Lessons for everyone from Isha Yoga Foundation's Mahashivratri 2023

Please note: Views in this article are of my own and is not a promotional one.

I had the opportunity to attend the Mahashivratri at Isha Yoga Center at Coimbatore, India yesterday. It's been an event which I wanted to attend in person for many years, I am glad I got the chance this year.?

For those who don't know Isha Yoga, it is a non-corporate organization which focuses on overall human well-being. It is primarily a volunteer run organization, these volunteers can contribute to as much time as they want, there is no obligation of any sort. While they do have several core teams that drive different aspects of not just the event but also the organization.?The event was attended by lakhs of people both from India and Internationally, the scale itself to manage such an event seems to be a challenge which was pulled off amazingly.

This reason why I decided to write this article is to share some interesting lessons which everyone can take from this, no matter if you are a student, a professional or an organization, there is something for everyone. Here are some observations about this event.?

One word to describe what I experienced -?'Spell bound'

One sentence to describe the event- 'Perfect from the outside, enormous efforts from the inside'

What made the whole experience spell bound and what goes in the making is a lesson for anyone who wants to grow or scale at a personal or professional level.

1.?2P's- Punctuality and Perfection

The event was supposed to start at 6pm Saturday evening India time and end at 6am Sunday morning. It is so commendable that an event attended started right on time and ended on time. The whole event was so beautiful and perfectly crafted in a manner that kept people awake till 6am.?Such is the planning, preparation and scheduling of the team handling the event.?

Lesson:??The outcome of what you do is a result of what sort of preparation goes into what you do. If you don't like the outcome, there is something you need to introspect to see what you can do differently. There is always a learning curve, understand what can be done better and always improvise.

?If you want to achieve something different, one needs to start doing things differently. You may not get things right the first time but with punctuality, patience and?perseverance, perfection is not far away. The question is do we need perfection in everything? The answer is no, one may become the bottleneck themselves at times looking for perfection. So sometimes it is fine to let go few things which are not super critical, but try improvize next time on.?

2. Think Purpose, Think Big, Think Scale

I've seen Isha from the early 2000 and when I see now, the way they have grown this big is simply amazing. From a place which didn't have proper roads back then to the way the whole place has been transformed is amazing. Now the whole city's roads are cleaned up and made ready just for this event! That's how big they have become and that's the scale they have achieved.

The lesson, the Purpose that they serve "well being" has become such a crucial aspect in today's world. This passion and goal to make an impact of well-being of millions of lives globally has driven them to think big and scale.?

Lesson:?It's the Purpose that is crucial for an individual or entire organization to function. It is important to find and nail that purpose, else you are just cruising through without a clear goal in mind.?

End result:?One will either lose interest or get lost in their journey even before they have realized. Think Big and Think Scale is something you will either figure out how to do it yourself or take help as needed once you've found your Purpose.

3. Selfless Commitment:?

So how does one achieve this level of scale with a volunteer run organization? It is almost like in a company you are?working with consultants for most part of what you want to achieve- both critical and non-critical while you have some permanent core teams that work with you.?The answer is simple-?selfless and undoubted commitment.

Everyone who is involved is so committed to the purpose, that there are no second thoughts of what they are doing if they are doing the right thing or the wrong thing- there is no such thing or thinking. The focus is to make sure whatever they do and how much ever time they can contribute to the purpose is something they do best. It's not about doing things at their the best capacity, but doing whatever it takes to do it and giving their best shot.?

Lesson:?Own whatever comes your way, some things are meant to come to you.?Somethings come to you for a reason which may or may not be clear as yet. Give yourself the chance to do your best, not something that you will be unhappy, regret later.?

What's the best- you've given your best.?

What's the worst- you've tried it all, atleast you are satisfied that you did everything that was needed.?

So it's simply not the best capacity but just giving and doing your best.?

Like Steve Jobs says?"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward".?So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future and it is for your good.?

4. Enjoy the process

What's so beautiful is that everyone who were involved in the event were simply enjoying the whole process irrespective of what they were asked to do. It is not the criticality of the task, or importance associated with the task which was driving what they were doing, but whatever they were involved into, they were simply enjoy the process and the experience they were having.

Lesson:?The journey is as important as much as the destination.?

Whether we want the journey to be happy or bumpy is completely the way we deal with things.?

A lot of people think, there needs to be a perfect situation or a perfect place to enjoy what you like. Some people simply do not know to enjoy what they do and are constantly looking for something that will ultimately give them some sort of enjoyment.?

At times not everything is enjoyable or may turn out as you want but when you give your self-less commitment, you will learn to be more patient, empathetic and also see ways to work things out. There will be a grill you may have to go through, situations may be tough, but when you have really given your best at every stage, your outcome will be enjoyable and which you will be contended/proud of.?

My sincere gratitude to Isha Foundation and everyone who has worked so hard to make this event beyond imagination. Seeing it in person has a very different level of impact, I am glad I was about to make it :)

This event has been a learning lesson in so many ways. I am hoping you enjoyed reading this.