Among many qualities required in a perfect manager, the quality of having a

pristine mental setup is very important. Pristine mental setup requires that
mind should be clean, open, focused and still.

A familiar response to a flattering compliment or appreciative remark is

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. This remark may appear to be bit
deviant but if one were to set aside poetic magniloquence and rhetoric and
reflect upon the real essence of this proverb, one might discover a valuable
piece of wisdom reflected in these words.

From an objective perspective, there is no beauty or ugliness on intrinsic

basis; there are no bad people and no good people. These are simply concepts
that come from mans own perception because everything he sees is actually a
reflection of his own mind. While it is the physical eyes that perceives the
outer form, it is the mind that penetrates that outer form and sees a deeper
dimension. The eye of the beholder is, therefore, ones own mind, and it is the
eye that actually sees. It follows, therefore, that it is a mans state of mind that
determines the quality of his vision in order to perceive beauty in everything
he sees, he must have an immaculate and flawless mind: clean, open, focused
and still. Let us discuss them one by one.

Clean mind

Have you ever seen anything more perfect than a snowflake? Its intricacy, its
design, its symmetry, its conformity to itself and originality from all else ..yet, if
I can do this with a single snowflake, what do you think I can do have done
with the universe?

If a snowflake is utterly perfect in its design, do you not think the same could be
said about something as magnificent as your life? (Neale Donald Walsh,
Conversations with God)

This world operates on the perfectly balanced scale of action and reaction, and
based on this veritable and cardinal fact, every person is given a perfect life
impeccably tailored from his own past actions. The reason one may see
certain aspects of his life as flawed is because he is looking at it with tainted
vision. Those very actions that brought about his present predicaments left
countless impressions upon his mind, obscuring his insight. If the eyes of the
beholder are covered by impurities, then it is natural that his vision will be
unclear. Hazrat Inayat Khan writes in Sufi message:

Before we see ugliness, the ugliness has been reflected in our eyes. The mind is
just like the eye. We say this is ugly but before we say it, ugliness is reflected in
our eyes already.

The defect, therefore, is clearly not in what is seen, but in ones own state of
mind. The Sufi mystic, Maulana Rum, begins his book Masnavi by speaking
about the mirror quality of the mind which is hindered when a kind of rust
covers it. He sheds light on this view when he advises purifying the mind from
this rust so that one can make mirror of the mind clear to receive reflections.

How to cleanse our mind? Patanjalis Yoga Sutras states in Sutra 1:33 The
mind becomes clarified by cultivating attitudes of friendliness, compassion,
gladness and indifference respectively towards happiness and misery, virtue and
vice. This positive attitude gradually develops through meditation.
Open mind

The expanse of the mind is so vast that if any mind were fully open, it could
accommodate the whole universe in it, like a drop in ocean. Unfortunately
though, our mind is accustomed to live in cramped quarters. It is busy
engaging in famous five passions; namely, lust, anger, greed, false attachment
and egotism, and therefore has no space for expansion. But if it could be
cleared from all such false encumbrances, the mind would become more open
and its scope of vision would broaden.
If you want to take picture of broader canvas of any scene, the lens of the
camera needs to have a wide enough angle to be able to capture the whole
crowd. If it cannot, then you may be using the wrong lens for its scope is
limited. The deficiency, therefore, lies in the range of the lens, and not in the
subject that is being photographed.
Similarly, the mind is capable of reflecting the goodness and the divinity in all
of Gods creation if it cannot, then its span is limited and narrow, and
perhaps for some, even closed.
A manager should be cautious of this narrow-mindedness. We should be able
to keep an open mind, to listen to others and be willing to see other persons
point of view, they are actually providing us with mind building exercises
that will slowly but surely lead to the expansion of the mind towards its full,
all encompassing potential.
Focused mind
It is prudent for the managers to understand the concept of whatever one
thinks, one becomes. By nature, the human mind is very impressionable, and
man quickly becomes identified with his thoughts; therefore, whatever is
regularly on a persons mind eventually develops into his own personality.
A person observing this particular phenomenon once had a memorable
experience when he visited the home of a kings servant. When he went into
his home, he was very surprised to see that everything was arranged exactly
like the kings palace. Even the way the man greeted him and took him into his
home, the way he served him, the manner in which he behaved and spoke
were all very kingly although he was only a humble servant.

This distinctive traits of mind is precisely the reason why the taming of mind
abgratitude towards humanity and its Maker, as much and often as possible.
The principle is that if the mind is consistently and regularly associated with
the positive environment it will be eventually trained to focus and zoom
only upon attributes of goodness, and under this condition it will
automatically reflect the divine in everything it sees. Hazrat Inayat Khan says
in The Sufi Message:
It is reflection. If your heart is clear, then you must only know how to focus it
and you need not do anything else. It is a mirror and all that is before it will be
reflected in it.
Mind being still
It is an undeniable fact that a turbulent body of water, regardless of how pure
it may be, will never be able to reflect anything else unless it is perfectly still.
Similarly, as long as mind is on the move, the reflection it projects will always
be faint and unclear.
Having existing in this creation for countless ages, it has become the nature of
mind to be in a state of constant state of motion. Stilling the mind is an
impossible task, and on his own man does not have the strength to do it.
When a disciple approached his master and asked him how difficult it is to
control the mind, the Master replied, If I were told that someone has lifted the
Himalayas, I may for a moment, assume that there is such a person in the world.
If someone were to say he has swallowed the sea, incredible though it may seem,
I may for an instant, believe him too. If someone were to assert that he has
tamed the winds of the world, he is not to be taken seriously, but for a split
second, I may agree with him. However, if someone were to boast that that he
has controlled his mind, I would never believe him. The mighty force of mind is
not easily controlled.
From their own experience mystics tell us that the only force that can still the
mind is the Power that created it. When one tries to raise his level of
consciousness and align with the Creator with love and devotion, wave upon
wave of higher conscious currents wash over his mind, cleansing it of all
impurities. Restoring its brilliance, it draws up into sweet strains of heavenly

melody, and when mind is perfectly pristine, immaculate and pure, it dissolves
only to reveal the ultimate, indescribable beauty that was in the beholder all
along the Creator Himself.