Gunas and personality

[Guest guest]

Pranaams to one and all,

 

I would like some inputs from you and if possible the links to some good content

on a discussion - How Gunas shape a human being's personality-from a generic

Hindu standpoint and especially from the Advaitic perspective.

 

As far as my limited knowledge goes, the Gunas have strong links to the concept

of Prakriti and Purusha concept of Samkhya, which Adi Sankara did not quite

support.

 

The basic aspects of Gunas being responsible for certain external manifestations

is discussed superficially in myriad resources, but I am looking for some

content with depth. I would also like to know if there are any clear cut

quantitative methods of evaluating a person's personality by trying to estimate

the dominant gunas in a person, similar to inventories used for analyses of

theories by Freud, Jung,Machiavelli or the Myers Brigg Test.

 

Why am I asking you for this? I am studying Organizational Behavior at XLRI

Jamshedpur, as part of my MBA. We are studying human personality and I strongly

feel that the theories put forth by Western psychoanalysts do not take the

cultural/localization related factors into account, something that is crucial in

understanding the Indian psyche. As a result, I am trying to get some

information about the study of personality from the Indian philosophical

standpoint.

 

Hope this does not interfere with the stimulating discussions that the group is

currently undertaking.

 

Looking forward to some assistance from you all.

 

Shubham Bhavatu Mangalam.

 

Vijay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

hi vijay.

 

welcome aboard!

 

you have raised some very interesting questions and i am sure more

learned members in this group will respond to your query....

 

let me just quote a quick sloka from ADI SHANAKARA'S Viveka Chudamani

 

VERSE 302

 

Bliss is a crest jewel protected by the ego serpent with three heads

(the three gunas). Cut these heads asunder with the sword of

discrimination ; and as these heads reappear again and again, the

serpent itself must be destroyed. Then alone will the jewel be

attained.

 

I THOUGHT I WILL SHARE THIS WITH YOU FOR WHATEVER IT WAS WORTH.

 

good luck with your MBA thesis!

 

love and regards

 

in a hurry,

 

going to a meeting

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

You have raised several questions on the "Gunas and Personality,"

and the best source for answers to your questions is Bhagavad Gita.

Your point regarding linkage between Gunas and the concept of

Prakriti and Purusha is quite appropriate. Also the concept of

Samkhya is not accepted by the advaitins that includes Sri Sankara

also. If you read Gita carefully, you will be able to appreciate

that the concept of Prakriti and Purusha can be understood within

the context of Advaita at the vyavaharika level. The questions that

you have raised can be answered and understood without bringing the

philosophy or metaphysics of Advaita. To simplify our discussion,

what we need to understand is `practical vedanta' and Gita is indeed

the great resouce manual for dealing with our life.

 

First let me restate your statements and try to provide an answer on

the basis of my understanding:

" The basic aspects of Gunas being responsible for certain external

manifestations is discussed superficially in myriad resources, but I

am looking for some content with depth. I would also like to know if

there are any clear cut quantitative methods of evaluating a

person's personality by trying to estimate the dominant gunas in a

person, similar to inventories used for analyses of

theories by Freud, Jung,Machiavelli or the Myers Brigg Test."

 

Honestly the basic aspects of Gunas and their linkage to personality

are subjective and there are no objective ways to quantify the

relationship. I have taken several of the tests that you have

mentioned (for example, Myers Brigg Test) and these tests are also

subjective measures. These psychological measures at the most can

classify the respondents into broad overlapping categories. The

classification based on Myers Test is accepted by management

institutions because these classifications are made using a

questionnaire and the answers to those questions become the means

for the classification. It is quite feasible for some innovative

people and institutions to develop a questionnaire and scoring which

could be used to categorize the people. The discussion of Gunas

(chapters 14 to 18 extensively discuss almost all aspects of Gunas)

can certainly help all of us to understand and cope up with the

nature of our spouse, children, relatives, neighbors and foes. The

lessons on Gunas in Gita can certainly help us to learn and become a

better person – fundamentally Gita stresses that only we need to

change and we shouldn't expect the world to change for our sake!.

 

The first lesson on successful management as reflected in the

Bhagavad Gita is to choose resources wisely. Here is a beautiful

example for making a wise decision and this example is from

Mahabharat. During battle preparation, Duryodhana (an embodiment of

tamasik Guna) chose Krishna's army while Arjuna (converted Satvik

from Rajastik) selected Krishna's wisdom instead of just the army.

In the end Arjuna emerged as the winner as he had made the right

choice after having weighed all options carefully. The basic

principle of modern management is not just co-ordination but move

with high degree of optimism. Mahatma Gandhi was able to use the

lessons of Gita to win the war against the British without using any

destructive weapons. Interestingly, he used `the mass' as the weapon

to defeat the British with massive weapons! Recently, former

election commissioner, Sri Seshan who applied the wisdom from Gita

to change the way the elections were conducted in India. The current

president of India, Kalam is another example for the role of Gita in

changing the personality of people.

There is no limit what one can write about the wisdom of Gita and I

believe that I should stop with this. Also I strongly recommend you

to read the M.P.Bhattathiry ` three part series of articles with the

title – "Bhagavad Gita and Management." This article explains how

the teachings of Gita can be applied to become a better manager at

work and more importantly at home. Here is the site reference:

 

http://www.jaihanuman.org/gita_management1.asp

http://www.jaihanuman.org/gita_management2.asp

http://www.jaihanuman.org/gita_management3.asp

 

Here is an interesting episode from this article to focus our mind

on how the attitude varies between individuals:

 

"Three stone-cutters were engaged in erecting a temple. As usual a

H.R.D.

Consultant asked them what they were doing. The response of the three

workers to this innocent-looking question is illuminating.

 

'I am a poor man. I have to maintain my family. I am making a living

here,' said the first stone-cutter with a dejected face.

 

'Well, I work because I want to show that I am the best stone-cutter

in the country,' said the second one with a sense of pride.

 

'Oh, I want to build the most beautiful temple in the country,' said

the third one with a visionary gleam.

 

Their jobs were identical but their perspectives were different.

What Gita tells us is to develop he visionary perspective in the

work that we do. It tells us to develop a sense of larger vision in

one's work for the common good."

 

I hope this helps,

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

 

advaitin, Vijayshankar Ananthanarayanan

<mailvijayshankar> wrote:

> Pranaams to one and all,

>

> I would like some inputs from you and if possible the links to

some good content on a discussion - How Gunas shape a human being's

personality-from a generic Hindu standpoint and especially from the

Advaitic perspective.

[Guest guest]

Thank you sri Ramachandran-ji for a most informative response and all

the informative links you have provided... I have forwarded them all

to my nephew in india who is now doing his MBA from IIM, AHMEDABAD.

 

meanwhile, i also found this on the net which i thought might be

helpful...

 

International management pundits have just discovered a wealth of

leadership and situational management tools in Gandhian thought. Now,

over to Lord Krishna - a la Arindam Chaudhuri. ``His actions and the

`Bhagwad Gita' hold extensive lessons for modern Indian managers,''

avers Chaudhuri, the management guru from Planman. His `Theory-i' to

a certain extent is devoted to Krishna's management and leadership

techniques. ``Krishna was always a success as he exercised different

approaches for different situation and individuals,'' he explained,

while conducting a workshop on `Theory-i' management in the Capital.

 

The crux of his theory is that what might be a flourishing management

practice in a given situation might end up as a complete failure in

another situation. The theory, according to Chaudhuri, stands true

even at the macro level of national economies. ``How often has one

heard of an American organisation adopting the Japanese management

style to surge ahead? How often has one heard of the reverse?'' he

questions.

 

Chaudhuri emphasised that to develop a successful management style,

the history, socio-cultural realities and the way of living of the

region has to be taken care of. ``The bottom line is that synergy has

to be achieved between the general national culture affecting people

at home and the management culture on the job,'' he asserted, citing

the success stories of the United States, Japan, the Russian economy

in transition, and China's `Red' economy.

 

`Theory-i' is an attempt to understand and define the Indian worker

just like the Japanese had tried to do with their `Theory-z'.

``Amongst other reasons, one of the most important reasons for the

failure of Indian management has been our failure to develop an

indigenous management style which revolves around our cultural

roots,'' remarked Chaudhuri.

 

He espoused an India-centric management style, compatible with its

socio-cultural fabric. He said: ``Most Indians value bonds, emotions

and long-term relationship along with growth opportunities and

commitment. However, our cultural roots (of tolerance, etc) often

make us complacent and lack of patriotism at a macro level leaves us

aimless.''

 

The solution lies in the `Bhagwad Gita', according to Chaudhuri. He

feels that some of the philosophies in the Gita explain in detail

about flexible styles of handling people based upon situations and

backgrounds. He related the Hersey and Blanchard situational

leadership model -- which talks about four leadership styles of

participating, selling, telling and delegating to the `Saam, Daam,

Dand' and `Bheda' philosophy.

 

``Each style is effective for a particular kind of people,''

Chaudhuri elucidated, adding that the holy book classifies people

under three categories: Tamas (immature), Rajas (worker) and Satviks

(mature, as also pious). ``While `Dand' (telling or punitive style,

or talking from a position of authority) style is most appropriate

for `Tamas', `Rajas' can be led using either `Saam' (participatory)

or `Daam' (selling) styles. `Bheda' or `delegation' is suited only

for `Satviks,''' he said.

 

Citing examples form the Mahabharata, Chaudhuri suggested that

Krishna himself was the biggest practitioner of this model. ``In

fact, Krishna was one step ahead of Hershey and Blanchard. Not only

did he set the rules that governs a leader, he also set aside

guidelines and instructions for the followers of the leader,'' he

added. No wonder, the holy book is often referred to as a handbook

for modern managers. Chaudhuri even thinks that Hershey and Blanchard

gleaned the situational model from our very own Gita, because `the

Gita never ever had a copyright'. The workshop also included a

management game and a psychological leadership test called the

`Krishna (or `i' leader) proximity test'.

 

http://www.educationtimes.com/infocus/krishnatakeson.htm - 17k -cached

 

http://www.arindamchaudhuri.com/theory.htm - 75k - Cached -

 

enjoy!!!!