What can Holi teach us in a corporate setting?

I was invited to Accenture’s Holi celebrations and left the event with a new perspective on what Holi means and insights that anyone, Hindu or non-Hindu, can benefit from.

We were welcomed by the chair of the Accenture Hindi Network, Vijendra Vekriya, who told us about the network’s activities, opened the event with a prayer, and introduced the team that organised the event.

Keshava Swami, a monk from ISKCON’s Bhaktivedanta Manor, gave the keynote address, which focused not on the spiritual aspect of Holi but the practical side.

I’ve summarised and paraphrased what I took away from this below.

Diversity

The colours of Holi remind us that the world is full of variety and diversity. There is a tendency in the world today to distance ourselves when we identify differences, be them in people, ways of working, and so on. Holi, being a vibrant orchestra of people from all walks and full spectrum of paint colours, is a symbolic reminder of the joy and value we can find in bridging our differences.

Unleashing potential

Holi represents the season of spring, which is a time for releasing untapped potential within us and waiting to bloom. Colours are salient when we think about creativity, and the colours of Holi serve as a reminder to be creative. The most dangerous phrase in the English language is, “We’ve always done it this way.”.

How can we make our lives more vibrant, exciting, and satisfying?

“Many people die at twenty-five and aren’t buried until they are seventy-five.” – Benjamin Franklin

Keshava Swami asked us to reflect on what we think dies at 25, stimulating an eager discussion amongst the audience. 

The contributions from the audience centred around the realisation that after 25, we stop focusing on what really matters to us and get caught up in things that do not. Some salient points were:

• We stop having appreciation for the smaller things in life.
• We can be functioning every day and not really have an overarching purpose. Keshava Swami added that many people say their purpose is to be happy, but they have little idea as to what they need to do to work towards this purpose.
• We lose hope that things can change and that miracles can happen.
• Curiosity wanes, we stop questioning ‘why’ and go along with things.

The hidden aspects of life

Keshava Swami commented on a common theme of the reflections from the audience, noting that the aspects that make life more vibrant are those that are hidden.

Due to their hidden nature, other people won’t pay attention to these factors and we get little external encouragement to work on them. As we can’t see them, we tend to neglect them. Keshava Swami shared five visible factors that people commonly put emphasis on, and their invisible counterparts, which are arguably more important.

Societal position vs relationships

It’s very easy to see someone’s position in society, however difficult to observe the quality of the relationships they have. It’s better to have a small number of true friends than a high perceived status and no good relationships, but people fall into the trap of the latter.

Qualifications vs insight

Academic qualifications have no use unless we have the ability to derive useful insights. They may get us jobs and opportunities, but can’t keep these if we’re not able to create value. Instead of chasing qualifications that we can showcase to the world, we should build abilities that allow us to be insightful.

Achievements vs contribution

Achievements only truly satisfy us if we can use them to make a contribution to society or others. Keshava Swami said, “all the money in the world will not make us happy unless we use it to make the world a better place”. We do not need to avoid aiming for material success, but do so whilst keeping our core values and give generously for the benefit of others.

Opportunities vs decision making

Opportunities are visible but have no meaning unless we are able to discern them. We can easily be overcome by ignorance and passion, leading us to invest our time in the wrong places.

Popularity vs self-actualisation

The less we know ourselves, the more we require external validation from others. We should instead focus on knowing ourselves instead of trying to be known by others, through building an awareness of our psychosocial and spiritual nature.

Concluding the evening

We were treated to some cultural performances by the UCL Hindu Society and a delicious vegetarian dinner after the keynote address.