Indian Ethos
Indian Ethos
Indian Ethos
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“Certainly we should take care not to make intellect our God. Intellect has, of course,
powerful muscles but no personality. It cannot lead. It can only serve. It is not
fastidious about its choice of leaders (Mind or Soul). The intellect has a sharp eye
for tools and methods but is blind to Ends and Values”. – Albert Einstein
“It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a western beginning in
business management will have to have an Indian ending, when the world adopts
rich thoughts of Indian ethos and wisdom, if it is not to end in the self-destruction
of the human race”. – Arnold Toynbee, Nobel Laureate
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines Ethos as “the set of beliefs, ideas, etc.
about social behaviour and relationship of a person or group” while Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary defines it as “the moral ideas and attitudes that belong to a particular
group or society”. Indian Ethos is all about what can be termed as “national ethos”.
Formally, the body of knowledge which derives its solutions from the rich and huge Indian
system of ethics (moral philosophy) is known as Indian Ethos in Management (IEM). Is IEM
some kind of Hindu concept of management? Certainly not. Management is behavioral
science and it has to be culture specific. IEM has as its basis, the culture base of India and
as a country whose culture has its roots in religion - it does draw its lessons from the
religions of the land - be it Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other. The salient ideas and
thoughts of Indian Ethos in Management revealed by our ancient scriptures are:
1. Atmano Mokshartham, Jagat hitaya cha: All work is an opportunity for doing good to
the world and thus gaining materially and spiritually in our lives
2. Archet dana manabhyam: Worship people not only with material things but also by
showing respect to their enterprising divinity within.
3. Atmana Vindyate Viryam: Strength and inspiration for excelling in work comes from
the Divine, God within, through prayer, spiritual readings and unselfish work.
4. Yogah karmashu Kaushalam, Samatvam yoga uchyate: He who works with calm and
even mind achieves the most.
5. Yadishi bhavana yasya siddhi bhavati tadrishi: As we think, so we succeed, so we
become. Attention to means ensures the end.
6. Parasparam bhavayantah shreyah param bhavapsyathah: By mutual cooperation,
respect and fellow feeling, all of us enjoy the highest good both material and
spiritual.
7. Tesham sukhm tesham shanti shaswati: Infinite happiness and infinite peace come
to them who see the Divine in all beings.
8. Paraspar Devo Bhav: Regard the other person as a divine being. All of us have the
same consciousness though our packages and containers are different.
Principles of IEM are universally applicable. IEM can help develop an effective and holistic
management pattern which will assure all round growth in productivity, marketing and
profitability. This will help in synchronizing private and public benefits and encourage
individuals to lead an enriched quality of life together with worldly achievements. The best
form of management has to be holistic and value driven which is the objective of IEM.
In Total Quality Management, Karma Yoga and Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam provide valuable contributions. Go
through the section on TQM
(a) Management Attitude – Top management having firm belief in value-oriented holistic
management. Profit is earned through service and satisfaction of all stakeholders –
employees, customers, shareholders and citizens. Fulfillment of social responsibility must
be ensured.
(b) Humanising the Organisation – Looking at the three aspects of humane organisations,
i.e., inter-personal relations, man-machine equation where man is the prime concern and
inner management through mental and spiritual growth of individuals.
(e) Brain-stilling – For rational and enduring decisions, silent mind is a necessity. A perfect
Mounum (calm mind enjoying tranquility) is necessary. Brain-stilling or meditative silence is
the most reliable method to discover solutions to problems and difficulties which seem to be
difficult to be tackled by reason and intellect because through this one can come into
contact with the inner mind or higher consciousness called Chetana.
(f) Stepping Back (for a while) – Never decide anything, never speak a word, never throw
yourself into action without stepping-back. The stepping back from a situation for a while
enables one to control and master a situation.
(h) Role of Intuition – Intuition is the act of coming to direct knowledge or certainty
without reasoning or inferring. It is immediate cognition by the inner mind and when fully
developed, is efficient and effective for taking prompt and sound decisions. Intuition skills
enable one to cope with confidence the fluctuating environment and rapid changes. Faith is
a prerequisite to develop and realize the power of intuition.
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is a good pathway for – self purification and self-development, individual as
well as collective growth and welfare, minimum play of passion, jealousy, hatred, greed,
anger and arrogance, team spirit, team work, autonomous management, minimum control
and supervision, etc. The result is all round happiness and prosperity.
Karma Yoga is an end-state or an alias of Nishkam Karma (NK). Yoga means union between
‘individual consciousness’ and ‘supreme consciousnesses’. Work is one of the several
It is evident that NK offers the most wholesome work psychology and should therefore be
the “Right Attitude to Work” because it is based purely on the tremendous logic in its theory
and the infinite power in its practice.
This means “You have the right only to action, and never to the fruits of your actions, nor
be attached to inaction”.
Why work?
To purify the mind and the heart (Chittashuddhi’) and to become wise; to provide public
benefit
What is work?
To nurture each other. It is a form of Yagna, sacrifice. It is the worship of the Divine
How to work?
With the spirit of renunciation, i.e., Tyag and to serve others without self-interest
Spirit of work
Excellence and perfection in work
Values are basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is
personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of
existence. Value system indicates a hierarchy based on ranking of an individual’s values in
terms of their intensity. Terminal values are desirable end-states of existence; the goals that
a person would like to achieve during his/her life time. Instrumental values are preferable
modes of behaviour or means of achieving one’s terminal values. Values are called gunas.
“Values are states of feelings/emotions that underpin the content of a choice/decision and
determine the manner of using the intellect/reason for justifying and implementing that
choice/decision.”
Human Values is the sum total of qualities like truthfulness, integrity, gratitude,
humbleness, forgiveness, patience, transparence, charitableness, simplicity, etc. Human
Values make a person Antarmukhi (interiorized) while skills will make him more and more
Bahirmukhi (exteriorized). Human values transcend moral, ethical and spiritual values.
“Skills must pass through the corridors of values and the corridors have to be kept not dark
and untidy, but well lit and clean.”
Values
Strong Weak
Strong Most Desirable Dangerous
Skills
The discussion in no way speaks against acquiring skills but tries to guard against only
acquiring skills, as the matrix above testifies. Of course, the discussion in no uncertain
terms makes it clear that values are more important that skills.
The etymological root of the term ‘holism’ or ‘holistic’ is the Latin word ‘holon’ meaning total,
whole or integrated as opposed to fragmented or splintered. It is generally used to mean ‘a
total view’. It can be looked from the following two approaches:
Sashkin and Kiser have defined TQM as “Creating an organizational culture committed to
the continuous improvement of skills, teamwork, processes, product and service quality,
and customer satisfaction”. TQM stresses three principles: customer satisfaction, employee
involvement, and continuous improvements in quality, which some refer to as the quality
trilogy. TQM is also said to be based on four fundamental commitments:
1. Commitment to the customer’s total satisfaction
2. Commitment to understanding and improving the organization’s processes
3. Commitment to employee improvement
4. Commitment to data-based decision making
Shared vision and values provide the foundation for making these commitments. Because
the four commitments often require behaviour that is not customary to managers, in most
organizations, unusual steps must be taken to ensure that workers and customers do not
perceive the commitments as hollow promises.
It is pertinent to note here that it is values and the value system that gives real meaning to
TQM efforts. It provides the substratum or a solid foundation for TQM and elevating the
capacity of people and organizations to produce extraordinary results on the basis of
available material resources. In many ways, it teaches a worker to control the temptation of
jumping into ‘who is wrong?’ rather than concentrate on ‘what is wrong?’, which is a core
idea of TQM. Jnana Chaksu and the concept of ‘Brain Stilling’ can help solve problems
which otherwise seems to be beyond grasp of even the most well known problem solving
tools. Karma Yoga of all workers in an organization will guarantee internal as well as
external quality. Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam (excellence in work) guarantees total employee
involvement. Indian ethos gives the key to effective motivation, which is a key requirement
in achieving ‘total quality’.
Causes of Stress
• Mostly external and outside our control like Rapid obsolescence of skills,
Uncongenial work environment, political and economic factors, etc.
• Stress generating events & situations in life – partly controllable and partly not like
Death of family member / close relative, Wedding, Retirement, Loss of Job, etc.
• Mostly internal and by and large within our control. These are classified into
(a) Strong negative emotions – the 5 As of anger, ambition, anxiety,
apprehension and arrogance.
(b) Materialistic world view including a hedonistic culture that promotes crass
consumerism and is sustained by some powerful unwholesome emotions like
selfishness, greed, grabbing mentality, envy, egocentricity, etc.
(c) Living an impure, illegal and unethical life ruled by the senses; for example
having extra-marital relationship and being a victim of lust and passion,
engaged in shady corrupt deals and being a victim of easy money, etc.
(d) Personality composition / make-up
(e) Interplay of duality that is a fact of life and human existence‡
Consequences of Stress
There is almost a unanimous view that there are four components of the consequences of
stress. These are:
• Physiological – blood pressure problems, problems related to the heart, indigestion,
insomnia, etc. These are termed nowadays as lifestyle diseases!
• Emotional – anxiety, anger, depression, fear (phobias), etc.
• Behavioural – over dependence, argumentativeness, disturbed work life/schedule,
etc.
• Cognitive – adverse effects on mental functions such as reasoning, thinking,
concentration, and memory, and incapability in decision making
Out of the three, those in the second group are ipso facto outside our control, the first
group may be avoided if we are careful enough and the third are by and large within our
control. As can be observed, these are very similar to the Causes of Stress as already
mentioned above.
Managing Anger
The origin of anger is desire unfulfilled. Anger bursts are the results of frustrations and
insecurities emanating from the same. What results is aggression – against inanimate
objects like furniture, glassware, etc., against animate beings like parents, friends, relatives,
etc. and aggression against self like suicide.
We end with the following two verses from The Gita which reflects the Samattwa and the
Nirdwandwa approaches:
‘sukha-sukhe same krtva – labhalabhau jayajayau…’ [To regard pleasure and pain, gain and
loss, victory and defeat as alike]
‘yo na hrsyati na dvesti – na socati na kankasati – subhsubha – parityagi…’ [He who neither
rejoices nor dislikes nor grieves nor desires, who renounces good and evil]
A Few Guidelines
Stress is a reality of modern life; there is no escape from it. Our objectives should be how to:
(i) increase the threshold level (between challenges & stress)
(ii) prevent ourselves from becoming stressful
(iii) effectively cope with stress so that we can soon revert back to the stress-free state.
Practical steps need to be taken to attain these objectives. A few of these can be:
• Control anger by all means
• Exercise regularly
• Have good food habits
• Work efficiently but avoid competition with others
• Don’t be a workaholic
• Look for ‘sat sangh’ (company of wise and good people)
• Remember The Theory of Karma
• Be content with whatever you have
Disclaimer:
Some of the views expressed in this write-up are entirely of the author and no claim is made
regarding their validity in the context in which this has been written. The author has taken
the liberty in expressing the contents of the sources which he has referred to in his own
style and in the process may have altered the original views and underlying themes.
References:
[1] Chatterjee, B. K., Organisational Behaviour And Beyond, 1st Edition, Asian Books Private
Ltd., New Delhi 110002, c2004
[2] Hanna, Mark D., Integrated Operations Management, PHI Prvate Ltd, New Delhi 110001
[3] Krajewski, Lee J., Ritzman. Larry P., Operations Management – Strategy and Analysis,
Pearson Education (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, New Delhi 110092
[4] Sherlekar, S.A., Management, 1st Edition, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai 400004
[5] Robbins, Stephen P., Organizational Behaviour, 9th Edition, Pearson Education
(Singapore) Pte. Ltd, New Delhi 110092
[6] http://www.samanvaya.com/frames/knowledge/articles/iem-faq.htm; accessed on 19
September, 2007 at 1100 Hrs