OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: Management is perceived as a technical, precise and scientific study across the world. Most of the principles are scientific in nature like time motion study, even subjective study like motivation, team work etc is built on the premise of scientific reasoning and the principles of universalism is followed . Example if an organization wants to maintain its global presence, thrive and have the very best profits, goodwill, reduce the labour attrition rate etc the rule book says that it has to keep its labour, the only active factor of production, (rest land, capital are passive) happy, motivated and build their morale for which numerous scientific time proven methods if when adopted universally whether in USA or India should hold water. A need was felt by me to link spiritual practices with exact sciences and hence this study. Spirituality is interpreted by many as a direct link to religion, rituals and customs. To my mind, spirituality means a way of life itself and has very little to do with religion but more about how to righteously conduct oneself in all walks of life to lead a very happy, balanced, satisfied and fruitful life with very less stress. To that extent after analyzing the divine Bhagavad Gita for more than two and half decades , finding an answer to every problem, could directly link it to the various important principles of management such as crisis handling, ethical conduct, best corporate governance , various successful leadership styles, stress management, unity of command, span of control , division of labour etc. In this paper, would like to link four of the most important principles of management like crisis handling, effective leadership styles, the highest importance of ethical conduct and stress management with the divine Bhagavad Gita which has been uttered by none other than the supreme personality of godhead Lord SRIKRISHNA some 5000 years back which is much more relevant in today’s most turbulent, unpredictable, volatile times than ever.
THE MAIN SUBJECT MATTER/ ANALYSIS: Before analyzing the four principles a short synopsis of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. As we all know, the divine Gita is a most enlightened dialogue between Lord SRIKRISHNA and Arjuna in the battleground of Kurukshetra, at a time when the world’s best archer Arjuna became despondent, shivered and begged the lord that the battle should not take place and he is ready to surrender even before the commencement of the battle for it is impossible for him to witness and bear his very near and dear ones be killed. A stalwart like Arjuna who has fought so many wars and also emerged victorious in almost all of them stood like a coward quivering and pleading for mercy to abandon his duty and surrender wherein our Lord SRIKRISHNA speaks( the most unique aspect of the divine Gita is it is spoken by none other than Lord SRIKRISHNA himself unlike our other religious texts which are written, compiled etc ) in eighteen chapters how to live a dignified professional and personal life, the dos and don’ts of life in a crystal clear, simple language which can be comprehended by all sections of the demographic composition. Detailed analysis of the four principles is mentioned as below:
1. Crisis handling: Today across the world there is a massive search of leaders in corporate as also other walks of life who are expected to not only handle crisis with a calm composed disposition but also successfully tide over the crisis situation with finesse , in a time bound , most cost effective manner. Here Lord SRIKRISHNA has superbly explained to Arjuna about STHITAPRAJNA. The term used by him means “ a person who is ever in a mind frame which is very balanced and equipoised and takes each and every phase of life , good or bad, high or low with the same calm mindset without getting unduly perturbed , agitated nor does he give up easily , he is ever willing to face the vagaries of life with stoic courage , does his duty to the very best of his abilities and the outcome he surrenders unto the lotus feet of the lord with a staunch thought process that one has put in one’s best , the rest which is beyond one’s control one has to endure as it cannot be cured. Translated in business today it would mean that the PESTEL environment (Political, economical, Social, Technological, Ecological and Legal environment) is beyond an organization’s control, the government may change, the legal systems could be reformed, inflation, depression, currency appreciation or devaluation, political turbulence in places like Iran and Iraq, corporate taxation etc could be modified , all these factors are highly unpredictable no matter the greatest research in terms of market survey , analysis of the consumer demands, fiscal conditions etc has been done it could yet go hay wire. Mr. Ratan Tata is the pioneer who is known across the world for producing the world’s smallest and cheapest car “NANO.”. His noble intentions were unquestionable, research A class, delivery world standards, sales target middle class segment yet despite everything being excellent the project did not work well. What happens in such situations? Does an organization stop their business altogether lamenting and throwing their hands up? Never, to absorb the shock, to find the loopholes and to plug the same in the most time bound manner, to learn from one’s mistakes and move further towards victory rather than always brooding over split milk which can never be retrieved but one can prevent the same from spilling once again by rectifying the mistake and this has to be undertaken in a very composed, analytical frame of mind with the thought process that every of our mistake is one step closer to success for as they say the sweetest songs are those that tell the saddest tale. numerous examples in the corporate world can be given in terms of failures of amalgamations, joint ventures, product failure etc even by the top 500 fortune companies but the show went on , it has to , projects fail but one cannot wallow in self pity but take giant strides after every fall to reach the destination and this can be directly linked with the Lord’s utterance in the divine Gita wherein he conveyed that the person who is the most resilient, who has a capacity to bounce back with renewed vigour never fails , he is ever ready to face challenges and accept success and failure as two sides of the same coin and in a very positive manner rebuild what has been lost. This can be achieved only by a person with steadfast mind.
- Ethical Conduct and Best Corporate Governance: The world over , only those organizations can survive which are ethical and have the best corporate governance , quick to fix companies with zero ethicalness crumble even quicker , sturdy dependable companies survive the acid test and emerge strong winners. The Pandavas were very ethical and did not want anything in excess whereas the Kauravas were greedy, an epitome of un-ethicalness, despite Lord SRI KRISHNA being the mediator who pleaded with them not to opt for war for the repercussions would be severe, fatal and unimaginable but they were not willing to budge an inch for they wanted to usurp each and every kingdom and wealth in the most disdainful manner. Despite several meetings, the mediation failed and war was only the solution. Even here, they played foul by swindling all of Lord SRI KRISHNA’s weapons, arms and armaments whereas the Pandavas wanted the support of the lord only and nothing else where the Lord became sarathi, charioteer and hence also lovingly called Partha Sarathy , the rider of the chariot of Arjuna ( Arujna is also known as Partha) . One of the most beautiful verses in Sanskrit “YATRA YOGESHWARAH KRISHNO YATRA PARTHO DHANURDHARAH TATRA SHRIR VIJAYO BHUTIHI DHRUVAH NEETIR MATIR MAMA” Wherever there is Lord and wherever there is truth and righteousness, victory is sure shot. This can be seen in today’s corporate world too. Those companies which are highly ethical and practice the principles of the very best corporate Governance outlive the most challenging situations and not merely survive but also thrive. Examples Wipro, House of Tatas, Microsoft, Google etc where their ethicalness is the highest, they have withstood the most turbulent times and have emerged victors and are brands to reckon with. They are acclaimed for quality, cost effective products keeping in view the consumer’s tastes, their after sales service and grievance handling mechanism is superlative. Example the house of Tata , caters very good quality products to every segment of the society the poor, the middle class and the ultra rich , their various variants of almost all the products in all price ranges from Tata Salt, soaps, exquisite Titan watches , A Nano to a luxury sedan , TANISHQ exquisite brand of jewellery, Taj Group of Hotels, etc and the image built and the goodwill earned is mind blowing , the entire world has recognized the house of Tata’s and Mr.Ratan Tata as one of the most ethical companies and Mr.Ratan Tata as the business man of the millennium not only for his highest ethical conduct but also for the very best corporate governance because each and every Tata employee cutting across grade, cadre and designation are given the best, treated in the most humane manner, even in times of the worst depression, cost cutting mostly assumes the form of re-engineering the methodologies of existing work practices and adopting to economies of large scale operations and cutting on the wastages and very rarely through retrenchment, trimming or Compulsory retirement of employees. Companies which are quick to fit slide down even quicker because the universal principle stresses very high on ethics and any fraudulent malpractice, corruption, unsavoury politics, sale of adulterated products etc cannot survive beyond a point and the consequences of these companies is anyone's guess. Just like, despite having everything good going for the Kauravas they had to bite the dust because of extreme unethical practices whereas the only survivors in the battlefield were the Pandavas because of being righteous to the very core which goes to prove even in today’s most volatile market conditions only those employers as also the employees who are very high on ethics and corporate governance survive, rest crumble like ton of bricks.
- Effective leadership styles: Many vital leadership styles like autocratic, democratic, participative, Laissez Faire, servant master etc are adopted. The type of leadership which is best suited is the fine synthesis of the very best traits of all the types mentioned , modified and implemented as per the demands of the situation. Lord SRI KRISHNA to my mind, is one of the most participative leader for despite being the personality of godhead he was ever willing to listen to all around and act with the consensus of one and all. Despite his highest position, creator of the cosmos, his governance is most ethical, democratic, in the very best interests of all and hence he is respected and revered across the globe, same is the case with Arjuna, Yudisthir, and Bheeshma Pitamaha etc where they all are revered even today and their management styles are adopted. Arjuna is known across the world for being one of the most grounded person with a laser sharp focus, Yudishtir is a personification of humility, righteousness, humane values, Bheeshma Pitha maha was an impartial par excellent teacher to both the truthful Pandavas and the arrogant unrighteous Kauravas, he never discriminated between both and ensured that the very best be imparted to both although he did know the bad ways of the Kaurava clan. In today’s highly competitive global business scenario we have had Dr. Abdul Kalam Sir who is known for his master servant leadership style and yet revered and also reckoned by the entire world for he guided his team in the most humane ways, a personification of humbleness, highest application of knowledge , timely delivery, highest innovative mind , the architect of the missiles for peace and protection and not for violence he silenced many nations by putting India in the world map by his constant endeavour in the field of missile technology to protect India from the onslaught of the external world and hence famously known as the missile saint which goes to prove the success of even the servant master leadership style. We have leaders who lean towards autocracy but yet are participative too combining the very best forms of both the leadership styles leading their respective organization's to an exalted position in a very ethical manner. The efficacy of the various leadership styles were witnessed even during the Kurukshetra war and the result is for anyone to see that the very best leaders led their team to victory and hence the great mythological leaders like Arjuna, Yudishtir, Bheema and none other than the supreme personality of godhead Lord SRIKRISHNA himself stand as beacon light even today to our corporate leaders who emulate them in their workings and are forever victorious. One cannot forget our father of the nation Mahatma Gandhiji along with many others who steered our country towards the most non violent victories in this day and times. In his autobiography My Experiments with truth he has confessed when the going was extremely tough, problems insurmountable and when the chips were down he would always read the divine Bhagavad Gita and within seconds find a solution to his numerous problems which goes to prove that in a huge highly populated country like India we have had leaders like Mahatma Gandhiji, the westernized Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru , Acharya Vinoba Bhaveji , Mr.Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mr.Bal Gangadhar Tilak etc who were the greatest exponents of the divine Bhagavad Gita and totally practised all the principles mentioned by Lord SRI KRISHNA to the highest order , the result is for every one to see we are known in the world to be one of the most peaceful countries with the richest heritage and the greatest success story. The very best part is , many other countries taking this as a cue are recognizing the power of the teachings of the divine Gita and most of the highly prestigious management institutes across the world do accord due credence to the principles of our divine Gita.
- STRESS MANAGEMENT: Lord SRI KRISHNA has in the most fantastic manner conveyed the essence of stress management through the scientific principles of Yoga where in he has stressed that everything in life has to be in moderation, in the midst of cacophony, noise and chaos one has to find peace and not by retiring to the forests or hilltops. One has to lead a very balanced life, not to eat too much and that too very frequently nor to starve altogether, to regulate the sleeping habits, the importance of a balanced sattvic diet( nutritious , bland and wholesome diet) for energetic discharge of one’s duties. The most scientific western world has fully recognized the principles of Stress Management enunciated by Lord SRI KRISHNA and the very best part is all the top corporate czars in the various parts of the world practice Yoga with unflinching faith, dedication and are very vocal about their success rate which is the highest. Most vital is to stay physically and mentally fit and fine in all situations by controlling the stress levels , the gravest malady which the medical fraternity have attributed to all the life threatening ailments.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Let us all endeavour to look at our holy books not merely as a spiritual religious text but consider them to be a beacon light which guides us towards the excellent way of life itself. Let us implement the principles enunciated after due diligence and scientifically analyzing their effectiveness , let us acknowledge that our age old scriptures are one of the most scientific by nature for they have been time tested, their principles have survived the acid test of time and space, let us not follow anything blindly but let each of us draw our conclusions after proper study, research, and above all , to my mind, the highest purpose in life apart from success , which has numerous interpretations, is finding and enjoying the happiness quotient, leading a stress free life, being forever cheerful and smiling, positive, spreading the aura of goodness and compassion, ever energetic unaffected by mood swings, earning great accolades yet being grounded, leading a simple life with very high thinking, building a legacy for the youth by guiding and mentoring them towards truth and light by proper guidance of our scriptures and preserving the very rich and varied heritage of our great country which lies in its even greater scriptures, the right decoding of our divine holy books in the best light , interpretation and surrendering our fruits of actions at the lotus feet of the lord which is the highest bliss for it is a reverential action to our creator who has gifted us with the mortal body and the immortal soul, counting our blessings at every minute of our life and conducting our life in a pristine dharmic (truthful and ethical) way yet enjoying all the material comforts as a gift of god. AT MICRO LEVEL IF EACH ONE OF US FOLLOW OUR SCRIPTURES WITH A VERY SCIENTIFIC BENT OF MIND THEN THE SAME WILL BE REFLECTED AT THE MACRO LEVEL BY PROSPERITY IN TERMS OF HIGH GROWTH, REDUCTION IN INEQUALITIES OF INCOME, ERADICATION OF POVERTY, BEST GOVERNANCE, HIGH RATE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION AND ABOVE ALL A NATION WITH THE HIGHEST FEELING OF WELL BEING, PROSPERITY, PEACE AND HARMONY. HARE KRISHNA………..
