Native Efficiency
By Karmayogi
It is an acknowledged fact that in
matters of efficiency the USAand India are poles apart. It is
an unseen truth that the native Indian efficiency is far superior to any other.
It is a truism of life that, if such a fact is true, somewhere, in some
measure, a little of it can be seen. If Indians look for such expressions, they
will certainly find something somewhere. Of course, there are many silver
linings. The actual truth is we look up to American for everything. Today an
eminent speaker at a convocation said, ‘‘We all want to go to the USA. Very soon a day will come when
Americans will wish to come to India.
Not that we have no talents, but we are unaware of them.'' Some
months ago, a bank held a three-day Expo to grant housing loans. Next to that
building a newspaper under the immediate guidance of an American expert held
another Expo for another purpose. It was a success. A few days later, two
people, one from the bank and the other from the newspaper met and discussed
their respective success. In those three days that bank had granted loans to
the tune of 144 crores on the spot. When the American expert heard of it, he
said, ‘‘It would take a few months in my country to accomplish this
feat. I never realised Indians had this efficiency.'' He does not
know what happened. Nor do I.
I guess in times of emergency, organisations like banks give a long rope to
their employees. This means they are not bound by the very strict procedures of
the organisation during that period. Once that is granted de facto or de jure,
the native talents of the employees come to the surface. Basically they act
within the rules of their organisation but on the spot they exercise their
discretion. It means to me there arises an unconscious occasion for the Indian
to be in his elements, unfettered by the dead rigidity of the alien
bureaucratic organisation.
I see this as one of the silver linings of our Future. These are occasional sparks.
What will happen when India is
determined 1) not to imitate other nations thoughtlessly, 2) to discover her
original spiritual strength and 3) to fashion a national ORGANISATION that
expresses our genius through modern technology?