Yogic Practice for discipline, ethical leadership, performance
by Chanakya Ganguly on International Yoga Day

Yoga can help build clarity and conviction for effective governance like Singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/values-that-stand-the-test-of-time-in-public-service
Yogic Practice helps develop leaders called King (Raja) + Sage (Rishi) with a spiritual
drive. Singapore has a unique system where leaders are checked for spiritual, economic,
and social drive, with psychometric tests, evaluating their knowledge, skill, commitment to
public service, humility, and honesty. Its founder, Lee Kwan Yew said, this value system to
see the metal in the man, has led to the delivery of consistent quality, with limited risk.Lee Kwan Yew’s model of disciplined, visionary leadership: 1) Governance is first and
foremost about leadership. It is not about greatness of ideals. 2) Superior performance
requires both superior leadership both intellectual and moral. Contrary to the liberal
democratic theory that emphasizes citizens’ participation, his views are closer to
India’s ancient Yogic System of King (Raja)+Sage(Rishi) or China’s Mandarins or Plato’s
Guardians. 3) Successful societies are rewarded not according to the property one owns,
but active contribution of mental and physical labor. 4) Discipline first. The acid test
is performance, not promises. 5) Stability and strength – leaders need enormous
emotional stability and do not allow any personal suffering to affect their judgment.
Realistically, education, economics, and employment should be hybrid with Yogic Sciences.Durga represents action, power, and protection of Yogic Enlightenment to confront the
demons (animalistic instincts) within. Red sari on a Lion represents passion & courage.
Bow and Arrow – character, Sword – discrimination, Club – Loyalty & love, for clarity,
remove negativity, sever attachment, subdue the over-analytical mind, to penetrate
central truths; act, decide from there. Yogic connection to the deities needs explanation.
Singapore has a significant level of threat perception and has a mandatory 2-year Army
Nation Service for all its citizens. Yogic Mind training, Martial Arts, Arms, Survival
Skills with other subjects like Ayurveda, Sustainable Development is basic minimum,
to have discipline before democracy, political unity, mental, spiritual toughness, agility,
preparedness in the citizenry, than just bookish education, rote learning, and luxuries.
https://www.karineisen.com/blog/seven-deadly-sins-transgressions-fatal-spiritual-progress
Yoga can make us gradually experience and spread light within. With Yoga & a Healthy
In lifestyle, the veil of suffering gradually lifts out of the seven deadly sins, which are part
of the limbic brain, with less effort & more flexibility, for the triumph of light within.
https://www.yogaville.org/unity-through-yoga/
To Yogic Poet Tagore & Rumi, poetry was like the reed-flute; less interested in sound,
art of language, and music; but more attuned to the source of Wisdom that emanates from
inner silence. In Yoga, diverse languages & art are mediums to express Spiritual Unity,
as Objective Art. Tolstoy believed in art not just for entertainment, museums, and passing
time; but to transform emotional health, and ethical good sense; as looks can be deceptive.Yoga, Mindfulness, Wellness Education helped increase Aetna’s productivity
https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/aetna-ceo-perspective-on-wellness-functionality
Mark Bertolini, ex-CEO, of Aetna, came to Yoga to manage a serious injury. But found out,
that it had more to it, in helping him manage time, people, and energy. He created Aetna
Healthy Lifestyle Coaching, with Yoga, Mindfulness, and Diet to help deal with metabolic
syndrome, stress, and relationships; employees reported increased productivity, reduced
healthcare costs, higher satisfaction, increased revenues, and added to Aetna’s plan.
Yoga can help tackle inequality from spiritual clarity like Aetna ex-CEO Mark Bertolini
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/12/aetna-how-office-yoga-helped-one-ceo-raise-his-companys-minimum-wage.html
With Yoga, as one moves inwards, inequality or divisiveness starts disappearing, to
reach the innermost core of absolute equality. Most systems try to tackle: greed vs
slackness, conserve vs change, have vs have-not, as the mind moves around externals.
Yoga helps develop a progressive attitude to nourish inside out to fulfill realistic goals.
Religious Life is Yogic Practice, a journey of the self & selfless: tuning behavior to have
nerves of steel. Everybody in general starts life with a Religious Level: 0 and an Ego level:
100, based on one’s spiritual discipline, introspection, and practice, the levels switch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlLpRNAQjm0
Film Director Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy was path-breaking trying to change mindset
from entertainment to enlightenment. No appeasement or pleasing people; changing
the belief system of filmmaking and the fact it was slow and captivating. To Ray
commercial film was unreal, and strived to raise the bar of the film-maker, content,
and audience, with low budget and amateur actors. He added concepts from Indian
theatrical tradition, particularly the rasa theory of classical Sanskrit drama. In Yogic
Sanskrit tradition the name India is Bha(va-Mood) Ra(ga-Tune) Ta(la-Rhythm) which is
when the best expression of the human being happens. To make it happen one has to
put in effort as True Religion is about a Higher sense of Self-Responsibility. Else life can
crush a person. Lately, Vivek Agnihotri’s film Kashmir Files follows a similar realistic
style, challenging contemporary films, making them look old-school for introspection.Yoga, Ayurveda, Frugality, and Spirituality can help tackle immunity, consumerism, and obesity.
Dr. Mark Hyman (Pegan diet) says, the Toxic Triad of Big Food, Pharma, and Industrial
Farming has created “structural violence”, and is a self-destructive model depleting land
of excess unnecessary production, producing cheap, low-quality industrial processed
foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, causing low immunity, obesity, diabetes, heart
disease, cancer, and myriad chronic ailments. Yoga, Ayurveda, Organic Farming, less
Processing, Packaging, Transportation, Restaurants, Increased home-cooked food, and
exploring poverty’s relationship with obesity, having more & lifestyle diseases is needed.
https://savesoil.org/
The amount of water waste in terms of raising cattle for meat vs plant-centric diet, flush
toilets vs biodegradable ones, composting, city life, and luxuries need to be introspected;
to be connected to the soil, with herbal medicines, organic farming, and deep communion
with Nature. Yogic Spirit needs to be restored to develop robust humans, less is more.