Having understood the exchange and what is exchanged, let us understand who participates in the exchange. This is the unique feature of Dharmic Leadership and separates the yagna from other forms of exchange such as barter and contract.
In barter, only goods and services are exchanged. Personal beliefs do not matter. In contract, beliefs are either false or true. True beliefs make us respect the law, ethics, and morality. In yagna, inclusion of other people's beliefs allows our beliefs to expand and uncrumple the mind infinitely. As the mind expands, we become generous because we are content and content because we are ambitious. This makes yagna an exercise in transformation unlike contract, which is at best, an exercise in conversion. As belief shifts, so does behavior, and so does business.
In Indian mythology, the female form is given to the constituents of the cultural body, that which can be exchanged. The male form is given to the psychological body, that which can transform. Brahma is who we are by default. We consume resources, power and knowledge and, so we chase the goddesses relentlessly. Discontentment makes us Shiva who grows indifferent to the goddess, until he realizes her value. Finally, as Vishnu, we discovers that we are also goddesses, that which can be consumed by others. Here gender is used as a metaphor to convey the complex relationship of mind and matter. We wonder what comes first: hunger or food? This gives rise to the question, who came first: god or goddess? Rig Veda says, 'They gave birth to each other, Daksha to Aditi and Aditi to Daksha.'
In this chapter, we will study ambition through stories of Brahma and his sons, contentment through stories of Shiva and generosity through stories of Vishnu.
