He belongs to Delhi and was educated at Modern School and St Stephen’s College. He retired as General Manager (HR) from NTPC Ltd, India’s largest power producer and a Maharatna company, in 2017 and thereafter served as Advisor (HR) in NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam up till 2020. He is presently a freelance HR consultant.
His latest book Take Charge of Your Life: Vedantic Perspectives on Transactional Analysis, was released by Atlantic Publishers, New Delhi, in May 2024.
Q.1 Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
A. I have also written a novel Three Men on a Beach (To Say Nothing of the Weed!), which was published in May 2024. It’s an adventure story of the 1970s written in a lighthearted way. It’s a story I wanted to tell, and I had a lot of fun writing it.
Q.2 When should we expect your next book? What will it be about?
A. I am presently writing a book Creating Value by Valuing People: An HR Manual for the Digital Age, in which I have tried to condense what I have learned about HR during the course of my career. I expect to complete it and send the manuscript to my publisher by the end of this month. It should be released by the end of the year or early next year.
Q.3 What inspired you to write Take Charge of Your Life: Vedantic Perspectives on Transactional Analysis? Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked this idea?
A. I had written an article on the spiritual aspect of Transactional Analysis earlier, and how Vedanta provides insights into the model of the human personality described in this essentially Western social psychology. Take Charge of Your Life is a further development of that article, written as a self-help manual for living a happy and fulfilled life and growing to your full potential.
Q.4 Your book combines the principles of Transactional Analysis (TA) with Vedantic philosophy. How did you come to see these two fields as complementary?
A. I felt that the philosophy of Vedanta could immensely enrich the social psychology of Transactional Analysis and also provide a guide for living ethically and honourably, besides shedding new light on how the mind works.
Q.5 Can you explain how Transactional Analysis and Vedanta have personally impacted your life and career? How has your understanding evolved over time?
A. Transactional Analysis (TA) has taught me how to improve my interpersonal skills and my communication skills. At the same time, it has shown me how to strengthen the positive aspects of my personality, and how to reduce or eliminate harmful behaviour.
Vedanta has immensely enhanced my critical thinking, capacity for discernment, and spiritual growth. Over time, research in TA has provided fresh insights, while the timeless wisdom of Vedanta has provided me with mental clarity and a firm spiritual anchor.
Q.6 Vedanta is a 3,000-year-old philosophy. What challenges did you face in making such an ancient system of thought relatable to contemporary readers?
A. I did not find it very difficult, since the philosophy of Vedanta is timeless. However, some of the concepts are a little abstract, so wherever possible I have included stories, quotations, and anecdotes to engage the reader.
Q.6 Vedanta is a 3,000-year-old philosophy. What challenges did you face in making such an ancient system of thought relatable to contemporary readers?
A. I did not find it very difficult, since the philosophy of Vedanta is timeless. However, some of the concepts are a little abstract, so wherever possible I have included stories, quotations, and anecdotes to engage the reader.
Also, I need to mention that I am by no means an authority on Vedanta, and neither does my book cover all of this wonderful philosophy. I have only included some Vedantic insights relevant to my goal of providing a means of self-development and personal growth to the reader through my book.
Q.7 Are there any personal anecdotes or stories that didn’t make it into the book but that you would like to share?
A. I have been practising Nichiren Buddhism for the last six years. While doing the chanting that is a part of this Buddhist practice, time and again I used to get flashes of insight about how to structure and enrich my book. I may add that I do not find any contradiction between Buddhism and Vedanta.
Q.8 Can you elaborate on how Take Charge of Your Life can be used as a resource for students of psychology and philosophy?
A. It is basically a self-help manual for the general reader and needs to be used as such. It contains many psychological and philosophical insights that will be of interest to students of these two disciplines, but it has essentially been written for the layman.
Q.9 What role do storytelling and fables play in conveying complex philosophical ideas in your book? How did you select these stories?
A. I strongly believe in the power of storytelling as a means of conveying ideas, concepts and principles, and more importantly, to drive home the point that one wishes to make. I selected these stories mainly from an anthology that I had prepared earlier, to illustrate and exemplify human values.
Q.10 How many books have you written? Which one is your favourite?
A. I have so far written three books and co-edited a fourth. My favourite is my latest work, Take Charge of Your Life, since it combines two subjects I am passionate about, TA and Vedanta, and shows how Vedanta enriches and informs TA, and also how both TA and cutting-edge science are inexorably approaching the profound philosophical truths contained in Vedanta.
Q.11 When did you first realize you wanted to become an author?
A. I did not deliberately set out to become an author, but, as the great mystic Rumi says, “When you walk on the path, the path appears.” During the last five years of my career, when I was a Senior Faculty Member (HR & OB) at my company’s Management Development Institute, I developed a workshop for teaching TAs to build interpersonal skills and effective communication.
Q.7 Are there any personal anecdotes or stories that didn’t make it into the book but that you would like to share?
A. I have been practising Nichiren Buddhism for the last six years. While doing the chanting that is a part of this Buddhist practice, time and again I used to get flashes of insight about how to structure and enrich my book. I may add that I do not find any contradiction between Buddhism and Vedanta.
Q.8 Can you elaborate on how Take Charge of Your Life can be used as a resource for students of psychology and philosophy?
A. It is basically a self-help manual for the general reader and needs to be used as such. It contains many psychological and philosophical insights that will be of interest to students of these two disciplines, but it has essentially been written for the layman.
Q.9 What role do storytelling and fables play in conveying complex philosophical ideas in your book? How did you select these stories?
A. I strongly believe in the power of storytelling as a means of conveying ideas, concepts and principles, and more importantly, to drive home the point that one wishes to make. I selected these stories mainly from an anthology that I had prepared earlier, to illustrate and exemplify human values.
Q.10 How many books have you written? Which one is your favourite?
A. I have so far written three books and co-edited a fourth. My favourite is my latest work, Take Charge of Your Life, since it combines two subjects I am passionate about, TA and Vedanta, and shows how Vedanta enriches and informs TA, and also how both TA and cutting-edge science are inexorably approaching the profound philosophical truths contained in Vedanta.
Q.11 When did you first realize you wanted to become an author?
A. I did not deliberately set out to become an author, but, as the great mystic Rumi says, “When you walk on the path, the path appears.” During the last five years of my career, when I was a Senior Faculty Member (HR & OB) at my company’s Management Development Institute, I developed a workshop for teaching TAs to build interpersonal skills and effective communication.
My first book, Winning Hearts and Minds: TA Simplified, grew out of this workshop. I also got an opportunity to co-edit the book Manthan, a record of a series of HR Roundtables on Leadership Development, for which I wrote editorial essays on the theme.
Later, my interest in Vedanta philosophy led me to make a connection between it and the psychology of TA, and an article on this happened. Then it grew into a book!
Q.12 Can you describe a real-life example or case where someone applied the principles from your book and experienced significant change?
A. Feedback from the participants of my workshops on TA indicated the changes that they resolved to make in their thinking and behaviour after learning about this approach. I hope that readers of this book will also reflect on their thinking and behaviour, and decide what they can change for the better. The book shows them how.
Q.13 As an author, how do you measure success? Is it through reader feedback, personal fulfilment, or something else?
A. It is basically personal fulfilment, the joy of creation. Of course, if readers appreciate my work, I get a sense of satisfaction and feel good about it!
Q.14 Are there any misconceptions about TA or Vedanta that you hope your book addresses or clarifies?
A. I have tried to explain the psychology of TA and the philosophy of Vedanta in simple terms and show how the two taken together constitute a powerful vehicle for self-development and personal growth.
Q.15 What advice would you give to someone new to either Transactional Analysis or Vedanta? How should they begin their journey into these fields?
A. They should read Winning Hearts and Minds and Take Charge of Your Life, for a start, and then the other works in my Bibliographies.
Q.16 Who are the key influences in your life and work? Are there authors or thinkers who have significantly shaped your understanding of TA or Vedanta?
A. Professor Julie Hay has guided my work on TA throughout. I have learned Vedanta from Swami Parthasarathi, Prof. S. K. Chakrabarti and other scholars.
Q.17 What message or takeaway do you hope readers will carry with them after finishing Take Charge of Your Life?
A. To take charge of, and acknowledge responsibility for, our own thoughts, feelings and behaviour; to discard self-limiting beliefs and attitudes; to act humanely towards everyone; to acknowledge responsibility for preserving the environment; to nurture the spiritual part of ourselves. That’ll do for a start!
Q.18 If you were to recommend one chapter from your book for a reader to start with, which one would it be and why?
A. Taking Charge, since it starts the self-help journey, which continues with Clearing the Clutter and Tightening the Grip.
Q.19 If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self about embarking on this writing journey, what would it be?
A. Be more disciplined about writing.
Q.20 Share the experience of your writing journey so far.
A. It has been greatly satisfying. I have written fiction also and am planning a collection of short stories.
Q.12 Can you describe a real-life example or case where someone applied the principles from your book and experienced significant change?
A. Feedback from the participants of my workshops on TA indicated the changes that they resolved to make in their thinking and behaviour after learning about this approach. I hope that readers of this book will also reflect on their thinking and behaviour, and decide what they can change for the better. The book shows them how.
Q.13 As an author, how do you measure success? Is it through reader feedback, personal fulfilment, or something else?
A. It is basically personal fulfilment, the joy of creation. Of course, if readers appreciate my work, I get a sense of satisfaction and feel good about it!
Q.14 Are there any misconceptions about TA or Vedanta that you hope your book addresses or clarifies?
A. I have tried to explain the psychology of TA and the philosophy of Vedanta in simple terms and show how the two taken together constitute a powerful vehicle for self-development and personal growth.
Q.15 What advice would you give to someone new to either Transactional Analysis or Vedanta? How should they begin their journey into these fields?
A. They should read Winning Hearts and Minds and Take Charge of Your Life, for a start, and then the other works in my Bibliographies.
Q.16 Who are the key influences in your life and work? Are there authors or thinkers who have significantly shaped your understanding of TA or Vedanta?
A. Professor Julie Hay has guided my work on TA throughout. I have learned Vedanta from Swami Parthasarathi, Prof. S. K. Chakrabarti and other scholars.
Q.17 What message or takeaway do you hope readers will carry with them after finishing Take Charge of Your Life?
A. To take charge of, and acknowledge responsibility for, our own thoughts, feelings and behaviour; to discard self-limiting beliefs and attitudes; to act humanely towards everyone; to acknowledge responsibility for preserving the environment; to nurture the spiritual part of ourselves. That’ll do for a start!
Q.18 If you were to recommend one chapter from your book for a reader to start with, which one would it be and why?
A. Taking Charge, since it starts the self-help journey, which continues with Clearing the Clutter and Tightening the Grip.
Q.19 If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self about embarking on this writing journey, what would it be?
A. Be more disciplined about writing.
Q.20 Share the experience of your writing journey so far.
A. It has been greatly satisfying. I have written fiction also and am planning a collection of short stories.
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