Take for example a football player who happens to be so proficient in his game that if its left to him he can juggle the ball extremely well without letting it drop even once to the ground.
However, the very same talented player may not be able to make a meaningful contribution when playing in a team because he cannot work together harmoniously with other teammates, as part of a team.
Many organizations experience a similar phenomenon. They may have someone very capable who can single-handedly manage various responsibilities. However, he may shy away from playing his part when he is asked to team up with other people to accomplish some big responsibility. When a few people are given to carry out a task together, most of them may think of turning their back on their responsibility thinking that other people in the team would fulfill it.
In Buddhist literature, there is a fascinating story revealing lack of collective responsibility. It goes like this… A king once decided to organize a huge religious event. He instructed his citizens to bring milk in a pot and offer it into a pool constructed at the site of ceremony. The pool was covered up with a lid. After everyone had his or her turn, the lid was removed. The king was surprised to see that the pool was filled with water instead of milk. When he investigated its cause, he came to know that everyone had brought water in their pot instead of milk thinking that they were the only ones who poured water, the rest would surely have had poured milk!
The social skill of living together harmoniously with other people and being able to impart the benefit of our individual capabilities as a team member is a learning process that can be mastered only through living together cohesively and thereby learning to develop community spirit.
-Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya
Jivan Devta ki sadhana aradhana Vol 2 - Page 2.20
