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Bhagavad Gita and management IntroductionThe ancient (nearly 5000 years old) Indian philosophy of keepiing mind and body for the well being, has entered the managerial, medical and judicial domain of the world. Today it has found its place as an alternative to the theory of modern management and also as a means to bring back the right path of peace and prosperity for the human beings. One of the greatest contributions of India to the world is Holy Gita which is considered to be one of the first revelations from God. The Bhagavad-Gita is the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life. It provides all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level. , reveals the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone. Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he has to fight.( Mental health has become a major international public health concern now). To motivate him the Bhagavad Gita is preached in the battle field Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a counseling to do his duty while multitudes of men stood by waiting . It has got all the management tactics to achieve the mental equilibrium and to overcome any crisis situation. The Bhagavad Gita can be experienced as a powerful catalyst for transformation. Bhagavad gita means song of the Spirit, song of the Lord. The Holy Gita has become a secret driving force behind the unfoldment of one's life. In the days of doubt this divine book will support all spiritual search.This divine book will contribute to self reflection, finer feeling and deepen one's inner process. Then life in the world can become a real educationdynamic, full and joyfulno matter what the circumstance. May the wisdom of loving consciousness ever guide us on our journey. What makes the Holy Gita a practical psychology of transformation is that it offers us the tools to connect with our deepest intangible essence and we must learn to participate in the battle of life with right knowledge. The Holy Gita is the essence of the Vedas, Upanishads. It is a universal
scripture applicable to people of all temperaments and for all times.
It is a book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions on Yoga,
Devotion, Vedanta and Action. It is profound in thought and sublime
in heights of vision. It brings peace and solace to souls that are afflicted
by the three fires of mortal existence, namely, afflictions caused by
ones own body (disease etc), those caused by beings around one
(e.g. wild animals, snakes etc.), and those caused by the gods (natural
disasters, earth-quakes, floods etc). There is no theory to be internalized and applied in this psychology. Ancient practices spontaneously induce what each person needs as the individual and the universal coincide. The work proceeds through intellectual knowledge of the playing field(jnana yoga), emotional devotion to the ideal(bhakti yoga) and right action that includes both feeling and knowledge(karma yoga). With ongoing purification we approach wisdom. The Bhagavad Gita is a message addressed to each and every human individual to help him or her to solve the vexing problem of overcoming the present and progressing towards a bright future. Within its eighteen chapters is revealed a human drama. This is the
experience of everyone in this world, the drama of the ascent of man
from a state of utter dejection, sorrow and total breakdown and hopelessness
to a state of perfect understanding, clarity, renewed strength and triumph.
Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their weaknesses irrelevant, says the Management Guru Peter Drucker. It creates harmony in working together - equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals and achievements, plans and performance, products and markets. It resolves situations of scarcity, be they in the physical, technical or human fields, through maximum utilization with the minimum available processes to achieve the goal. Lack of management causes disorder, confusion, wastage, delay, destruction and even depression. Managing men, money and materials in the best possible way, according to circumstances and environment, is the most important and essential factor for a successful management. Management guidelines from the Bhagavad GitaThere is an important distinction between effectiveness and efficiency
in managing. The general principles of effective management can be applied in every field, the differences being more in application than in principle. The Manager's functions can be summed up as: Thus, management is a process of aligning people and getting them committed
to work for a common goal to the maximum social benefit - in search
of excellence. Old truths in a new context The Bhagavad Gita, written thousands of years ago, enlightens us on all managerial techniques leading us towards a harmonious and blissful state of affairs in place of the conflict, tensions, poor productivity, absence of motivation and so on, common in most of Indian enterprises today and probably in enterprises in many other countries. The modern (Western) management concepts of vision, leadership, motivation, excellence in work, achieving goals, giving work meaning, decision making and planning, are all discussed in the Bhagavad Gita. There is one major difference. While Western management thought too often deals with problems at material, external and peripheral levels, the Bhagavad Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level of human thinking. Once the basic thinking of man is improved, it will automatically enhance the quality of his actions and their results. The management philosophy emanating from the West, is based on the lure of materialism and on a perennial thirst for profit, irrespective of the quality of the means adopted to achieve that goal. This phenomenon has its source in the abundant wealth of the West and so 'management by materialism' has caught the fancy of all the countries the world over, India being no exception to this trend. My country, India, has been in the forefront in importing these ideas mainly because of its centuries old indoctrination by colonial rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling that anything Western is good and anything Indian is inferior. The result is that, while huge funds have been invested in building temples of modem management education, no perceptible changes are visible in the improvement of the general quality of life - although the standards of living of a few has gone up. The same old struggles in almost all sectors of the economy, criminalisation of institutions, social violence, exploitation and other vices are seen deep in the body politic. The source of the problem The reasons for this sorry state of affairs are not far to seek. The Western idea of management centres on making the worker (and the manager) more efficient and more productive. Companies offer workers more to work more, produce more, sell more and to stick to the organisation without looking for alternatives. The sole aim of extracting better and more work from the worker is to improve the bottom-line of the enterprise. The worker has become a hireable commodity, which can be used, replaced and discarded at will. Thus, workers have been reduced to the state of a mercantile product. In such a state, it should come as no surprise to us that workers start using strikes (gheraos) sit-ins, (dharnas) go-slows, work-to-rule etc. to get maximum benefit for themselves from the organisations. Society-at-large is damaged. Thus we reach a situation in which management and workers become separate and contradictory entities with conflicting interests. There is no common goal or understanding. This, predictably, leads to suspicion, friction, disillusion and mistrust, with managers and workers at cross purposes. The absence of human values and erosion of human touch in the organisational structure has resulted in a crisis of confidence. Western management philosophy may have created prosperity Hence, there is an urgent need to re-examine prevailing management
disciplines - their objectives, scope and content. Management should
be redefined to underline the development of the worker as a person,
as a human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With this changed perspective,
management can become an instrument in the process of social, and indeed
national, development. Utilisation of available resources The first lesson of management science is to choose wisely and utilise scarce resources optimally. During the curtain raiser before the Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna's large army for his help while Arjuna selected Sri Krishna's wisdom for his support. This episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the effective manager - the former chose numbers, the latter, wisdom. Work commitment A popular verse of the Gita advises detachment from the fruits or results of actions performed in the course of one's duty. Being dedicated work has to mean working for the sake of work, generating excellence for its own sake. If we are always calculating the date of promotion or the rate of commission before putting in our efforts, then such work is not detached. It is not generating excellence for its own sake but working only for the extrinsic reward that may (or may not) result. Working only with an eye to the anticipated benefits, means that the quality of performance of the current job or duty suffers - through mental agitation of anxiety for the future. In fact, the way the world works means that events do not always respond positively to our calculations and hence expected fruits may not always be forthcoming. So, the Gita tells us not to mortgage present commitment to an uncertain future. Some people might argue that not seeking the business result of work and actions, makes one unaccountable. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita is full of advice on the theory of cause and effect, making the doer responsible for the consequences of his deeds. While advising detachment from the avarice of selfish gains in discharging one's accepted duty, the Gita does not absolve anybody of the consequences arising from discharge of his or her responsibilities. Thus the best means of effective performance management is the work itself. Attaining this state of mind (called nishkama karma) is the right attitude to work because it prevents the ego, the mind, from dissipation of attention through speculation on future gains or losses. Motivation self and self-transcendence It has been presumed for many years that satisfying lower order needs of workers - adequate food, clothing and shelter, etc. are key factors in motivation. However, it is a common experience that the dissatisfaction of the clerk and of the Director is identical - only their scales and composition vary. It should be true that once the lower-order needs are more than satisfied, the Director should have little problem in optimising his contribution to the organisation and society. But more often than not, it does not happen like that. (The eagle soars high but keeps its eyes firmly fixed on the dead animal below.) On the contrary, a lowly paid schoolteacher, or a self-employed artisan, may well demonstrate higher levels of self-actualisation despite poorer satisfaction of their lower-order needs. This situation is explained by the theory of self-transcendence propounded
in the Gita. Work must be done with detachment. It is the ego that spoils work and the ego is the centrepiece of most theories of motivation. We need not merely a theory of motivation but a theory of inspiration. The Great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941, known as "Gurudev") says working for love is freedom in action. A concept which is described as disinterested work" in the Gita where Sri Krishna says,He who shares the wealth generated only after serving the people, through work done as a sacrifice for them, is freed from all sins. On the contrary those who earn wealth only for themselves, eat sins that lead to frustration and failure. Disinterested work finds expression in devotion, surrender and equipoise. The former two are psychological while the third is determination to keep the mind free of the dualistic (usually taken to mean "materialistic") pulls of daily experiences. Detached involvement in work is the key to mental equanimity or the state of nirdwanda. This attitude leads to a stage where the worker begins to feel the presence of the Supreme Intelligence guiding the embodied individual intelligence. Such de-personified intelligence is best suited for those who sincerely believe in the supremacy of organisational goals as compared to narrow personal success and achievement. Work culture An effective work culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture daivi sampat or divine work culture and asuri sampat or demonic work culture. · Daivi work culture - involves fearlessness, purity, self-control,
sacrifice, straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence of fault-finding,
absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and pride. Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work. It is in this light that the counsel, yogah karmasu kausalam
should be understood. Kausalam means skill or technique
of work which is an indispensable component of a work ethic. Yogah
is defined in the Gita itself as samatvam yogah uchyate
meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells us
that acting with an equable mind is Yoga. (Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920,
the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as "Lokmanya," By making the equable mind the bed-rock of all actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical process no mind can attain an equipoise. The guru, Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary in the performance of one's duty is that of maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and failure. The calm mind in the face of failure will lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future. The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work done is the Gitas prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle leads to lack of incentive for effort, striking at the very root of work ethic. To the contrary, concentration on the task for its own sake leads to the achievement of excellence and indeed to the true mental happiness of the worker. Thus, while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the Gitas principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed moral, satisfaction. Work results The Gita further explains the theory of detachment from the extrinsic rewards of work in saying: · If the result of sincere effort is a Assimilation of the ideas of the Gita leads us to the wider spectrum
of lokasamgraha (general welfare) but there is also another
dimension to the work ethic Scientists at the US National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, found that laboratory monkeys that started out as procrastinators, became efficient workers after they received brain injections that suppressed a gene linked to their ability to anticipate a reward.The scientists reported that the work ethic of rhesus macaques wasn't all that different from that of many people: "If the reward is not immediate, you procrastinate", Dr Richmond told LA Times. (This may sound a peculiarly religious idea but it has a wider application.
It could be taken to mean doing something because it is worthwhile,
to serve others, to make the world a better place ed.) Sound mental health is that state of mind which can maintain a calm, positive poise, or regain it when unsettled, in the midst of all the external vagaries of work life and social existence. Internal constancy and peace are the pre-requisites for a healthy stress-free mind. Some of the impediments to sound mental health are: The driving forces in today's businesses are speed and competition. There is a distinct danger that these forces cause erosion of the moral fibre, that in seeking the end, one permits oneself immoral means - tax evasion, illegitimate financial holdings, being economical with the truth, deliberate oversight in the audit, too-clever financial reporting and so on. This phenomenon may be called as yayati syndrome. In the book, the Mahabharata, we come across a king by the name of Yayati who, in order to revel in the endless enjoyment of flesh exchanged his old age with the youth of his obliging youngest son for a thousand years. However, he found the pursuit of sensual enjoyments ultimately unsatisfying and came back to his son pleading him to take back his youth. This yayati syndrome shows the conflict between externally directed acquisitions (extrinsic motivation) and inner value and conscience (intrinsic motivation.) Management needs those who practise what they preach Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow, says Sri Krishna in the Gita. The visionary leader must be a missionary, extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to help others. "I am the strength of those who are devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness," says Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita. In conclusion The despondency of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita is typically human. Sri Krishna, by sheer power of his inspiring words, changes Arjuna's mind from a state of inertia to one of righteous action, from the state of what the French philosophers call anomie or even alienation, to a state of self-confidence in the ultimate victory of dharma (ethical action.) When Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri Krishna reminded him of the purpose of his new-found spirit of intense action - not for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and desire, but for the good of many, with faith in the ultimate victory of ethics over unethical actions and of truth over untruth. Sri Krishna's advice with regard to temporary failures is, No
doer of good ever ends in misery. My purport is not to suggest discarding of the Western model of efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but to tune these ideals to India's holistic attitude of lokasangraha - for the welfare of many, for the good of many. There is indeed a moral dimension to business life. What we do in business is no different, in this regard, to what we do in our personal lives. The means do not justify the ends. Pursuit of results for their own sake, is ultimately self-defeating.
(Profit, said Matsushita-san in another tradition, is
the reward of correct behaviour. ed.) A note on the word "yoga".Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning is a state of stability and peace and the
means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad Gita
uses the word with both meanings.
Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy University of Southern California "The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great religious civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the world. The present translation and commentary is another manifestation of the permanent living importance of the Gita." Thomas Merton, Theologian "I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's scholarly and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for the scholar as well as the layman and is of great utility as a reference book as well as a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my students. It is a beautifully done book." Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton University "As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of
Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to the
majestic title of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne University, Paris
Dr. Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia University
Dr. Elwin H. Powell Professor of Sociology State University of New York, Buffalo
Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall College
Denise Levertov, Poet
Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization University of Chicago
Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of Religions and Director of Libraries Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences Institute of Political Studies, Paris, France
Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center for Oriental Studies, The University of Mexico
Dr. Shaligram Shukla Professor of Linguistics,
Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire,
Albert Einstein
Mahatma Gandhi "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial." Henry David Thoreau "The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions." Dr. Albert Schweitzer "The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization." Sri Aurobindo "The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita." Carl Jung
Prime Minister Nehru
Herman Hesse
Ralph Waldo Emerson "In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Rudolph Steiner
Adi Shankara
Aldous Huxley
Ramanuja The Bhagavad-Gita is not seperate from the Vaishnava Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Madhvacarya
Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana are but three paths to
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