I - Passion speaks @ Unconference

Just thought of updating the blog space with thoughts that i shared @ unconference.

COGITO ERGO SUM
I Think Ergo I Am
Rene Descartes

When Rene Descartes shared this quote with the world in his work "Principles of philosophy"
he was doing nothing more than morphing the most fundamental,and yes most misinterpreted
slandered and sanctimoniously treated expression of our lives.

"I"

Just an alphabet?Or just a word?Really mean or more altruistic in its nature than anything
that you and me have ever come across in our lives?
I.The virtue of selfishness and narrow mindedness or an epitome of ideals?

Lots and lots of questions.But lot of answers too.But the question is,Do we care to listen.

Good afternoon house.

Passion speaks.

I realized that i am motivated by this word "I" when i didnt even realize that i had registered
for this event and mentioned it as my passion until one of my friends asked,Hey whats with I?
Going to introduce yourself?I mean u r gonna talk bout urself for like 10 min.And it sounded
like,excuse me Mr. Egomaniac,do we have to listen to you harping me this me that for 10 min?
NOT HAPPENING.

Dark humour apart,I did realize the enormity of my passion speaks idea only after i started
pondering over it more than usual.I did feel the weight of onus on me.I was looking forward
to get this word,this expression vindicated of the charge of being against the priniples of
our society,of being a renegade,a retter whose life is based on the pillars of ________.

The realization of the onus seemed as heavy as lets say talking about faith (with an intent of
calling it right or wrong) or trying to justify your moral imperative.

But as i percieve by the word passion "its a fire which is kindled in absence of oxygen" i stand
here to share with you the interpretation of "I".

This interpretation of I has omnifarous dimensions but I would be restricting myself to few of
them,one of them being the corporate world where in it specially sounds as if it is everything
what corpoate culture does not stands for.

The dimension i will try and cover fall under 2 major categories(pretty much holistic view point):

1)I and society
2)I and organization

Yes,both dimensions are amalgations of lots and lots of components,morality,ethics and objectivism.
But I could'nt tone down the urge to take it up.I do hope i can do justice with both.

Complex structure,entangled entities and notions,thats what our society is all about.But in
this manmoth structure there is one single entity at the foundation level.An individual,to be
precise,the individual.
It,(pardon me for the such obvious incorrect grammer,but it so happens that we tend to finish our
discussion pertaining to a person as he,and thats for me is only half side of the picture) is the
entity which has formulated the ethos of the society.

The right,the wrong,the truth and the lie,good and evil,all these rules which we follow as a part
of society were fortunately and unfortunately created by us.

Even though i am not very satisfied with the usage of words which indicate dependence on fortune
for such an important issue,they suffice well to express what i intend to share.

Unfortunately because that individual entity has lost the realization that it was the origin
of the ethos of society and not the other way round.It has seemed to forget that the only litmus
test for the applicability of rule or a moral is one.Rationality and truth.To put it in simple
terms,If society is a pecking order,the rule should be applicable in such a way that it has the
same impact on everyone,irrespective of your order in the peckking group.
And if i am lucid enough,i am sure you will get this 2+2 and take it as a pointer as to why
we are facing problems today,weather it be corruption,religious fundamentalism or even at the
risk of being brazen,our parliament.

So when we shake our heads condemning the present scenario claiming that its hopeless and nothing
good is possible,one cant do anything to make things better here,we are literally manifesting what
i said just now.We have lost the faith in the power of I.

We see it,and pardon me but we also contribute to it everyday, dont we,by still treating our daughters
as a,"paraya dhan" a hindi phrase meaning somebody elses wealth,and see them burning everyday,after all
thats how society works right,we turn away when few of your religion slay innocents,after all the
society has put me into a bucket where in i have to support people of my religion,immaterial of what
they do.

Well the list is endless and so is the negativity associated with it.So let me assert a postive
side too.

Fortunately asserts that it was this individual unit who was responsible for carving the code
which we are supposed to follow.I cant say should follow because thats the whole essence of my
argument.So even though it seems that society has taken on a shogunate(dictatorial) role in
shaping up and chalking out the rules for me and you to follow,there is still hope to turn the tables.

So as to put it in even better complexion,I am incorrigible when it comes to believing the fact
that the realization of I in us never dies.Proofs are evident and ample.You and me still fume when
we are asked to pay kickback to get our things done ( yes,we succumb that is true too),we do feel
really offended when our elected ones tell us to contribute to the progress of our great nation
and forget all divides that exist in the society and practise otherwise,we do feel infuriated when
our right to question somebody is taken away from us.

This may not be a very rosy picture,because at the end of each of these situations we are found
bent backwards to avoid the wrath of "society",ludicrous paradox.

So what can i do?You ask.Valid question.Perfectly valid.Except for the fact that you asked the
wrong person.And i just didnt mean me.You just cant ask this question to anybody.For the simple
reason,nobody has that answer for you,and to make the situation more funny,everyone has the answer
for themselves.

I am reminded of an excerpt from the book The fountain head,where in the protagonist of the novel
Howard roark replies to a question from Peter keating when he asks as to if he should go on behind
a dream which his eyes did not see.

"How do you always manage to decide?"
"How can you let others decide for you?"
"How can you let them tell what you want?"

At this juncture i would like to bring the word I under even tighter lasso,a higher power magnifier,
a place where I has to hold upto a large set of litmus tests.Not because the essence of I is not
visible or not required in this area but because of the delicate semantics assoicated with the culture
of this place.

Yes,the corporate world.A fraternity where performance and efficiency are the pre requisites to stay
and grow.A zone whose motto reads
There is no "I" in "TEAMWORK".
Teamwork: Simply stated, it is less me and more we.

Hmmmm,I was actually spooked for a minute when i thought of these quotes.
They seemed like 2 huge entry doors obviously bolted.
But then my fears were went poof once i realized that the spirit of I is in there,and these metaphorical doors are not
there to block something,they are a consequence (though not represented that accurately) of the essence
of corporate culture,which actually does relies on the empowerment of and individual,thereby ensuring
that the collective power of I is leveraged to make corporate function in a befitting manner.

If we look around any of the corporate power houses today,there is one line which suits them apt

"Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing
but their own vision"

Indeed it was the vision of those few who understood the essence of what I represents.

And indeed they kept the essence of I alive in their organizations when they grew big.
I was given power to take its decision which is christined as empowerment,
I was trained with niche skills,nothing but training programs,you name
a process aimed at betterment of organization and I can give you how it is related to I.

I can sum it up in a succint manner,a team,an unit,an organization grows when it nurtures I.
I and Corporate are not adversaries but (to use an object oriented term) they share has a relation ship.

I have just tried to touch the first base of an idea,an expression which has really deep,complex but I
still maintain,universal semantics.

I am not delving deep in here,but the essence of I is very prevelent in the fundamental of Vedanta,a path
of life of which Swami Vivekanand was a great proponent.

I would like to end my passion speak here with i dont know if its the apt word,but a caveat.
I in itself is an ideal and ideals cannot be brought down and harmonized with the way of life with which
we are most comfortable.It has to be the other way round.Its our lives which are to raise to a level
at which we can embibe the true essence of I as a principal,albiet a very practical one.

I leave the dice with these words

I AM I THINK I WILL.