By Mihir Srivastava
To deal with this complicated world with so much fanfare and projections and narratives and visuals and stories and experiences–a good strategy would be to be simple and straightforward, and somewhat unaffected, which is not a shield, but being detached. Be a witness, but detached enough not to fall prey to the maya–or the illusion or magic. Sridhar Potaraju practises this with finesse of an artist. He drinks from a cup that says DUE TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF MY JOB-I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING. It says a lot about him and is a good point to start to get to know him better.
A lawyer of the Supreme Court, has been in this profession for two and half decades, has done well for himself, one of the leading legal minds involved in the Ram Janmabhoomi Case–’representing the Lord Rama,’ as he puts it zestfully.
What makes him special is that he has been in the middle of the action for all these years in so many significant cases, yet never gets swayed by the hype. His priority in life is clear and he adheres to it. He does his karmic duty with an element of detachment. His sets of motivation are different, that propels him. He seeks fulfilment and peace of mind, and a relaxed life, with family. And performs his duty with dedication.
Sridhar has an office in the posh Defence Colony, his chamber is a big clutter free room, nothing fancy, user friendly, light streaming in through tall windows. He talks with no embellishment, is soft spoken but matter of fact in his response.
A commerce graduate who grew up in Hyderabad, came to Delhi to study law in 1994. At this point in life, his father gave him a substantive lesson of life, ‘you’re on your own, my son.’ Freedom can be destabilising, but Sridhar did well. After finishing law, he joined some distinguished seniors and learned the art of practising law. There was also a time when he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay in Delhi. He stayed on and built a good practice. His wife was a banker, and now manages his finances. He has a son and a daughter, and he prefers to stay in Noida in a multi-storey condo and gives his children a normal upbringing–that’s devoid of fancy and ostentatious frills that he can very well afford, as many of his contemporaries do.
Sridhar never seems perturbed, or in a hurry. He is there, and sort of soaking you in, and seems to know more than what one says to him. He experiences people and it's an experience to be with him–he embodies calm energy. Where does he get this equanimity? The answer is from the ancient Indian wisdom as he has not just translated shlokas from Mahabharat and compiled them in a book, but these pearls of wisdom guide him in his journey of life. Scholar of Sanskrit, K Parasaran, also an eminent jurist, is one his mentors.
Sridhar has a way with words, an easy going person with a weighty presence, and he likes to communicate in metaphors, idioms, proverbs and similes. He felt, and it’s true, though not many of us realise, that while India is home to the oldest living civilization with rich philosophical tradition that has contributed immensely to understand human endeavour, to understand life mostly in the context of inevitable death.
Unfortunately, this wisdom is locked in books–the bridge that makes people engage with it in day to day life is missing. Sridhar decided to be that bridge in his own quintessential way. The fact that his mother tongue is Telugu–which has, as he puts it, ‘deep roots in Sanskrit’–helped.
Despite his busy life as a lawyer, he found time to study ancient Indian scriptures with passionate zeal. The Covid-years gave him the time and mind space to translate some of the shlokas and put it in a book–that exemplifies, in his words, the ‘eternal values that need to be inculcated and nurtured for a harmonious life.’
My way of understanding him better was to ask him to short list some of the shlokas–his favourite that guides his actions and attitude towards life and all that life has to offer.
The first one he selected is Vidura speaking: decrepitude destroys beauty, fear destroys hope, death destroys life, envy destroys virtue, anger destroys prosperity, association with lowly destroys good behaviour, lust destroys modesty, and ego destroys everything.
One ought to behave towards another having regard to how the other person behaves with him; this is consistent with Dharma. One may behave deceitfully with a deceitful person, but ought to be honest with an honest person.
It is time that gives and again takes away everything. It’s time that ordains everything. Therefore, do not brag about your valour.
Humanity conquers the mighty and the weak alike. Nothing is impossible for one who is humble.
Sattva guna results in knowledge. Rajas in materialism. Tamas leads to error, delusion and ignorance.
These are simple yet profound with life changing potential, and did help me understand him better, his understated being that has made him accomplish big. Having said that, Sridhar sharing his favourite slokas, and I feel, in retrospect, was not so much about him, but me.
We talked about a common friend, who has done well. While I was harping about the fact that he’s changed a lot, he simply said he’s the same person who has met success. And that when people affect you in a certain way, and you try to put in words how you feel about them, you’re not talking about them, but your own self.
Beautifully put together a concise philosophy of life that is the essence of ancient wisdom.