• Tweet
• Share

• Tweet
• Share

By Sanjib Mukherjee,

Have you ever noticed how in some instances where a group of people get together to perform a task, the project in question can become completed with effortless ease, yet in other instances, the same task with different people may produces petty squabbles and continuous disagreements? Why do some people work so well together whilst others have ongoing problems? As always yoga has an answer!

Relating to work there are 3 types of consciousness, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is seen as the universal lord of creation, so someone with a strong Brahma consciousness will be great at getting a project started. They tend to be people who can come up with new ideas, motivate others and get over any inertia which may come their way. These people are also very creative and have a deep sense of imagination.

Vishnu is seen as the preserver in the the vedic holy trinity, and thus those with a strong Vishnu consciousness are great at maintaining a project once it is up and running. They may not be the best at coming up with new ideas, but once given a set of tasks to accomplish, they remain extremely disciplined in the roles they perform. Shiva is the final part of the completion of energy and is seen as the destroyer of transformer of people, situation and things.

A personality with a strong Shiva consciousness is like to be able to bring a project to a close and tie up loose ends before enabling the next segment to begin. They tend not to worry too much about long term plans, but are more interested in finishing whatever work is presented in front of them.

Every project has a beginning, middle and an end, and thus the ideal team would consist of at least one creator, one preserver and one transformer. Now imagine a team where every member was a creator but none were able to preserve the project or indeed have the abilities to bring it to a close. Or imagine another scenario where no one was able to create new ideas, yet everybody had a strong ability to finish ideas.

By understanding the characteristics of the 3 forms of work consciousness, straight away we can see why some situations can produce harmonious working environments whilst others may result in absolute chaos. When we break matters down and relate them to yoga, everything makes perfect sense. Teamwork is not only confined to the workforce, the same wisdom can be related to family and social situations too.

Take a look at all the team scenarios around you, and relate their effectiveness with the above knowledge. Wherever you see a conflict, straight away you will be able to pin-point why a situation has arisen, and thus it becomes so much easier to find a particular solution.

In a fully evolved being,  all three states of consciousness have fully blossomed and thus a single person will be able to master creation, preservation and transformation.  Such a soul is normally termed a guru or enlightened one. A guru can make a team of people, but a team of people can never make a guru.

The goal for any seeker is to eventually become a fully enlightened being, but until that state is realised, the above knowledge will be invaluable for bringing a team of people together to accomplish specific tasks.