Tag Archives: BHagavad Gita

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

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

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

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