INDIAN
ETHOS FOR
MANAGEMENT
Indi Indian an etho ethos s for manag managem emen entt mean means s the the appl applic icat atio ion n of prin princi cipl ples es of management as revealed in our ancient wisdom brought forth in our sacred books like our Gita, Upanishads, Bible and Kuran. Ther There e are are 6 basi basic c prin princi cipl ples es,, whic which h come come to ligh lightt in the the holy holy book books s applicable in today’s management world. They are : Each soul is a potential God Holistic approach Equal importance to Subjectivity/Objectivity Subjectivity/Objectivity Karma yoga Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam Co – operation
Each Soul is a potential God A human being has a soul, a spark of the Divine. The divine resides in the heart heart of a person person.. The Divine Divine means means perfec perfectio tion n in knowle knowledge dge,, wisdom wisdom and power. power. Therefore a human being has immense potential power or energy for self – development. Thus human efforts can achieve even an apparently impossible goal and convert the impossible into into a reality. reality. The partnership of God and Man can can brin bring g abou aboutt extr extraor aordi dina nary ry or mira miracu culo lous us resul esults ts;; only only if man man choos chooses es willingly to collaborate with God and actively participates in the affairs of the society by right action under his guidance and grace. He can bring about not only personal development, harmony, happiness but also prosperity of his own organization and the society without injustice to others. Of course here, also, God helps those who help themselves.
Holistic Approach Holistic approach in Management is based on spiritual principle of unity, oneness, non-dual or Advaita concept. Under this principle of unity, the universe in an undivided whole where each and every particle is connected with every other particle. Thus, entire Humanity is ONE. Such an integrate integrated d human personality personality of self-deve self-developed loped manager and work worker er can can assu assurre best best and and comp compet eten entt mana manage geme ment nt of any any ente enterp rpri rise se,, involving collective works and efforts. It will achieve perfection or excellence in whate hatev ver sect sector or you work. ork. Thi This is the the ide ideal of Indi Indian an ethos thos : ‘Atmano Mokshartham Jagat Hitya Cha.’ (For Cha.’ (For gaining perfection in individual life, as well as for the welfare of the world.). This is the message for all managers and workers given by the Indian ethos for management.
Equal Importance to Subjectivity / Objectivity Indian ethos for management distinguishes between subject and object. Subject is subtle and intangible. intangib le. Object is concrete and tangible or visible. We have the concept of the third eye, the eye of wisdom. It can see even that which the normal two eyes cannot. It can see the intangible intang ible i.e. invisible. Human and ethical values or qualities such as courage, vision, social awareness, fearlessness, integrity, pure and clear mind, truth, etc. are subjective, subtle and intangible concepts. These subjective or subtle qualities are as important as money, materials, machines, information or data as well as human skills. Inner resources resources of human beings are more powerful than external external resources. Creator is subjective. Creation is objective. Insight i.e., creator is more important than Outsight i.e., creation. Our body, senses, intellect, mind,etc., are objective, seen, tangible. But our soul atman is unseen, intangible, subtlest and
subjective. Hence, wisdom manager/ worker is much more important and valuable than knowledge manager/ worker. Therefore, Therefore, manager must develop his third eye, ‘Jnana Chakhu’ , the eye of Vision intution, insight, foresight and such other divine qualities or values. This is the essence of Indian ethos for management.
Karma Yoga It is yoga of selfless service to others. Karma Yoga is all about identifying your your prio priori riti ties es and and tryi trying ng to achi achiev eve e them them.. Also Also,, a pers person on sh shou ould ld have have accountability i.e. he should always hold only himself responsible for whatever goes goes righ rightt or wron wrong. g. This This brin brings gs abou aboutt the the unio union n of huma human n bein being g with with the the Divine.
Gita says that do your duty without ego and without calculations of gain or loss. One should believe in Nishkama Karma i.e. fruits of work should not be thought of while performing the duty.
The memorable words of Gita are “ To work only you have the right and you have no right to the fruits of work”. However, this does not mean that one shou sh ould ld work work day day and and nigh nightt and and the the retur eturns ns that that he gets gets sh shou ould ld be almo almost st negligible. What the Gita tries to say is that let not the fruits of action motivate you as they might just divert your attention from work. When you are doing a job, put your heart and soul in to it. One has no control over the future hence neve neverr wast waste e your your pres presen entt in us usel eles ess s drea dreams ms of futu futurre hope hopes s and and fear fears s of present actions.
WHY DO I WORK?
1. For my own own salvation salvation and and personal personal grow growth. th. 2. For For the good of the the world world..
The inner joy of doing something gives the doer a sense of achievement and also helps him in respecting himself more than he used to. Money is important but running behind money all the time leads to tension, stress and total loss of peace. Self-motivation can assure self-development. When work is performed without passion, hatred, arrogance and desire we have individual development and social good.
Indians always had two great truths of successful, harmonious and happy life:
1. Divinity Divinity of life can be used through self-dev self-developm elopment ent for personal personal growth growth and also for fo r social welfare. 2. I cann cannot ot chea cheatt you you and and natu naturre with withou outt chea cheati ting ng myse myself lf.. Worki orking ng for for harmony and peace results in a sense of fulfillment.
It is becoming clear that a chapter, which had a Western beginning in business management, will have to have an Indian ending. Karma Yoga is not just meant for the common man but also for leaders and managers who if act responsibly will in turn influence the behavior of a number of people.
Karma Yoga thus is a good pathway for:
1. Self-puri Self-purificat fication ion and Self-deve Self-developme lopment. nt. 2. Individual Individual growth growth and welfare welfare.. 3. Collectiv Collective e growth growth and welfar welfare. e. 4. Minimum Minimum play play of passion, passion, jealousy, jealousy, hatre hatred. d. 5. Team spirit spirit and Teamwork. 6. Autonomous Autonomous manageme management, nt, minimum minimum control control and supervisio supervision. n. 7. Manage Managerr acts acts as a Mento Mentorr. 8. Self Self-motiv -motivati ation. on. 9. Perfe erfect ctio ion. n.
10.All round happiness and prosperity. 11.Skills and values united. 12.Conflicts resolved by integration.
Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam Yoga Yoga means excellence at work. Seek to perform your assigned duty or work in an excellent excellent manner. manner. Kaushalam denotes doing doin g work with devotion and without attachment i.e. without being a work-a-holic. work-a-holic. Such detatched attitude attitude enhances its values and improves the concentration and skill of the worker. You work with smartness, determination and ability. Your head, heart and soul cooperate with your hands. You do not hanker over the fruits of action. You have no anticipation of reward, reward, or personal gain. ga in. You You become a tool of God to perform the work. Any work carried out with full concentration, dedication and with all abilities that a person has, becomes valuable and the person also becomes valuable to others as well as to society. society. In total quality management(TQM) Karma Yoga and Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam provide valuable contributions. Under this slogan we have one hundred percen concentraion coming from within. The extrinsic incentives e.g., money, other perks, etc. play a very minor role as motivators.
Co – Operation Healthy competition is a powerful motivator for excellence and success, especially business success. The idea of cut-throat competetion is founded on the concept of ‘struggle for existence’ and survival of the fittest. Indian ethos says that for human beings b eings the royal road is co-operation as a powerful motive for team work. We are human beings having mind and power of discrimination. The Gita says : “ By co – operation and mutual help all shall achieve the highest human welfare.” Unity is strength. Even in the holistic ho listic approach, we
stress the co-operation integration, synthesis and team – spirit for extraordinary extraordinary performance, for enduring harmony and peace, because in our ou r hearts chamber is living the pure conciousness of the Divine, i.e., Purnatman. Peaceful coexcistence, excistence, harmony, not struggle is the rule. Indian insight endorses this in the management of any enterprise. Excessive competetion competetion at work can destroy many young people and our social life. Co-operation, united efforts and striving for success leads to all round prosperity and success leads to all round prosperity and success in any field of human enterprise.
Indian ethos expresses this :
Parspar Devo Bhava
Paraspar Bhavayantah, Shreyati parma Vapsyatha.
Features of Indian Ethos and Insight
Divinity of a human being is not merely a notion but a truth which can be experienced experienced in the stillness of the mind.
Balance is the keynote of Indian thought. We have synthesis, harmony between the dual concepts.
The Individual is the central focus.
Devine element in the individual is only a portion of the universe of the universal or cosmic consciousness.
Gives greater emphasis on values, human and ethical. Knowledge is not power.
Indian ethos are based on Indian scripture. Indian thoughts provide p rovide eternal knowledge
All work is worthy and honorable.
Emphasis on duties and responsibilities. responsibilities.
Deals with two types of knowledge. a) Knowledge of creation. b) Knowledge of creator.
