© V.

Srinivas, 2010

The i-becomer Ideal

A Definitional Note
V. Srinivas
The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

SECTION – I
Who is an i-becomer? 1-2

SECTION – II
What are the signs of an i-becomer? 3-6

SECTION – III
What are the stages of becoming? 7-12

SECTION – IV
i-becomer FAQ
1. Why should I be an i-becomer? 14

2. Give me examples of i-becomers 15

3. How do I find an Ideal? 16

4. Do I need an Ideal or role model to

transform into an i-becomer? 16

5. If a person is doing something and

enjoying it, then is that person
an i-becomer? 17

6. How do I embark on the journey? 18

About the i-become initiative

About the Author

 © V.Srinivas, 2010 1

Section –I

Who is an
i-becomer?
i
2 The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

Who is an i-becomer?
The i-becomer Ideal represents a way of living one’s
work-life and career.

Is life all about ‘having’ and ‘doing’ (i.e. what

compensations we get and what work we do) or is
our work-life all about ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ (i.e. the
outcome of one’s work-life is not my position or output
alone, but also the human being I have become).

Put another way, the i-becomer measures life’s success

and failures not in terms of the external world alone,
but also in terms of the transformation and evolution
of his/her own personality.
 © V.Srinivas, 2010 3
© V.Srinivas, 2010

Section –II

What are
the signs
of an
i-becomer?
4 The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

How do I look out for an

i-becomer?
THE FIRST SIGN of an i-becomer is his or her
attitude to success and failure.
If the individual measures success in terms of what
he or she has learnt or evolved into, then such an
individual is an i-becomer. (This is also called the
“Human Excellence” Ideal by Swami Ranganathananda).

THE SECOND SIGN of an i-becomer is his or her

approach to work and careers.
Careers are seen as spaces of contribution, and one’s
own development is measured in terms of “capacity
to contribute”. (This we call the “contribution thinking”
paradigm ).
This view is different from a narrow conventional view
of careers as a journey up a hierarchy, or making my
business larger or having power over more people or
becoming more and more well-known and famous.
 © V.Srinivas, 2010 5

THE THIRD SIGN of an i-becomer is his or her

approach to any task.

An i-becomer approaches any task keeping in mind

deeper levels of compensation.

Transactional
Compensation (e.g. salary, perks, etc.)

Deeper levels of compensation

(e.g. joy of making a difference,
increased self-esteem and
confidence, trust, responsibility etc.)

On the other hand, most people approach any task

keeping in mind only one type of compensation.

i-becomers are therefore likely to find fulfillment and

joy ‘in’ and ‘through’ work, unlike ordinary careerists
who largely tolerate and trudge through work, and find
joy and fulfillment elsewhere. (This corresponds with
the exhortation of the Bhagawad Gita that one must be
able to work without seeking fruits over and above the
rewards that come through work itself).
6 The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

THE FOURTH and most important sign of an

i-becomer is the choice of work undertaken.

An i-becomer chooses work that enables him or her

to make deep and genuine contribution to himself/
herself, organization, and society.

What work will enable

us to make deep and
lasting contribution to all
stakeholders?
• Work that we love to do.

• Work that uses our best abilities.

• Work that meets our deeper aspirations.

• Work that challenges us to grow.

In short, where our passions,

competencies, aspirations, and
work-engagement are integrated
around a single vision of deep
contribution to inner self, and
outer society.
 © V.Srinivas, 2010 7

Section –III

What
are the
stages of
becoming?
8 The
Thei-becomer
i-becomerIdeal
Ideal––AADefinitional
DefinitionalNote
Note

STAGE
ONE

The discovery of ourselves as entities

capable of evolution.
i.e. not seeing oneself as a static human
being with a fixed world-view about what
I like and what I don’t, what I am good at
and what I am not, etc.
 ©
© V.Srinivas,
V.Srinivas, 2010
2010 9

STAGE
TWO
The struggle to move into and stabilize
into an “inside-out” view of life.
i.e. I am now a human being who is not a
victim of circumstances, but is capable of
consciously developing myself into an active
change-maker of my own destiny.
10 The
Thei-becomer
i-becomerIdeal
Ideal––AADefinitional
DefinitionalNote
Note

STAGE
THREE
The creation or development of a
“contribution mindset”.
a. An i-becomer who reaches stage 3, begins to
see life as an opportunity to make a genuine
difference to himself / herself and others.
b. He / She no longer views life as a burden and
does not find all challenges /change to be an
unnecessary / unwanted burden. Instead he /
she actively seeks out challenges.
c. An i-becomer recognizes the concept of
contributing to others as having a double
efficiency.
• Creating success in the external world.
• Widening one’s own identity and
consciousness from a narrow self-centered
viewpoint to an inclusive frame (success in
the inner world).
 ©
© V.Srinivas, 2010
2010 11

STAGE
FOUR
The creation of an
“evolutionary vision of life”.
An i-becomer views the whole of life as a
journey of being and becoming.
In this stage, the evolution of the personality
becomes the primary purpose of all work, all life.
As a consequence, the i-becomer’s value
system becomes deeper, the sense of freedom
broadens, the feeling of oneness widens, and
the energy of contribution strengthens.
The metric of life by now has become wholly
inner strength and outer contribution.
12 The
Thei-becomer
i-becomerIdeal
Ideal––AADefinitional
DefinitionalNote
Note

STAGE
FIVE
The final stage of an i-becomer is the stage of
“sustainable evolution of one’s personality”.
Sustainable evolution means that one is
constantly growing and evolving under all
circumstances; one tries to make a contribution
in every opportunity and, most important,
one appreciates wholly that others too are on
an evolutionary journey towards increasing
selflessness, increasing integrity, increasing
fulfillment, and increasing inner and outer
capacities.
An i-becomer views the whole of life as a
journey of ‘being’ and ‘becoming’.
 © V.Srinivas, 2010 13

Section –IV

i-becomer
FAQ?
?
14 The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

Give me examples of
i-becomers..
There is an i-becomer in all of us.
When that i-becomer within is awakened, we embark
on a journey of human excellence.
This journey of human-excellence is the i-becomer’s
true career.
Wherever, across time and space, men and women
have achieved excellence, not merely in a sport or skill
or event, or in terms of external success, but as human
beings who are valued for their inner qualities as well
their outward contributions; these human beings
may or may not have achieved success in traditional
material terms but their success as human beings was
always perceived and experienced by those around
them.
These men and women are examples of i-becomers.
 © V.Srinivas, 2010 15

Why should I be an
i-becomer?
What happens if one is not an i-becomer.
1. One is trapped by external measures of success
and failure. One becomes, in short, a victim of
comparison and one-upmanship.
2. One’s capacity to grow and respond to new
circumstances is deeply compromised by one’s fixed
world-view about oneself.
3. One confuses acquisition of knowledge, expertise,
and new skills with “growth of knowledge”. In reality,
while we may have burdened our mind with all of
the above, we may not have become open to new
points of view, we may not have developed the
humility to relearn our subject in new contexts, we
may not have developed the capacity to unlearn or
let go of our previous historical knowledge.
16 The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

How do I find an Ideal?

The ideal of an i-becomer is within us.
Look for the highest within you - therein is the
i-becomer Ideal.

Do I need an ideal or role

model to transform into an
i-becomer?
The i-becomer ideal is the ideal of human excellence.
These are abstractions until we see them in flesh and
blood.
Therefore role-models and living ideals are the most
effective way for us to begin on the “Journey of an
i-becomer”.
 © V.Srinivas, 2010 17

If a person is doing some-

thing and enjoying it, then
is that person an
i-becomer?
Doing and feeling are transient actions. One may enjoy
one’s work today and one may, after one has grown a
little enjoy something different.
The i-becomer, on the other hand, is characterized
not by his or her actions, but his/her approach to life.
This approach to life can enable us to enjoy whatever
we are doing, and do anything we take up in a spirit of
contribution and excellence.
18 The
Thei-becomer
i-becomerIdeal
Ideal––AADefinitional
DefinitionalNote
Note

How do I embark on the

Journey?
The first step in the journey is to awaken to one’s own
infinite capacity.
The second step to experiment with one’s inner
strength and become convinced that I can, if I choose,
make a difference to the world outside.
The third step is to stretch one’s capability so that one
is convinced that I am not a static or fixed bundle of
knowledge and competencies. Instead, I am, in reality,
capable of infinite expansion with corresponding
increase in power and capacity to contribute.
 © V.Srinivas, 2010

About the
i-become initiative

The i-become initiative enables individuals,

educational institutions & professional
communities to invest in “human capacities”.

i.e. the i-become initiative seeks to -

... enable tomorrow’s leaders to respond

creatively to challenges,

... contribute effectively to the world around

them,

... and engage with purposes larger than

themselves.

www.i-become.org
The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

About the Author

V Srinivas has developed the
Solution Philosophy underlying the
I-Becomer Ideal and the I-Become
Initiative.

He is the CEO and Lead Researcher at Illumine

Knowledge Resources - a Knowledge Enablement
Lab based in Mumbai, India.
He can be reached at srinivas@illumine.info

Further Readings:

The ‘Human Excellence Ideal’ by Swami Ranganathananda

1. Vivekananda and Human Excellence; Swami Ranganathananda;
Advaita Ashrama; Mayavati
2. “Eternal Values for a Changing Society” - Vol IV; Swami
Ranganathananda, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai

The i-become Solution Philosophy by V. Srinivas

www. srinivasv.com/home/category/i-become
 © V.Srinivas, 2010

About Illumine Publishing

Illumine Publishing aims to share the latest and most
fundamental models of thinking, knowledge, education
& change with thoughtful people across all walks of life.

®
ILLUMINE PUBLISHING
3, Khurshed House, 604-D Lady Jehangir Road, Dadar (E)
Mumbai 400014, India.; www.illumine.info; publishing@illumine.info
 The i-becomer Ideal – A Definitional Note

Published by:
Publishing by:

®
Illumine
ILLUMINEPublishing
PUBLISHING

Rs. 100
ISBN 978-81-904062-1-5