need to obtain anything — and yet I am engaged in prescribed duties.

Krsna, the speaker of the Gita, is known as Yogesvara. The name Yogesvara refers to the one who is the master of all mystic powers and the greatest of all yogis.

For all those of you who consider yourselves to be practitioners of yoga (or aspiring practitioners), this verse is of great importance since it teaches a key lesson in leadership. And for the rest of you, by the end this post you might realize that yourself are an aspiring yogi!

But before we get to that, I'd like to ask all of you a question today:

What does the word yoga mean?

I'm sure something came to your mind...so hang on to it! As many of you may know, Sanskrit is a complex language where one word may have several meanings. The context a word is used in is just as important as the many meanings it may have. That being said, there is always an essence or root from which each word stems from and for the word yoga that is: to link up

Link up in the sense of establishing relationships. The first step starts with establishing a relationship between the body and soul by recognizing they are different. After all it takes a minimum of two things to even have a relationship! By recognizing that difference, then it becomes easier to understand how they relate with one another (a key to any successful relationship). In conjunction with understanding that relationship, as one progresses, the linking aspect goes deeper.

It's about making soul to soul connections.

That's what we all crave and what we are all seeking for, whether we are aware of it or not. Ultimately, the goal of yoga is to re-establish our loving and eternal connection with the Supreme.

That's why spiritual texts like the Gita are so invaluable - because it's not just anyone giving us practical guidance and help but the Supreme Himself.

Recognizing that aspiring yogis (i.e. persons who want to "link up") may need some step by step guidance, Krsna is not just telling us what to do, but showing us by His own example.

That is, He's walking the talk. In Chapter 2, we discussed at length the importance of performing work and the spirit in which one does so. One question that we didn't address there was - why do we even need to perform work? That answer is given today - to obtain things that we need (i.e. food, clothing, shelter etc...)

What's amazing is the fact Krsna, being the Supreme, doesn't need to obtain anything because He has everything! That is, there is no need for Him to do work. However, just to show us by example "how it's done", He does so.

This is what real leadership is all about. It's about recognizing the fact that actions inspire and motivate others and getting out there and doing what you speak!