Stephen Hawking on empathy

Stephen Hawking; back under the international spotlight after the spectacular success of the "Theory of everything" and Eddie Redmanye's Oscar win, recently stated that if he could correct one human flaw, it would be aggression. He suggested that greater empathy could counter the ill-effects of aggression on our race. While empathy, as a component of emotional intelligence, has been part of organizational studies for quite some now, the recent rise of senseless violence across the world has brought it into the forefront of discussion in the media. Nicholas Kristoff's recent NYT article being a case in point. Empathetic leadership is the need of the hour, especially in the context of the soaring inequality worldwide.

Which is all the more reason to make a case for the importance of a liberal arts education  for successful leaders. A fascinating study by two New School professors indicates that reading literary fiction improves our empathy because the characters in them are multi-faceted, and their plots are often ambiguous giving us no black and white solutions. A good leadership education must therefore involve reading beyond the contemporary best selling business books often written by authors with no business credentials. Barbara Kellerman's remarkable book Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence, based on her successful course in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, is a good place to start for those looking to become leadership literate (literally).

  

  

Nurture through the six tastes prescribed in Ayruveda

India's ancient medicine system, which more of a way of living like yoga, prescribes six tastes which must be part of every meal. Eating the foods associated with each taste, in moderation, ensures the right amount of nourishment for the body, and promotes well-being. A closer look at these six tastes shows the remarkable similarity to food groups promoted today as part of the food plate.

The six tastes are sweet, sour salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent.

Sweet: Includes carbohydrates, sugars, fats, milk dates, pumpkin. Foods in this category are important for sustenance, and nourishment.

Sour: Important to cleanse the tissues and improve absorption of minerals. Fermented foods like yogurt, pickles  are part of this taste. So are certain fruits like lemons, berries, grapefruit, tamarind etc.

Salty: Improves taste, lubricates tissues, improves digestion. Salt, and watery vegetables like zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes are saline.

Bitter: Detoxifies the organs, cleanses the liver, tones organs. Turmeric, dark leafy vegetables, lettuce, beets, aloe vera are foods in this category.

Pungent: Stimulates appetite,  maintains metabolism and balance for the body. Garlic, ginger, asafoetida, peppers, spices (cardamom, fennel, black pepper)  are part of this taste.

Astringent: Absorbds water, and heals by drying out the tissues. Some foods in this category are  teas, legumes, green grapes, pomegranate are some foods in this category.