Invoking the Goddess *****

According to the Puranas, when Brahma creates the world, the Goddessappears as Saraswati, embodiment of knowledge, serene and aloof,dressed in white, holding a lute and a book, riding a heron. WhenVishnu sustains the world, the Goddess appears as Lakshmi, stunningand alluring, dressed in red, bedecked in jewels, holding a pot thatpours out gold and grain, riding an elephant that rises from a lotuslake.When Shiva destroys the world by shutting his eyes to it, the Goddessbecomes Shakti – alternating as the naked and bloodthirsty Kali, who danced on his still body, and as the demure and maternal Gauri, whomade him open his eyes with her affection.Saraswati, Lakshmi and Shakti are the three forms of the Goddess. They embody knowledge, wealth and power. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the three forms of God who create, sustain and destroy.

Now observe carefully.
The Goddesses are associated with nouns:knowledge, wealth and power.
The Gods are associated with verbs:creating, sustaining, destroying . Knowledge/wealth/power can becreated/sustained /destroyed. Knowledge/wealth/power provides thecapability to create /sustain/destroy. Action is with the Gods — theresult of the action is the Goddess who in turn provokes more action.God is the subject; Goddess the object. Before we jump to outragedgender-based conclusions (" the scriptures are patriarchal and that iswhy they portray God, hence men, as active and Goddess, hence women,as passive" ), note that Gods and Goddesses are embodiments ofnongender based concepts that seek to enlighten, enrich and empower. Aleader, whether it is a man or a woman, is God — the organisation isthe Goddess.The reason why the world/organisation is visualised in female form isbecause just as a woman creates life inside her body, aworld/organisation creates knowledge/wealth/power inside itself. Man creates life outside his body; therefore man is the bestrepresentation for the one who creates, sustains, destroys thelife-giving organisation.God and Goddess, leader and organisation , cannot exist without theother. Without either there is neither. He or she can only create,sustain or destroy . What is created, sustained or destroyed isknowledge , wealth and power, which in turn offers more opportunitiesto create, sustain and destroy.Typically, in the corporate world we assume that a leader exists tocreate wealth — he is Brahma creating Lakshmi. But a Brahma creatingLakshmi will fail, in the long run, because he is too busy creating tobother with sustenance.We often find fly-by-night operators in the business world who findvalidation in making that quick buck. These are the Brahmas of theworld, desperate to get rich quick, without thinking aboutsustainability.A good leader is a Brahma who creates Saraswati — knowledge. Knowledgemanifests as innovation and ideas and inspiration . That is whySaraswati holds not just books and memory beads but also the lute withwhich she makes music. Knowledge appearing as insight provokes asystemic transformation in people. A good leader is constantly seekingwisdom, within himself and others.Once Chandragupta was very hungry. The moment rice was served, he puthis hand right in the centre of the pile. His fingers got singed andhe withdrew instantly. "Never from the centre, child," said his guru,Chanakya. "Always from the sides where it is cooler." Chandraguptarealised his master was not telling him about rice alone. He waswarning him against his planned attack on Pataliputra , the capital ofthe Nanda Empire. It was a well guarded fortress. Better to go fromthe sides, conquer the surrounding , less formidable territories and gradually move in on the centre of power.This insight made Chandragupta a great general. He was able tooverthrow the Nandas and become ruler of the Magadhan Empire. It wasknowledge that made him king of a prosperous king. His hunger forwisdom made knowledge appear before him. By becoming Brahma, hediscovered Saraswati and so was able to become Vishnu with Lakshmimanifesting as his crown and kingdom.It is said that Vishnu keeps Saraswati on his tongue. This makesLakshmi jealous. She rushes towards him and plants herself in hisheart. Vishnu knows that the fickle Lakshmi will leave as soon asSaraswati leaves his tongue. Thus to sustain Lakshmi, he needsSaraswati. Good leaders know that to sustain their business theyconstantly need to inspire, motivate people and at the same timeinnovate new products and services that will delight the customer.Lakshmi will come into the company where Saraswati thrives.Knowledge management systems, databases, research documents, patentsare all tangible forms of Saraswati. A good leader focuses on them,rather than on account books. He ensures the Saraswati that isgenerated within the organisation stays within the organisation. Inother words, by being Brahma who creates Saraswati he remains Vishnuwho sustains Lakshmi.With knowledge and wealth, comes power and arrogance . The belief thatone is invincible and capable of doing anything. When this happens,the organisation becomes naked and bloodthirsty – provoking the leaderto act rashly and indiscriminately, indifferent to all rules ofconduct, making him believe that he is above the law. In other words,the organisation becomes Kali. A good leader recognises this rapidlyand becomes Shiva.He has to destroy the rising ego and arrogance that blinds goodjudgement. He shuts his eyes and lies still, allowing the Goddess to dance on him but refusing to respond to her. Only then the Goddessbecomes Gauri — dressed in green, she becomes maternal andaffectionate , and with gentleness she requests Shiva to open his eyesand become Shankar, the benevolent, boon-bestowing , wise ascetic.Thus a good leader has to be fully sensitive to the corruptinginfluence of power — and try hard not to succumb to it.Ultimately to establish a knowledge, wealth and power generatingorganisation, a leader has to be a teacher, a king and an ascetic allrolled into one.

When the three Gods thrive inside, the three Goddess will thrive outside.