AQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT

Dinesh Chandra that has quality got to do with empowerment? And what is this empowerment everyone seems to be obsessed with? Let me share my definition of empowerment with you, which is simply the aware- ness that at all times, I have a choice. 'You don't understand my problems', people have often commented in response to the above definition. Can you guess their nationalities, economic levels, educational backgrounds, status in society, etc.? You may have guessed it right - they are distributed all over. One may be a high achiever, but totally disempowered at the same time. What are the manifestations? Empowered people do not blame others. They realize that their life, as of this moment, is the outcome of the choices they have made. They take responsibility for what they have or don't have. Disempowered people, on the other hand, often blame their parents, spouse, boss, colleagues, children, friends, everyone but them- selves for what they lack in their life.

Another subtle yet tangible differentiator is the chosen method of communication. Disempowered people often use reactive language, like 'I have to go', rather than 'I am making a choice to go', since the pay-off is higher or the pain is relatively less in this option. 'I have to work in this rotten place even though I dislike everyone here.' I say, you don't have to work here. 'But you don't understand, I have to support my family.' Oh, so you are making a choice of working here with all the pain since the other option is less desirable. Empowered people realize that there always exists an area where they can bring about some change, no matter how small. For example, whatever they expect from others - appreciation, better response, respect, caring and love - they can offer the same to others too. And they know that this area begins to grow until one day, you become like 'Padam-shree Anna Hazare' or Pandurang Shastry, the inspiration behind Swadhyaya moments. It may take a few years for your area of influence to grow, but the endeavours in this direction must never be given up. Empowered people are in the service of mankind. Simply put, they are driven by a larger purpose and are detached from the outcome, or any other semblance of power. Who could have predicted in the 80s that a simple professor (Dr. Manmohan Singh) would be able to liberate the economic tiger from its shackles in just a few years, and that too within a system mired by corruption, greed and blind ambition. It was said that he used to carry a resignation slip in his pocket at all times. We sometimes encounter an empowered person in the midst of bureaucracy - a person (some- times at a very low, sometimes at a very high level) who can't be purchased with money. I have a cousin inside a goldmine (the customs department) who, even after 20 years of service, doesn't have the common luxuries of life, but is held in high esteem by almost everyone in the family and at work. Such men of principles though few, no doubt, can still be found almost anywhere. They exude a certain aura of freedom and a life well lived. Why is it so difficult to move away from dependency to independency, from blaming others to shouldering responsibility, from helplessness to freedom? As a dependent child, we don't have much choice, for we desperately need someone to protect us. people do you need to create high quality in products or services? People who don't listen too well, blame others for all their ills, feel helpless and think that they do not have a choice, how will they behave with their colleagues and customers? Now consider those who are aware of their deeper core and of others and respect them. Who Empowered people do not blame others. They realize that their life, as of this moment, is the outcome of the choices they have made. They take responsibility for what they have or don't have. Disempowered people, on the other hand, often blame their parents, spouse, boss, colleagues, children, friends, everyone but themselves for what they lack in their life.

When a little child accidentally hits a table while playing, loving parents often hit the table, saying 'bad table'. The child soon smiles, convinced that it's not his/her fault. The lesson continues forever - bad teacher, bad boss, bad spouse and so on. You can get the insight in a flash if you observe the actions and beliefs of people around you who are apparently living a free life. The simple realization that you do have a choice at all times, often leads to a new path in life. The path may be hazardous, or even painful in the short run, but it's mostly blissful in the long run. I have said so much about empowered people. Can you tell me one thing - what kind of know that they always have a choice and want to treat others the same way they like to be treated themselves. How will they behave with their colleagues and customers? Now you see the connection. Empowerment for me assures my bliss, the subconscious awareness that I have the choice and the freedom to do what I want. You too can look into your- self and decide how empowered you are.