Seema has penned Shree Vishnu Mahaa Puran, in English from the Vishnu Puraan’s Sanskrt-Hindi version. It is a verse-by-verse translation published by Locksley Hall Publishing LLP., Noida (ISBN 978-81-953065-1-0). She won the FICCI FLO Sambhavaa Award in 2021 for professional excellence as an author of this book.
Prior to this book she authored a collection of Puraanic short stories titled “Oh my son!” published by Navajivan Trust, Ahmedabad (ISBN 978-81-7229-802-9). This book’s title story and several others pivot around the lives of the characters during the Vedic times when progeniture of a male son was one of the core requirements of society.
Although she loved writing ever since she learnt to, she became a careerist, moving from finance to the human resources and organization development domain. She freelanced as a writer and her articles appeared in Indian Express, Times of India, Business World (includes a cover story). In the ‘80s, she wrote a self-published a text on Business Administration for the third year B.Com. course of the Gujarat University.
Her academic qualifications and professional courses include B.com., MBA, LL.B. (all from the Gujarat University); MDP from the IIMA; Certified Corporate Director (IOD); a 2-year course in Sanskrt from the Rashtriya Sanskrt Sansthaan, a deemed university; and certified mentor by the Virginia Tech India.
She had a career of almost 30 years in the corporate sector as a human resource and organization development professional and was head of the function at leading companies. Besides writing, she advises on leadership and excellence, designs and conducts programs on Commitment and other traits, teaches courses at management and other institutes and has been invited by various forums as an expert speaker. Based in Ahmedabad, India, she is also an independent researcher on ancient India - its civilization and culture.
The session started with a question on the contradictions in the Vedas and Puranas. As in Rigveda, there are different versions of the creation of Brahma wherein in some stories he is the creator and in some he originated from the belly of Vishnu. Ms Seems Saxena informed the audience that the mythology takes the route of management wherein the devata who is a creator also appoints someone who would carry that creation further. So it is basically a delegation of tasks to some who is part of the creator. Mr Anand deliberated that the Indian culture has been a mixture of contradictions as Indians don’t seek one god, one truth kind of philosophy. They approach mystical concepts and they are okay if they don’t find the perfect answer to this conundrum. In the answer to the question asked about the women’s role and contradiction about earning money in mythology, Mr Debashish told the audience that made it easy for all to understand the relations between the goddess Laxmi and people pursuing the wealth. Ms Seema Saxena said that wealth has always been pursued by all in Puranas also and there are no vices attached to it. Mr Anand told that we humans have made a god out of something which is inside us and started distancing god from self and started worshipping the god outside us. With this example, Mr Debashish explained the difference between linear and circular time and the stressful lives we are having due to linear times. The session concluded with questions and answers.