Inherent Harmony- “Good for one is good for all”

In Bhagavat Gita (Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata) one of the learning is “Good for one is good for all”. I have spent numerous days’ thinking about just this single line. I had so many glaring everyday examples surrounding me, where it appeared that ‘good for one’ was not at all ‘good for all’. The more I thought about it, the more I became cynical about the concept and thought that it is not practical at all.

In TOC management philosophy: one of the beliefs is “inherent harmony”. It goes like “there is an inherent harmony in every relationship, but not every relationship is harmonious”. Inherent harmony signifies that win-win relationship is possible in every relationship and TOC thinking process offers a clear path to reach that desirable state.

It states that ‘a state’, where a win for one means a loss for other is not the state one should start with. The right starting point is to think (real hard work) about what the other party really needs out of the relationship. Once the other’s real need is identified, then the next step is to establish a common ground where two parties can achieve the win for themselves. Thus, by applying TOC, “Good for one is good for all” state seems practical as well as achievable.