Companies, organisations, and government administrations do not allow much scope to assert. Man is resourceful enough to innovate ways of assertion in spite of a tight structure. The wrong side of life is more resourceful. It carries tales to the boss. Often the boss pulls up the asserting member. Often he does not for various reasons. A balance is arrived at between the asserting members and the effectivity of talebearers. That balance has acquired the dignified name of office politics. The word POLITICS thus has come to mean the equilibrium arrived at by the fighting forces inside a family or a company.
One who is spiritually inclined should not assert. What will he do when in his organisation, one man below him asserts vulgarly just because the boss is cultured? Bosses are not that cultured. Still such occasions do arise. In one such situation, the person who was in charge of distributing drinks in an organisation was having a field day by diluting the drinks of all but his own friends. Complaints mounted over the years and came to a point of bursting. The boss has before him a few issues: 1) It is wrong for the manager to dilute the drinks, 2) The invidious distinction shown between friends and foes is unsavoury, 3) He must be pulled up, 4) The others who suffer should have the culture not to complain, 5) The boss has a principle of not restraining those who work under him, 6) Now, even the critical time has passed and action cannot be postponed.
Fresh arrangements were made for the distribution of drinks and one who was vehemently complaining was put in charge. There was jubilation in the atmosphere. "Let us give him a clear glass of crystal clear hot water," was the slogan in everyone's mouth about the culprit. After the new arrangements were made, the boss called the culprit and said, "You can continue the present arrangements for yourself and all your friends. The others can go to the new dispensation." The bubble of the inflated jubilation was pricked. If you are spiritual, you should not punish others. You should consider their shortcomings as your own. To protect their defects until they come forward on their own to change themselves is a spiritual requirement.