The Ingredients For Success

“O Prabhu, you fulfill all desires and give the four fruits of existence. Understanding that, I am fearful of what I could possibly give to you.” (Janaki Mangala, 22)
tumha prabhu pūrana kāma cāri phaladāyaka |
tehiṃ teṃ būjhata kāju ḍarau munidāyaka ||
The pious king knew that the exalted guest kindly received at his home came to ask for something. He wasn’t a resident of Ayodhya, so his visit had a purpose. For the king, there wasn’t much to give in comparison to what the sage could bestow. From proper wisdom comes the attainment of life’s ultimate goal, which automatically incorporates the four primary rewards that are delineated by the Vedas. The ancient scriptures of India identify the four primary rewards and go about describing how they can be achieved, and the lessons imparted are not bound by sectarian designations or specific time and circumstance. In the same way, the counsel and association of the saintly class is not restricted to any group. Just hearing about these saints many years later can provide so many benefits.
Why was this guest so exalted? How could he fulfill all desires? The plants in the garden produce fruits that can be consumed. The same goes for the farm in general, which produces the food that sustains life. In one sense, you could consider the plant to be a wish-fulfilling tree which grants our desires in life. Whatever it is we may want, it can’t be achieved unless there is vibrancy in life. The vital force within the body is maintained by food; therefore the plants serve as the sustenance, the source of the boons that life can grant us.
If someone were to give us land and the ability to grow crops, that reward would be greater than anything else offered. Someone may give us money or good fortune that is temporary in its manifestation, but the resulting benefits will be targeted. Getting the source of all enjoyment is more important, because from that source there are endless possibilities for rewards. Another way to think of it is to compare a prepared food dish to the actual raw ingredients. The dish can be enjoyed by those who have a taste for it, while the ingredients can be used to prepare many other dishes. Hence the possession of the ingredients is more valuable.
In the playing field of the material world, there are endless avenues for activity, with some leading to better conditions and others leading to worse ones. The Vedas declare that the human form of body is the most auspicious because of the potential it brings for achieving the four fruits in life: dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Dharma is religiosity, which immediately signals a departure from the animal species. Following regulative principles is only possible in a civilized society. From abiding by religious principles you get artha, or economic development. Without a profitable end to your ventures, what will you have to show for your work? Economic development affords the opportunity for kama, or sense gratification. And finally, after a life filled with enjoyment of the three rewards, there is the ideal boon of moksha, or salvation. Follow religious principles, profit in your work, enjoy the rewards, and then never repeat the same cycle again.
The brahmanas, or priests, can grant these four rewards through their association. Not to be confused with magic genies who suddenly arrive on the scene and give you what you want, the saints provide instruction so that mankind can follow the proper set of activities that will bring those rewards through work. Dharma, artha, kama and moksha apply to every single human being, regardless of religious persuasion or interest in spiritual life. Indeed, by following the guidelines laid down by the brahmanas, one doesn’t even need to know what the four rewards are or why they are worth attaining.
The spirit soul is the actor and the material bodies the playing field. The material elements as a whole can be considered the field as well, and with proper knowledge one will know how to succeed on that field. As the brahmanas provide this knowledge through their instruction, the value of their association can never be properly estimated. Whatever reward it is you want, whatever fruit you would like to enjoy from the tree of life, the Vedas provide the answer. Though the highest reward is to voluntarily escape from the playing field and find the constitutional engagement of loving service to God, the enjoyments derived from a material existence are not denied the follower of the Vedas.
Maharaja Dasharatha had only desires for divine association. His eldest son was an incarnation of the original person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the king was already living in the spiritual world, basking in the sweet vision of Shri Rama day after day. From that love for Godhead sprung natural affection for those who represent the Lord’s interests on earth, the brahmanas. Already taking care of and respecting many priests in his own kingdom, Dasharatha one day had the good fortune of being visited by Vishvamitra Muni.
After properly receiving his guest and getting his blessing, the king prepared for what the muni might ask. In the above referenced verse from the Janaki Mangala, the king offers the highest praise to Vishvamitra. The muni is addressed here as Prabhu, which means “lord”, and is praised for being able to grant any desire, including the four fruits of existence. One who attains dharma, artha, kama and moksha in a single lifetime is considered extremely fortunate, as the rewards don’t cohabitate very well with each other. Too much religiosity dampens the urge for sense gratification, and too much economic success makes following religious principles more difficult. In addition, if I am addicted to sense gratification, how will I get release from the cycle of birth and death? Moksha is specifically hinged on desire, what the consciousness is focused on at the time of death.
The association of the brahmanas thus becomes very important. They can put the proper guidelines into place, where the four rewards can cohabitate without a problem. Almost thinking out loud, Dasharatha here remarks how he feels that he can’t give the muni a proper gift. If someone gives you the four fruits of existence, what could you possibly give them In return? Ah, but Dasharatha did have something that any person would desire: God’s personal association. Vishvamitra had come to ask for this, the king’s most valuable possession.
What would you do in the same situation? Someone comes by your home to borrow the services of your son, who happens to be an expert bow warrior, though still of a young age. This son is your most cherished object; his vision every day makes your life worth living. You had gone many years without having children, and you fretted over whether or not the family line would continue. Only after having completed an important yajna, or sacrifice, did not only one, but four beautiful sons come your way. Now someone who doesn’t live in your community wants to take your eldest son? Why would you agree?
The reason for Dasharatha’s eventual acquiescence is revealed in the above referenced statement. As the brahmanas provide the most valuable information in life, their requests cannot be denied. Indeed, it was the brahmana class who had urged Dasharatha to perform the sacrifice that brought Shri Rama to his family. The ways of the Lord are so mysterious and perfect at the same time. Though God is never influenced by external action, He arranges events in such a way so that it looks like a specific behavior leads to His presence. It was a fact that Rama had desired to appear as Dasharatha’s son a while back and that the advice of the brahmanas was given to increase the value of their association, to show how much respect they deserve.
Lord Rama and His younger brother Lakshmana would be the reward for Vishvamitra’s graceful presence. Of course the exchange was not an even one, for the four fruits of existence cannot compare to the presence of Rama and Lakshmana. The two beautiful youths are splendid in their appearance, dedicated in their vow to protect, and most sincere in their efforts. Just being able to say the names of the two brothers is a boon that brings many auspicious merits. Vishvamitra didn’t ask for Rama’s protection as a means of getting even. He was having difficulty living peacefully in the forests, as the night-rangers had harassed many innocent sages. The brahmanas unable to carry out their religious duties, their protector, brahmanya-devaya, Shri Rama, would go to the forests and weed out the toxic influence of the ghoulish enemies of the saintly class.
By following the regulations advised by the brahmanas, the four fruits of existence can come to us, but this path is very difficult. On the other hand, through following the recommendation of pure devotion to the Supreme Lord, the four rewards become insignificant. Dasharatha felt like his life was taken away whenever he was separated from Rama, which shows just how cherished God’s association is. As the holy name is the best way to connect with that sweetheart who roamed the forests as a young child protecting Vishvamitra, the most recommended practice for spiritual upliftment is the chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. The acharyas of the Vedic tradition have done so much for us that we really have no way of repaying them. Through dedication in bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, we honor their efforts and hopefully please them. The benedictions offered by the saints are meant to culminate in spontaneous devotion to God, so if we take up the processes of bhakti right away, their past tireless efforts will prove to be fruitful for us.
In Closing:
Four fruits of existence brahmanas give,
So that pursuing proper path you can live.
Follow dharma to get economic development,
Satisfy senses and hope rebirth to circumvent.
King meeting Vishvamitra felt hesitant,
For vipra can provide of desires attainment.
What possibly could king give in return,
Nothing of equal value was cause for concern.
King’s eldest son Rama of existence its source,
Chanting His name is life’s proper course.

To part with his son king did finally agree,

From Vishvamitra’s request, sages God to see.

Evolution of windows.(are you remember all these...?)

1985 Windows 1.0



The First Version of Microsoft Windows, Windows 1.0, with simple applications and the concept of multitasking on PC 

1987 Windows 2.0 


The Second Version of Windows, Windows 2.0 with some fixes and the Control Panel. 

1988 Windows 2.1 


The Second Version of Windows with some additions, and some fixes, Windows 2.1, the Paint software is seen in this one! 

1990 Windows 3.0 



The Third Version of Windows, Windows 3.0, featuring the File Manager and Program Manager, replacing the old MS DOS based File and Program Managers. 

1992 Windows 3.1 



The later released upgraded version of Windows 3.0, which had support for 32-bit Disk Access, Personalization options and had the Minesweeper game for the first time. 

1995 Windows 95 


Windows 95, the changed look, the new interface and the beginning of the form of Windows which we see now. Enhanced Graphics and better Communication Programs. 

1998 Windows 98 


Windows 98, one of the most successful versions of Windows till now, this version of Windows can still be seen in some PCs even today. With Extended Softwares, better Performance, this Version was the first milestone in the path of the development of Windows. 

2000 Windows ME 



Windows ME or Windows Millennium Edition, though not a very popular version of Windows, but still it had some better tools and performance than the previous ones in some cases. 

2001 Windows XP 


Windows XP, the Daddy of all versions of Windows, the most popular version of windows even today. Windows XP is still used today because of its unmatched performance, tools and interface. This has been the best version of Windows till the arrival of Windows 7. 

2006 Windows Vista 


Windows Vista, though it didn’t go so well in the public, but still its a good version of Windows specially for the interface the Windows Aeroâ„¢ Effect, making the Window Transparency work like magic. 

2009 Windows 7 


Windows 7, the best version of Windows till date. With the new and advanced features such as the Superbar, this version of Windows created another milestone for Microsoft after Windows 98 and Windows XP. Windows 7 features an unbeatable user interface, and powerful tools that makes it the best among the rest. 

2012 Windows 8 



Windows 8, to be released in the late 2012. The interface of Windows 8 as seen at the D9 Conference. A better version of Windows as proposed by Microsoft, with the changed User Interface

The rise of economic nationalism

  

Politically sweet music but ominous for long-term global prosperity

Identifying outsourcing as the villain
President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union Address delivered last Tuesday, made a hard-hitting attack on American companies that have shipped American jobs abroad by going pell-mell for outsourcing manufacturing jobs from countries like India and China in the last two decades.

He said that six months prior to his election to office in 2008, USA had lost four million jobs; within six months of his election but before his remedial policies could take effect, another four million jobs had been lost.
During the last 22 months, his country was able to create only three million jobs, meaning that there is still a shortfall of some five million jobs if USA is to restore its position to pre 2008 level. If it is to solve its economic woes permanently, it has to find jobs for some record 13 million people who are seeking jobs as at present.
Move to reclaim USA
Surely, his house is on fire and he should be angry because he has to make a re-election bid in November this year. Both poverty and unemployment levels in USA have risen to unprecedented levels: poverty above 15% of population and unemployment above 8% of the labour force by the end of 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Despite numerous stimulus packages, the US economy has not recovered from the worst recession with which it had been hit since 2007. Globally, there is growing fear that economic power is shifting from USA to emerging countries like India and China, a serious dent in American pride.
So, his prescription announced in the State of the Union Address is to reclaim the lost American power and value. To do so, he says that he will support American companies if they bring back jobs to American soils and will give further support if they sell American products in new global markets.
In other words, he has vowed to create an economy that produces in America but sells outside. Faced with this domestic economic turmoil, this was his plea to American companies and citizens, a kind of a new Political Social Responsibility or PSR akin to the Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR designed for private companies worldwide decades earlier.
Is economic nationalism the answer?
This is in fact re-emergence of the old mercantilism under which it was advocated that a country should export but not import. In today’s terminology, it is called ‘economic nationalism’ where a country should produce and consume locally produced goods but could sell to others if it has surplus.
Obama is not alone in preaching economic nationalism. Many leaders in other parts of the world, faced by chronic economic crises, have chosen to talk about variants of economic nationalism. Leaders in Germany and Japan which have experienced surging exports but low economic growth due to the economic ailment now known as ‘Bazaar Effect’ or becoming trading nations instead of being manufacturers, are under pressure to reverse the production process that have created jobs and incomes elsewhere.
In developing countries, imports, especially food imports, are considered as creating jobs and incomes abroad and there is pressure for curbing imports and settling for an import substitution policies at home.
Sri Lanka: produce foods locally and fill the trade gap
Sri Lanka has advocated economic nationalism for a different reason.
According to official statistics, Sri Lanka does not suffer from these types of economic ailments. Unlike Barack Obama or other leaders in developed or developing countries, its leaders can take comfort in a number of achievements which they claim that the country has made in the last few years: high growth rates, low poverty and unemployment numbers, tamed inflation and fast growing exports.
Yet it has a major issue in its external sector with imports rising much faster than exports, thereby generating a record trade deficit of $ 10 billion in 2011 and pressure for its currency to depreciate against other currencies.
The authorities have attempted to keep the exchange rate stable by supplying foreign exchange from its reserves to the market, but have lost a significant portion of reserves in the process. As at end of November, 2011, its official reserves have fallen to $ 6 billion from $ 8 billion five months ago.
Since November, according to market reports, another round of reserve loss has taken place driving the country’s foreign reserves now to a critically low level. Since the situation is going to worsen in 2012 with an equally high or even a larger trade deficit, the worried Sri Lankan authorities have tried to fix the problem by taking unconventional measures sans a proper adjustment of the exchange rate.
Voicing some aspects of these measures,   Sri Lanka’s top policy maker and reputed economist, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, Treasury Secretary and Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Development, is reported to have said in a recent media conference that Sri Lanka should step up its food production drive to  curb food imports and thereby help Sri Lanka rupee to strengthen in the foreign exchange markets, a measure that would help Sri Lanka to narrow its ballooning trade deficit (available at http://www.ft.lk/2012/01/26/govt-to-grow-out-of-import-trap/#more-68411).
Not all foods can be produced in Sri Lanka
The objective of this measure, according to the reputed economist, is to save foreign exchange which the country now spends on food imports, namely, wheat flour, milk products, fresh and dried fish and certain varieties of fruits. Since wheat cannot be grown in Sri Lanka, the strategy may be to cause a shift in the consumption pattern by weaning the wheat consumers away from wheat products and encouraging them to consume rice based products. At present, a Sri Lankan consumes on average about 110 kilograms of rice and about 38 kilograms of wheat flour based foods per annum. To cause this shift, it may also be necessary to invoke nationalist feelings among the Sri Lankans: why eat imported wheat flour when one can eat truly Sri Lanka produced rice? But it would certainly increase the demand for rice putting pressure for its price to rise in the market. Hence, to prevent its price from rising and thereby raising the cost of living of people, it is necessary to increase the production of rice while keeping the production costs unchanged.
This measure therefore involves the bringing back the old import substitution policy as a mainstream economic policy of the country and therefore can be categorised as a different form of economic nationalism. This is because it propels the wisdom that if Sri Lanka can grow foods, it should not import such foods from abroad and fatten foreign farmers. In other words, it is in the national interest of Sri Lanka to fatten the local farmers.
Some do not agree with economic nationalism
When Obama was fiercely attacking American companies for moving out and seeking low cost inputs, namely, labour, experts who were assembled at the World Economic Forum, popularly known as WEF, in Davos in Switzerland were debating how best the world could promote free trade, free enterprise and free competition.
Even the British Prime Minister David Cameron is reported to have sent a message to WEF urging European Union to think positively about the emergence of China and India as world economic powers. He has said that instead of treating as a threat, emerging nations like India can be of great help to Europe. He has advocated that Europe should go for bilateral trade agreements with countries like India and Singapore by the end of 2012.
High unemployment: the breeder of economic nationalism
When a country has high unemployment, there are always agitations by its citizens against any policy or practice that kills jobs at home but creates them in other countries and thereby raise the incomes of people in those countries. Hence, any policy announcement that aims at putting a stop to such practices is sweet music to people of any country.
Smart politicians in both developed and developing countries who understand the importance of moving with people by endorsing their popular views to win elections project themselves as pro-nationalist and anti-free trade champions. Obama or any other leader who exploits people’s sentiments in this manner cannot be faulted because their objective is to remain in power. If they lose power, then they cannot implement whatever the sound policies they think are suitable for their countries. In this sense, David Cameron is taking a huge risk by advocating for free trade agreements with economically hostile countries because those agreements are simply ‘give and take exercises’.
Apple’s alleged crime
The extent to which people in a country treat the loss of jobs in the home country as a crime and those who caused such losses as criminals was demonstrated when some Americans commented on the blogs that conveyed the demise of Steve Jobs, the hero of immense innovative spirits of Apple fame in modern era.
People outside USA hailed and appreciated the innovations which he endowed to the world. But some in USA did not see him in the same light and, while appreciating his innovations, found fault with him for shipping American jobs to China. This is in fact American way of looking at Steve Jobs’ employing some 700,000 workers and 30,000 engineers in Apple’s manufacturing units in China as reported by Walter Isaacson in recently released Jobs’ biography.
National minded Americans too prefer cheap goods
According to the biographer, Steve Jobs had justified his action when he had met Barack Obama in 2008. He is reported to have told Obama that he had to shift his production units to China because he could not recruit 30,000 engineers in USA to head those floor workers and could not hire 700,000 floor workers in USA at the salaries paid to Chinese workers.
The result was the production, for example, of the iPad designed by Apple in USA in Fox Conn Manufacturing Facility in China at a fraction of the cost at which it would have been produced back at home. So, iPad was made available at a competitive price and within one month, those nationalistic minded Americans bought two million units with no consideration whatsoever about the American jobs which Steve Jobs was alleged to have killed at home.
So, consumers were mindful of getting the best for themselves by buying iPad cheap. None of them showed signs of willingness to buy them at a higher price had it been produced by high cost fellow citizens in USA.
So, the plea of Obama when he asks American companies to produce back at home has two connotations: American companies should hire local labour at higher wages and American citizens should buy those high priced products because it leads to the re-claiming of that great nation now being lost to Indians and the Chinese. This is the political version of CSR designed for private companies: A Political Social Responsibility that promises the building up of a great nation by enforcing economic nationalism on its citizens.
Steve Jobs’ advice to Obama: produce skills locally or perish
Steve Jobs’ biographer also says that Jobs, whose ethic was to tell the truth to face however much it is unpalatable to his listener, has also warned Obama that he would be a one-term President if he does not take action to reform US education and produce the needed skills among the Americans; Jobs has even suggested that US should have a liberal migration policy and offer citizenship to those bright students from abroad, especially those from China and India, so that they could be hired by American companies.
After four years of Jobs’ suggestion, Obama has in his State of the Union Address has agreed to go only halfway this year: he has suggested giving citizenship to the children of numerous illegal immigrants because they had been born and bred in USA. But the beneficiaries under this scheme are the children of illegal immigrants from Latin America and they fall short of the category bright students from India and China whom Steve Jobs meant when he made the suggestion to Obama.
The ominous rise of economic nationalism
Economists wonder whether ‘economic nationalism’ could rescue USA. The global production integration is a process that has started and cannot be halted at this stage without grave consequences to a national economy. When mercantilism was at its height and ruining European economies, Adam Smith fought it valiantly in the late 18th century. Fortunately, Great Britain was wise enough to go along with Smithian prescription though it was not politically palatable at that time. Other European nations which did not do so had to suffer economically.
Today, there are many Adam Smiths throughout the globe advocating free trade, free competition and global integration of economies together as has been shown by the experts who had been assembled for WEF now taking place in Davos. The ground conditions in USA are not yet fertile for that country to create a massive number of manufacturing jobs there.
As MIT economist Daron Acemoglu has said in an interview with the journal The Region of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in September, 2011, American workers should train themselves to handle new jobs that are emerging in new fields like services, innovation and designing if its chronic unemployment problem is to be solved. It is retraining and skills development and not economic nationalism that would rescue the USA.  It will therefore be a well-played political game for Obama to advocate economic nationalism, but it is ominous for creating long-term economic prosperity.
The same is true for any other developing country which too plans to practice economic nationalism, whether to solve chronic balance of payments problems or not, by divorcing itself from the new global production process.
(W.A. Wijewardena can be reached at waw1949@gmail.com.)