Coming from a Quality Engineering background, I’ve always thought of the story of Narasimha as a lesson in good Product Testing Approaches.The demon Hiranyaksha gets a boon from Brahma that was structured like the standard workflow of any software program. He couldn’t die in day or night He couldn’t die in air or ground He couldn’t die by weapon or bare hands He couldn’t die by man or beast or deva or asura He couldn’t be killed by anything living or nonliving or anything created by Brahma Vishnu understands the boundary nature of each of these conditions and identifies new unique conditions that the boon cannot accommodate (by emerging from a pillar at twilight in a half-man half-lion form, placing the asura on his thighs and using his nails) and uses those to break the workflow of the boon and create a showstopper critical defect (which here is the death of the asura) Can we identify more mistakes in our workflows by thinking like Narasimha?
This is a pivotal scene from the Ramayan represents the moment where the humble Hanuman learns of his innate powers from the ever-wise Jambavan. He then grows to a giant size and readies himself to take a mighty leap towards Lanka as the vanaras cheer him on.
Often we find that we have a lot of hidden talents within ourselves that only a keen external eye can discern and point out. That is the whole point of having wise mentors or coaches around, not just to correct your mistakes but to also make you realize your true potential.
Lanka represents the goal, Sampati represents the identification of the goal, Hanuman represents the means to attain the goal and Jambavan is the identifier of the means to attain the goal. These four components together lead to goal fulfillment.
In Indian Mythology, Ganesha is the deity of auspicious beginnings.
Hanuman is the deity of resolving problems, yielding good endings.
Together, these two are sometimes worshipped as “Aadhi-Antha Prabhu” which literally means the lord of beginnings and ends.
In terms of a project, 90% of the effectiveness of the project is in the planning, forecasting and preparation. If this part is well taken care of, the implementation usually goes smoothly. In the project setting, Ganesha would handle this effort.
At the same time, unexpected problems pop up in a project from time to time, needing immediate and sometimes extraordinary intervention to resolve much like how Hanuman was needed during the Ramayan. Risk/Mitigation/Contingency planning is critical in such cases, sometimes to the extent of disaster recovery.
Vamana Avatar
The dwarf Vamana asks the king Mahabali for three paces of land. The king laughs at such an insignificant request and hastily agrees. Then Vamana grows to a giant size, covering the distance from the earth to the heavens in one step, then from the heavens to the nether-world with the second step and then claims the king himself with the third step.
Just goes to show, if you’re asking for an estimate for a project, you have to make sure your scale of measure of measurement is the same as the other person. Is it 3 months? Is it 3 FTE months (meaning the project time reduces with every additional person added)? Does that include testing and delivery? Does that include requirements study? Does that include a buffer time in case something gets delayed?
Tales from the Mahabharata
Abhimanyu was one of few warriors who knew how to enter the dreaded spiral battle formation and reach its center, although he lacked the knowledge of breaking the formation and exiting it.
He always represents two things for anyone reading the epic Mahabharata:
1) Someone so courageous and capable that it took all his enemies combined to surround him on all sides, separate him from his allies and finally take him down.
2) Someone who had incomplete knowledge on how to face a particular problem but decided to tackle it head-on instead of researching further or planning for a backup because he felt it was too cowardly to back down.
His enemies broke many rules and he died unfairly. But his death made his team realize that in order to win, they also had to break free of the established rules and think creatively to tackle the complex problems they faced. It also gave his team the drive to avenge his death that eventually led to their victory.
Ashta Lakshmi means the 8 types of Lakshmis or the 8 types of wealth that aspect our lives. But given their nature, it’s easy to imagine how they can also serve as a checklist for any good government or nation to prosper.
Veeralakshmi - Ensuring adequate military strength
Vijayalakshmi - Expanding our comfort zone and ensuring new challenges are constantly faced and overcome
Vidyalakshmi - Ensuring good education is available to everyone
Dhanalakshmi - Ensuring there is sufficient wealth generated
Dhanyalakshmi - Ensuring there is enough food produced and distributed
Gajalakshmi - Ensuring the nation is in a position of power
Santhanalakshmi - Ensuring we leave behind good legacy for the next generation
Aadhilakshmi - Ensuring that all of the above are worked on at the same time!
Tales from the Mahabharata
Bhishma was a man out of his time, having lived far beyond his generation, clinging to the old values and in many ways preventing true progress. Think of it as an old and powerful Director of a Board supporting a useless chairman just because of a promise he made to the former chairman. The company was rotting, greedy members had come on board and the chairman’s greedy son was truly running things. Cousins who had an equal stake in the company were tricked out of their stake and exiled from the company. The board was running the company indiscriminately with no concern for the shareholders, the customers or the general public.
In the end, they had to trick Bhishma to get him out of his position and literally pin him to the ground so that they could make way for progress.