DRIVING FORCE-MIND

You are listening to a very effective speaker who is speaking on a topic of interest. You remember that there is cricket match going on. Before you listen to the next point of the speaker, your mind travels to the location where match is being played and you come back to the speech, travelling thousands of miles away, with the help of your mind.
 I am sure that all of you must have gone through similar experience.

Mind is invisible that has infinite power to reach a place that is far away. It drives the actions of body. It plays a very important and significant role in self management that leads to success in the true sense, if used in positive way, but leads to confused state if used in negative way.

The question that comes to my mind is, “Do we really know the power of mind?”
Working of mind is complex. As we experience, mind travels at a speed more than light.

There have been several attempts to unearth the complex working of mind.

Psychologists are working at it continuously. Western scientists have identified functions that are controlled by left and right side of brain. Neurologists know how nerves manage the supply of blood that control functions of the organs of the body. However, mind still remains a subject of curiosity.

As a student of management, I have made an attempt to relate working of mind as described in Indian scriptures and its impact on self management that is first step towards success.

I am going to place before you the way in which Bhagwad Geeta has explained the importance of mind and control of the same through yoga.
In chapter fifteen entitled PURUSHOTTAM NAM YOGA of Bhagwad Geeta in the verse nine it explains working of mind
Mind governs the senses of hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell.

Swami Vivekananda has explained the significance of mind in his writing giving these references.Swami Vivekananda says,

Raja-Yoga helps in bringing that mind under control. It is as much a science as any in the world. It is an analysis of the mind, a gathering of the facts of the supersensuous world and so building up the spiritual world. This perception is obtained by Yoga.

Concentration of the mind is the source of all knowledge.
Through faithful practice, layer after layer of the mind opens before us, and each reveals new facts to us. We see as it were new worlds created before us, new powers are put into our hands, but we must not stop by the way or allow ourselves to be dazzled by these "beads of glass" when the mine of diamonds lies before us.

Three things are necessary to the student who wishes to succeed. 

First. . We are here to know the truth, not for enjoyment. We humans are thinking beings and must struggle on until we see the light. The soul has no sex, no country, no place, no time.

Second. Intense desire is necessary to know the Truth. Be eager for them, long for them, as a drowning man longs for breath.

Third. The six practices that facilitate training of mind are:
First--Restraining the mind from going outward.
Second--Restraining the senses.
Third--Turning the mind inward.
Fourth--Suffering everything without murmuring.
Fifth--Fastening the mind to one idea. Take the subject before you and think it out; never leave it. Do not count time.
Sixth--Think constantly of your real nature.
Do not hypnotize yourself into a belief in your own inferiority. Day and night tell yourself what you really are, until you realize (actually realize) power of mind.

Without these disciplines, no results can be gained.

First Lesson
This is a lesson seeking to bring out the individuality
Each individuality must be cultivated. "Imagination is the door to inspiration and the basis of all thought." You open any book on management and you will find reference to innovation that comes with imagination. Ignorance, fickleness, jealousy, laziness, and excessive attachment are the great enemies to success in Yoga practice.
The three great requisites are:
First. Physical and mental Purity is required. All uncleanness or impurity would draw the mind down, it must be abandoned.
Second. Patience is necessary for yoga. At first there will be wonderful manifestations, but they will all cease. This is the hardest period, but hold fast; in the end the gain is sure if you have patience.
Third. Perseverance will go a long way. Persevere through thick and thin, through health and sickness, never miss a day in practice.
The internal organ or mind has four aspects.
First--manas, the cogitating or thinking faculty, which is usually almost entirely wasted, because uncontrolled; properly governed, it is a wonderful power.
Second--buddhi, the will (sometimes called the intellect).
Third--ahamkara, the self-conscious egotism (from aham, or "I").
Fourth--citta, the substance in and through which all the faculties act, the floor of the mind as it were; or the sea in which the various faculties are waves.

Yoga is to help us put off our body when we please and see it as our servant, our instrument, not our ruler. Controlling the mental powers is the first great aim in Yoga practices. The second is concentrating them in full force upon any subject.

The mind is not the body. The mind is matter in a finer form. It is not eternally bound by the body. This is proved as we get occasionally loosened from it. We can learn to do this at will by controlling the senses.

Learn to take the mind out and to see that it is separate from the body. We endow the body with sensation and life and then think it is alive and real. We have worn it so long that we forget that it is not identical with us

We will cover the second lesson next week.                                                                             

TIME  MANAGEMENT

It can be observed that art of dividing a day into various slots of smaller value and doing different  activities in each slot was well known to Indian Civilization from Vedic and Puranic times.
Arya Chanakya while suggesting time schedule to the King that can be easily adapted by CEO’s of today, has divided the day into 16 slots of one and half hour each. It is interesting to observe that in the e-world of today we keep the sessions for one and half hour.

I’m all-powerful Time,  that destroys all things – Shri Bhagavad Gita

As the sub-text implies ‘time’ is the most powerful of all elements that Nature has bestowed on humanity. Significance of time has been expressed in many ways across all Ages and Civilizations. While some of them have been explicit in their references some of them are subtle.  In as much as it carries a negative label “as a destroyer”, it also carries the positive reputation of a “healer” – the adage goes “ time heals”.  Such is the reputation and  power of Time.

It is worth mentioning here that the ancient civilizations especially from the Asian continent had a fine understanding of “time”.  With such clear understanding, development of day calendars, movement of planets within the constellation, prediction of solar and lunar eclipses on a day to day basis was possible. Asian, Indian and Chinese civilizations had developed fine astronomical calendars depicting the time

The current Paradigm:

The current management thinking has credited “time’ as one of the key determinants of success. “Time, timing ‘ is a secret weapon that leverages other factors of success. It acts like a catalyst in ensuring that other factors of success work in sync and produce the desired results.   It is long recognized that ‘time’ is a key competitor for every business organization.

Traditionally,  business success is defined as ‘ provision of most value at lowest of costs.  With “time” having  been recognized as a key success factor in the armoury of a successful organization, no wonder, then, the  current management thought  has added the ‘time dimension’  to  the above  definition.  ‘Providing most value for the lowest cost in the least amount of time’  is the new mantra.   Accordingly, the corporates have started redefining their success strategies with provision of time bound services.

Current management literature is full of benefits that accrue to a time based competitor or supplier– benefits varying from  reduced inventory ,  lower transaction costs , reduced cycle times and so on.  Being a time based competitor is a win-win situation to both the customer and the provider. While customers perceive this as a significant ‘value-add’ to the product or service,  the supplier or provider of services enjoy less order cancellations,  satisfied customers which gets reflected in the  repeat orders. No wonder Time Management has become an important component of current management vocabulary. The celebrated management thinker and writer Peter Drucker had written a lot on the role of time management in success of individuals.

These instruments of time management varies from time planners, schedulers, project management tools, trackers, personal calendars, scheduler,  to-do-list  and a whole host of others.  It must be mentioned here that multiple variants have emerged and one of them is even called “life planning tools”.  Such life planning tools include result area forms, goal tabs, goal forms, metrics and goal progress tracking formats and what not. These tools are  designed to keep the users focussed on achieving their goals.

Ironically all these solutions focus on individuals suggesting "Do-it-Yourselves" solutions, training programs etc.  The place ‘time management’ occupies in our day to day life is unmatched by any other concern.  Warfare and other destructive activities too have not spared the time dimension from its own operating vocabulary.

Inventions such as air travel, telephony, mobile phones, internet, search engines etc have been focussing and attacking the time.

Arya Chanakya in his treatise on Political Economics, has referred to the subject in the context of how the time should be spent by the king or CEO. He has divided the day in sixteen periods of one and half hour each. It is amazing to observe that even today the period of one and half hour is considered as optimum period for effective session. He has given a schedule for a king to follow that covers topics such as discussions with key ministers, open session with the public at large i.e. target customers, review of achievements. stress management etc.

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Recently, Mr.Ratan Tata announced in public that by next year, that is 2011, he will retire from active business. Prof. Narayan Murthy of INFOSYS has made similar announcement although he has been mentoring INFOSYS. Both the prestigious organizations are busy with exercise on “Succession Planning”. It is obvious that the process is not easy.  It will be interesting to read the guidelines suggested by Arya Chanakya in his treatise on “Political Economics – Kautilya’s Arthashastra”.

Arya Chanakya has dealt with the subject of succession planning for king. While referring to internal aspects of a stable and prosperous kingdom, Arya Chanakya has covered guidelines for selecting / developing and protecting the successor  under the title “Rajadharma” in Chapter 17^th and 18^th of book 1

The eldest son/daughter of the king is a natural choice for succession provided he/she fulfills the criteria. However, there is a clear reference that succession need not be by inheritance. The elder son and rest of brothers have a natural right for succession, Arya Chanakya has advised that the activities of eldest son should be observed and closely watched right from birth. If king has only one son, he should be kept under observation all the time. If he has more than one son, all of them  should be assigned tasks to prove credentials and capability.

Arya Chanakya has classified sons into three categories. The first category as intelligent, who are capable of learning the basic concepts of duties and responsibilities, logic economics etc. who can put those principles in practice. The second category consists of those who learn but cannot put learnings in practice. The third category is the one who hate the principles of governance and find themselves in difficult situations. If the king has only one son from the point of view of smooth succession, the king should convince his son for having a grandson to take care of eventuality, If  a king has a daughter, king should convince her to have grandson from his daughter.

On analyzing dynasties that ruled various kingdoms on continents including Indian sub-continent, we find several examples of smooth succession that resulted in rule of those dynasties over a long period of time. Mauryan empire that was led by Chandragupta Maurya under the advice of Arya Chanakya, ruled Indian sub-continent for three generations upto King Ashoka. (Moghul emperors, Nehru dynasties, House of Tatas, Birlas, Mafatlals)

While describing behaviour of the successor, Arya Chanakya has given certain guidelines for the nominated prince or successor. Even if the king asks the prince or successor to take up the task that may not be worthy of his status, the prince should accept the task and ensure success. However, the task where life is in danger or where there is possibility of revolt from the constituency, the prince could make an exception and resist the appointment. If he is appointed on meaningful task, the prince should accept the challenges, fulfill the task with assistance from able hands and pass on the benefits to the king. In case prince is not able to get an able assistant, he should try and show results by various means to prove his capability.

Arya Chanakya has also discussed at length the issue of announcement of a successor that is critical in Succession Planning for smooth transition. There are specific guidelines about the announcement where the king is sick. He mentions when the news should be made public and how the news about sickness should be conveyed amongst the members. While discussing Succession Planning, Arya Chanakya has given a warning that some of the disgruntle of elements of kingdom in the empire could rise and revolt to take advantage of opportunity. Kautilya says that in order to have smooth transition, the Ministers should choose a Prince who is not just senior but the one who is capable of handling the responsibility of stability and growth in the long-term interest of the kingdom. 

INTRODUCTION

“Namaste”. It’s a Indian way of extending greetings. Friends it is a day of Ganesh Puja, we pray Lord Ganesh for knowledge and good luck for new project. I want you to open  and read blog on
 “ Management practices based on Indian scriptures” with a click of a Mouse that is a vehicle for Lord Ganesh as stated in mythology.

On this auspicious day I am entering virtual world “as a netizen”. Internet and click of a mouse has made it possible to establish contact with you. I can reach all of you who will get interested in establishing a unique identity of our country i.e. India. Would you not agree that India is a force to reckon with?.  India has treasure of knowledge that survived over centuries. A new style is emerging as “Indian Management” that has a cultural background of its own. It is value based and stands out in post global financial melt down. Indra Nooyi, Vikram Pandit, Raghuram Rajan, all global business leaders in industry and banking inherit Indian culture.

Indus civilization has history of over 5000 years. Literature and scriptures based on observation of nature and behaviour of human beings are available that throw light on handling and managing situations in day to day life. Wisdom accumulated and enriched with experience is available. Would you not like to share and practice .

“Upnishadas” the early scripture well before Christ opens out relationship between the universe and individual human being.. The theme of these scriptures is that of Inclusive Philosophy that we refer today. Bhagwad Geeta represents essence of Vedas that explain practical way of managing relationships and management of self. The principles cover a wide range from conflict management to leadership keeping in mind ethical angle of issues involved. It is an excellent guide on actions to be taken without keeping in mind any expectations.

Pancha tantra is a scripture that explains practical tips for successful life.

Swami Vivekanand who gave his famous speech in the religious conference at Chicago in US  in 1893., brought out wisdom from scriptures that emphasized life based on values and ethical behaviour.

Kautilya’s Arthashastra a treatise on “Political Economics” is a very comprehensive document that explains Management of a Kingdom in a codified manner. When we read between the lines a clear message emerges that brings out principles of management that are practical and applicable in today’s industrial and commercial world.

Mahatma Gandhi – a lawyer by profession who jumped into freedom movement by accident became a leader of ‘Quit India’ Movement against British Raj. Today he has become inspiration for learning leadership skills in the Western countries. 

As a student of Management I felt that a time has come to develop and put forth the lessons that emerge out of these scriptures of Indian origin. My attempt is to share with you my view point in a structured manner.

I was encouraged by the support extended by Mr. S. M. Dutta, Ex-Chairman, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Mr.A.K.D. Jadhav, Ex-Principal Secretary of Ministry of Mining and Heavy Metals   Mr. Rajendra Barwale, Managing Director of Mahyco Ltd. and Ms. Harshabeena Javeri Managing Director of NRB Bearings Mr.S.S. Godbole, Mr.Siva Shivaramkrishnan – Sr.Consultants, Prof. K.C.R. Raja Director of Rofel Institute of Management & Others.

Creation of the Blog has been possible due to teachings from my Guru late Mr.V.G. Karnik and discussions with Sr. friends like Dr. B. M. Kacholia. I owe a lot to my clients from business world who allowed me to share various experiences. Without technology support provided by Dr.Milind Deshpande, the blog would not be a reality.

With your involvement, I propose to share one post every week that will represent a pre-curser to the topic and welcome your comments. Let us together bring out Management Practices from Indian Scriptures.

 I welcome you as follower of this blog and thank you for sharing your views in advance.

The series begins with ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra’.There are three posts.

A treatise on ‘Political Economics’ written in the year around 300 B.C. Let us talk about Indian Management just as we discuss Western Management and Japanese Management.

Indian contribution- A comparative evaluation

In the early periods before Christ, there were four major civilizations that developed socially and culturally that developed basics of management with reference to society and kingdoms. They were Greek and Roman civilization around the river Euphrates and Tigress, Egyptian civilization around river Nile, Indus civilization around river Indus (Sindhu) and Chinese civilization around river Yangtze.

In the Roman civilization, great philosophers such as Socrates and Plato (around 400 B.C) covered the subject.The concept of democratic state emerged from the works of these philosophers through their books such as “Republic”. Indus Valley civilization conceptualized understanding about the universe its relations with individuals, social values and ultimate peace for human being that is reflected in the scriptures of “Vedas and Upnishadas”. Essence of these scriptures is covered by “Bhagwad-Gita” that explains philosophy of work without expectations. “Kautilya’s Arthashstra” a treatise on political economics presented in codified manner principles of governance ( around 300 B.C.).Chinese civilization represented by Cofucius and his teachings ( 500 B.C ) emphasized personal and governmental moral values, correctness of social relationships and tactics for warfare that reflected in the work of Sun Tzu in the book “The Art of War”.

Plato’s philosophical views had many implications particularly with reference to society and the governance of the society. Some of the famous doctrines in his book “Republic” cover laws and rules and discipline that would govern the statesmen. They bring out triplicate class structure symbolizing the castes of society, such as Productive, Protective and Governing class.There is reference to the State and the Ruler who would govern the state. The observations with reference to the philosopher king can be translated for effective Chief Executive of today.

In the Indus valley civilization, Arya Chanakya, as mentor and advisor to the first Indian Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya, has developed guidelines for running the administration and managing growth of the empire. In his excellent work, “Political Economics (Kautilya’s Arthashastra)”, there are comprehensive references to the internal administration of the empire and the external affairs. The treatise covers topics that can provide guidelines for the strategists and managements in global competitive world of business.

Chinese philosopher Confucius explained moral values for society. In the book “Art of War” by Sun Tzu, there is reference to the wars amongst the states that existed during his time in China. The references are more tactical. There is reference to Strategies that should be adapted in different conditions. They are applicable in marketing warfare and are operational in nature.

In the next post we will introduce the theme of this blog Management practices from Indian scriptures.

"Kautilya's Arthshastra" aTreasure hunt

Arthashastra is about materialistic aspects of the world, particularly with reference to wealth. The literal translation of the word “Arthashastra” means the science of wealth. It is codification of the methods of governance with the objective of creating wealth for the kingdom. Arthashastra emphasized that unless state has sound financial foundation, it is difficult to run the affairs of the state successfully. Today we refer to market capitalisation.

To relate Arthashastra with the global organizations of today is like a treasure hunt. References are for the state and its activities. However, with change in perspective with times, the guidelines are applicable to the global multinationals or the organizations of today. As mentioned by Mr. Ajit Dasgupta in his book “History of Indian Economic Thought’, the economy described and commended by the Arthashastra was completely dominated by the state. The government was not only merely tax gatherer, but also agriculturist cowherd, road builder, cattle-breeder, miner, forester, manufacturer and merchant. Private economic activity other than crop production was only residual and even then subject to strict government regulation and control.

The reason why Kautilya’s Arthashstra has to be interpreted in the context of today’s reference is it is a treasure of wisdom. The deeper you go as far as meaning of the fifteen books that form the core of his philosophy are concerned, they can be directly related to the basics of management. When we look at management philosophy of US based companies, they have reference of the work culture and  social framework that exists in that country. Japanese Management techniques draw from Japanese culture. It is quite clear from Kautilya’s Arthashastra that the references are from Indian culture and Indian Social environment.

Indian ethos in Management stands out because of its reference to philosophical and religious texts. Bhagwad Gita, a reference religious text for every Indian explains very clearly how an individual should behave and act while in search for eternal happiness. It covers references to Dharma and Moksha that are two of the major objectives for individual to live life. Artha and Kama are other two objectives that deal with materialistic aspects of the world. Kautilya’s Arthashastra emphasizes the behavioural aspect of an individual when he is trying to achieve the objective, artha and kama. Arya Chanakya while covering artha and kama, has developed a complete structure in the framework of kingdom. With replacement from kingdom to organization, the guidelines become applicable to the subject of Management.

If you get interested in the topic, do read next post that will cover a comparative picture.

Management practices from Indian scriptures

Relevance of Chanakya

The world of Management is full of different theories based on academic research and practical success achieved by various companies in the western world since 18^th century. With the changing context, post financial meltdown in the western part of the world, innovative approaches are being developed and practiced for sustainable and profitable growth. Basic principles remain at the core for any new practice. However, value and knowledge based management practices from the eastern part of the world are standing out.

On going through the pages of historical references, we find that Arya Chanakya in his treatise on political economics. Kautilya’s Arthashastra has unfolded pearls of wisdom about managing a kingdom. He was a mentor and a guide who had a very clear vision.  He was a force who drove Mauryan Emperor to expand his empire to the breadth and width of pre’47 India. If we change the context from King and his empire to CEO and global conglomerate of business in the flat world of today, the principles are directly applicable. Arya Chanakya was not only an Advisor to Chandragupta Maurya but he was a visionary leader responsible for developing Strategies that succeeded in terms of building a sustainable empire against the threats from foreign aggression. While developing concept of a village as the smallest unit for de-centralized control and empowerment, he has applied the basic principles of management and Inclusive Philosophy in the year 300 B.C.

When global economy is suffering due to major recession that was caused because of deviated priorities of developed economies, we find references in the political treatise of Arya Chanakya about principles of governance that have to be followed by the king and the team of his ministers that would help in sustainable growth. The principles are universal and are applicable even today in the field of management apart from politics. We find that Arya Chanakya was an apostle for management strategies. He has identified seven pillars for a stable kingdom. If we relate those seven pillars by translating them into seven elements that can strengthen the growth oriented sustainable organization, we have a treasure of management wisdom.

The applications of his principles and philosophy that we find amongst successful global companies, give us the confidence that a research based study supported with cases, can bring clarity on the subject of “Indian Management”.

Many attempts have been made to understand and share the basic principles elaborated in “Political Economic’ and Chanakya Niti propounded by Arya Chanakya. However, there has not been an attempt to relate it to business world of today to bring clarity and help in application for business management.

After 2000 years, Arya Chanakya shines as a great management thinker and a strategist who practiced the principles and then wrote them in codified form. “Political Economics” present the essence for knowledge based successful management that is expected to prevail in 21^st century. 


In the next post you will be able to get the overview of the treasure hunt that we will follow through this series of articles.