Management Lessons from Vedas

 

This blog discuss about the concepts associated with the study and practice

of Management in view of the changing world order while establishing their  inter relatedness with the theories and practices developed in the West. Being followed by the leaders and entrepreneurs of the country right from the Vedic ages, the ancient Indians had developed their own management systems with the help of which they successfully carried out their business affairs. The Vedas and Upanishads have been at the grass root of Indian Literature work on culture and wisdom of ancient time. This study focuses on enriching the modern
management terminology by the implication of the Vedic management system. It will be an attempt to know how ancient Indian Values which have stood the test of time can help modern management philosophy to create a more sustainable model of Management.
Keywords : Vedas , Upanishads , Ancient Management , Modern Management , Culture.

INTRODUCTION

Management is a concept that is centuries old and has developed with the civilizations of the world. India is treasured as a civilization that has been shaping the world for thousands of years. The concept ‘management’ is not new to India. Contrary to the popular belief that the topic ‘management’, the way it is being known and practiced today, originated in the west and progressed to the east; the subject management has always been preached and practiced
since the time of puranas in India. Indian Management reflects the ethos, beliefs and intellect of ancient Indian culture. The tradition of Indian ethos goes back to more than 3500 years,way before the days when modern management took root. Management had its stronghold since ancient Harrapan period, and has been a continuous process and is still in its development stage.
The fundamentals of management were observed in the ancient period, Mauryan rule, Gupta rule, Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal period, under British empire etc. Compared to western management concepts and philosophy, which is more in an evolutionary phase, Indian management wisdom is static based on its literature. Ancient Indian management philosophy is based on human approach compared to western. Western management is believed to be production and profit oriented, whereas Indian thought says about material gain with belief in achieving human and social welfare with mutual co-operation, harmony, spiritualism and karma yoga . Management has been described and displayed long back in our epics - Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita . These are considered as the greatest contributions to the Indian management. One of the oldest but relevant definitions of management is 'getting things done through people’. According to the functions managers perform, the activities of management are classified as: planning,organising, leading and controlling. The doctrines of Indian Ethos in Management (IEM) are principally derived from the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Puranas. Management principles based on our ancient wisdom are of immense help for the smooth and efficient
conduct of business.

II. VEDIC LITERATURE

The Vedic wisdom can be set up fruitfully to the contemporary business organizations. The Vedic statements apply strangely to the modern business management practices. There are two types of wealth mentioned in Vedas viz., prevalent wealth (Vittam) and potential wealth (Vedyam) .
The word 'Veda' means knowledge of both matter and spirit. The Vedanta sutra states 'Athato Brahma Jignyasa ' . Therefore inquire about the & 'Absolute Truth';. In human form of life one can understand the difference between matter and spirit . Just like when a machine is created its manual is created similarly Vedas exists from dawn of creation . Vedas are apauruseya , which means they are not incorporating of human knowledge . Anciently there was only one Veda of the name Yajur. The sacrifices mentioned in the vedas were means by which people could be purified . To simplify the process and make them more easily performable, Vyasdeva divided the one veda into four - Rig (prayers) , Yajur (hymns for oblations) , Sama ( same prayers and hymns for singing) , Atharva (world maintenance and destruction) in order to spread them among men. After the Vedas were divided into four divisions , Paila Rai became the professor of the Rig Veda , Jamini the professor of the Sama Veda , Vaisampayana of the Yajur Veda , Sumantu Muni Angira of the Atharva Veda and Romaharsana was entrusted with the Puranas and historical record . All these learned scholars, in their turn , rendered their entrusted Vedas unto their many disciples, grand-disciples and great grand disciples , and thus the respective branches of the followers of the Vedas came into being. The text of the Vedas are known as Samhitas . Within these Samhitas there are portions known as Mantras , which contains prayers in the form of potent sound compounds revealed to great seers for different purposes.

II. (i) Kautilya’s Arthashastra

Chanakya, traditionally known as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta was an Indian teacher, philosopher, and royal advisor. He was a professor of economics and Chanakya, traditionally known as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta was an Indian teacher, philosopher, and royal advisor. He was a professor of economics and political science in the ancient Takshashila University. Chanakya is considered as the leader in the field of economics and political science in India.
Chanakya authored the ancient Indian political treatise called Arthashastra – which is considered as an important landmark in classical economics. Chanakya is often called the ‘Indian Machiavelli, although his works preexist Machiavelli’s since 1,800 years. Arthashastra literally means ‘the science of wealth’ or ‘economics’ as we know about it in modern parlance. However, collectively study of Arthashastra, one gets a sense that it's not meant to throw light simply on the subject of handling materialistic material resource, however additionally on the wealth that's intangible and can't be measured. The meaning of ‘wealth’ takes a completely new paradigm in Arthashastra. Arthashastrais
believed to have been written during the 4th century B.C. . After a lapse of some 2300 years,Arthashastra still remains relevant today and is useful for present day leadership,management and organisations. Many of modern management principles prevalent today can be derived from the Arthashastra.
In Kautilya’s treatise, the government was the organisation and its basic philosophy was to create a welfare state where the king was the leader. The successful achievement of the organisational purpose largely depended on the king. The leader’s primary goal according to Arthashastra is to fulfill the basic purpose of the existence of the organisation – the philosophy. In Kautilya’s value based management model, the philosophy of the organisation is clearly defined. Leadership of the organisation should be in consonance with and based on the organisational philosophy. Based on the organisational philosophy and leadership a corporate culture is developed which defines the values that are purported to guide behaviour of the members of the organisation. All the three components, organisational philosophy, leadership and corporate culture are supplemented with general value guidelines. Organisations need to achieve its purpose based on the organisational philosophy and the leader of the organisation tries to get response on the performance from various stakeholders
of the organisation. Thus, Kautilya’s Arthashastra provides a total framework for the practice of values based management.

Values based management practices from Arthashastra
Management Practice As defined in Arthashastra

Organisation Philosophy
Organisation philosophy defines the purpose of existence of the
organisation. The organisational philosophy in broad terms
covers the welfare of the various stakeholders and the society.
In Kautilya’s treatise, the government was the organisation and
its basic philosophy was to create a welfare state. By any
definition the Kautilyan state was a welfare state par excellence
in which the king was a model of personal purity and sobriety
and is called upon to work for the happiness of the people

Value Based Leadership
The leader’s primary goal according to Arthashastra is to fulfill
the basic purpose of the existence of the organisation – its philosophy. List of values, the leader has to possess which among others include:
(i) Piety, (ii) Truthfulness, (iii) Reliability, (iv) Gratefulness (v)Liberality (vi)Promptness (vii)Freedom from vices (viii) Long term vision and (ix) Conduct
in conformity with the advice of elders

Organisation Culture
In order to fulfill the Organisational Philosophy, Kautilya understood the necessity of promoting values among other members of the organisation. Apart from their own field of work they must have among others the following values. (i)Integrity, (ii) Capability, (iii) Loyalty, (iv) Character, (v)Intelligence,
(vi) Perseverance, (vii) Dexterity (viii) Friendliness (ix) Devotion
(x) Amicability and (xi)Trustworthiness.
One of the major factors that has to be taken into consideration while appointing officials to various posts is their character and conduct. According to Kautilya’s scheme,Righteous behaviour  has to be rewarded

Source: (Values Based Management - An overview from Indian ethos)

II (ii) Management lessons from Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is an ancient Indian spiritual and philosophical text which is more than 5000 years old. One of the greatest contributions of India to the world is the Holy Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita means the song of spirit, the song of Lord. While a casual reading of Bhagavad Gita would leave one feeling that the book is about the personal struggles involved in engaging in warfare, the Bhagavad Gita represents much more the story of warefare. The
Bhagavad Gita represents the struggles encountered by all humans in everyday activities including the struggles of leadership. The Bhagavad Gita not only provides advice to modern day leaders and but also suggests important leadership qualities. The epic book of Bhagavad Gita has guided our personal lives and has also shaped the context of managerial decision-making and building an ethical decision-making ecosystem among Indian professionals. The principles of Bhagavad Gita reveal that managing men, money and materials in the best possible way is the most important factor for successful management. Lack of management causes disorder, chaos, confusion, wastage and destruction. Bhagavad Gita repeatedly proclaims that one must try to manage oneself. The modern management thinking of vision, leadership, motivation, excellence in work, achieving goals, giving work meaning are all well versed in the Bhagavad Gita. Among all the scriptures Bhagvad Gita is considerd topmost as the supreme Lord Krishna himself is speaking and answering the questions of his devotee Arjuna. Bhagvad Gita deals with five basic subjects .
1) Jiva :- The soul , its nature , and its situation in this material world
2) Ishwara :- The Supreme Lord , how he is always with the living entities, his creative and destructive power . He is supreme enjoyer.
3) Prakriti :- The material nature (eternal energy of lord) and the three modes of material nature
4) Kala :- Time and its effect
5) Karma :- The action and reaction cycle.

The Bhagavad Gita is the summary of all Vedic philosophies and its teachings can be effectively applied to address any problem related to individual or organisation and is a strong source of illumination . The Bhagavad Gita suggest advice's on humanistic and inclusive leadership and guides managers to seek higher level of consciousness while seeking for others influence, some most important qualities that a modern manager should follow maintaining proper role, being proactive with wisdom, self-sacrifice.

From the above discussions we conclude that, much of modern management principles existing today can be derived from the body of knowledge of the ancient Indian scriptures. Through the wisdom's of Kautilya’s and Management lessons from Bhagavad Gita , we can not only promote a more ethical and responsible leadership on an individual or institutional level but also move towards the direction of restoring harmony among the Organisations towards
establishing a sustainable business through spiritual congruence. Service to the customer must be done with a free mind, without craving for the results of the work done. Work offers double benefit both personal and social. Thus work should be worshiped. The ultimate message of Bhagavad Gita for business leaders and management practitioners is Nishkama Karma, meaning action performed without any expectations of fruits or results and treats
action as worship. The action and the fruit and not two separate entities – the fruit is the action itself.






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