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The new management mantra
RANEE KUMARRANEE KUMAR
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The Bhagvad Gita has entered the classrooms of Business Management students
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GETTING WISE TO ANCIENT TEACHINGS Management students
If yoga and dhyana are being touted as foolproof stress busters, then our ancient scriptures are not lagging behind. Kudos to Gen X for being able to apply ancient practices and teachings contained in our scriptures to present day living and working conditions. And what more can be asked for, if a subject like Business Management takes recourse to a rare topic such as spiritualism for its practical philosophy?
Indian industry has started delving into the depths of ancient wisdom and the Bhagvad Gita has become a handbook for the aspiring manager. As an economic analyst put it, "Indian spirituality is sashaying down corporate corridors..."
As a natural fall-out, the Gita has entered the classrooms of Business Management students under the axiom — catch them young. And the Y2K generation has been quick to grasp its essence. To them, the Gita has become a management gospel expounded by `super guru Krishna.' From the Pushpak Vimana to herbal medicines (Charaka Samhita), from management tactics (the Gita) to stress busters (yoga) and meditation (dhyana), our ancient texts had said it all much before the WTO-governed universe was ever thought of.
User-friendly
Unfortunately for us and luckily for the Western world, not an iota of this `user-friendly' knowledge was `patented' to claim its rightful ownership under the intellectual property rights (IPRs). On the other hand, it was freely distributed for the benefit of mankind.
IIM-Calcutta, Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune and others have designed their curriculum in line with Eastern thinking. Buzzwords such as TQM (total quality management) in our business schools have been replaced with Aham Brahmasmi (I am God) and Tat Tvam Asi (That thou art) to inspire confidence in oneself and in one's organisation. Chapter 2 of the Gita with special reference to Verse 47 is often quoted these days as a palliative to the burnout suffered by stressed-out managers. The latest concept of globalisation has been traced to the Vedantic term of universal oneness where the universe is seen as an indivisible whole.
Holistic approach
"There's nothing wrong if we could adopt the teachings of the Gita or any other ancient treatise into our daily life. We would then realise that as future business managers we should not look at profit as a motive. Instead we would adopt a more holistic approach to our work. And we would be better equipped to deal with the stress of work and life," says Timothy Joseph Bellard, a final year MBA student of the Hyderabad Central University.
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