Garbage in Meethotamulla vs.

garbage in the mind

Monday, 8 May 2017

Piles and piles of words have been uttered about the
Meethotamulla mayhem. While the world was moving towards
advanced scientific solutions concerning garbage management,
were we more worried about commissions, votes or popularity?
Shouldnt we have been more proactive than reactive in focusing
more on deeds rather than words? There is no point in pointing
fingers at anyone at this juncture. I see a huge pile of garbage in
the mind, rising much higher than the garbage in Meethotamulla.
In fact, the eve of Vesak is an opportune time to reflect on
garbage in the mind.
Overview

There are no good or bad countries, only well-managed or ill-

managed countries, Peter Drucker, the veteran management
thinker, said so many years ago. Management spreads across all
functions, disciplines and professions in highlighting the need to
ensure sustained results. Garbage management is one vital part
of that complex mechanism. One can cynically argue that, having
a comparatively high literacy rate as a nation and having a
competent set of leaders, managers and administrators, why
couldnt we simply manage our garbage? Is it an issue of a right
person not being in the right position and hence not taking the
right actions? Perhaps garbage in the mind would have prevented
managing the garbage in Meethotamulla.

My intention is not to criticise the ignorance and inaction of those

responsible for this human tragedy. Also, I am not an expert to
suggest the ecologically and economically viable solutions. Let
me attempt to reflect on the garbage in the mind which pushes us
to think and act like laggards and not as leaders and which serves
as being mostly damaging rather than helping us in managing.
Vesak can be a good time for needed purification.
Mind as the forerunner

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and

our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow; our life is the
creation of our mind, said the Buddha while highlighting the
significance of the mind-body relationship.

As he vividly puts it Samma Ditti (right seeing) leads to Samma

Vayama (right action). You cant go ahead and achieve something
noble unless you see it clearly. In simple terms, clear thinking
leads to clever action.

As the first stanza of the revered text, the Dhammapada, states:

Mano pubbaagma dhamma, mano setta manomaya. This
essentially means that the mind is the forerunner for all things.

While its supremacy has always been undisputedly accepted,

What is the mind? has been a perennial question. Philosophers
strived to describe it while psychologists struggled to define it. As
one relatively simpler definition says, the mind is the human
consciousness that originates in the brain and is manifested
especially in thought, perception, emotion, will, memory and
imagination.

Psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and William James have

developed influential theories about the nature of the human
mind. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the field of
cognitive science emerged and developed many varied
approaches to the description of the mind and its related
phenomena.

In Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theory of personality, the

conscious mind consists of everything inside of our awareness.
This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and
talk about in a rational way. The conscious mind includes such
things as the sensations, perceptions, memories, feeling and
fantasies inside of our current awareness.

Cleaning the garbage in the mind

I am a firm advocate of the Five S system, the time-tested

housekeeping method from Japan. It stands for the five Japanese
words that start with the letter S: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu
and Shitsuke. An equivalent set of five S words in English have
likewise been adopted by many to preserve the Five S acronym in
English usage. These are: Sort, Set, Shine, Standardise and
Sustain.
The Five S system offers a systematic approach in keeping things
in order. It is a visual technique of ensuring proper housekeeping
as well. As Hiroyuki Hirano (1995) states in the Five Pillars of the
Visual Workplace, Five S forms the bedrock for productivity.
Further, Takashi Osada, (1995) highlights in The Fiv5Ss: Five keys
to a Total Quality Environment, it offers a pathway for quality and
productivity improvements.

I tend to think that we need to apply the Five S to the Mind as a

way of clearing garbage. It is worthwhile discussing each S in
detail.
Seiri (Sort)

This is the starting point. Typical workplace activities include

going through all the tools, materials and so forth in the plant and
work area. Keeping only essential items and eliminating what is
not required, prioritising things according to their requirements
and keeping them in easily-accessible places are other key
actions. Everything else is stored or discarded.

The way I see it, the deep relevance of Seiri to the mind is
purposefulness. In order to ensure clarity over clutter with Right
Seeing (Samma Dhitti), one needs to identify positive thoughts,
constructive emotions and unbiased perceptions with a clear
purpose in mind. This is much more difficult than sorting things in
a workplace.
Seiton (Set)

This typically means arranging the workplace, equipment, parts

and instructions in such a way that the work flows free of waste
through the value added tasks with a division of labour necessary
to meet demand. It follows the practice of everything has a
proper place. It is all about efficiency.

As I observe, the deep relevance of Seiton to the mind is

prioritising. It requires focusing on value creation. Connecting
thoughts in a logical manner with proper analysis is the need. It in
fact helps oneself to focus on tasks linked to targets in the
context of overall purpose. What is connected to the purpose has
to be a priority. The rest has to be set aside to be done only
when time permits.
Seiso (Shine)

This involves cleaning the workspace and all equipment and

keeping it organised. In a typical factory, at the end of each shift
clean the work area and be sure everything is restored to its
proper place. This step ensures that the workstation is ready for
the next user and that order is sustained.

The way I see it, the deep relevance of Seiso to the mind is purity.
This is where the spiritual dimension looms large. Pure thoughts
devoid of malice, jealously and other negativities are what are
required. A shining mind is a spiritual mind empathising with
others compassionately.
Seiketsu (Sustain)

This is all about uniformity and consistency. In a typical

workplace, uniform procedures need to be ensured throughout an
operation to promote interchangeability.

I think the deep relevance of Seiketsu to the mind is

perseverance. So many start-ups might end up halfway through
without proper completion. A mind that is geared towards
perseverance will ensure continuity of a recommended habit,
preferred value or a best practice. One needs determination and
dedication in order to sustain noteworthy initiatives.
Shitsuke (Standardise)

This refers to ensuring the disciplined adherence to the previous

four Ss. It assists in preventing a possible backsliding to where
thing were prior to the implementation of the Five S system.

The key word here is discipline. It denotes practising the Five S

system as a way of life. As the Japanese say, the emphasis of
Shitsuke is the elimination of bad habits and the constant practice
of good ones. Once true Shitsuke is achieved, people will keep
things naturally, without reminders and warnings.

The way I see it, the deep relevance of Shitsuke to the mind is
proactiveness. With a proactive mind, purposeful, prioritised and
pure actions can be continued with perseverance. In essence, it
sums up the overall application of the Five S system to the mind.
Beyond garbage clearance

As we saw clearly so far, the Five S system for the workplace can
be applicable in a deep way as the Five S system for the mind. In
such an approach, it can even be called the five Ps. They are
purposefulness, prioritising, purity, perseverance and
proactiveness.

Sri Lankan leaders, administrators and managers can embrace

the above five Ps and then engage in the five Ss so that mind and
matter can both be organised in a better way.

We need to transform ourselves into a disciplined society with

adherence to values. Vesak is the right time to reflect on
humanity in an enlightened manner. We need to overcome our
multiple inner battles. Being conscious of valuing green over
greed is one such choice. Being conscious of valuing principles
over privileges is another. Being open-minded and holistic instead
of being opportunistic and harmful is yet another value-centric
decision. When the opposite happens the consequences are very
clear. You make a garbage pit a goldmine by making easy money
in the short-run but pave the way for dire consequences to occur.
The mayhem in Meethotamulla is just a recent demonstration of
human (or rather inhuman) behaviour. Let me revisit the first
stanza of the Dhammapada to conclude.

Mind precedes all knowables,

Minds their chief, mind-made are they.

If with a corrupted mind

One should either speak or act

Dukkha follows caused by that,

As does the wheel the oxs hoof.

(Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri can be reached at

director@pim.sjp.ac.lk, president@ipmlk.org,
ajantha@ou.edu or www.ajanthadharmasiri.info).
Posted by Thavam