Create the CAUSE to bring the EFFECT

Theory of Karma is not only a guiding principle to live one’s life by. The theory which teaches to create right CAUSE to bring the desired result (EFFECT) can be applied to our professions too. All it requires is determination, perseverance and hope.

I experienced first-hand the actual proof of this theory of CAUSE AND EFFECT when my friend and I ventured on an unknown path to hike with full hope and determination that we would find our way.

My friend and I decided to hike the hills of North Lantau Island. The hills of Lantau are rugged and harsh and we are occasional hikers for fun.  On the public holiday of Dragon’s Boat Festival, all we wanted was a light hike to use the holiday and do some easy 4 to 5 km shaded walk on a sunny day. We chose Section 11 of Lantau Trail but landed up on the Olympic Trail around 3:00 p.m. After walking down some distance, as per the directions, we came at a point with two paths but no direction. One path was across the circumference of the hill and the other had steps going up. We decided to take the steps up. There were 11 sections of 52 steps each. These steps were along a concrete water drainage but we had no idea what to expect after reaching uphill. Once we climbed all the steps, we came across a sort of dead end, except a narrow pathway going up which appeared to be traversed once in a while and also gave an impression of a dried spring.

We decided to take that pathway. It was a steep climb full of stones, large and small. We could not find anyone going up or down. We had only one water bottle each and had no idea of the steep climb up and the amount of water we would need on the way. However, we kept going with some concerns like where will we reach, how far is the top, can we come down the same way (climbing down will be difficult due to steep slope), need to reach down before dark as it was already around 5:00 p.m. etc. As we continued to move ahead, the climb became increasingly difficult, and we were getting breathless easily, and had to ration our water due to limited supply.  

After some time, we came across a couple climbing down and this assured us that we were not taking a completely unknown path and also that it was possible to climb down. We talked to them to find out where would we reach if we keep on climbing up. Though they knew little English, we were encouraged from whatever little we could understand from them. The important aspect was we became hopeful and this created determination though the climb was very tough.

After a while, we met an Indian couple who were climbing down too.  They told us that they normally do this route. From them we came to know that the top was still about half an hour hike. This helped us to take a decision that we could continue to climb up without worrying about it becoming dark.  Again, our efforts (The CAUSE) created the EFFECT to have hope and determination. By now it was about 5:45 p.m. and we came across few more people who were climbing down. Still not sure when we would reach the top, we were very exhausted; water in our body and the bottle was depleting, and lots of doubts if it is prudent to go on.  

Then a miracle happened. We bumped into an Indian who was actually climbing up in our direction even at that hour, and not going downhill. Obviously, we started to talk to him and were extremely surprised to know that for the last 15 years, he does 35 KM hiking every weekend and this hike was a warm-up for the next morning 35 KM hike.  He very much appreciated our efforts to be on a very tough hike that many people find difficult to do even though he had seen few healthy elderlies on this trail too, which surprised us. He gave us tips to cover our heads, continue to sip water and not to put steps very hard. He agreed to guide us down through the other side of the hill (by slowing down his speed) and also offered to show us one more easy and good hike route once we reach down. He showed us a spring where we could refill our water bottles. Finally, with his direction we came down. We hiked about 15 KM and the 80% of this was climbing up and down.

The point here is that our efforts kept us giving hope and determination to complete the hike with support from the universe which came our way since we continued to move, create cause, and take help and support.

But why am I telling this story here? On a blog related with corporate compliance? Because in all spheres of our life it is we the individual who has to create the CAUSE to bring the EFFECT we want to see in our life. The same holds true for our professions too. For instance, in the compliance function we regularly come across situations with no apparent straight forward solution and such situations require a judgement call. How to make a judgement call in such situations? For this, it is necessary to dig and seek more and more information on the facts of the case and apply the regulatory provisions to these facts to appreciate the possible implications. This invariably leads to finding possible solutions which balances and minimize the risks for the stakeholders. That is, it is necessary to create the CAUSE to come up with an effective solution i.e. EFFECT. When proper and effective cause is not created, it leads to unsatisfactory and unconvincing solution, customer dis-satisfaction and weak audit trail i.e. undesirable effect.