The illusion of power

“Never get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.”, said Colin Powell who is an American politician, diplomat and retired four-star general. Powell knows this better than anyone as he has experienced this first hand when he was fired in 2004 when Bush was re elected President.

Power that comes along with a position is illusory in nature as when the position goes, so does the power, however Newtons law of inertia applies here as well as we fail to let go during certain stages in life.

The 4 stages of life or Ashramas' as defined in Indian culture are Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. Bramhacharya is the stage when one makes a name for himself / herself, in the pursuit of knowledge and skills. In today's parlance education and higher education, Grihasta is the life of a householder enjoying the joys and sorrows alike of married life, Vanaprastha when one starts to limit ones wants to live a simple life in order to prepare for renunciation or Sanyasa.

These 4 stages of life were taught early on during formative years and applicable from a peasant to a ruler, which meant that irrespective of one's social position, somewhere in the back their minds they were prepared to let go when the time came. This resulted in harmony most of the time with smooth transfer of power during successions across the board

This along with concept of Karma ensured that people were conscientious of their action which resulted in overall growth and prosperity in a well balanced way

Society today measures individuals by their wealth or social stature and it is this need to belong that makes people in power cling to their positions for as long as possible. It is time to recalibrate the way we perceive positions of power at whatever level in order to ensure that when the moment comes, the mind is at ease with letting go