Last week, I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Puttaparthy after a long time. There, I heard a speech by Sri Sathya Sai Baba, which was very enlightening. After the speech, all assembled there got an apple. That reminds me of a famous proverb “An apple a day keeps a doctor away”. It is said so maybe because, apples are filled with essential vitamins. This is what I could pick up from Baba’s speech: An iron safe has value only because it stores and guards precious jewels. The value of the iron safe is based on the value of the jewels inside. If the iron safe is empty, it’s just a box (dummy). In the same way human beings are the iron safe and the valuable jewels in life are: # Truth– It not only means “not speaking lies” but it is much more. It means there is unity in thoughts, words and deeds. A person can be called truthful only when they say what they really think and do exactly what they say. # Righteousness– Doing the right thing. To be righteous is to follow the conscience and doing ‘what is good’ rather than doing ‘what is pleasant’. # Peace– Everyone strives to have peace in their lives, which is the ultimate objective. A person may have money, fame, knowledge but if they don’t have peace, these amount to nothing. # Love– It is the foundation of one’s life. It is the universal chain binding the whole of humanity. We love others and we also need to be loved by others. We cannot survive without love. When I heard Baba emphasizing on these 4 values, it struck me that they are inter-related, universal and each one is a precious jewel. They are applicable not only to individuals but also in our corporate life. Every organization has to follow and institutionalize these values, the only way to build a great entity. Also, ALL the 4 values are equally important and not one of them can be compromised. I would say that these 4 values are like the 4 pillars on which the company rests. They say ‘every thing changes, only thing constant is the change itself’. This is an exception. I don’t see any of these four values changing. They remain fundamental and the foundation in building a great company. The apple I got that day was a special one, because it was full of values… image courtesy: www.bet.com