Puja Ceremony

“Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals”. There are various types of Puja's for certain stages of life, holy days and daily offerings to god. The Satyam School of Leadership is about to open and there recently was a Puja to bless the building (there was also one before ground was broken on the site for the building and I am sure there are more to come). The four hour ceremony consisted of chanting, lighting candles, offering food, money and flowers to the creator, cracking of coconuts (to symbolize breaking the outer shell or ego and connecting with the spirit), ancient storytelling and many other interesting rituals. It was fascinating to be apart of and I was fortunate to have a colleague translate for me so I could better understand the meaning of each part of the intricate process. Check out this link for more info on Puja’s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puja

Amsterdam

After two months in the U.S. I decided to head to Amsterdam for some relaxation prior to returning to India. Every time I arrive in Amsterdam a warm and peaceful vibe washes over me (which is not from inhaling the smoke wafting from the coffee shops, but I have heard it can have a similar effect). With more bikes than people, canals than Venice, friendly people and beautiful architecture it is not hard to fall under its spell. My Uncle Roger has lived in Amsterdam for over ten years and is always gracious enough to open up his home. I was fortunate to spend time with my Dutch friend Caroline that I met in India and my buddy Nate who is working in London this summer. It was splendid to catch up with both of them and enjoy the relaxed pace of life in Holland.

Leadership Without Borders

My friend and colleague Ed Cohen recently wrote a book on Global Leadership. These days many western corporations are keen to reap the benefits of setting up operations in developing countries for obvious reasons. However, one consideration that some corporations tend to neglect is truly understanding the culture of the countries they are trying expand in. Numerous companies fail and others struggle for this reason. Leadership Without Borders discusses the concept of being a Global Leader from the perspectives of executives all over the world. Check it out!


http://leadershipwithoutborders.com/