Think of administration and you think of a role or a position which has inbuilt ‘power’. Whether it is the power to create a system, or the power to transform a system or the power to carry out any task, the administrators have them in their kitty. The administrators, having the power to change the face of any system, therefore have been looked up as re-formers. But when it comes to the execution of this power, its function has to be understood well.
Have you ever felt that you want to, and are capable of doing something but still cannot do the same? Or, that although you have the authority to do something, you lack the power to do so? So even though that position has that ‘authority’, the individual on the position lacks that ‘power’. This means that it is not merely the position or the role of being an administrator, or the authority to take decisions and do reforms, that can give the administrator sufficient power to carry out the desired function. So where does this power come from and if authority cannot offer that, then what on the Earth can do that?
Let’s consider an analogy to find an answer to the above question:
Take the case of our own body, considering it to be a machine; the hands operate to lift up something, the legs operate to locomote, the eyes operate to capture the images of objects around, and the brain works to process the information gathered by the mind which in turns operates at a certain frequency, so on and so forth… So when I say ‘It is my hand’, I become different from the hand itself and take up the authority of being the master of the hand. Since I can operate ‘my hand’ at my will, I have the power of authority over my hand. Similarly, when I say ‘It is my mind’, I become different from the mind itself and take the authority of being the master of the mind. It is easy to relate to this concept, considering ourselves to be a sentient point of eternal spiritual energy- the Soul, which is different from the master of the body, which is its instrument. But can I operate ‘my mind’ at my will? Do I have this power of authority over my mind? Or does my mind rule over me most of the time? This makes the situation a bit clear, that just being called the master or authority over an object or person or system is not sufficient until we have the power to control it. In fact, most of the time, we do not even remain in the consciousness of being the master over our mind, in the above case.
So along with the positional authority, in order to exercise the real administrational power, we need:
(i) An awareness of the rights and duties associated with the administrative position:-
Like, if I, the Soul, am the master of my mind, I ought to be aware of it so as to operate from this authority. To be aware is to access the powers associated with this authority. So it means, that when I am not aware of this authority, it is as good as not possessing this authority at all. Also, with this awareness comes a responsibility towards the possessions (viz. my mind and body,) that this authority has, i.e. my mind and body. If I feel that I am not responsible for the state of my mind or for what I am feeling, I can never attain the power to change it or control it and will also look up to the person or situation I feel is responsible for my state of mind. Being aware of and fulfilling those duties or responsibilities helps me claim my right to authority and access that power of control. And if I keep my mind and body healthy, they help me back by co-operating in fulfilling my functions and I can take the maximum output from these.
Hence, an administrator is the soul of the system and can only control that for which he is responsible. It is easy and almost effortless to be in the awareness of possessing the administrative positional authority, but it is also equally important to be in the awareness of the responsibilities and duties that this position possesses. If the administrator can be in the awareness of the latter and fulfil those responsibilities, it can expect the system to respond back in a cooperative manner to support its functions, thus empowering the administrator with the right to control the system.
For this, the administrators need to be submitted to their responsibilities and be true servers first. This is the essence of administration and its very purpose, as all administration exists for the benefit of the people. Only when the purpose of administration is served, is the power to control it attained. Misuse or abuse of authority leaves no space for this power to flourish. At the first glance it may seem that this abuse of authority has a lot of power to bend things and system ‘ my way’, but when the limit to this bend is reached, it breaks and all the so-called accumulated power leaks. And when the skeleton of the authority in administration is left behind with no ethical power, the same administration falls prey to the evils of lack of respect, breaking of relationships, judicial bias, corruption, favouritism, arrogance, mean-motives, terrorism etc. It may happen in a small family setup or big systems or even national or global level.
(ii) Knowledge of ideal functioning in the administrative position:-
This means, that if I the Soul have to control my mind, I should know what and where the controls are? I must have the knowledge of the working patterns of my mind to notice any deviation from the normal and correct it right there. To know that peace, love and happiness are the natural states of mind while worry, stress, hatred and sorrow are not, is needed to ensure that the mind functions in the normal mode. Moreover, if I don’t have the knowledge of how my mind operates, even though I know that it’s not operating as expected, I am helpless to rectify it.
Similarly, an administrator must have complete foolproof knowledge of how the system and the people in the system work. If the administrator does not have the knowledge of the normal functioning, he cannot detect the loopholes and control the system. For instance, if the administrator doesn’t know that the controls of the administration are the ethics like compassion, honesty, trust, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the system and believes that they don’t work in the present times, he will never be able to himself abide by it and exercise his powers to ensure that others do the same. If unchecked and uncontrolled, this deviation in administration can therefore continue to increase with time and lead to a situation of complete administrative anarchy. Thus, knowing and abiding by the ethics is essential for the administration to remain powerful and sustainable.
(iii) Empowering the administrator to in turn empower the administrative position or system:-
In order to lighten up a town or city, the grid of the area has to be connected to a power transmitting station which in turn has to be connected to the powerhouse where the power is generated. Considering the beneficiaries of an administrative system to be the area where power or the benefit of the administration has to be supplied, and the administrator to be the power transmitting station, it is essential for the power station (the administrator) to receive power from the powerhouse to transmit it further. For this, we must know- where is the powerhouse?
When we talk about this power, it can have multiple interpretations. One can be the power of the system or position itself that empowers the administrator to use the authority to percolate the benefit to the beneficiaries, which we have already been discussing above. Another is the subtle or soft power. This particular power refers to the ethical powers of- determination, truth, conviction, adaptability, patience, tolerance, decision making, dealing with change, focus, contentment and many more. For the administrators to be truly powerful, they have to be equipped with both these kinds of power. It is needless to say that the soft, subtle, ethical power is the power of the ‘administrator’ himself while positional power is the power of the ‘administration’. Thus it is to be appreciated that the former influences the latter. This means the more the administrator possesses soft powers, the better will they be able to use their positional power, because it has to be the administrator who drives the administration and not the other way round. So it is these powers that are the soul of the administration system.
We often carry complex, negative conditioning inside which may be due to past experiences or lack of proper understanding or pre-conceived notions and apprehensions. As a result, the violence of anger, rejection, fear, jealousy and aggression has been injected into our personalities. By remembering our soft or spiritual powers mentioned above, we can create a non-violent, responsive, rather than reactive, relationship with life. Spiritual powers protect our inner strength and reflect the spiritual beauty of the self. Hence, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that the connection of the administrators with a higher source of soft, spiritual power is necessary, that will enable them to develop, experience and practise their soft power better in their roles and then extend it to others.
The development of these soft and ethical powers can be made easy through the understanding of Spirituality and the practice of Rajyoga Meditation. Through this technique,
1. I, the Soul- playing the role of an administrator, come into the awareness of who I am and connect to myself.
2. Then I observe my role to figure out the required powers that are needed to empower the self.
3. Thereafter, the power transmission station- the administrator, with the awareness of the soul and its role, connects to the Supreme Spiritual Being, the Supreme Soul, who is the ocean of all powers.
It is this connection which is referred to as the supreme connection or ‘Raj- Yoga’ Meditation.
Just like the rays of the Sun are capable to burn a piece of paper in a few seconds, only when it is focused onto the paper through a lens; it is possible to empower and transform the Soul by receiving powers from its Supreme source or powerhouse, using the lens of Rajyoga Meditation. It enables us to burn the various layers of falsehood, fear, insecurity and negativity and come back to our peaceful and contented state. It exposes the real self which is innately and ethically powerful and enables us to access this real self and inner powers with ease. The more I access my real powerful self, the more I can be in its awareness and use these powers that lie latent there. Thus it is a technique of sharpening the spiritual axe, which makes it perform better and enhances the efficiency of the administrative system. It ensures sustainability as the powers coming into practise are our original deep-rooted ones and can be recharged at any moment through the eternal connection with the source of supreme powers, at any moment and in every situation.
Pavitrata hi manushyata ki shaan hai.