Portrait of a Spiritual Techie
By Suneetha B

Dr. Kavita Chandrasekhar is a software engineer by profession and a spiritual teacher by choice. She holds workshops with Ishdeep Sahni (also a techie turned spiritual teacher and co-creator of I emanate) across the globe aiming to empower people looking for spiritual, personal or metaphysical answers.  Kavita spoke to Techgoss about her move from a binary to a spiritual world.

Techgoss (TG): Tell us about you first. What did you study to become an IT professional?
Kavita Chandrasekhar (KC): I studied for my B.E with JAVA, VLSI, dot net, COBOL and Mainframe Programming in Pune and worked as a Software engineer till Oct 2007.

All through my childhood and teens, I constantly felt that I am here for a purpose and it stemmed deeply from a feeling to be calm and peaceful at all times and also enable others to be so. There was a strong sense of service, to enable all to be in absolute wellness and peace at all times. And since I had acquired it at an early age, I felt this beautiful experience needed to be shared to all.

TG: What have you learnt from your experience working with the corporate world?
KC: Most programmers go through extreme stress and handling operations when in fact the core has to be balanced enough to perform his duties. Each techie assigned in a project goes through varied levels of stress. However, if he possesses a permanent tool to be stress free at all times, his productivity and EQ (emotional quotient) will increase and also his personal life will be much better as he is progressively relaxed. Hence, the vicious circle continues to have a successful professional and personal life.
 

TG: Do you now feel that you had strayed into a career in technology or was it part of your journey to realization?
KC: I was always fascinated by Alternative healing as a way of life. My decision to be in the software field has been a conscious one. Combating my personal health challenges with alternative mediums of medicine since an early age, I knew it worked! And wanted to bring this ancient science to the knowledge to all.
 
As for academics, like most students who excel in Science stream, I chose to study engineering. While still pursuing my studies, I began to feel this strong sense of purpose which was beyond ambition. How is my presence going to make a difference to this World? , was the constant question that kept coming to me at every juncture in life. I began to Meditate and study Alternative medicines and healing forms like Reiki, Pranic healing and Crystal healing while still in my college and took to it like a fish to water. NLP and further advanced models of mind body connection revealed a gamut of potential to me to help people further. I met many Himalayan yogis and Enlightened teachers who taught me the art to balance spirituality as a way of life in the material world.

"Samsara is Nirvana and Nirvana is Samsara" is a powerful teaching. That it is here in this World that we can attain enlightenment and it is in Awareness itself that we learn about the material aspect of life.

TG: As a career, how would you rate IT and BPO as being good or bad in giving us spiritual balance?
KC: Every profession has its Pros and Cons, BPOs and IT sectors need the most spiritual support. Considering the amount of stress and anxiety, professionals from this field go through right from meeting deadlines, making an edge above the rest while still being one among them and out-winning peers in the same profession; they need to have a spiritual foundation for the growth of their career. For what has been observed as a trend is that, most people do well in their careers devoting themselves solely to it and then only to find their personal lives going kaput either through personal failure or falling prey to addictive behaviours. A strong foundation of Meditation is needed to build up on the career graph of an individual in every industry to foster the overall success of the organisation. Eventually, happy employees make a happy company.

TG: IT is a very lucrative career.  Was it hard to leave it to become a counsellor/spiritual guide?
KC: It wasn't difficult for the simple reason that when the purpose is clear, the ambition makes way for it. In other words, knowing that serving and helping people reach their optimum on personal front gave me a high like nothing else, I knew, I am here to assist the flight of thousands of such souls who will reach the skies of personal success that they have never even imagined. I was being guided to reach out to others in a very clear way and further meditations paved the way for my purpose. I knew my calling. And it was very very clear!

As I became a catalyst for spiritual transformation for so many people, it further fostered my faith in my purpose to reach out to masses and spread the message of simplifying life with meditation and hence result in peace of mind and greater productivity at workplace and life beyond that. Using Zen and Tao meditation techniques for creating a calmer and peaceful framework at the mind, body, emotion and soul level, our seminars are targeted to reach out to every professional in every challenging sector of business.

TG: You are based in Pune.  Do you get many clients from the IT-BPO-KPO-Telecom sectors?  Are there any chakra imbalances common about people who work in IT-BPO Sectors?
KC: Stress is the result of a response that the body or mind cannot take in case of an external stimuli. Stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand. Since professionals working in these fields are exposed to such challenging situations, obviously the human mechanism shows signs to crumble and results in stress.

Yes, in Pune itself, more than 65% of clients are from IT-BPO-KPO Sectors and approximately 10% are health professionals, doctors, biotechnologists. This trend clearly shows the urgency of holistic approach towards life to be adopted by these professionals and only organisations can take the first step in making this available to their valuable employees.

Notably, 2% of clients are children below the age of 17 who are prey to stress and develop emotional complexes due to it.

 
TG: Do you have any tie ups with IT-BPO-KPO companies?
KC: In the past 4 years, we have been working at grass roots level, empowering individuals on one to one basis and supporting NGOs and Schools in adopting a holistic approach towards life with our regular seminars and workshops. We are in the process of tie-ups with major companies in the IT -BPO sector and cater to their management in enhancing their Spiritual Quotient. However, for professional reasons, I cannot name them without official permission.

TG: India was/is a spiritual power. Today, it is a technology powerhouse as well.  You think it runs a risk of ignoring its spirituality at its own peril?
KC: True enough, India is a great Spiritual Power and has developed a strong sound base for technology as well in recent times. It could be said that Spirituality is forgotten, in the advent of profit and in process of keeping up with demands of changing times. But, as all know that the roots of a tree determine for how long it will bear fruit. Eventually, it is to the root we all have to turn to finally re-nurture ourselves and find the missing piece (peace) of the puzzle. :)

There is no risk of ignoring India's own treasure, for a lot of efforts are being made to keep it alive and bring forth the much needed awareness. For all its truth, India is known the World over for being an epitome of Spiritual Strength, after looking all around for our answers; it is natural to look for answers in your own roots. The time will come soon.

 
TG: Where do you envisage yourself in another five years?
KC:  More than seeing myself 5 years from now, it would be appropriate for me to answer I envisage India to be Spiritual Super Power with the best of technology backed by organisations that are rooted in deep spiritual awareness and clarity of mind, body and soul. I see myself working with the most influential corporate organisations and NGOs of this World and helping create balanced professionals and people in all of masses who are naturally going to get their organisations a lot of success and great credibility. What is within you eventually stands out and emerges to others' eye. Learning to understand each other as mirrors of Life. One can teach another about Peace only by presence. So it is a cyclic reaction that will begin with a few hundreds and reach out to all...it is all a matter of time or well. It isn't! :)

To conclude, I’d like to quote a Zen proverb...
 
Before Enlightenment, we chop wood and carry water
After Enlightenment, we chop wood and carry water 
 
If you can understand it in its true meaning, you get the intended meaning of our conversation. :)