As Jamie walked into the conference room, he saw some glum faces. He wasn’t surprised.
The client was going to break the news.
His leadership team already knew what to expect.
It would mean an entire department shutting down.
People were going to be laid off.
He sat down next to the business unit’s CEO, who gave him a nod of acknowledgment.
After a round of awkward pleasantries were exchanged around the room, the CEO began.
“As my leadership team, you have come along with me on this journey. So, I wanted you to be the first to know. The rumours are already flying at great speed across the company, thanks to online chat and e–mail. So, I wanted to set the facts straight.
Two years ago, I had called for us to meet up – in this same room. We were in trouble then. Our customers were unhappy, our shareholders were keen to offload their stake and walk away, there was nothing innovative about our products anymore, our competitors were more creative than us, and our people were a disengaged, complacent lot, lacking motivation. I wanted you to fix it.
Guess what? Two years have gone by. But we are still in trouble. Despite all the posters we stuck up in the walls motivating people, the numerous incentives we doled out, all we have got are excuses and teams pointing fingers at each other for failures. We have just not been able to work together and meet our goals.
Over the past six months, I have been working with Jamie’s consulting firm to review the situation. We arrived at the obvious conclusion. The longer we wait, the more money is getting drained. That is unacceptable.
I am presenting my report and the recommendations to the Board of directors next month. I will let you know their decision once the shareholder meeting is over.
Any questions?”
The room was silent; then a few people around the room spoke their mind.
“It is unfortunate; we didn’t have enough resources; the people we have, only want to do what they like, not what needs to be done.”
“We should have restructured. There are too many layers of management and very few people who actually do the work; too much bureaucracy.”
“Our people lack the right attitude; they have good skills, but they lack that X-factor. They don’t want to be special, make a difference. They keep asking ‘What’s in it for me?’, whenever we ask them to go the extra mile.”
“Our operations team doesn’t talk to sales at all. All we have are forms and signatures talking to each other. We need people to trust each other and collaborate.”
“No. As a leadership team, we trust each other, but the problem is, we have stopped learning. We all think alike.”
“We don’t have a culture of winning together. When the boat sinking, there is no point in saying that my side of the boat is not leaking. The basic issue is that no one is taking accountability for the customer. No one sees the big picture.”
Hearing all these views depressed Jamie even more.
This wasn’t the first time he was hearing these problems. They reflected the state of most organizations he had consulted for.
After the meeting, Jamie shook hands with the CEO and his leadership team, packed his stuff and left the building.
Rain!
Not a downpour, but a mild, persistent drizzle.
He started the car and drove out of the parking lot, on to the main road.
He saw the line of cars on the road, standing bumper-to-bumper and groaned. No way! Just one small downpour and the traffic flow in Bangalore grinds to a halt.
He was lost in thought, as the convoy of cars inched along, as he recalled the meeting with his customer’s team. He wished he could help them, but the company was just not cut out to be successful.
“Still…they are a good bunch of blokes,” thought Jamie. “Then, why the hell aren’t they able to work together?”
“That’s life”, he concluded.
In a way, he was happy the 6-month project had come to an end. He was getting frustrated at not being able to do his bit in the treasure hunt. Now, it was time to have a break, take some time off and pick up the treasure hunt from where he had left off.
He entered the main business district and reflected on the name of the road. MG Road. Named after Mahatma Gandhi; a great man, no doubt, leading an entire country to freedom; just one man; ,making a huge impact on an entire country and the lives of people. He might have created a fair share of controversy too, in the process…but no one could ignore his impact on generations to come.
There was no doubt that his studies in Indian philosophy were a big source of strength to him in his work.
Jamie wondered if it was any relevant in the hustle and bustle of modern-day living and the corporate world.
Ah! Philosophy. That was the path he himself had chosen to explore on the treasure hunt. His mind wandered to the meeting he had had with his friends on the hill, a few months earlier.
Jack and Ryan had got off to a flying start. Jamie too had felt the responsibility to pitch in and contribute to the team. But, amidst all the pressures of work, he could not make progress, beyond reading the first few chapters of “The dummies guide to Eastern philosophy”.
“I wonder how to proceed; I can afford to take a couple of months off now to explore this path. I am bound to make some breakthrough by then.” he mused.
“Wish I had a teacher, like Lightning“, he thought, as the line of cars advanced another inch.
“On second thoughts, probably not,” laughed Jamie to himself, as he remembered the tough time Jack was having with her.
“Still, I wish I had a teacher. I miss my friend and our outings together. I wonder where he is now.”
Suddenly, the lights of a shop signboard caught his attention; he turned off the windscreen wipers to take a closer look.
It was a used-books store.
Acting on a gut-feel, Jamie pulled away from the procession of cars and eased in to the bookstore access ramp.
After tipping the parking attendant generously, he stepped in to the shop.
###
The musty smell of old books greeted him.
“Hi”, he said to the owner of the shop. “Do you have any good books on Indian Philosophy?”
“Yes, Sir. We do. Which ones are you looking for?”
“What do you mean which ones? Are there many philosophies in India?”
The shopkeeper laughed. “Of course Sir, this is an ancient land, even though (he cast a look at the traffic outside), most people are trying hard to be modern. The roots of philosophy run deep and old. There are many branches. And don’t forget, teachings of the Gautama Buddha, Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, Lord Shiva, Shakti, the Sikhs, the Jains originated in this country.”
“Oh boy…this is tougher than I thought….where on earth do I start?”
“Perhaps you could walk around and browse the shelves, Sir. You might find a book that interests you. The philosophy books are in the 3rd shelf from the left. But you must know, they are just clumped together. Not catalogued. This is a used-books store. But the good news is, you might find some rare stuff too. Take your time. No hurry. We are open for another hour.”
Jamie thanked him and walked by, scanning the assortment of books on the shelves; some were old, some torn and bound together flimsily; some of them in good condition, some looking brand new (no doubt the owners of those books returned them hastily after buying them)
He soon located the philosophy section; He browsed through a few titles absent-mindedly, not quite knowing what to look for. There were books by pundits, Gurus, Swamis, Eastern scholars, Western scholars. He shortlisted a few, sat down on a rickety wooden chair and began to read them.
Soon, his eyes glazed over; the books were very difficult to comprehend; they were littered with arcane language, Sanskrit mantras, complex arguments, references to some ancient works like the Vedas and Upanishads; there were books on many ancient texts – with modern commentaries and a huge catalogue – with some intimidating names – Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva mimamsa ,Vedanta, Cārvāka, Madhyamika and so on.
He quickly lost confidence. “Perhaps I am on the wrong track”, he thought. How will this help me find the treasure? What if I end up reading the wrong philosophies and waste my time?
He then noticed something; pencil notes made in several books; no doubt made by the original owners of the books.
He started to read some of the hand-written notes.
“Why exactly is doing something better than doing nothing? Which is better? To be busy doing things ignorantly or to sit in peace quietly?”
“A used book is not a useless book. Its journey of usefulness will continue.”
Hmm…the man has a point, thought Jamie.
He flipped a few pages and came across a few more scribbles on the sidebars
“Why do you do what you do? What if you are wrong?”
“O scientist, it is easy to study light. Tell me..how much have you learnt about darkness? Try to describe darkness without using the word ‘light’.”
“We follow a certain philosophy in our life not because of our love for wisdom; but because of the fear of the consequences of not following it.”
“Sin is not an error. Who/what we sin for is the error.”
“Anyone who relies on authority to defend the Truth does not know the Truth.”
This was very interesting…Soon, Jamie became absorbed more in the owners’ scribbles than with the actual content of the books.
“If everything happens due to causes and conditions, then what exactly are you claiming credit for in your life?”
“Is mind made of matter-stuff or is matter made of mind-stuff?”
“I just read that nearly 99.99% of an atom is empty. What fills the rest? Your ego?”
“Who worries about birth and death? The embryo and the old man are not the same.”
“What stays awake when I am asleep? Where do my dreams go once I wake up?”
“The atheist is challenging that if God is omnipresent, how come no one sees him? I would argue that since God is omnipresent, how can anyone ever miss him?”
“I think the description of Ultimate reality is limited by our own language of nouns, verbs and adjectives.”
“Can I find myself by reading a philosophy book? Am I inside the book?”
“Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? I look at a mirror and can’t find me; I only see material belonging to the earth. The hair, the skin, the nails…though I claim it is mine and it is me! What a shame. You beggar! ”
“Seekers..Please..spend more time arguing about the Truth and less time arguing about your teachers.”
“O sage! O sage! Where are you? All these authors learnt from others before them… Where are you, O original teacher of teachers? How can you remain hidden when others are shining in your light? Reveal yourself.”
Jamie stopped reading suddenly.
“Wait a minute.”
He flipped the pages on the books in his hand; and realized what had caught his attention; the handwriting on the notes on all the books was identical.
“What the !@#”
He then saw it.
A small hand-drawn sketch; almost like an autograph on the book covers;
He looked closely at the sketch.
It was a sketch of a hooded, coiled snake.
He quickly got up and started rummaging through all the books in the philosophy section. In book after book, he encountered the same drawing sketched on the cover, in the bottom right corner, like a footnote.
“Wow! I don’t believe this.”
Jamie took a few books and walked over to the shop owner.
“I notice this sketch on many books in the philosophy section. Were they all originally owned by the same person?” he asked.
The shop owner looked at them.
“Ah. Yes sir. His name is Shiv Hari. He drops by our shop every time he visits the city; In the past year, he alone has given us more than 200 books. Almost all of them are on philosophy.”
“What do you mean, given?”, queried Jamie.
“He donated them, Sir. He didn’t collect any money for them. Though, you would still have to pay if you want them”, the shop owner added hastily. “We incur costs for stocking them, as you know”.
“Sure. Sure. Don’t worry. I will pay for these books”, Jamie said with a tinge of irritation. “Just tell me, do you have his contact number? Can you tell me where and how I can reach him?”
The shop owner sighed and reached for his visiting card folder. “Yes sir. He was here last month. He left his visiting card with me. I may have it here somewhere”.
Jamie waited anxiously.
“He used to be the CEO of a company sir”, continued the man, as he rummaged through the cards.
“CEO???”, Jamie blurted out, in surprise.
“Yes sir. A famous man in the city. Then one day, he just disappeared. The newspapers said he went to live in an ashram for many years, to decode an ancient manuscript. Even I was surprised when he suddenly showed up last month at our shop – he left behind a few more books and his visiting card.”
“Wow! An absconding-Indiana Jones-philosopher-CEO? India is full of surprises”, thought Jamie.
“Ah. Here it is. I found the card.”, said the shop owner with relief.
Jamie nearly plucked it from his hand.
He then froze as he looked at it.
The card had a logo of a hooded, coiled snake on it; the same one as he had come across in the books; and there was a contact number.
But that was not all.
On the back of the card was written:
“Hello Seeker. Your intuition has led you well. Call me..after you figure out if there is a 9th chamber. I will see if you are a worthy treasure hunter like your friend said. Regards, Snake.”
Or does the hooded snake have anything to do with the body, the spine?
Kundalini?
Lets go to Lepakshi again! And light it up with 1000s of Diyas – like you promised!
Do the Seven Heads of the hooded snake having anything to do with Seven days, Seven steps and Seven incarnations of soul from creation to encounter with the Creator?
Aha! The ninth chamber!!
arghhh, bud, you have given some very very crucial clues right into the face of the readers, hope they hit the treasure :-))