PRASHNA UPANISHAD - 32 : Rishi Pippalada.

 

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#6 Questions, 67 Mantras : “Questions from Disciples Answered”

##KAUSHALYA’S QUESTION

Query No 3:

“The Management of Power”

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Sunday, 13 Aug 2023. 07:15.

Mantram - 3.4 Q-3C How is Power Delegated – Overview 

Post-32.

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Mantram - 3.4 Q-31 Yathaa samraat :

1

Yathaa samraat  =  Just as a KING

eva adhikritaan viniyunkte;  =   appoints his ministers, (saying to them),

2 

etaan graamaan etaan graamaan  =  “You take this village, you take that village,

adhitishthaswa iti, =   – stay there and govern it.”

3

iti evam eva isha praanah, = In the same way does the lordly Prana,

itaraan praanaan =  to his other assistant Pranas,

4 

prithak prithak eva  =  each one in its own respective department,

samnidhatte.  =  assign them their respective duties.

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The Example: King & His Ministers

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1 

The example given is a near-perfect one in the context. We have seen so far that in 

every case the Rishi comes up with the most stunningly appropriate simile to support his 

statements. The delegation of power from King to his ministers, done in such simple and 

effective manner as indicated here, constitutes a perfect comparison to the application.

2 

The minister is given his area of functioning and told to get on with his job – no 

questions asked. That is the ideal delegation, which presupposes that the executive has the 

knowledge and the wisdom to do the task delegated.

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Question 3C: How is power delegated to Upa-Pranas?

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The delegation of power is now taken up in mantras 3.4-3.7. Prana sub-divides itself 

into five Upa-Pranas, and these are explained in these four mantras.

3 

In the management of Power, there has to be some hierarchy. The Upa-Pranas are 

the second tier in the management system of Prana. In another Vedantic text, even these 5 

Upa-Pranas are further sub-divided, setting up a third tier in the management hierarchy. For 

the purposes of this text two tiers is sufficient to drive home the point.

4 

Each of the five Upa-Pranas is placed in charge of one department of work. He is 

given his respective rules of how to do his job, and then sent away with full authority to 

execute his function. It is real power that he has; he is not just a “puppet” of the Chief.

In the divine Management Plan, the superior has trust that his second-in-charge has 

the ability and the knowledge to do his job exactly as expected. This is a principle of 

management that needs to be highlighted in today’s business world. Successful businesses 

are found to be those wherein one sees this delegation with trust to a large degree. 

Suspicion and too much supervision has negative results on performance of executives.

*****

Next

Mantram - 3.5 Q-3C The Apana, Prana and Samana Assistants

To be continued

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