Tag Archives: management thoughts

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

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