“When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad Gita. I find a verse here and a verse there, and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies- and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita.”
– Mahatma Gandhi on the Hindu Scripture “The Bhagavad Gita”
This article’s focus is to awaken the audience to the dynamic propensities promised by the principles of Spirituality and to render them compellingly drawn to internalizing these principles for corporate management. A consciousness is materialized in the audience because of the clarity that emerges in its threadbare expositions that promote independent thinking and understanding. The principles is a corporate profile course as they comprise call for action, theory of right action, detached action, ego less action, determination of a single minded pursuit, control of sense, scheme of Self-discovery, life principles, control of mind, constant awareness, power of prayer, equanimity and enduring values of life.
NOTE – This article is split into 2 posts; one telling us the essence of the Gita and how it relates to the modern world; more importantly, the corporate world. And the other which speaks more precisely about the teachings of the Gita whose aim is to advance leadership among today’s people.
It doesn’t matter what religion you follow, all we ask is for you to give this a read and let yourself decide whether to follow the teachings or not. For all we know, these posts will NOT talk anything about religion in any sense. We believe that everyone on the planet, regardless of which religion they follow is worthy of becoming a great leader and make a positive impact, so we preach accordingly.
What is the Bhagavad Gita ?
Bhagavad Gita, the holy scripture, is the Global University that educates mankind with the instruction, “Abandon all Dharmas of the body, mind and intellect and take refuge in me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins: grieve not.” Before the body leaves you, you learn to leave everything and that is freedom. An unbroken Gita consciousness whips up a sterling dynamism in a mind of deep rest. This sterling dynamism is the very nature of the corporate world. Gita and the corporate world is the formula for world business. The concept of globalization is traced to the universal oneness of Gita, where the universe is seen as an indivisible whole. The spirituality lessons of Gita enchants as it promises prosperity, victory, happiness and firm policy. Spirituality is the way forward.
What is spirituality?
Spirituality is creativity, which means a conscious effort to see things differently and find new ways of thinking, doing and being. Spirituality is to speak your own truth. Spirituality is respect of self and others, which includes peoples’ personal space, different viewpoints, philosophies, religion, gender, lifestyle, ethnic origin, physical ability, beliefs and personalities. Along with respect comes acceptance which includes acceptance of the inherent right of each person to follow their chosen path and acceptance that diversity and variety lead to a rich mixture of humanity. Spirituality is vision. Vision means seeing beyond the obvious- seeing the unseen. Spirituality is energy finding the self. Spirituality is finding, or discovering yourself. Self is the greater energy of the universe that binds all of us. What we call this universal energy is unimportant. It is there whether we see it, feel it or observe it.
Spirituality and Corporate Leadership
Corporate leadership based on spirituality is not new to the world. Leadership lessons derived from spirituality encompasses the age old values and virtues such as vision, excellence, integrity, perseverance and discipline. These values and virtues that are the concepts of spiritual intelligence are becoming popular in organizational and leadership development. Spiritual Intelligence is the intelligence of the spirit and the soul. Spiritual leadership is not necessarily related to specific spirituality, religion or tradition. It involves motivating people by influencing their souls or spirits instead of controlling them. The dignity and the place for spirituality are slowly being restored.
The visible inequities of the present anxiety ridden and tension torn world is suggesting softly to look inwards and examine the self, while functioning in the outer world. In the present modern times, we are back to the basics. The corporate world is now recognizing that morals are more important than money, materials, marketing and management. This has led to a study of the ancient doctrines. The modern world is stunned to discover that the scriptures actually abound with the most effective management and leadership principles that we need to look no further. An awakening of sorts marks the present times indicating a paradigm shift. The Bhagawad Gita – meaning ‘Song of Divine’ was written 5000 years ago by Rishi Veda Vyas. It appears in the mythological epic the ‘Mahabharatha’. It contains the essence of the Vedas. There is now a slow, but a sure revelation that the teachings and knowledge of Bhagavad Gita are directly relevant to today’s corporate world and a sincere adoption of Gita’s teachings will result in positive relevance to our corporate leaders. Modern management is increasingly adopting Vedic precepts. Vedanta is a study of science of life and literally means the end(anta) of knowledge(ved). It is ‘being yourself’ which will enable an individual to function from his very being of perfect silence, energy and bliss.
The need for the spiritual illumination provided by the Bhagvad Gita is never as urgent as it is now. In the world torn apart by cultural fragmentation, terror, rank materialism, nuclear threats and global competition, what are the core teachings of this priceless scripture?
The Life Principles of Gita – Discovery of Self
It is the Mahabharata background that renders both Arjuna’s mental condition and Krishna’s message so intrinsic. Similarly it is Gita that has turned it into a classic. Without Gita, Mahabharata would have got reduced to a hotchpotch story without pith and dignity. The poem and the story together constitutes an organic whole. Arjuna the great hero in the battle field is shattered and he suffers a bout of acute neurosis because of his egocentric assumptions and desire prompted anxieties. His mind is in an agitated and chaotic state. Lord Krishna with great compassion imparts the teaching to Arjuna. The powerful Krishna-treatment delivered by Lord Krishna in the battlefield, has Arjuna finally declare that all his delusions have ended. It is the story of how Arjuna, having come into his own, becomes a rejuvenated warrior of tremendous strength and value. Krishna’s words “Get up and fight” is a call to each one of us to get up and fight the battle of our own lives. Krishna delivers for him the portrait of a perfect man, a man who has realized his Self. Gita is a ready-reckoner to know the values and mental attitudes one should develop in order to realize pure awareness- the ever effulgent divinity in us.
Knowledge of Self
Evil is but the result of delusions. It is the delusions that cause wrong thinking and false imagination. An attachment to a sense object is the result of the delusion. This attachment crystallizes into a burning desire for its possession and enjoyment. If this enjoyment were to be denied, a seething anger precipitates. It is this anger fuming the intellect that will render the delusion more acute, destroying all discriminating powers. This results in the downfall of the man. Krishna’s expositions on self, action and renunciation which form the core of Gita, destroys all delusions that the mankind is reeling under. It is the delusion that is the cause behind all the trials and tribulations of mankind. The moment the delusions are removed, man evolves to the state of Godhood.
“When a man completely casts off, O Partha(Arjuna), all the desires of the mind is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then he is said to be one of steady Wisdom.” (The Holy Geeta)
The ego (edging the God out), mother of all delusions, is the cause of sense attachments and longings. All sufferings are caused by our egocentric misconceptions and consequent arrogance. Ego is created when the self in its assumed delusion identifies itself with the body, mind and intellect. When one makes a conscious effort to transcend the ego based on the advice of a preceptor, ignorance like the mist gets lifted and the finite ego stands face to face with the divine reality in him. The most dynamic revelation in the Gita is that the ego is the Supreme Self – the Lord of the World and not the finite self. This is what the delusion is all about. If a salt doll were to enter the sea, it simply dissolves in the sea. Similarly the ego melts to become one with the infinite when the awareness sets in. Transcended ego provides the experience of consciousness, as God is within self.
“The mind of the enlightened man sings constantly the divine song praising the glories of the Self. In the song of truth the heart begins to throb with the highest divine impulses.” (The Holy Geeta)
It is a thrilling moment to discover that one is actually the Lord Himself. This is a staggering truth, but nevertheless the wondrous truth and Gita roars this wondrous truth. “When the frequency of our thoughts upon the lord becomes as high as the frequency with which we now remember the ego idea, we shall come to realize the Supreme Self as intimately as we now know our ego. Today we are ego-realized souls; Gita’s call to man is to become soul realized egos resulting in Divine Consciousness.” (The Holy Geeta)
This post emphasizes the essence of the core of the Gita, and how a practical leader must be; all the traits that make a person a perfect leader. The next post will talk more about the specifics regarding the same topic. Stay tuned.