Category Archives: Bhagavad Gita

Fit of the moment will be a disaster!

Bhagavad Gita, Management, Mythology, ,

In the Mahabharatha, as we all know the war happened because Pandavas didn’t not get their due, not even the five villages. Even as everyone tried to placate Duryodhana, he had said they would not even give away five inches forget five villages.

The war has been declared, and though the war was on from a date it was business as usual and that’s when they get the people to fight ot their side. Some people were coaxed to fight on behalf of Pandavas and some for Kauravas owning allegiance to the kingdom and their help during times of distress. As this played out Duryodhana was feeling high, why not he had Bhishma, Drona and Kripa all great men and warriors whose exploits can be written for years together.

This is very evident during the start of the war. As the sides were ready for the start, Duryodhana goes towards Drona and starts a super flow of dialogues. You can read it as both the confidence and may be some subtle fear. Depends on how you look at it.

As an aside this forms the initial part of the Bhagavad Gita where Sanjaya makes a live telecast to Duryodhana.

Duryodhana goes on to say the virtues of the warriors and how they cannot be beaten by the opponent. He extols the way Bhishma is such a fine warrior and few sentences later asks the team to save Bhishma.

Bhishma wanted to enthuse Duryodhana or whatever, so much that he blew his conch announcing the start of the war and then the rest of the warriors blew their respective conches, filling the Kurukshetra cosmos.

A terrible mistake had happened here, all the while Pandavas were supposed to call for war, Bhishma makes the call because Duryodhana mistimed his dialogues. May be, it would have been different if not for Duryodhana.

May be even during the worst of crisis we need to hold our own, not get led by the circumstances, someone of Bhishma’s stature who had the power to ward off death as he wished made a mistake.

This is so evident in our day to day endeavours, sometimes we just go with the flow, here Bhishma wanted to enthuse Duryodhana who he thought was getting jittery, but then he called for war. If he had thought for a moment on what he was doing, it would have been different. Who knows.

That thought for a moment, is a great teacher for everyone of us. We lose things in a fit of a moment.

#fitofthemoment #bhishma #managementlessons

Excellence is a habit!

Management, Bhagavad Gita, Motivation, Politics, , ,
Karna the great archer in Mahabharatha

Today’s post is about the one of the most wonderful characters in Mahabharatha, Karna!

Karna was known for his charity apart from being a great archer, warrior and a benevolent friend.

So it was no surprise that whenever the topic of Karna arose, Krishna never spared that opportunity to praise Karna as the most charitable man.

Arjuna would probably even take it about Karna being a warrior, he knows that but wanted to see Karna do charity and remove all his doubt.

As such Krishna too sensed this urge in Arjuna and told him to announce a charity drive for the poor, and when Arjuna asked him what was in store for charity, Krishna said there was a whole truck of gold that he would need to distribute in charity.

Thrilled at this Arjuna called his subordinates and told them this is the time he would defeat Karna in charity and made extensive arrangement to make the world know he is having a charity drive on a particular day.

The day arrived, and the whole of the town was in attendance to partake of Arjuna’s charity. Long queues of men and women with children waited patiently in line.

The day ended and still lay a heap of gold.. well Arjuna was helping the people with spoonfuls of gold dust and he was wondering how he is going to finish this off. So he told the drummers to go far and wide and announce that this charity drive is happening!

This went on for days and there was no chance of any gold dust getting any lesser…and some seven days later, Arjuna gave up… Krishna I don’t know what to do!

Krishna smiled and said come with me let me illustrate you something and please change yourself to a help in disguise.

So Arjuna accompanied Krishna in the guise of a farmer and they went on a small drive on a chariot.

A few minutes into the drive they came across Karna, and Krishna seizing the opportunity asked him where he was headed to.

Karna said he was going to meet Duryodhana, and Krishna told him he needed Karna’s help with some charity. Karna smiled and told him he is always game.

So Krishna pointed to the corner of the street and said there a heap of gold and Karna had to give that in charity. Karna looked at the corner and did see a heap of gold. He got down the chariot and as he was walking to the heap of gold, he saw two people working on the roadside.

He called them and asked if they can see the heap of gold? The nodded in affirmation. Karna then said share it equally among yourself and he left the place!

Arjuna was dumbfounded. He had no answers to this. What he had taken seven days and not completed Karna had done in few seconds. Since then Arjuna has held Karna in deep respect secretly though he would not show it to others.

So the management lesson here is excellence can never be an accident. Like What Karna did we need to ingrain in ourselves the best practices so that it comes naturally to us. Karna had the final goal in mind. That was charity, let us also have that very clear what is the final goal. We can be better ourselves in smart but firm and powerful way like Karna did if we live by what we want to do. You wont make it by doing an Arjuna trying to drum up his charity and still not making it happen. Sometimes if you do not know the end no matter how hard you work like Arjuna, you will be never make it. Processes are fine but ideally if they don’t take you to the destination please be aware of its shortcomings and earlier you understand the better!

managementlessonsfrommahabharatha #karna #charity #1of100posts

RAMAYANA VERSUS MAHABHARATA – My Playful Comparison by Devdutt Pattanaik – a book review

Bhagavad Gita, Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Management, Motivation, Mythology, Spirituality, Stories/storification, , , , , , ,
RAMAYANA VERSUS MAHABHARATA – My Playful Comparison
  • Language: English
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Publisher: Rupa Publications India
  • Genre: History of Religion, Hinduism, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
  • ISBN: 9789353332303, 9353332303
  • Edition: 2018
This is a laborious exercise ideally because the context is different. The other side of the comparing these two works is tough because they are totally having different approaches to target segment. It also is important to understand the length and breadth of the story are widely different. The fact that the characters continue to Mahabharata from Ramayana is also a pointer to the similarities and how they are a continuous set of instances that make this grand story come alive. I read with interest the snippet like comparisons by Devdutt Pattanaik where he has put it as My playful comparison, (still wonder why it’s playful) there are enough and more comparisons you could take away right from the childless fathers in Dasaratha to Shantanu to sorrowing parents in Dasaratha to even Pandavas after the war. We also get to see quite a few instances in terms of geography and history or the narration by rishis, etc. But given that author has taken liberty for the time of the authorship of both the epics, I would have loved to differ. For example, the Big Temple in Tamilnadu is over 2000 years old and the devotional movement in their time was as big as anything that is covered elsewhere. One more I noticed was the Greek and Buddhist comparisons, that are totally different and the context in which those thrived also makes for comparisons. I was also not able to see the Ram vs Krishna connect or comparison here. That would have made it all the more interesting since the author has given very few instances of the comparison in a perspective of things. Those are the celebrated characters in the whole scheme of things. That Mahabharata has a Bhagavad Geetha in it has not be taken into consideration. I think a body of work of such grandeur and vastness in both cases inspite of being in Sruthi mode thats hear say to being written so well after long, will constitute similarities with human beings and Gods in an intersection of game of life. That women in both the epics have cast a shadow is irrefutable, that of Sita and Panchali, but then when you see these as just stories it would get you to this connect only. These are imageries for spiritual existance and at some places the author puts them concretely. That there are multiple versions that have made these epics into a reckoning literature in their own right, this will also have its way of reflecting the time that the authors lived in. Infact this is also happening now as we see multitude versions of Mahabharat and Ramayana from different authors and different perspectives from different characters than being rendered by Valmiki or Vyasa. This is quite a study of contrast and yes you could open any page and read this in case you want to because like I mentioned earlier these are snippets and there are almost 56 instances that the author takes us through and they are small but important to note. I am only cautious about some issues like Vedic period and Brahminism that the author takes undue liberty with. It’s like saying there was no gravity or something till Newton discovered it. One instance he says this is because of the Panini’s work of grammar came in at one certain point in time. I am unable to understand if that were the case would everyone be using the language without any sense till then. I think that is wrong way to reference the language part. Sangam literature in Tamil is far older in that case going by inscriptions. Anyway an attempt in bringing the similarities which will continue to exist even today. You write a plot and then you can be sure that was there in Mahabharata or Ramayana. One thing I have noticed is from giving the stories its due to now getting to liberal interpretations Devdutt Pattanaik has come a long way. Well you cant find fault with this its the way the epics have allowed itself to be retold. Thank you Flipkart for sending in the copy and you can buy this here. Senthilkumar

Kurukshetra – the Aryavarta Chronicles Book 3 by Krishna Udayasankar #BookReview

Bhagavad Gita, Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Politics, , , , , , ,

Epic Retelling of an Epic!
Epic Retelling of an Epic!

BOOK DETAILS
Publisher Hachette India
ISBN-10 9350097184
Imprint Hachette India
Number of Pages 384 Pages
Publication Year 2014
Language English
ISBN-13 9789350097182
Binding Paperback

Indian Mythologies have this rare distinction that the more you rewrite the more livelier they become and its one of the innate characters that they continue to be retold and perhaps this will continue for the days to come.

Each in its own context and setting and more perhaps suited to the times that the author is in the retelling takes the course with impact of the generation that it touches and communicates. That way this book will be remembered for the retelling of the kind that has never been attempted before.

This is a book to be read – a retelling redefined perhaps. You knew Mahabharatha, now know it from a parts of the forts that you have never been to. The graphic and gory retelling, and sometimes walking and talking through the minds of the characters sends you a chill down your spine, quite often we took them for granted without any investigation.

The scene is set for the war and how the allies on the part of Pandavas and Kauravas get ready to fight it out and the way it ends.

Aptly titled and well written with details, this book is sure to get you riveted to the last page. The way the book takes turns to reach into the mental realms of all the characters as they speak out their mind and sometimes something else being so graphically described takes you so much inside the forts and places that they walk and talk about.

You will feel the eerie sounds when you actually read through the pages and feel those moments along with the characters.

I loved the naming and the family tree part and its time I go back to the first two books to make it complete.

Its not just the war but what goes into the minds of each of the characters that’s the best part. I am sure the author has done a great deal of mind reading the characters and bringing them alive with such precision requires a tactful reading and delving deeper into the psyche and also the setting of the events that take place in the epic of all times.

I must mention that the author Krishna Udayasankar has taken us on a treacherous journey and the machinations of the characters. The portrayal of Govinda is an absolutely unravelling of the mystique behind his political wizardry is just an example.

I am sure this Mahabharata re-imagined and retold in many ways will be a game changer for many people to look at the epic and draw inspiration for retelling.

So if you come across this book take it and you will be happy that you did. You will watch the Mahabharata’s war stream live in front of you word by word.

A fast paced and yet a deep dive in great sense, this will leave you with scenes of the war right infront of your eyes. The narrative and graphic storytelling ability of the author will keep you awake to finish the book.

Personally I feel this riveting and fast paced a story telling of the Mahabharatha probably was destined.

Great writing, narrative, story telling all in a package that you will not skip a beat through the book.

For once apart from the Books Review category this forms a part of Politics in my blog!

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

An over confident Duryodhana! Bhagavad Gita – A Management Perspective Ch.1 V.2&3

Bhagavad Gita, General, Motivation, Politics, Spirituality, Training, , , , , ,

Duryodhana_showing_his_army_to_Drona

Ch.1 V.2

sañjaya uvāca
dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkam
vyūḍham duryodhanas tadā
ācāryam upasańgamya
rājā vacanam abravīt

Ch.1 V.3

paśyaitām pāṇḍu-putrāṇām
ācārya mahatīm camūm
vyūḍhām drupada-putreṇa
tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā

Before I continue, this chapter in Bhagavad Gita is called as Arjuna Vishada Yoga – translated as the Distress of Arjuna.

Doesn’t it sound pretty relative term – distress. The greatest song has a psychological tendency to it, perhaps. Every one of us go through the same set of emotions and distress therefore is a default.

Now to the translation of the shloka 2:

“Sanjaya said: O King, after looking over the army arranged in military formation by the sons of Pandu, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and spoke the following words.”

The best part of any negotiation is to let the opponent lower the guard. We should also know when to do it and the strategy should be to have a winning mind game. Towards that goal, its imperative that we are confident of ourselves and be sure there are chinks in our armour.

The reason we are talking this is because, we see Duryodhana, the King seeing his cousins arraigned against him, went to his guru and spoke the following words thats the next sholka:

“O my teacher, behold the great army of the sons of Pandu, so expertly arranged by your intelligent disciple the son of Drupada.”

Look at the words, you dont give in easily, do you? Expertly arranged against him actually. And its by the intelligent disciple, and then great army of the sons of Pandu.

Unless you are not confident you dont give out so much to your opponents. Nevertheless in another stance its always good to respect your opponent or competition in the sense that it will help you understand them better in a way but not to the extent that it starts a fear in you.

The internal dynamics of a management will be at full display in the next set of shlokas as Duryodhana goes on a full fledged war on his own men.

Simple reason that you should not demoralize the unit, when you need them the most. The worst of all this leads to as you will see, Bhishma blowing his conch, thereby making the call for the war or the war cry in simple terms and that would change the course of the battle in history. The fact is Pandavas are supposed to start the war but Duryodhana manages to do the impossible.

See how the words can affect and effect undesired responses, esp coming from a not so learned manager.

Only goes to show that lineage is not a qualification.

Lets see in the coming days what he says which led to Bhishma doing the clarion war cry inviting Pandavas to the war!

Pic Courtesy: Wikipedia

The King who was Blind! Bhagavad Gita – A Management Perspective

Bhagavad Gita, Management, Motivation, Spirituality, Stories/storification, , , , ,

sanjaya-dhritarashtra

Ch.1 Verse.1

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre
samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva
kim akurvata sañjaya

Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukshetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?

In any managerial situation, we need to be really be open to what the real situation is. The character of Dhritharashtra is how he decides to ignore realities everytime he comes across. Possible the telling fact that you dont have to see things to know the reality. Thats how a manager looks at things. You are blind folded by love and your attachment and other traits like your own readings than understand the reality and then the war is bound to happen.

Chances were he could have stopped the war. May be. Still the foolishness is in wanton display when he says what are his sons and the Pandu’s sons doing at the Dharma Kshetra of Kurushetra!

A dharma shetra is supposed to be on the side of Dharma, he has already pronounced verdict before the war has even started.

We need to see things not be blind folded with attachment and emotions, and see things in perspective as managers.

And when we know the place we should possibly be ready for the result. Quite often you will know the result if you dont prepare and more than that if you are not right. Not right in the right place and right side!

So the most revered scripture of one of the oldest religion start with a blind king asking his super vision powered charioteer – Sanjaya to recount and tell him what happens at the battlefield.

Now the best part again is Sanjaya is a charioteer and he has been chosen to deliver the message, if you see Sanjaya is relating the whole of Bhagavad Gita through this.

Titles are just for name sake, its what you do and that will create a great impact in life.

Sanjaya is a clear example and the Gita ends with his last quote.

The journey has begun… lets see the next one tomo…

Senthilkumar

Bhagavad Gita – A Management Perspective – An introduction

Bhagavad Gita, Management, Stories/storification, Training, ,

arjuna-krishna-bhagavad-gita

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a part of one of the most celebrated works in the world, the Mahabharata by Veda Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita or the Song of the Lord is revered by Hindus and also respected by everyone the world over for its perspective on Life and how to lead a nice one.

The best part of this scripture is, it has been treated to so many interpretations and still goes on to deliver the message that it wants to the readers. So many Gurus have given the version and so many many scholars have done it.

I wonder if I am qualified in that sense of religiosity but I have always been fascinated by this Song of the Lord. It can teach Management like no other. I would try to bring it some management aspects which are closely related to what we want in us and make it better for us in our everyday lives.

At this moment, my salutations to the Guru Parampara, I have learnt from the Masters – Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda and the mission, Srila Prabhupad, and other works of Gurus and books I have read.

This would be a small and crisp note on the verse and also the application part of it in our profession be it management, or an employee or a leader whichever way you look at it.

The format would be a verse with translation and then a short note which will be inextricably linked to the management aspects of how we look at it.

The best introduction in Bhagavad Gita was given by Poojya Dharmesh ji when I heard him some 25 years before. The opening and closing of the book lends in itself a coinage of ‘mama dharma’ the first word being the end of 700 shlokas and the second word the start of the first shloka.

So it boils down to My Duty in a very easy translation. Now extend this my duty to yourself – extend it to being a son, dad, brother, boss, employee, senior etal not to miss a citizen of a country. Now how would you do your duty?

Lets see and discover in ourselves on what we need to do and how we need to do. On the managerial level it would be left to us to decode on how we should be doing the right things right at the right time and right place.

The glories be to God!

Senthilkumar