Now, what could be common between a 5,500-year-old scripture and the art and science of management as we practice it today? After all, while on the battlefield at the beginning of the Great War, Arjuna was facing a dilemma – to fight or not to fight. Surely, the poor fellow could not have then opened his smartphone and ask AI or ChatGPT as to what to do. He could not have expected a blockchain app to come up with a strategy to defeat the 11 divisions of the Kaurava army while using only the 7 divisions of the Pandava army.
Luckily, he had Lord Krishna acting as a friend, philosopher, and guide to assist him in the matter. The Lord patiently removes all his doubts, much like a friendly mathematics teacher would. Towards the end of the 18th chapter, he does not say what Arjuna should do in that situation. Rather, having motivated him to do his duty, He leaves the choice to Arjuna, who decides to fight the war.
Humanity is thus gifted with what I would refer to as the ultimate Manual of Motivation. It provides us with a template of inner transformation. It tells us how to live our lives to be more contented, joyful, and happy.
I confess that Gita is not easy to understand. Most of us believe that it is something a reading of which should be deferred to our post-retirement days, in our sunset years on this planet.
Far from it. The earlier one starts grasping the philosophical thoughts of Gita in life, the better it would be.
When looked at from the jaundiced glasses of either a CEO or a management executive, it offers rich lessons in navigating the corporate jungle. It provides a moral and ethical compass which we can use to handle real-life situations.
It does not provide a band-aid kind of two-minute solutions to the daily challenges we face. Instead, it does a root cause analysis and offers a long-term perspective on life and the googlies it throws at us from time to time.
Could we, ordinary people like us, even aspire to become an Arjuna? He had the capability to fight. He was facing a dilemma. Above all, he had options.
In a business situation, a brand could have been going downhill. Could it be reaching the end of its product life cycle? If so, would you recommend to the management to scrap it altogether and consider newer product options? Consider what Gita says:
तस्मादसक्त: सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर |
असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुष: || 3.19||
Therefore, remaining unattached, go on doing action worthy of performance. Engaging in action, truly unattached, man attains the supreme.
Lord Krishna suggests that we detach ourselves from one of our favourite brands and try to look at it objectively. We could then see the writing on the wall and sense that it may soon be taken over by another product based on advanced technology. He expects us to focus on preparing the plans for designing such a product, test-market it without delay, and then proceed to launch it.
Likewise, there are many situations in our careers where Gita can help.
The soon-to-be-released book Bhagavad Gita’s Guide to Corporate Dharma may help one to grasp the nuances of this unique scripture.
Once a week, I shall endeavour to keep you posted.
ashokbhatia 