Students of karma capitalism

[Guest guest]

Students of karma capitalism

US business schools are lining up for courses that will help tomorrow's

executives find their inner peace. Dean Nelson reports from New Delhi

 

 

THE young executives — among America's brightest and best — cast

off their shoes and sat cross-legged at the feet of a tall 80-year-old man

dressed in flowing white robes.

Like disciples in the presence of a prophet, they hung on his every

word. And they stared with concentration as their teacher wrote on a

white flip-board the bywords to business success: concentration,

consistency, co-operation.

 

 

 

For the members of the Young Presidents' Association, meeting in New

Jersey, this was no ordinary leadership seminar. They were being

imbued with the values of the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta, by its most

venerable proponent, Swami Parthasarathy.

 

It was only one example of how America's business schools and

corporations are turning to the teachings of Hindu gurus and the wisdom

of Lord Krishna for guidance for their budding hedge-fund managers,

investment bankers and venture capitalists.

 

Greed may have been good in the 1980s but karma capitalism is now

being seen as illuminating the way to long-term business success.

Companies are turning to gurus and swamis to transform stressed-out,

one- dimensional executives into well-balanced bosses whose inner

peace will keep them focused, productive and profitable.

 

On the syllabus at Harvard, Kellogg, Wharton and Ross business and

management schools is the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's most

sacred texts. Also known as the Song of the Divine One, the work

relates a conversation between the supreme deity Krishna and Arjuna, a

warrior prince.

 

Its sentiments are being used to bring out the best in the next

generation of business leaders. About one in 10 professors at these

institutions are of Indian origin, and although opinion among them varies

widely, some of their common themes are gaining a wider audience.

The most influential is that business leaders should aim for a higher

purpose rather than simply amassing a fortune.

 

Why is not clear, but political goals like social justice and corporate

social responsibility seem to have become business aspirations for

many companies and schools. And for many, the methodology of

achieving them includes developing more rounded executives with a

strong spiritual sense of who they are.

 

A number of leading Indian academics such as Ram Charan, CK

Prahalad and Vijay Govindarajan have emerged as gurus who can bring

about this change, while more populist teachers like Deepak Chopra

have created global business brands advising top executives on how to

change their lives.

 

Parthasarathy, who runs his own school of Vedanta Hindu philosophy in

Mumbai and still bats regularly for his college cricket team, is the guru

of gurus. Parthasarathy was the heir to his family's shipping business,

but turned his back on the family firm after studying at London

University.

 

He began studying the Bhagavad Gita, and has spent the past 50 years

building a multimillion pound empire through explaining its practical

benefits to wealthy corporations and executives.

 

He has recently returned to India from America where — in addition to

the Young Presidents' Organisation — he lectured students at Wharton

Business School and executives at Lehman Brothers in Manhattan. His

tours are booked well beyond next year, and will include Australia, New

Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.

 

While traditional business teaching has used the language of war and

conquest, Parthasarathy uses the Bhagavad Gita to urge his students

to turn inwards, to develop what he calls the intellect, by which he

means their own personal understanding of themselves and the world,

and to develop their "concentration, consistency and co- operation".

 

Parthasarathy, or Swamiji as he is known to many of his followers, uses

the Bhagavad Gita and its "Vedic laws" to inspire his students to raise

their aim from earning a crust to focusing on higher spiritual or business

goals.

 

The Gita, as it is known, is the Hindu text in which Lord Krishna reveals

himself as Supreme Being to Arjuna as he toils in moral confusion on

the battlefield. In the script, Krishna explains to Arjuna that his soul will

endure beyond his life, and that enlightenment comes through shedding

the ego, and focusing on the "immortal self". He explains the importance

of devotion, action, meditation and knowledge and teaches that real

leaders cast aside emotions that interfere with sound judgment, and put

their duty ahead of their personal fortunes.

 

 

 

Parthasarathy's long-term friend Gopichand Hinduja, who with his

brothers owns Gulf Oil and Ashok Leyland Trucks and is listed as the

seventh-richest man in Britain, said he is one of several gurus who have

increased his knowledge of the Gita and in turn helped their family

business.

 

"The Bhagavad Gita can make people better decision-makers. If you just

close your eyes and be silent, that gives you the inner strength to

focus. It's nothing to do with religion but inner confidence. This has

transpired from Vedic law and scripture," he said.

 

"We know him [Parthasarathy] very well. He uses meditation, yoga and

relaxation to ease stress. The world is becoming faster, and people

have hypertension. There's no swami or guru we haven't met or tried to

understand. In general, each one has some benefit. Vedic law has

helped us as businessmen. There are many examples. All of us follow

the Bhagavad Gita. Every time you read it you understand more and get

more depth.There is no problem in the world to which you do not find a

solution there."

 

Parthasarathy, however, is sceptical about his new role as guru-in-chief

to America Inc. "The business community has appreciated my line of

approach. But nobody knows what I'm talking about, just bits and

pieces. I'm saying they need to develop their intellect, not simply their

intelligence, which is just knowledge from external sources, to help earn

a living.

 

"Your intellect is your capacity to deal with the world, which is dormant

in you. I ask people to think. People are doing business, but they don't

know why," he said.

 

"You've got to set targets for yourself. They could be material or

spiritual. I'm not interested in business. I'm interested in teaching

people what life is about. We have to add self-realisation as a target, to

know yourself. We have a spiritual target and all these business jokers

have a material target."

 

He is sceptical of the prospects of many of his business students

benefiting from his teaching. "Not a single soul has understood. At

Kellogg, nobody understood. They said it was inspiring. They think I will

help them make more money. It's hype," he said.

 

Gopichand Hinduja said his students could learn as much from their

guru's business practices as their spiritual teaching. "Some of these

swamijis are now richer than many of the businessmen," he noted.

 

Wisdom of Krishna

 

GREED IS BAD

 

"You should never engage in action only for the desire of rewards,"

Krishna says. Acting on worldly desires leads to failure. Do well, and

good things will come.

 

 

BE FAIR

 

Enlightened leaders are compassionate and selfless and they "treat

everyone as their equals". Followers will rally round them and follow their

example.

 

 

ACT RATHER THAN REACT

 

Leaders accomplish "excellence by taking action", Krishna says. A

leader's actions today can become the "karma" that influences his

status tomorrow.

 

 

SEEK HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS

 

Leaders should view problems within their larger contexts. In other

words, show sensitivity to shareholders, employees, partners and

neighbours.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2426391,00.html