The world exists as a whole, not in fragments. Society cannot be divided in watertight compartments. Spirituality and ethics are an integral part of a human being. It is spirituality which develops character. Who does not want people with good character working under them? Don’t you want the people working for you to have integrity and honesty? Tough situations come in every business/organisation and you need skills to handle them. All this comes from our inner space, which I call the Spiritual Space. So spirituality, business, politics, service activities, all together make life holistic. If any one component is missing, there will be chaos.

Intelligence and intuition, these two faculties are enriched by spirituality. Intuition is the right thought at the right time, and it is an important component for success in business. It comes to you when you balance your passion with dispassion, profit with service, when you balance your aggressiveness to get things, with a compassion to give back to the society. If you have sincerity of purpose, inclusive attitude, integrity and God’s grace, you will progress. Here are seven ways to achieve success, whether professionally or personally.

Unity: It is said Sanghe Shakti Kaliyuge — only unity has power in this era. In Kaliyuga, the power is in the team. You need to function as a group. When many bristles are put together to make a broom, they are far more effective in sweeping than they would have been individually. The prerequisites for growth are patience, perseverance, clarity of purpose and flexibility to accommodate errors. You must also have a sense of respect for all team-members. learn from the past, have a vision for the future and sustain enthusiasm.

Leadership: Team leaders need to bring in the right attitude and create an atmosphere of celebration, trust, cooperation and a sense of belonging. There is a willingness among people to refresh themselves. Nothing can last if the focus is only on productivity and net result. The task ultimately suffers because the creativity, strength and the sense of belonging will ebb away. The “command and control” system, the military system no longer works in building a high-performing team. Only inspiration and motivation are effective tools.

Spirituality, business, politics, service activities, all together make life holistic. If any one component is missing, there will be chaos. Click To Tweet

Take responsibility: In the team, those who take responsibility, gain authority. Each team member should give himself fully to his role, like in the story of the squirrel. When lord Rama was building the bridge with his army of monkeys, a little squirrel was putting sand in the water. Some members of the team laughed at how much this little squirrel could contribute. But that squirrel was happy playing his role in the army. Rama was pleased and blessed the squirrel by moving his hand over his back. Because of its size, only three fingers of Rama covered its back, marking three lines. This can be a fictitious tale but the message is loud and clear: We also have a responsibility, whatever we can do for the team, do it.

Have skill in action: The whole essence of the Bhagavad Gita is to act without expecting the fruits of your actions. If the attention is only on the end result, then you can’t perform. Just give yourself with 100 per cent sincerity and commitment. It’s all about your attitude. If you can manage your mind in a worst-case scenario, then you can manage any situation. This skill in action is called yoga. In life, it is this wisdom of yoga that transforms one from arrogance to self-confidence; from meekness to humility; from the burden of dependence to the realisation of interdependence.

Act without feverishness: Have a dream and passion but not with feverishness. With feverishness, desires and cravings, your mind loses clarity, and you don’t get right ideas, reducing your ability to perform. Greed and over-ambition can overshadow your intuition and wisdom.

Winning and losing: Those who win should be more humble. Be respectful to the losers. When you lose, three vikalpas (choices) arise: Frustration, depression and anger, all of which cause harm. The fourth vikalpa is, “This is the lord’s wish.” This way, we get over bad feelings, and get on with productive work. Victory and defeat are part of life. Recognise this pattern and rise above it.

Meditation: It enhances performance. Usually I recommend “meals and meditation” for everyone in the afternoon, in companies, in factories, etc. I would recommend people to meditate for 10 minutes to 20 minutes and share a meal together. You will find such coherence in the group. You will feel like working together, team spirit gets built up, creative ideas come up.

In ancient times, meditation was used as a way for finding the self, for enlightenment, to overcome misery and to develop one’s abilities. Today’s stress in society calls for meditation. Greater the responsibilities and ambitions you have, greater is the need for you to meditate. Meditation not only relieves you of stress and strain, it also enhances your abilities, strengthens your nervous system and mind, releases toxins from the body, makes you more capable and enhances you in every way.

There is a proverb, “The task gets accomplished with sattva, not with material resources.” Meditation and yoga increase your capacity, skills and qualities. The ability to take responsibility, beyond our capacity, and manage it with inner richness and outer dynamism comes from spirituality.

Trust is the backbone of business. Wealth is not an end in itself. It is the means to an end. Wealth, happiness and life are to be shared with all those around. Therefore, one must live a life of love, action, service and celebration.