Management insights from Indian spirituality insights from the epics for managers

Abstract

In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the relationship between two worlds, the world of spirituality and the world of management. By spirituality, I mean Indian spirituality or more precisely the traditions of Sanatana Dhama. The paper attempts to advance the view that there is an urgent need to contemporize the insights contained in our spiritual traditions so that they reflect a modern sensibility. The failure to do so will consign our traditions to decay and irrelevance when in fact they are powerfully pertinent, germane and connected. More than any discipline, it is spirituality that helps us make these connections and if for that reason alone, merits serious attention. There are several managerial insights that can be culled from the wisdom contained in our epics including our folklore, the stories contained in our puranas and from studying the lives of self-realized masters. If these insights are grasped and internalized, they are capable of changing the lens of managers by helping them view their roles from executors to trustees.