Saturday, February 23, 2019

Ancient Indian Spiritual And Religious Texts in Universities and Corporates Worldwide - Newspaper Clippings

Harvard University to teach a course on Ramayana and Mahabharata this fall

Courtesy: https://indianewengland.com/2017/08/harvard-university-teach-course-ramayana-mahabharata-fall/

CAMBRIDGE, MA–Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana will be taught in the upcoming Fall semester at Harvard University. These great Sanskrit epics will be focus of the graduate level “Indian Religions Through Their Narrative Literatures: The Epics” class taught by Professor Anne E. Monius of Harvard Divinity School starting August 30.
Ramayana, a narrative poem of about 25,000 slokas is divided into seven kandas. Mahabharata, the longest poem ever written, contains around 100,000 verses, and is divided into eighteen parvan and Bhagavad-Gita forms part of it.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed commended Harvard University for highlighting Hindu heritage.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major universities of the world; including Oxford, Stanford, Cambridge, Princeton, UC Berkeley, Yale, Columbia, Toronto, Tokyo, Melbourne, etc.; to frequently offer Hinduism focused classes, thus sharing rich philosophy-concepts-symbols-traditions of this oldest religion with the rest of the world
Harvard University, whose motto is Veritas (Latin for “truth”) has about 22,000 students, boasts of “48 Nobel Laureates, 32 heads of state, 48 Pulitzer Prize winners”.
Hinduism, the third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
Prof. Monius is a historian of religion specializing in the religious traditions of India. Her research interests lie in examining the practices and products of literary culture to reconstruct the history of religions in South Asia, according to her profile on Harvard University website.
Her first book, Imagining a Place for Buddhism: Literary Culture and Religious Community in Tamil-Speaking South India, examines the two extant Buddhist texts composed in Tamil; her current research project, “Singing the Lives of Śiva’s Saints: History, Aesthetics, and Religious Identity in Tamil-Speaking South India,” considers the role of aesthetics and moral vision in the articulation of a distinctly Hindu religious identity in twelfth-century South India, according to her profile.
Her future research projects will explore the relationship of Hindu devotional and philosophical literature in Tamil to its Sanskritic forebears, as well as consider the transmission of South Indian strands of Buddhism and Hinduism to Southeast Asia.
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Harvard students studying the Gita, Ramayana: Univ president

 Courtesy: https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-harvard-students-studying-the-gita-ramayana-univ-president-1640315
While Indians aspire to bag a foreign degree, some Harvard University students, on the other hand, are studying the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana. At least 200 business students from the prestigious American university are also working with business houses in Mumbai and Chennai to get global experience.
Harvard University president Prof Drew Gilpin Faust, who was speaking at Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Hall (Convocation Hall) of University of Mumbai, said, “We see education transforming into positive effects in India. We need to face the challenges of exploding number of students. To counter the challenge, technology will play an important role.”
She said nearly 15 million students sought higher education in India between 1971 and 2007, while over 18 million sought higher education in the US.
Mumbai University vice-chancellor Dr Rajan Welukar said, “We look forward to leadership development programmes from Harvard in the future.”
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Harvard learns management lessons from India Inc.

Courtesy: https://www.equitymaster.com/5MinWrapUp/detail.asp?date=06/17/2011&story=4&title=Harvard-learns-management-lessons-from-India-Inc 

Who has not heard of Harvard University? Nearly every management professional has aspired to be a student of the prestigious Harvard Business School (HBS). Therefore it would be interesting to know that the HBS uses India Inc as case studies to impart management lessons to its students. That's right. Over the years, the phenomenal success of Indian companies has landed them in the form of case studies for business schools all over the world. And HBS is no exception to this.

As reported by a leading daily, nearly 120 plus Harvard case studies from South-Asia are India centric. Reasons for this are several. The phenomenal economic growth rates spanning two decades. The growth of a significant middle-class. And most importantly, the increased presence of global firms in India and vice versa. Therefore, it is little wonder that the world's most prestigious management schools are lining up to draw lessons from the various success stories. Professors are using these lessons to fill in the specific needs in their course syllabus.

But this is not just one way traffic. Indian companies too are benefitting from becoming case studies in such universities. These universities typically take in some of the best minds in the world as students. These students come up with innovative approaches and solutions to some of the problems that the companies are currently facing. For example, Eureka Forbes, an Indian water filtration device manufacturer, drew an important learning on how to lower the cost of its water filters. Many companies, including the likes of TCS have drawn on these learnings to improve their business processes further. Becoming a case study also helps them in garnering international exposure which is essential for companies aspiring to be significant global players.

The truth is that India Inc has taken on the challenge of operating in India and expanding outside of its boundaries in its own unique way. And the world has now realized this fact and is taking notes.

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How Bhagavad Gita has charmed US corporates

Courtesy: https://www.rediff.com/money/2006/nov/02bspec.htm

Times have changed since Gordon Gekko quoted Sun Tzu in the 1987 movie Wall Street. Has the Bhagavad Gita replaced The Art of War as the hip new ancient Eastern management text?
Signs of worldly success abounded as members of the Young Presidents' Organization met at a mansion in a tony New Jersey suburb. BMWs, Lexuses, and Mercedes-Benzes lined the manicured lawn. Waiters in starched shirts and bow ties passed out vegetarian canapés.
And about 20 executives -- heads of midsize outfits selling everything from custom audiovisual systems to personal grooming products -- mingled poolside with their spouses on a late September evening.
After heading inside their host's sprawling hillside house -- replete with glittering chandeliers, marble floors, and gilded rococo mirrors -- the guests retreated to a basement room, shed their designer loafers and sandals, and sat in a semicircle on the carpet.
The speaker that evening was Swami Parthasarathy, one of India's best-selling authors on Vedanta, an ancient school of Hindu philosophy. With an entourage of disciples at his side, all dressed in flowing white garments known as kurtas and dhotis, the lanky 80-year-old scribbled the secrets to business success ('concentration, consistency, and cooperation') on an easel pad.
The executives sat rapt. "You can't succeed in business unless you develop the intellect, which controls the mind and body," the swami said in his mellow baritone.
At the Wharton School a few days earlier, Parthasarathy talked about managing stress. During the same trip, he counseled hedge fund managers and venture capitalists in Rye, N.Y., about balancing the compulsion to amass wealth with the desire for inner happiness.
And during an auditorium lecture at Lehman Brothers Inc.'s Lower Manhattan headquarters, a young investment banker sought advice on dealing with nasty colleagues. Banish them from your mind, advised Parthasarathy. "You are the architect of your misfortune," he said. "You are the architect of your fortune."
Big Business is embracing Indian philosophy
The swami's whirlwind East Coast tour was just one small manifestation of a significant but sometimes quirky new trend: Big Business is embracing Indian philosophy. Suddenly, phrases from ancient Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita are popping up in management tomes and on Web sites of consultants.
Top business schools have introduced 'self-mastery' classes that use Indian methods to help managers boost their leadership skills and find inner peace in lives dominated by work.
More important, Indian-born strategists also are helping transform corporations. Academics and consultants such as C. K. Prahalad, Ram Charan, and Vijay Govindrajan are among the world's hottest business gurus.
Management gurus of Indian origin
About 10% of the professors at places such as Harvard Business School, Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business, and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business are of Indian descent -- a far higher percentage than other ethnic groups.
"When senior executives come to Kellogg, Wharton, Harvard, or [Dartmouth's] Tuck, they are exposed to Indian values that are reflected in the way we think and articulate," says Dipak C. Jain, dean of the Kellogg School.
Indian theorists, of course, have a wide range of backgrounds and philosophies. But many of the most influential acknowledge that common themes pervade their work. One is the conviction that executives should be motivated by a broader purpose than money. Another is the belief that companies should take a more holistic approach to business -- one that takes into account the needs of shareholders, employees, customers, society, and the environment.
Some can even foresee the development of a management theory that replaces the shareholder-driven agenda with a more stakeholder-focused approach.
"The best way to describe it is inclusive capitalism," says Prahalad, a consultant and University of Michigan professor who ranked third in a recent Times of London poll about the world's most influential business thinkers. "It's the idea that corporations can simultaneously create value and social justice."
Karma Capitalism
You might also call it Karma Capitalism. For both organizations and individuals, it's a gentler, more empathetic ethos that resonates in the post-tech-bubble, post-Enron zeitgeist.
These days, concepts such as "emotional intelligence" and "servant leadership" are in vogue. Where once corporate philanthropy was an obligation, these days it's fast becoming viewed as a competitive advantage for attracting and retaining top talent. Where the rallying cry in the 1980s and '90s may have been "greed is good," today it's becoming "green is good."
And while it used to be hip in management circles to quote from the sixth century B.C. Chinese classic The Art of War, the trendy ancient Eastern text today is the more introspective Bhagavad Gita. Earlier this year, a manager at Sprint Nextel Corp. penned the inevitable how-to guide: Bhagavad Gita on Effective Leadership.
The ancient spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita seems at first like an odd choice for guiding today's numbers-driven managers. Also known as Song of the Divine One, the work relates a conversation between the supreme deity Krishna and Arjuna, a warrior prince struggling with a moral crisis before a crucial battle.
One key message is that enlightened leaders should master any impulses or emotions that cloud sound judgment. Good leaders are selfless, take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or financial gain. "The key point," says Ram Charan, a coach to CEOs such as General Electric Co.'s Jeffrey R. Immelt, "is to put purpose before self. This is absolutely applicable to corporate leadership today."
Indian philosophy perfect for firms
The seemingly ethereal world view that's reflected in Indian philosophy is surprisingly well attuned to the down-to-earth needs of companies trying to survive in an increasingly global, interconnected business ecosystem.
While corporations used to do most of their manufacturing, product development, and administrative work in-house, the emphasis is now on using outsiders. Terms such as "extended enterprises" (companies that outsource many functions), "innovation networks" (collaborative research and development programs), and "co-creation" (designing goods and services with input from consumers) are the rage.
Indian-born thinkers didn't invent all these concepts, but they're playing a big role in pushing them much further. Prahalad, for example, has made a splash with books on how companies can co-create products with consumers and succeed by tailoring products and technologies to the poor.
That idea has influenced companies from Nokia Corp. to Cargill. Harvard Business School associate professor Rakesh Khurana, who achieved acclaim with a treatise on how corporations have gone wrong chasing charismatic CEOs, is writing a book on how U.S. business schools have gotten away from their original social charters.
Vijay Govindarajan, a professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business whose books and consulting for the likes of Chevron and Deere & Co. have made him a sought-after innovation guru, links his theories directly to Hindu philosophy.
He helps companies figure out how to stop reacting to the past and start creating their own futures through innovation. Govindarajan says his work is inspired by the concept of karma, which holds that future lives are partly determined by current actions. "Karma is a principle of action. Innovation is about creating change, not reacting to change," he says.
Of marketing and Bhagavad Gita
There are also parallels between Indian philosophy and contemporary marketing theory, which has shifted away from manipulating consumers to collaborating with them. "Marketing has tended to use the language of conquest," says Kellogg professor Mohanbir S. Sawhney, a Sikh who discusses the relevance of the Bhagavad Gita to business on his Web site. Now the focus is on using customer input to dream up new products, Sawhney says, which "requires a symbiotic relationship with those around us."
Kellogg's Jain, who is working on a book about the customer-centric business models of Indian companies, believes that many Indian thinkers are drawn to fields stressing interconnectedness for good reason. "We have picked areas that are consistent with our passion," he says.
Whatever the common themes, India, of course, is hardly a showcase of social consciousness. While companies such as Tata Group or Wipro Technologies have generous initiatives for India's poor, the country has its share of unethical business practices and social injustices.
In addition, some Indian academics bristle at the suggestion that their background makes their approach to business any different. They're quick to point out the wide range of religions, influences, and specialties among them.
Indeed, it's not surprising that thinkers from a country with as diverse an economic and social makeup as India would have different perspectives on the influences on their work. "We are a fusion society," says Harvard's Khurana.
As a result, many Indian management theorists "tend to look at organizations as complex social systems, where culture and reciprocity are important," he says. "You won't hear too many of us say the only legitimate stakeholders in a company are stockholders."
What's more, India's extreme poverty imposes a natural pressure on its companies to contribute more to the common good.
Indian thinkers influencing US firms
Indian thinkers are affecting not only the way managers run companies. They are also furthering their search for personal fulfillment. Northwestern's Kellogg even offers an executive education leadership course by Deepak Chopra, the controversial self-help guru and spiritual healer to the stars.
Chopra also is on the board of clothing retailer Men's Wearhouse Inc. and has conducted programs for Deloitte, Harvard Business School, and the World Bank.
In a stark, brightly lit classroom, Chopra, sporting glasses with heavy black frames studded with rhinestones, led a class through a 20-minute meditation in June.
"Sit comfortably in your chair with your feet planted on the ground," Chopra instructed the 35 mostly midlevel executives from corporations that are as far afield as ABN Amro Bank and sporting goods retailer Cabela's Inc. "Our mantra today is: I am.'"
Other B-schools are adding courses that combine ancient wisdom with the needs of modern managers. A popular class at both Columbia Business School and London Business School is "Creativity & Personal Mastery," taught by Columbia's Srikumar Rao.

Many attendees are fast-track managers who are highly successful at work but still miserable, says Rao. His lectures, which include mental exercises and quotes from Indian swamis and other philosophers, win praise from managers such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Managing Director Mark R. Tercek.
"Business schools ought to be championing this stuff," says Tercek, a yoga practitioner. "We can hire the smartest damn people in the world, but many of them ultimately don't succeed because they can't motivate and work with those around them. I think the Indians are on to something."

India's biggest impact
They may be on to quite a lot. Some Indian theorists have said their ultimate goal is to promote an entirely different theory of management -- one that would replace shareholder capitalism with stakeholder capitalism.
The late Sumantra Ghoshal was attempting to do just that. At the time he died, the prolific London Business School professor was working on a book to be called A Good Theory of Management.
As Ghoshal saw it, the corporate debacles of a few years ago were the inevitable outgrowth of theories developed by economists and absorbed at business schools. Corporations are not merely profit machines reacting to market forces; they are run by and for humans, and have a symbiotic relationship with the world around them.
"There is no inherent conflict between the economic well-being of companies and their serving as a force for good in societies," wrote Ghoshal.
In their own ways, other Indian thinkers are picking up the mantle. Khurana's forthcoming book, From Higher Aims to Hired Hands, looks at the professional responsibility to society that managers and the business schools who train them were initially designed to have.
The quest, says Prahalad, is to develop a capitalism that "puts the individual at the center of the universe," placing employees and customers first so that they can benefit shareholders. This is a lofty if improbable goal. But if it is attained, business leaders may find that India's biggest impact on the global economy may be on the way executives think.
 
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Why the 'Gita' is a must - read at this American university

Courtesy: https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-why-the-gita-is-a-must-read-at-this-american-university-1228670

Since last year, all students of business management at Seton Hall University (SHU), New Jersey, have had to compulsorily study the Bhagavad Gita. Not to glean some tactical insights for use in corporate warfare, but to ground themselves in multiple religious cultures. A laudable objective that would resonate with US president Barack Obama’s vision of a pluralist America where Christians and Muslims, Hindus and Jews, and non-believers, live together.
It all began as a pilot project last year, to teach the Gita to business students as a ‘signature course’ on a full-time basis. From this year, the Gita has become part of the core curriculum at the SHU, which happens to be a Roman Catholic-run institution.
Ironically enough, the initiative was triggered by a concern that the proportion of ‘active’ Catholics filling the faculty and administrative positions was falling. This was making it difficult for the college to maintain its religious identity. The university then constituted a group, and entrusted it with the task of designing an inter-disciplinary course that would help students obtain answers to “perennial questions”. Naturally, this being part of an effort to emphasise the university’s Roman Catholic identity, the answers were to be sought in the Bible, which would be made compulsory reading.
That’s when AD Amar, professor of strategy, policy and knowledge in the university’s School of Business stepped in. As a member of the core curriculum group, he suggested that looking for perennial questions in the Bible would not yield insights from different civilisations and that “it would give students only one perspective.”
The faculty then asked that the answers to the perennial questions “be expanded”. Eventually they decided to consider the ‘answers’ as given by various religions, including Islam and Buddhism. “Many Americans do not understand Hinduism. They find it too complex. In fact, Americans find Buddhism simple and feel it can be imbibed from one known leader, such as the Dalai Lama,” says Amar.
So at one of the core curriculum meetings, Amar proposed that Hinduism should be included. As the world’s oldest religion, he argued, it had put in most thought into the ‘perennial questions.’ His suggestion was accepted, and the SHU committee included the Gita, along with the Koran, the Bible, besides texts from the Buddhist sutras and the Greek philosophers. The course was called The Journey Of Transformation.
“American students will find the Gita rather difficult to navigate due to cultural barriers and a lack of context. But they are all fascinated by India, and being keen to learn, they will be interested,” says Amar.
The Journey Of Transformation will be taught alongside another course, Christianity And Culture In Dialogue. The University will train faculty to take these additional courses, and whoever agrees to take it on will get a stipend of $1,000 for training, and a ‘bounty’ of another $1,000 the first time they teach the course. While six new professors were hired last year for this course, another six are set to be hired this year. If other universities, too, take a leaf out of SHU’s book, then America could well churn out a new generation of business graduates well-versed in the perennial questions. If the recession is still on by the time they pass out, a spiritual grounding in the Gita could prove more than useful.
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Gita is new mantra for US businesses 

Big businesses in the United States are embracing Indian philosophy, in a significant new trend.

Courtesy:  https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/gita-is-new-mantra-for-us-businesses/story-fpqCGC5AogKS7AnycBDzPL.html
Big businessess in the United Statesare embracing Indian philosophy in a significant but sometimes quirky new trend.
A recent whirlwind East Coast tour by Swami Parthasarathy, one of India's best-selling authors on Vedanta, was just one small manifestation of the new trend, according to BusinessWeek magazine.

Suddenly, phrases from ancient Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita are popping up in management tomes and on websites of consultants, while top business schools have introduced "self-mastery" classes that use Indian methods to help managers boost their leadership skills and find inner peace in lives dominated by work.

More important, India-born strategists also are helping transform corporations. Academics and consultants such as C.K. Prahalad, Ram Charan, and Vijay Govindrajan are among the world's hottest business gurus, Pete Engardio and Jena McGregor write in the Oct 30 issue of the publication.

About 10 percent of professors at places such as Harvard Business School, Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business are of Indian descent -- far higher than other ethnic groups.

"When senior executives come to Kellogg, Wharton, Harvard, or [Dartmouth's] Tuck, they are exposed to Indian values that are reflected in the way we think and articulate," the weekly quotes Dipak C. Jain, dean of the Kellogg School as saying.

Indian theorists, of course, have a wide range of backgrounds and philosophies. But many of the most influential acknowledge that common themes pervade their work.

One is the conviction that executives should be motivated by a broader purpose than money. Another is the belief that companies should take a more holistic approach to business - one that takes into account the needs of shareholders, employees, customers, society and the environment.

Some can even foresee the development of a management theory that replaces the shareholder-driven agenda with a more stakeholder-focused approach.

"The best way to describe it is inclusive capitalism," the magazine says, citing Prahalad, a consultant and University of Michigan professor who ranked third in a recent Times of London poll about the world's most influential business thinkers. "It's the idea that corporations can simultaneously create value and social justice."

You might also call it Karma Capitalism. For both organisations and individuals, it's a gentler, more empathetic ethos that resonates in the post-tech-bubble, post-Enron zeitgeist.

These days, concepts such as "emotional intelligence" and "servant leadership" are in vogue. Where once corporate philanthropy was an obligation, these days it's fast becoming viewed as a competitive advantage for attracting and retaining top talent.

Where the rallying cry in the 1980s and 1990s may have been "greed is good", today it's becoming "green is good".

And while it used to be hip in management circles to quote from the sixth century BC Chinese classic The Art of War, the trendy ancient Eastern text today is the more introspective Bhagavad Gita, the Businessweek said.

Earlier this year, a manager at Sprint Nextel Corp. penned the inevitable how-to guide: the key message of "Bhagavad Gita on Effective Leadership" is that enlightened leaders should master any impulses or emotions that cloud sound judgment. Good leaders are selfless, take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or financial gain, the weekly said.

"The key point," it quotes Ram Charan, a coach to CEOs such as General Electric Co.'s Jeffrey R. Immelt, as saying "is to put purpose before self. This is absolutely applicable to corporate leadership today".
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Business Schools Take On Indian Philosophy

Indian-born management thinkers such as Ram Charan, Vijay Govindrajan and Srikumar S Rao are among the world's hottest business gurus and they are transforming American business schools. 
Courtesy: https://www.braingainmag.com/business-schools-are-embracing-indian-philosophy.htm
  NEW YORK – Bob Miglani, a senior director in Pfizer and author of Treat Your Customer told BrainGain that the lessons in leadership contained in the Bhagavad Gita were being applied widely in corporate America because the old, dog-eat-dog workplace had changed.
“The principles are being applied because the workforce today requires managers to be more collaborative rather than authoritative,” said Miglani.
“I think American executives are also getting exposed to spiritual values which are most often delivered by Indian management professors, in top American business schools. Indian professors such as Srikumar Rao are ideally placed to be the executive coaches of the next generation of Fortune 500 firms because they manage to balance their teachings with an East-West flavor. These academics are very smart and their message comes across so easily…in a warm and fuzzy sort of way,” added Miglani.
Professor Srikumar Rao, who is also a prolific author developed his course, "Creativity and Personal Mastery," in the mid-90s and has taught it at Columbia Business School, the London Business School and the Haas School of Business at Berkley. Rao hands out eclectic reading lists and his lectures include mental exercises, breathing and meditation techniques and "total immersion exercises."
“In the Indian tradition, you are taught action is in our control, but the outcome/goal is out of our hands. I encourage executives to invest completely in the process and not the goal.”
He uses Indian philosophy, parables, anecdotes from the Bhagavad Gita and other ancient texts to guide business school graduates to self-improvement and corporate enlightenment.Through his “self-mastery” course, Rao has also helped managers boost their leadership skills. He has coached people on Wall Street and executives at Johnson & Johnson, McDonald's, United Airlines, Google and Microsoft. His course is highly rated for helping people balance the compulsion to amass wealth with the desire for happiness.
‘Invest in the process, not the goal’
Professor Rao’s course is highly rated for helping people balance the compulsion to amass wealth with the desire for happiness.
“The West is indoctrinated heavily into achieving goals: good grades will get you into a good college which in turn will get you a good job. If you succeed your life is good, otherwise you are doomed. So everyone is goal-centric and gets set up to face inevitable disappointments,” Rao told BrainGain.
“In the Indian tradition, you are taught action is in our control, but the outcome/goal is out of our hands. I encourage executives to invest completely in the process and not the goal. If they invest every fiber of their being into the process they are likely to enjoy the outcome. It is a paradox. When you become detached from the outcome, strangely enough the probability of achieving the goal rises dramatically,” says Rao.
Rao’s new book Happiness at Work is flying off US bookshelves and provides a unique way of thinking about problem solving.  
About 10 percent of the professors at places such as Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Business, and the Ross School of Business are of Indian origin. Dipak C. Jain, dean of the Kellogg School, acknowledged, "When senior executives come to Kellogg, Wharton, Harvard, or Tuck, they are exposed to Indian values that are reflected in the way we think and articulate."
The Gita Gets Trendy
BusinessWeek noted that while it used to be hip in management circles to quote from the sixth century B.C. Chinese classic The Art of War, the trendy, ancient, Eastern text today is the more introspective Bhagavad Gita.
BusinessWeek noted that while it used to be hip in management circles to quote from the sixth century B.C. Chinese classic The Art of War, the trendy, ancient, Eastern text today is the more introspective Bhagavad Gita. Times have changed since Gordon Gekko quoted Sun Tzu in the 1987 movie Wall Street. The US magazine pointed out that the rallying cry in the 1980s and 1990s may have been "greed is good" but Indian management thinkers are now celebrating the idea of what you might call “Karma capitalism” by underscoring that executives should be motivated by a broader purpose than money.
“Good leaders are selfless, take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or financial gain.”
“To Sun Tzu, author of the once-hip management treatise The Art of War, victory should be the great object. Winning the battle is all about unyielding discipline. The Bhagavad Gita, is more in keeping with today’s zeitgeist, contains the wisdom of Lord Krishna. Focus on your thoughts and actions, rather than the outcome,” noted the US magazine. “Good leaders are selfless, take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or financial gain.”
The magazine said the Bhagvad Gita was popular because “for both organizations and individuals, it's a gentler, more empathetic ethos that resonates in the post-tech-bubble, post-Enron zeitgeist.” It’s also probably more in synch with today’s concepts such as "emotional intelligence" and "servant leadership."


Uttara Choudhury is Associate Editor, North America for TV 18’s Firstpost news site. In 1997, she went on the British Chevening Scholarship to study Journalism in the University of Westminster, in London.   
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Other good reads:
Article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Corporate-America-swears-by-the-Gita/articleshow/132248.cms 
 

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Comparitive Study - Simon's Decision Making Model Vs Ancient Indian Sacred Texts

Simon's Fact-Value Dichotomy in Decision Making:
Simon in his writing asserts that each decision consists of a logical combination of fact(proven examples) and value(good and bad/morality,culture or virtues) propositions. He states that as much as possible decisions should be based on facts and not influenced by values much so that there is uniformity in decision making universally because values are individual centred and varies from individual to individual whereas facts do not. Also decisions based on facts are most beneficial as they are proven and tried and tested most of the time and well calculated. He however made an exception for values stating that values can take part in decisions relating to the fixation of end goals of a policy while factual judgements shall be seen pre-dominant in the implementation of such goals.

Drawing a paralled with the Bhagvad Gita's teachings:
The Bhagvad Gita begins with Arjuna deciding to give up the fight of Righteousness by basing his decision totally on his value judgment and totally ignoring the factual side of it. His dilemma of a fact-value decision is something people face everyday. It is then when Sri Krishna in Chapter 2 of the Bhagvad gita reveals the true facts and duties of a human life as well as how one should pre-dominantly do what is based on facts/truths and objectivity rather than what is based on one's individual values which varies from person to person. The value should be attached to the end of the goal which is to establish the right way of life and eradicate unrighteousness from this world by doing his duty and attaining the greatest amount of good for the greatest number as propositioned by Classical Utilitarians John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham.

Simon's Decision Making Model:
Herbert Simon listed a three step process for proper decision at individual level making that need to be followed in a systematic manner.
1. Intelligence stage: It is the stage of identifying the problem and collecting all the necessary information regarding it.
2. Design stage: Search for possible & suitable courses or strategies or alternatives of action that could help resolve the issue in the best possible manner and leading to positive and beneficial results for the organisation.
3. Choice stage: It is the stage where the final decision is taken after completing the above two steps. It is here that the best alternative out of all the possible solutions is chosen to solve the issue/roblem identified. This stage requires certain skills like judgement,creativity,quantitative analysis and experience in the decision making process.

Parallels drawn wit the Bhagvad Gita on Decision Making:
Parallels of Herbert Simon's decision making model/process can be drawn in the Bhagvad Gita.Towards the end of the complete dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, Arjuna is told to probe in totality whatever he has just been audience to and comprehended and proceed to make his decision.

Intelligence stage: The problem had been identified which was that of a fact-value dilemma in deciding by Arjuna.
Krishna helps Arjuna identify that with him being the source of all facts and information/intelligence.

Design stage: Krishna then provides Arjuna with an undeniable understanding of decision making:
"iti te jñanam akhyata? guhyad guhyatara? maya
vimishyaitad ashehea yathechchhasi tatha kuru" [Bhagavad Gita 18.63]

Translation:Thus, I have explained to you this knowledge that is more secret than all secrets. Ponder over it deeply, and then do as you wish.

Then Arjuna proceeded to the Choice stage: Upon deep analysis and choosing the right solution to the problem Arjuna says to Krishna:
"naho moha smitir labdha tvat-prasadan mayachyuta
sthito ‘smi gata-sandeha?" [Bhagvad Gita 18.73]

Translation: O infallible one, by your grace my illusion has been dispelled, and I am situated in knowledge. I am now free from doubts.

Arjuna then executes the same and wins the war of wrong vs right and establishes righteousness once again in the society.

Decision making in the Taittiriya Upanishad:
Taittiriya rishi gives a complete solution by teaching his students the optimum way to arrive at a conclusion and take best decision.
Taitriya Upanishad [11.8] gives a simple yet detailed and beautiful account of how an enquiry is to be done in order to arrive at the correct fact-value conclusion and decision:
1. Sammarsinham – good judgment
2. Alookshaa – Without deception or guile
3.Dharma kaama – Devoted to dharma which is the right and just way of doing anything, the well-being of others (the society, the corporation, the country, the world etc)
4. Yuktaa – Proper conduct
5. Aayuktaa – self governed/ruled decisions independent of other outside incitements

So, that is where this post ends today with wholesome ancient pearls of wisdom have time and again repeated themselves in modern theories and that serves as a lesson that ancient wisdom whould be the first books we read while in the studet period of our life and then keep referring to to understand complex modern theories in a simplistic way. This way we will be completely prepared in our consciousness as well as subconsciousness for any kind of decision making situation in personal and professional life throughout our existence.



Friday, January 11, 2019

A Comparative Study: Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Vs Purushartha and Ashram concept of Vedas


ABRAHAM MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS:

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is an intriguing concept. It makes one understand the pattern of human needs & goals from a psychological point of view since Maslow was an acclaimed psychologist.
It consists of the following five stages:
1.       Physiological needs: Food, water, Sleep, Shelter, Sex,etc.
2.       Safety Needs: Personal security, Job security, emotional security, financial security, Health and well being, etc.
3.       Social Belonging/Affiliation Needs: Friendships, Intimacy, Family, Networking, Affiliations,etc.
4.       Esteem Needs: Recognition, Status, Importance, Respect from others, etc.
5.       Self Actualization: This is actually a Goal. It is stated as the Realization of one’s full potential.
Now interestingly, in later years, Maslow chose to be critical of his Self Actualization concept and added one more level to this hierarchy that is over and above Self-Actualization. He called it:
6.       Transcendence: This too is a Goal. One finds fullest realization in giving oneself to something beyond oneself – for example, in altruism or spirituality. The desire to reach the infinite. "Transcendence refers to the very highest and most inclusive or holistic levels of human consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to significant others, to human beings in general, to other species, to nature, and to the cosmos" (Farther Reaches of Human Nature, New York 1971, p. 269).
All of the needs are basically aims to the goal which is self actualisation and Transcendence.
Now there is a lot of criticism that are associated with Maslow’s concept with regards to its sequence and its applicability, its validity, its methodology or lack of it, etc.
However, we still are very much indebted to its appeal and relevance across all quarters of academia and outside of it.
The aspect we are going to dwell upon here is of a different nature and scope. It is going to be a comparative study which will open up a lot of new academic avenues of the readers with regards to deeper study of the theories we read about in our academic books.

THE PURUSHARTHA CONCEPT IN THE VEDAS:
In ancient Indian texts of Sanatan Dharma, the Vedas, detailed the four aims of human life. The Purushartha – Purush meaning Human and Artha meaning Purpose. The Purpose of being Human or the Purpose of Human Life. The way Human Life should be guided by proper,value oriented and correct actions.
The ancient Sanatan Dharma seers believed that motivation of human behavior was based on four important needs: physical and bodily comforts, security needs through proper order and regulation of family as well as society, need for name and fame as well as recognition through thorough reading and knowledge of the scriptures as well as applying them in practical life, and last but not the least, the need to actualize one’s hidden Self through meditation and living an austere life with spiritual enlightenment to gain salvation and join with the Divine forever.
The ultimate Goal of human life is to attain Moksha. Moksha is salvation, Nirvana, freedom from the cycle of birth & death, the realization of inner spirituality of man.
Now this concept written thousands of years ago is strikingly similar to the modern theory of Maslow’s. Before going on to a comparative study of the same let us explain the Purushartha concept briefly in order to make it amply clear and relatable.
The four Purusharthas are:
  • Dharma: Righteousness, Duty
  • Artha: Wealth
  • Kama: Desire
  • Moksha: Liberation
It need not be in the hierarchial order as it is stated but it is supposed to be in an order of priority.
Dharma: Dharma which is often confused with religion, simply means one’s rightful duty in all circumstances and if one needs to do away with the confusion as to what is right or wrong while performing a duty for a correct life then he/she should refer to the Vedas,the Vedangas, the Sutra literature of which the most important are the Dharmashastras, and scriptures such as the Bhagavadgita. for guidance. Dharma is responsible for It is responsible for order, regularity, harmony, control, predictability and accountability in human life and Earth.
Artha: It means wealth. Wealth earned is not wrong but wealth accumulated by loot or deceit is forbidden and leads to a lot of havoc in life. One has to follow the right way of accumulating wealth based on right intention, right means and moderation. Dharma has to be followed while earning wealth as well.
Kama: It simply means desire. Desires could be of any kind whether personal or professional. It needs to follow the right code of conduct/Dharma as well else it would lead to one’s own downfall.
Moksha: It is the ultimate goal of a human life to attain salvation and oneness with the Divine. A stage of Nirvana and inner realization of the individual self and the universal connect we all have inside us in the form of the soul. It leads to selfless deeds then which helps the society/mankind as a whole.
Now, the interesting part is that the pursuit of Dharma begins when one is initiated into studies at a young age, the pursuit of kama & Artha begins after one completes their studies and becomes a professional and householder. The pursuit of Moksha can begin at any time when one feels the pull.

PURUSHARTHA CARRIED OUT VIA THE FOUR ASHRAMS/STAGES OF HUMAN LIFE:

The path of these Purusharthas also have a designed stage for it that is detailed in the four ashrams/stages of human life.
Source – Wikipedia:
The Ashram system
Ashram or stage
Age (years)[8]
Description
Rituals of transition
Brahmacharya
(student life)
Till 24
Brahmacharya represented the bachelor student stage of life. This stage focused on education and included the practice of celibacy.[2] The student went to a Gurukul (house of the guru) and typically would live with a Guru (teacher), acquiring knowledge of science, philosophy, scriptures and logic, practicing self-discipline, working to earn dakshina to be paid for the guru, learning to live a life of Dharma (righteousness, morals, duties).
Upanayana at entry.[9][10] Samavartana at exit.[11]
Grihastha
(household life)
24–48
This stage referred to the individual's married life, with the duties of maintaining a household, raising a family, educating one's children, and leading a family-centred and a dharmic social life.[2][12][13] Grihastha stage was considered as the most important of all stages in sociological context, as human beings in this stage not only pursued a virtuous life, they produced food and wealth that sustained people in other stages of life, as well as the offsprings that continued mankind.[2][4] The stage also represented one where the most intense physical, sexual, emotional, occupational, social and material attachments exist in a human being's life.[14]
Hindu wedding at entry.
Vanaprastha
(retired life)
48–72
The retirement stage, where a person handed over household responsibilities to the next generation, took an advisory role, and gradually withdrew from the world.[15][16] Vanaprastha stage was a transition phase from a householder's life with its greater emphasis on Artha and Kama (wealth, security, pleasure and sexual pursuits) to one with greater emphasis on Moksha (spiritual liberation).[15][17]

Sannyasa
(renounced life)
72+
(or anytime)
The stage was marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, represented by a state of disinterest and detachment from material life, generally without any meaningful property or home (Ascetic), and focussed on Moksha, peace and simple spiritual life.[18][19] Anyone could enter this stage after completing the Brahmacharya stage of life.[1]



Alternate classification system of life stages:



Developmental
stages of life[citation needed]
Ashrama
(stages of
dutiful life)
Purushartha
(aims of life)
Saisava
0–2 years


No moral codes during this period
Balya
3–12 years
Vidyarambha, Learning of alphabet, arithmetic, basic education
Kaumara
(13–19)
Kaishora
13–15 years
Brahmacharya
Dharma and Moksha

Tarunya
16–19 years
Brahmacharya
Dharma and Moksha

Yauvana
(20–59)
Yauvana-I
(Tarunayauvana)
20–29 years
Brahmacharya or Grihastha
Dharma, Artha and Moksha

Yauvana-II
(Praudhayauvana)
30–59 years
Grihastha
Dharma, Artha and Kama and Moksha

Vardhakya
(60+ )
Vardhakya
(Period-I)
60–79 years
Dharma and Moksha

Vardhakya
(Period-II)
80+ years
Dharma and Moksha



COMPARATIVE STUDY:

Now if one compares this with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs it bears an uncanny mirror image reflection of the former on the latter.
Kama can be equated with Physiological needs and Belonging/Affiliation needs
Artha can be equated with Security needs and Esteem needs.
Dharma can be equated with Self Actualization.
Moksha can be equated with Transcendence.
And all these are taught or fulfilled during the various Ashrams/stages of human life as mentioned above as well.

CONCLUSION:

With this one should understand that in order to enhance one’s knowledge and work upon existing theories as well as understand modern theories it is imperative to find their base in ancient scriptures that are scientifically valid even today and withold the test of time. Also due credit should be given to them. There is a vast repository of knowledge lying hidden and untouched that needs to be brought to the fore and imbibed as a student of the discipline of Social Sciences.