I would like to add that the illusory power of words ties in with what are known as the “kleshas,” or the afflictions which tie us down to the reincarnational cycle of birth, death, rebirth and reincarnation. Again, from John Grimes dictionary, “Klesa” is defined as “1. The afflictions of the body, mind. and speech. 2. Afflictions are of five types: ignorance (avidya), egoism (asmita), attachment (raga), aversion (dvesa), and the will to live (abhinivesa).” (As per the latter, here the “will to live” as an affliction simply implies the fear of death or dire attachment to life.) The “Matrika Shakti” relates to the kleshas of attachment and aversion, in that the illusory power of words as quoted above, have the ability to sway us in uplifting terms (attachment to praise or the pleasant) and to depress us in derogatory terms (aversion to criticism or the unpleasant), all of which can lead lead to egoism and finally to ignorance and fear of death.

So words apparently keep us in their clutch. Are we to become attached only to their good qualities and avoid the discomfort they can also cause when people say things, for example, to press our buttons? Becoming attached to something can only lead to its opposite attacking us; so we solve this with dispassion and attentive detachment to the reactions that words arouse in us, a skill garnered through the process of meditation.

Lastly, if words have such illusory power over us as products of maya, the force of illusion, which derives its power from God, as without maya we cannot overcome illusion in and of itself, then words in their sacred form as mantra have the power to liberate us. The word “mantra” comes from the root “man” or mind and “tra” to save or protect so that mantra is “that which saves the one who reflects.” Mantras are not ordinary words derived from man, but are inspired by God, and received by the rishis or adepts of ancient times in deep states of meditation, where any sense of egoity has been transmuted by the higher mind as a conduit to the Consciousness known as God. Mantras can thus liberate the speaker from the kleshas by repeating them out loud in a heartfelt manner or silently in meditation with the in and out breath, often resulting in experiences of a peaceful and spiritual nature.

Thus, from matrika we derive mantra, within which is hidden the source of salvation which can liberate us from reincarnating on the wheel of life and death, ending this journey into the veil of tears we know as life on earth. Terence McKenna, a most eloquent psycho-activist who knew the value of words, once asked if we were really meant to be light beings and that due to some horrid cosmic error, got stuck in this reincarnational wheel. We will never know, but knowing more about maya, matrika and mantra can help make the vicissitudes of this mystery more bearable.

I am goingto be just like you…. pursue my vision and purpose and I’m bringing my famly with me into full human potential too.

I only wish I knew that I was afraid of what you were afraid of when I broke the board!!!!!!!. I was afraid I couldn’t break the board and I’d hurt my hand. Well I blew ithe board apart and then………. WAS AFRAID OF MY
OWN POWER……. Life is fun.

Thanks for the great experience on saturday…….Mary

Anger is never overcome unless we go deep within ourselves and realize we are not separate from others, that we are all injured to one degree or another and begin to release judgment. It truly requires loving on a spiritual level ~ through the heart and not the head. The head will find all the reasons why NOT to love and forgive.

Anger is overcome by truly forgiving. But that’s another blog!

good to hear from you And what a fine question too!

My first thoughts leant towards political leadership, – this was before I’d read your post – while the page was loading up – and that area I found difficult to even begin a meaningful dialogue with myself over. But on reading your post and the larger context of “leadership” – i.e relating to people and organizations etc, my whole thinking on the issue became something more immediate and readily answerable.

In a word – an emphatic Yes: – as you know I work for an inner city charitable organization which has a very clearly defined goal, – which is as follows:

“The aims of the Citizens Advice Bureau are to ensure that nobody suffers as a result of a lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities, and the power to enact them”

I have a Line Manager called Leo, – and I have never worked, with or for, a person who epitomizes what this this whole discussion seems to about.

You mentioned preferring the word – or value – compassion, rather then benevolence – I think that’s a pretty good way into the question.

Empathy comes heavily into play too.

Leo is my Line Manager, and the Team Leader for the bureau I work at on behalf of a very vulnerable and socially deprived community, who don’t know their rights and are all too often exploited in just about every conceivable way. By employers, landlords, the State itself, etc, etc, – in short they need a little help. But we have no resources to provide housing, employment, cash, food, protection, – we are in theory an “Advice” agency, – but if advice was all we gave, we wouldn’t achieve much at all, – if anything. We can and do advocate for clients, I don’t like that term in this context, – I prefer, “Persons” with all the dignity – and the responsibility, that Personhood carries.

Leo officially starts work at 9.00am, but he’s in the office every morning at 7.30am, – he officially finishes at 5.opt, but he’s there until every clients needs have been dealt with as fully as we are capable of doing, and that can be pretty late some days – and sometimes he feels the burn. But he doesn’t show it, – a major part of his role as a “Team Leader” is to motivate – and protect – his staff, – both paid staff and the volunteer sector, – without which we simply couldn’t function at all, – the unpaid volunteers are the backbone of a outfit such as this one and many others like it.

Leo has superb people skills, – not the textbook ones that many management consultancy groups claim to teach, – no, basic human ones, borne out of his own life experience and solid sense of justice, – he somehow manages to be equally available to both his staff and the clients and makes all concerned feel valued and visible – which is one hell of an art form in my opinion. There is no trace of ego in this guy, and as for masking his fatigue and frustration at the very real demands and limitations of his role, he could teach method acting to Brando. Is he being inauthentic by keeping a part of himself from public disclosure – no, he’s being professional, in fact over and above just being professional, – he has a deep understanding of human nature and group dynamics, and the service to the public benefits from his way of doing his job – or put in terms more relevant to this discussion, his whole orientation to living his life, one of service to others.

Naive? This guy is so well informed regarding the relevant legislation for a given case and so intuitive regarding a clients often unspoken needs and difficulties, – those unquantifiable aspects that again, aren’t taught at college, – such as treating everybody with the tact, sensitivity and commitment which is so needed, else clients will simply walk away, – this type of client base are anything but naive too. That said, there has to be the firmness and boundaries present also, – to balance the whole show, and while doing it, keep his staff focused, and also being protected from the risk of emotional burn out etc takes a pretty exceptional level of benevolence (or better still, as you put it, Janet, compassion) and to be even one percent naive would lead to the whole thing fragmenting.

Leo is a widower, who has raised his children alone, he lived in a hostel with his children some years ago, and has known poverty, and has first hand experience of the failings of the State to provide the rights it promises its citizens, – his vocation today is to try and prevent others from those experiences, – but its a team effort, it takes a whole community to support a given individual in need, and Leo is a master at bringing all the factors into harmony in a productive way.

“A recent post on the Business Spirituality LinkedIn site asked: “What difference can a benevolent leader bring to people and organizations? Is it possible to be benevolent without being naive?”

All the difference in the world, – the difference from being just another well meaning (Gov funded) community project, to an effective and all inclusive dynamic force for the general good – but more importantly, as we don’t work with statistics, – to make a real and lasting difference in a given individuals life, helping them to regain a sense of self worth and independence again.

My Line Managers deep decency, class and sense of justice makes a real difference not just to the community he serves, – a very uneasy community with all the mistrust that racially divided areas know about, yet able to create a safe space for clients from all ethnic backgrounds and political views to feel welcome and accommodated, – a naive leader would be chewed up inside a week. The guys level of personal intactness and his healthy sense of purpose, a purpose larger then his personal career horizon (each year he risks unemployment if the funding fails, as it did for a few weeks in January this year) make him a reason to continue in this line of work to people like myself who have the privilege of working alongside him, something I’ve never been able to say about my previous work history.

I vote left of centre, and when we still had trade unions in the UK, I belonged to one, – but those days have gone, – today’s realities are very different, and today’s leadership in these tense and uncertain times is in the main very suspect, – I’m fortunate – as my community is to have a guy like Leo to lead by example.

“Who’ll make the shoes for your feet, who’ll make the clothes that you wear, who’ll take the promise that you don’t have to keep – don’t look now it ain’t you or me . . .”

Don’t Look Now – By John Fogerty

To my Line Manager, Leo W, who must have heard that song in the sixties, and is keeping its spirit alive

Gus Riley