These days hearing (& being) environmentally friendly is very common; rather I should say they are the buzz words. And don't get surprised when you are reading this write up that it is not related to the environment or for that matter to the irrigation systems. On top of that it is not even related to my core field and not even to the day to day activities, but it is very much related to YOU - yes! You read it correct; it is related to YOU and to ME and a matter of fact to ALL of us. Relax, sit back, and enjoy my write-up. I am reflecting upon my recent firsthand experience of a very novel, thoughtful and touching phrase. I am sure you will enjoy it and I hope it provokes a thought in you...
In one of my recent trips to India, one of my close buddies took me to a person who is a master in meditation with two plus decades of professional global living and work experience. Don't let your mind portray an image of a Yoga Guru, a Sadhu, a Baba or some sort of spiritual or dressed up guru in your thoughts. The person I met is a hard-core professional business-man with interests in manufacturing, heavy & hi-tech industry.
Indeed, it was good to meet him and during our hour and a half long discussions we talked about many things - personal, professional, social, business and on one of the points, this gentleman passed a remark and he said, "Leaves don't need the water it is the Roots that should be watered". And to be honest, I am not sure if that was intentional or he just passed a remark and at that point of time, it didn't strike me what a valuable message (line, comment, phrase) was said; as we switched to some other conversations. Thus, the statement of his got buried in some other discussions as we laughed, chatted and said Good Bye.
Late in the night when I was at Delhi's International Airport waiting to board the flight, and my mind began to travel through the day's memory lanes and the above statement for some reasons again popped into my mind. At that time I just held it without letting it go and kept thinking on it throughout the flight.
Think about it... How true the statement is - "Roots need water and not the leaves" as it is the roots that feed in to the leaves - basic biology / chemistry... Isn't it...
Now if we extrapolate the same phrase in our day to day living that spans across professional, personal lives, we will realize that most of the time it holds true. Think again, you will realize that how many times in a day we all water the leaves and totally forget about the roots. I believe we should be watering the roots (Soul) first and leaves (appearances) later, as against looks first & soul (inner conscious, humanity) later.
Most of the time we all focus on the external appearances and totally forget about the soul, the inner conscious - in terms of compassion, concern for others, humanity, care for nature, selflessness. While we can argue that this all is theoretical and doesn't work in the practical life; and then we may be right also but I believe it will be true only for the short term. From the myopic view point it may make sense to water the leaves, but surely if one wants to hold the tree up right one has no choice except to water the roots - the Soul.
Likewise, if one filters its own actions through the professional lens; one would realize that there are many areas wherein we all cut corners, pretend to be diligent and live a superficial life to show-off. In other words the person is purely watering the leaves against the roots.
Imagine a case, where Mr. Narayan Murthy, Mr. Warren Buffet or the likes of them, would have just watered the leaves and do you think they would have been successful in building the tree like Infosys or Berkshire Hathaway respectively.
On the same thought, if we apply the same principle to a student who just crams to pass the exams so as to get the Degree & Recognization; but we all know, based on our experiences, the student can go only so far in the field where he or she has just watered the leaves and not really understood the concepts. Einstein would have hardly watered the leaves; he for sure watered the logic, the understanding and in-turn mastered (watered) the roots which gave him beautiful leaves of success.
And if one filters the same thought in the personal lives & relationships, you will realize that it makes sense in that space as well. Just watering leaves of the relationship will always break it down one day or other. And there are many & multiple examples of those - one recent being Mr. Tiger Woods.
It is very critical to be honest with oneself and nurture the Soul "Water the Roots" and at times sprinkle water on the leaves as well as opposed to purely watering the leaves and leaving the roots (Soul) to dry out and eventually pull down the tree. Balance is critical and that balance can come only by a strong stem,stem is held by roots and not by the leaves.
Next time, my friends, think about what you are watering - Leaves or Roots
All the Best...Again think what needs water, and also conserve some water as well.
