The experiences bestowed by Kanchi-Mahaswami — Part 33 : Sashtanga Namaskar
https://www.thuglak.com/thuglak/main.php?x=curissue/ninaithu_paarkiraen_16_06_2021.php
Author : Sri S.Gurumurthy
Translator : C.Rangarajan
Both A.N.Sivaraman & I went to Goenka. Goenka was owning the Indian Express group that was managing 33 bold & strong magazines. Also, he was close to Morarji Desai. Therefore, many famous people would be waiting for his appointment. When we arrived there, we saw Congress leader Kamalnath leaving his room. Upon entering the office, ANS set the tone by saying, “Ramnath, the matter is very urgent. We need your undivided attention to discuss the Express traders’ problem that will decide our fate”. Goenka went out and requested the waiting members to leave & come again on the next day.
Now, it is your turn
Palkhivala has given a legal opinion that we cannot go to the settlement commission, again. What else we can do, asked Goenka? ANS replied, “We did not give the complete information to Palkhivala. Hence, his opinion was not correct. Legally, we are eligible to go and we should go. It is the only viable option is our opinion”. Goenka was surprised. ANS asked me to explain and I was taken aback. He then motivated me to go ahead, since it was my solution. He further said, “You alone should share it, since you found a way. More and more you explain to people then you would get clarity and would help to boost your self-confidence too. It is your job to convince others”. I was in a dilemma.
In a minute, ANS had put it simply — the idea is yours and it is your responsibility to explain it to others. I was shaken. Then Goenka had asked me to explain it patiently. That time, I was getting closer to Goenka. With the help of the notes, I slowly explained it to him.
Goenka’s approval
Since Goenka had the legal acumen, he quickly understood that his application was not rejected. He was asking for the other option. I patiently explained to him, “Sir, we do not have any other option. If we do not deduct our loss then we need to pay tax between Rs 40–50 crores. Indira wanted to finish off us using this as a weapon. We have deferred our payment. Even, if we choose to go to the adjudication process then we have to pay half of the amount and that will take 10–15 years. We will not be able to sustain for such long. The present government is favorable to us and if it changes then it may lead to trouble for us. IT department has filed a criminal complaint. CBI has filed a criminal report against us. Even if we find a solution to our IT problem, still CBI can continue with its case. If the settlement commission accepts our argument and adjudicate then it will help to put an end to all these problems”.
Goenka questioned whether the settlement commission is in a position to help in the dismissal of the case foisted on us by the CBI group. I replied, “not necessary Sir. If the commission accepts that the Express traders partnership was started properly, all the other cases will come to an end”. As per law, even the Supreme court does not have the power to overrule the settlement commission’s verdict. I showed the relevant legal provisions. As per the provision, if the commission changes the gender of a person then the Supreme court does not have any other option but to accept it. Both of them laughed. Goenka was continuously interrogating. As ANS mentioned, slowly, my confidence grew about the solution. ANS accepting my solution was the 1st victory and Goenka’s acceptance was the 2nd one.
You should go
“Sir, we need to win this case and for that to happen, we need to get Palkjivala’s opinion reversed. Only then the commission will accept it”, explained ANS. Goenka asked me whether I have the guts to explain this to Goenka. I told him that I do not have the boldness to tell Palkhivala that his opinion was not correct. Goenka told me that only you should go. I tried to escape by saying that it would be appropriate to send the people who took the opinion. Goenka vetoed that idea and mentioned that they are all seniors to you and would not accept your opinion from a junior. You alone should go.
Vamana Avathara
After seeing my confusion, he said to me, “Don’t worry! Palkhivala is a nice man. Even though his societal status is very high, by nature he is a very humble person. He has the magnanimity to accept others’ opinions. It is sufficient that if you go alone. He has tremendous respect for me and I will put a very good word about you”. I continued to tremble. He called Palkhivala, “ Nani, last month, you gave an opinion to us. We continued to do some more research on that. Some more new points have emerged and were discovered by a junior. He is a chartered accountant by profession and not a lawyer. He looks like Vamana in stature and a college boy by appearance. He is a brilliant man. If you can spend one hour, I will ask him to explain this to you. Hope, you will be able to do it at the earliest”. That was one generous introduction. Through the association with them, I benefitted a lot and all negative qualities like hesitation, shyness & fear vanished immediately. Such association helped immensely in building my self-confidence and boldness at a young age me.
Sashtanga Namaskar
As soon as I entered Palkhivala’s office, I did a Sashtanga Namaskar to him. He was surprised by that. It was not a planned one and by practice, we did that to elders. I was wondering how to start it. I prayed to Kanchi Mahaswami. I started about my role during emergency days, how I became Goenka’s advisor & how I became his student by listening to his lectures on the constitution. Then, I explained the solution and submitted my proposal to him in a very humble manner.
Sir, Goenka’s request is in ‘prorogue’ state and if the IT commissioner removes his objections then the application attains the state for further processing. It was our mistake that we did not mention it in the note given to you. He immediately understood the point.
He was a Jambhavan in his profession and allowed a junior like me to elaborate. He asked me with a smile, ” Fair enough. The President has the powers to issue a decree to active the parliament by nullifying its prorogue state. On what basis the IT commissioner can do this”? I knew that he was testing me. I replied, “Sir, the settlement commissioner rejected our request saying that the IT department’s decision went against Express traders’ assessment. That decision has gone for higher appeal. If we request to dismiss that order (since we were not allowed to explain our position during the emergency) and seek re-inquiry then the higher authority has to oblige that request.
Once that gets completed then the settlement commission does not have any other option other than accepting our request. Palkhivala got up and embraced me affectionately and said, “Young Man, brilliant, I fully support & endorse this solution. Please inform Goenka that I will be happy to send a note on those lines”.
Again, I paid my Namaskarams to him and came out. I was in a state of ecstasy and felt proud. I was able to understand the purport behind ANS motivation. The training I had with him helped to explain this to Palkhivala in a crystal clear manner. It led to speedier ascendancy in my career, personal life, and social life.
From Palkhivala’s office, I went to the Express towers office in Mumbai. I embraced him immediately and shared the good news. He also felt happy. In the next week, we received the revised note from Palkhivala. The other advisors were not aware of our moves. I explained the new note to them and activated the request in front of the settlement commission at lightning speed.
Postscript:
In our tradition, there is a healthy habit of paying Sashtanga Namaskarams to elders. I did that to Goenka when I met him first. It continued to be part of me, whatever be my status. In 2000, Swadeshi Jagran Manch held an Industrial exhibition at Coimbatore. As part of that, when we had gone to invite the industrialists like “Arutselvar” N.Mahalingam & G.K.Sundaram, I paid namaskarams to them. Cho had that habit too, and he did that to Late Sri Ramagopalan (Hindu Munnani founder) on his 60th birthday. It is sad to know that slowly it is disappearing.
