Abstract
The Bhagavad Gı̄tā is a book of self-mastery for leaders and managers. This chapter presents the ethical and spiritual philosophy of the Bhagavad Gı̄tā as a pathway to a leader’s self-mastery and freedom. The first part of the chapter presents an axiomatic fact that the fundamental seeking of all human beings is security, peace/happiness, and liberation. By gently pointing out that our whole problem is a misdirected search due to self-ignorance, the Gı̄tā tells us that the only place where permanent and complete happiness and fulfillment can be found is within ourselves—in the fullness of our own being.
To create a context, this chapter will also provide an essential overview of various yogas presented in the Gı̄tā. It mainly focuses on its teachings regarding the discipline of selfless action (karma yoga) and the discipline of Self-knowledge (jñāna yoga) as two basic archetypes of ethics and spirituality presented in the Gı̄tā. In addition, it presents the essence of bhakti yoga, the path of loving devotion, since devotion is a necessary concomitant to success in both karma yoga and jñāna yoga.
Embedded within these three paths to liberation, it will provide a brief overview of the psychological make-up of individuals comprising three basic modes of nature—sattva (purity/goodness) that brings truth/harmony; rajas (movement/passion) that kindles action/activity, and tamas (ignorance/ inertia) that leads to delusion/confusion. The teaching of selfless service and three psychological types have direct application to the field of management and leadership. The chapter will conclude with the five culminating practices for fostering inner security, peace, and harmony in life and leadership.
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Notes
- 1.
These opening observations about our quest for happiness are inspired by Swāmī Paramārthānandajī’s discourses on the Bhagavad Gītā. See: https://archive.org/details/BhagavadGītā_SwamiParamarthananda
- 2.
Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World (New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2015).
- 3.
J. John McKenzie, Hindu Ethics: A Historical and Critical Essay (Oxford, UK: Oxford University, 1922), 125.
- 4.
Sri Krishna Prem, The Yoga of the Bhagavat Gītā (New York, NY: Penguin Books; Second edition, 1973), xiv.
- 5.
S. K. Maitra, The Spirit of Indian Philosophy (Allahabad, India: The Indian Press, 1947), 28–29.
- 6.
Swami Rāmsukhdāsjī, Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā: Sādhaka-Sañjivanī (Gorakhpur, India: Gītā Press, 2007), 20. See also: Satinder Dhiman, trans., Sahaja-Gītā: The Essential Gītā. [Selection & Compilation, Rajendra Kumar Dhawan]. Based on Params´raddheya Swāmījī Shrī Rāmsukhdāsjī Mahārāj’s commentary on Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, titled, “Sādhaka-Sañjivanī” (Gorakhpur, India: Gītā Prakashan, 2013); and Satinder Dhiman, trans., Kripāmayi Bhagavad Gītā: The Benedictory Gītā. [Selection & Compilation, Rajendra Kumar Dhawan]. Based on Params´raddheya Swāmījī Shrī Rāmsukhdāsjī Mahārāj’s Discourses. (Gorakhpur, India: Gītā Prakāshan, 2014).
- 7.
Swami Rāmsukhdāsjī, Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā: Sādhaka-Sañjivanī; Also see: Satinder Dhiman, trans., Sahaja-Gītā: The Essential Gītā. [Selection & Compilation, Rajendra Kumar Dhawan]. Based on Params´raddheya Swāmījī Shrī Rāmsukhdāsjī Mahārāj’s commentary on Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, titled, “Sādhaka-Sañjivanī” (Gorakhpur, India: Gītā Prakashan, 2013); and Satinder Dhiman, trans., Kripāmayi Bhagavad Gītā: The Benedictory Gītā.
- 8.
Interestingly, the expression “niṣkāma karma” does not occur in the Gītā!
- 9.
न हि कल्याणकृत् कश्चित् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति: To one, who follows the path of goodness, there is no misery or misadventure (durgati), for him.
- 10.
S. K. Maitra, The Spirit of Indian Philosophy (Benares, India: Published by the Author; printed at The Indian Press Limited, Allahabad, 1947), 25.
- 11.
Swami Rāmsukhdāsjī, Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā: Sādhaka-Sañjivanī, 5.
- 12.
Swami Gambhirananda, Bhagavad Gītā with the commentary of Sri Shankaracharya (Calcutta, India: Advaita Ashrama, 1984), 44–45.
- 13.
I. Schepetin, The Traditional Method by which a Guru enlightens the student. Les Cahiers Aditi, 2018, 15.
- 14.
There are three places specifically where the Gītā explains the characteristics of a person steady in the wisdom of the Self (2.55–72), a person who has firm devotion to God (12.13–19) and one who has transcended the domain of three guṇas (14.21–27). See also: BG 13.7–11 (for qualities of the seeker for Self-knowledge); 16.1–3 (for noble traits of head and heart); and 18.49–56 (for characteristics of the one established in Ultimate Reality).
- 15.
Alladi M. Sastry, The Bhagavad Gītā with Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya (Madras, India: Samata Books, 1897/1995), 27.
- 16.
Swami Gambhirananda, Bhagavad Gītā with the commentary of Sri Shankaracharya (Calcutta, India: Advaita Ashrama, 1984), 44–45.
- 17.
Swami Ramsukhdasji, Gītā Darpaṇ (Gorakhpur, India: Gītā Press, 2005), 143.
- 18.
Franklin Edgerton, translated and Interpreted, The Bhagavad Gītā (New York, NY: Harvard University Press, 1944), 68.
- 19.
W. D. P. Hill, The Bhagavad Gītā: A Translation and Commentary (Madras, India: Oxford University Press, 1928/1953), 167. See also: The Bhagavad Gītā, Translated and Interpreted by Franklin Edgerton (New York, NY: Harvard University Press, 1944), 176.
- 20.
S. Rādhākrishnan, The Bhagavad Gītā: With an Introductory Essay, Sanskrit Text, English Translation and Notes, (London, UK: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1958), 289.
- 21.
S. K. Maitra, The Spirit of Indian Philosophy (Allahabad, India: The Indian Press, 1947), 103.
- 22.
See: Dhiman, trans., Sahaja Gītā, 172.
- 23.
Thomas Berry, The Great Work: Our Way into the Future (New York, NY: Harmony/Bell Tower, 1999), 32.
- 24.
See: Taittiriya Upanisad by Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Saylorsburg, PA: Arsha Vidya Gurukulum, 2005), transcribed and edited by John Warne, iv.
- 25.
Bangalore Kuppuswamy, Dharma and Society: A Study in Social Values (Columbia, MO: South Asia Books, 1977).
- 26.
There is no single word in any Western language that can capture the multiple shades and subtle nuances of the word dharma. Like the words karma and yoga, it has been left untranslated in this chapter for the most part, with their contextual meaning presented in parentheses where necessary. These words have found wide currency and familiarity in the Western culture. Similar confusion also exists regarding the meaning of the word yoga, as used in the Bhagavad Gītā. According to the preeminent Sanskrit scholar, J. A. B. van Buitenen , “The word yoga and cognates of it occur close to 150 times in the Gītā, and it needs attention.” See: J. A. B. van Buitenen, ed. and trans., The Bhagavad Gītā in the Mahābhārata: A Bilingual Edition (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1981), 17.
Etymologically, the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root “yuj,” which is cognate with the word “yoke.” The yoga, “yoking,” that is intended in the Gītā is the union of individual self, jivātmā, with the Supreme Self, Paramātmā.
- 27.
Verse
Verse ahiṁsā paramo dharmaḥ, ahiṁsā paramo tapaḥ / ahiṁsā paramo satyaṁ yato dharmaḥ pravartate // ahiṁsā paramo dharmaḥ, ahiṁsā paramo damaḥ / ahiṁsā parama dānaṁ, ahiṁsā parama tapaḥ // ahiṁsā parama yajñaḥ ahiṁsā paramo phalam / ahiṁsā paramaṁ mitraḥ ahiṁsā paramaṁ sukham // (Mahābhārata/Anuśāsana Parva (115-23/116-28-29))
- 28.
Mahōpaniṣad—VI.73 (a). Alternative rendering: “For those who live magnanimously, the entire world constitutes but a family.” See: Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier, trans., Maha Upanishad (Chennai, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, n.d.). Accessed July 31, 2015: http://advaitam.net/upanishads/sama_veda/maha.html
- 29.
Marcus Aurelius, in Meditations (c. 161–180 CE), Book IV, 40.
- 30.
The expression “a happy individual and a harmonious society” is coined by Dr. Vemuri Ramesam, author of Religion Mystified and Yogavasistha. Dr. Vemuri runs a remarkable blog called Beyond Adviata: http://beyond-advaita.blogspot.com/
- 31.
Adapted from Eknath Easwaran, trans., The Upanishads, Translated for the Modern Reader (Berkeley, CA: Nilgiri Press, 1987) and Swami Nikhalananda, ed. and trans., The Upanishads: A One-Volume Abridgement (New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1964).
- 32.
For further details on the contribution of the Gītā in the making of Gandhi as a servant leader, refer to Chapter 10 of this book. See also: Satinder Dhiman, Gandhi and Leadership: New Horizons in Exemplary Leadership (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015); and Satinder Dhiman, Holistic Leadership: A New Paradigm for Today’s Leaders (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).
- 33.
Mysore Hiriyanna, Essentials of Indian Philosophy (London, UK: Allen and Unwin, 1949), 120–121.
- 34.
Swami Maheshānandjī Girī, Jñāna-Sādhanā (Varanasi, India: Sri Dakshinamurti Math, 1989).
- 35.
W. D. P. Hill, The Bhagavad Gītā: A Translation and Commentary (Madras, India: Oxford University Press, 1928/1953), 62.
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Dhiman, S. (2019). Doing the Right Thing: Leaders’ Moral and Spiritual Anchorage. In: Bhagavad Gītā and Leadership. Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67573-2_9
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