Be cool, get a life

become 8220;a Buddha in the marketplace8221; resulted in his writing a book, Managing From The Heart, which promises to 8220;unfold the spirit in people and organisations.8221; His 240-page book revolves around the spirit of joyful living, wherein an individual, by himself or as a part of his organisation, can actually enhance his life as well as his work productivity by being aware of his inner resources. The chapters in the book, centered around connecting with the heart, on values and good health, thinking, communicating and staying in touch with the people around, are interesting lessons in positive thinking and inner communication.

Wakhlu believes that 8220;the growing economic and psychological stresses all over the world clearly point to the fact that our organised understanding of human systems 8211; as embodied in management theory 8211; is still far from providing solutions to certain recurring and basic human problems. Joyful living appears to be on the decline.8221;

Wakhlu, who worked for a brief period in the corporate sector, switched over to become a human resource development person. How did he get involved with this holistic8217; approach to life? Says Wakhlu, 8220;Actually, the process began about 10 years back. In 1979, while pursuing my management studies at the IIM, Ahmedabad, I did a short course on the values and designs of human system, which gave me an insight into the holistic attitude of life wherein I found that there was much more to life than just material success.8221;

From the enchanting land of Kashmir, from where he hails, his rendezvous with Mumbai, the place of his first job, was most distressing. Reminisces Wakhlu, 8220;I was disgusted with the noise and the distances. Soon, I gave it up, came to Pune and began interacting with corporate executives through the training programmes I started. I found that enthusiasm, joy and peace 8211; which is true good health in its total sense 8211; were missing. These guys were working with the latest technology and at a high intellectual level but had no time for themselves. They revealed no joy on their faces. This was because they were so busy and tense. They had lost connection with nature, with people around them and with themselves too.8221;

So where does one start? He has a simple answer. 8220;Begin with taking care of your health. This includes exercise, eating the right food and meditation. By meditation, I don8217;t mean sitting like a statue. I am talking about finding out what your real self is like. Maybe meditation could initially mean keeping aside some time just for sitting down. Gradually, though, your very life will become a meditation when you experience freedom within you. Because of our wrong food habits and lifestyle, we never relate at a deeper level.8221;

Wakhlu believes that 8220;your life should be COOL which means Creating Our Own Life, and Managing From The Heart teaches you these techniques, with chapters dedicated to creativity and positive thinking.8221; Obviously, for that COOL, cool attitude.