Stithaprajña Lakshana and Coachness

As coaches and leaders we try to master tools and complete certifications but only a few of us try to master our inner weather.

To start the journey towards mastery, it’s time to understand Indic terms similar to how we are at home with Ikigai and Fengshui.

It is in this context, am presenting the essence derived from the 5000+ year old ‘inner archetype’ - the ‘Stithaprajña Lakshana.’

This is adapted from my notes on the live Gita sessions of Master Sri that am fortunate to attend from 1997 to 2009 🙏🏼

🧘‍♂️ Stithaprajña is the inner state, and Lakshana means recognisable signs.

This is not philosophy for monks but a mental architecture for coaches, leaders and decision makers - at home and work.

At Shrimath we are taking lead in popularising ‘Coachness.’

Coaching and leadership are skills that one develops by understanding and exhibiting the competencies required for those roles.

But Coachness is the operational state. How?

If your highs excite you sky high and your lows break you to pieces then you are still externally governed ie the remote control of your life is outside.

If your colleague’s / client’s story triggers your unresolved patterns, then you are still personally entangled.

If your emotional weather changes the room and it’s energy, then you are not yet anchored.

Remember, Stithaprajña is that anchoring, and Coachness is that anchoring in action.

When the inner turbulence settles, you will notice your…

- Listening deepens.

- Questions sharpen.

- Presence stabilises.

- Decisions become uncluttered.

Finally, trust and safety are the norms in your presence.

You no longer “try” but become the space in which clarity emerges.

Without imbibing Stithaprajña lakshana, Coachness becomes all about performance.

With it, Coachness becomes embodiment of presence.

Have distilled 8 disciplines that define the ideal Coachness mindset:

1️⃣ When your “wheel of life” no longer hijacks your conversations.

2️⃣ When pleasure and pain are acknowledged, yet you remain unmoved.

3️⃣ When reactions dissolve into conscious responses.

4️⃣ When senses are channelised, not suppressed.

5️⃣ When retreat becomes strategic stillness.

6️⃣ When craving dissolves in insight.

7️⃣ When you break the cognitive chain before downfall begins.

8️⃣ When you walk the world balanced - mastering life without withdrawing from it.

This adaptability is what makes Indic Wisdom timeless!

It teaches not about withdrawal from the world but about mastery in the middle of it - like peeling a jackfruit without getting stuck, yet relishing the fruit.

Soliciting your participation in taking the idea of ‘Coachness,’ ahead…

To reflect 👇🏼

1) Which of these 8 disciplines are you consciously cultivating?

2) And which one still governs you silently?

We are not expanding for scale as we are deepening for substance.

🗓️ Check https://www.coachness.org/coaching-with-indic-wisdom for upcoming program dates.