International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 1, January 2014
Application of Ancient Indian Sutras in Modern Management
Framework: Towards a Sustainable Paradigm
Prasad Patki, Research Scholar, Management, GITAM University, Vishakhapatnam, India
ABSTRACT
Management has certainly drawn a lot through inter-
disciplinary researches from the various fields of social
and natural sciences, but ethical leadership still remains
low in the priority list. When an organization or an
institution fails, something is wrong with the management
paradigm of that institution. The methodology used for this
purpose is called hermeneutics; which is a study,
understanding and interpretation of ancient text. It is one
of the qualitative research methodology used in social
science. The paper attempts to look at the importance of
conscious and transformational leadership practices from
Kautilyas Arthashastra by establishing a relationship
between four key interwoven elements of a sustainable
management paradigm. It also attempts to demonstrate
how management can be scaled up from an
individual/institutional level to the global level
particularly with reference to the establishment of a
uniform economic order through spiritual congruence.
Keywords:
Conquering senses, effective leadership, holistic view,
spiritual congruence
INTRODUCTION
The world is going through an unprecedented turmoil
exposing humanity to dangerous hazards in many ways.
One of these, closest to the ordinary man, relates to the
functioning of the business world. Collapse of giant
corporate such as Enron, World Telecom, Lehman
Brothers, Satyam InfoTech, etc. is not only a source of
great confusion but also a matter of major concern. It also
raises doubts about the sustainability of the management
practices in these institutions. We have learnt to our
dismay that legal requirements, institutional checks and
balances, and corporate governance systems are no longer
able to avert, control or mitigate the undesirable outcomes
while shareholders and employees continue to be major
casualties. The matter does not rest there. It is indeed the
body of all stakeholders promoters, corporate board
members, shareholders, suppliers, financial institutions,
employees and customers who have to go through
agonizing experiences in different ways and with differing
intensities.
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On the contrary, we have seen a more resilient India in the
past 2 years which is not just continuing the growth-story
of Indian economy but is also able to better cope up with
the global financial crisis. In the midst of the global
financial crisis, we have seen aggressive inorganic growth
in the Indian corporate sector. Companies like Tata,
Bharat Forge, Ranbaxy, etc have rather taken the
opportunity for boosting their M&A activities, expanding
business through buying some firms in Europe, UK, US,
etc at a much lower valuation. We haven't seen any major
Indian company going to the stage of bankruptcy during
these tough times. Also, suddenly India seems to be a
dream destination for doing business (as against the
Western counterparts like US, UK, etc) in the global
economy. All this leads to one fundamental question:
How ancient Indian wisdom can really contribute towards
making the existing modern management paradigms more
sustainable even at the midst of business uncertainty?
The answer to the above question broadly lies in the
Indian cultural and values which has a rich heritage of
being more than 3500 years old as against the modern
management principles which are at a much more infant
stage. At a deeper level, the societal consciousness itself is
deeply scarred though it may not have to work too hard to
realize that in one or the other, the root of the problem lies
in unscrupulous, myopic and mistakenly self-centered
behaviors of persons holding important positions. Most
corporate debacles can be understood this way with very
few exceptions.
If this perception is right, which we believe to be the case,
the entire accumulated perception about Management has
to be recast on an entirely new track. For this, we need to
go considerably beyond information as well as knowledge
so as to cultivate a new regime of wisdom. As asserted by
Swami Chinmayananda that from time to time an ancient
philosophy needs intelligent re-interpretation to apply
effectively in the context of modern times. This study will
reveal how the ancient heritage will be a guiding light for
bringing more certainty and sustainability in our business
practices. As it is rightly said What is built for ever is for
ever building
The paper will identify the relationship between the
teachings of A King Maker Kautilya from the Ancient
Indian scriptures and the leadership attributes in the
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 1, January 2014
present framework of modern management. It will be
attempt to know how ancient Indian values which have
stood the test of time can help Modern Management
philosophy to create a more sustainable model of
management. How HR Function can design a road map of
a long term sustainable Organisation by applying our own
proven Ancient Indian wisdom. This will antagonize the
need to revisit the ancient Jnana (knowledge) and derive
the eternal essence out of it which can bring altogether a
different dimension to the Modern Management concepts.
THE BRAHMAJNYANA VIEW OF
MODERN MANAGEMENT
The four key interwoven elements of Management
practices can be depicted with a segmented pyramid as
shown in the figure 1. Only by conquering our senses by
practicing morality and ethics we can enlighten our self
within and thereby attain self knowledge which becomes
the essence of leadership. Through leadership we can
create strong and stable internal management strategies by
having a holistic perception finally leading to ultimate
perfection. Thereby fostering the sense of oneness we can
have creation of global culture by acquiring the knowledge
of Absolute through Spritual congruence. It is only by
promoting virtues of truthfulness (transparency), trust
(employer-employee, employee-employee and employee-
stakeholder), righteousness (justice, equity and honesty)
and sense of cooperation we can have ethical
organizational culture to set global marks.
Figure 1: The Four Interwoven Key Elements of
Management
(Source: Author)
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1. Indrijaya - Conquer The Senses Through Self
Knowledge:
Man suffers from ignorance of the supreme self within.
The self within is paripurna whole, perfect, absolute,
infinite. But we do not realize the essence of this truth as
we are ignorant of our supreme nature. Just as darkness is
instantaneously removed by light however thick its
density so also in one who gains knowledge of the self,
beginning less ignorance (avidya) is at once lifted, and
within a lightning flash it ends. When ignorance is ended
there is the immediate apprehension of Truth, the supreme
Brahman. It is only through mindfulness and spiritual
discipline that we can acquire wisdom and only through
our experiences that the myth is shattered in our mind.
Knowledge is created and acquired in the process and we
realize our true Self.
Modern HR or Management paradigms like Emotional
Intelligence are very ideal theoretically and can be
derived from the ethical and spiritual frameworks of
ancient Indian ethos.
There are too many examples of poor leadership in the
workplace, from within all levels of organizations, and the
attributes of this poor leadership are easily identified. But
have we ever noticed those leaders and managers that
everyone admires and who just seem to have a knack at
being excellent leaders? What is this elusive quality that
good leaders have that sets them apart?
According to Daniel Goleman in his book, Emotional
Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ, it is likely
that these leaders and managers have a high Emotional
Intelligence Quotient or EQ. These people are
recognized as stars within their organization and for their
ability to work with people and accomplish great things.
Emotional Quotient (EQ) is the capacity for effectively
recognizing and managing our emotions and those of
others. These star leaders and managers with their high
Emotional Intelligence quotients often tend to have modest
traditional academic IQ's and yet they manage people with
much higher academic IQs.
Knowledge management is the main component of
knowledge-based society. Experts believe that integration
of personal potential of an individual plays a significant
role in developing a successful management style.
Referring to human relations, success depends on
recognition and awareness of our emotional reactions
towards obstacles and conflict situations. The intensity of
conflicts reflects on Organisation climate within the
company, and the quality of relations between individuals.
Creating added value among employees, which results in
positive stimulation of their potential, is equivalent to
approximation of the companys vision to personal values
of employees. The concept of leadership and the concept
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 1, January 2014
of emotional intelligence may not exist in isolation;
anyone who wants to become a successful manager/leader,
must learn at first how to manage/lead himself/herself, and
then set an example in leading others successfully.
Emotional intelligence can therefore be defined as the
ability to recognize and adjust our emotions that trigger
our responses with certain situations or people.
Emotionally intelligent leader will also be able to
spontaneously develop and create emotionally intelligent
teams. Goleman et al. (2002, p. 199) describe emotionally
intelligent teams with the same characteristics as
individuals, as for EI skills are interrelated and cumulated
in a group. Self-awareness of team members and parallel
recognition of needs and moods bring more empathy into
the work environment. On a team level, empathy is the
basis for building effective relationships within the team
as well as with other parts of the organisation. Therefore,
Human Resource Leaders who are able to develop
empathy and other important social skills, must bound
themselves to forming emotionally intelligent
organisations. Employees should be given the opportunity
to develop their potentials and participate in forming
organisational integrity. Managers on the other hand,
should find appropriate ways to transform organisations
vision into actions that support emotionally intelligent
practice. On a strategic level, this reflects measures that
create systems, where rules, statutes and personnel
practice in human resource management are aligned with
the desired objectives.
To conquer the internal enemies before you conquer the
external enemies as asserted by Kautilya, who gives lot
of stress on Self Control. He elaborates the same in 12th
Sutra, the importance of control over the senses by giving
up Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Mana, Mada and Harsha i.e.
lust, anger, pride, arrogance and fool hardiness. He also
gives various examples of kings who perished, having
over indulged in the senses and in the 12th sutra, he
concludes by quoting King Jamdagnya and Amarisa who
enjoyed the earth for a long time having controlled their
senses.
Rajyamulam indriyajayah
Organization or enterprise is rooted in conquering the
senses
Chanakya begins by pointing out that a king must develop
four kinds of knowledge where Anvikshaki or self-
knowledge is the first and foremost. However he places
anvikshaki, self knowledge, as the most important,
explaining that this self-knowledge comes from study and
discipline.
Of all types of management, the management of human
beings (Man Management) is most important. The one,
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who understands oneself, can only understand all other
facets properly.
2. Be A Rajarishi And Create Rajarishis A Mantra
For Effective Leadership:
Managers have to face a vibrant business environment
where change is the only factor remaining constant and
they have to keep adapting to these changes. But
sometimes in situations of complexity or uncertainty,
managers may get lost. It is then than someone has to
show them the right direction.
As Stephen Covey said:
Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of
success; leadership determines whether the ladder is
leaning against the right wall. - Covey, 1989
Whatever a great man does, people follow. Whatever
Standard he sets, the world pursues. A lot has been said
and researched about leadership. Some people said that
leadership is all about character or some unique traits in an
individual. Some say that a leader is an agent of change or
he is the one who aligns a group of people towards a
common vision. However, the recent event of economic
downturn in the western countries based on effective
modern management practices really puts a question on
the existing models of leadership in those organizations.
Today, we need to have a paradigm of leadership which
will be more responsible in maintaining the sustainability
of the business. Since most of the organizations fail due to
wrong decisions or on unethical grounds where the
existing shareholders and stakeholders of the organization
lose hope and trust on its management and leadership, we
really need to incorporate ethics and integrity in the
existing framework of leadership and management. People
should be able to trust upon the existing corporate
governance in the organization.
The qualities a leader must possess as well laid down by
Chanakya, in the first management text in the form of
Arthashastra which was written around 4th century
B.C.
King (a leader) should be a Rajarishi says Kautilya,
which means a king (a leader) who is wise like a sage. By
casting out the group of six enemies he (the leader) should
acquire control over senses, cultivate his intellect by
association with elders, keep a watchful eye by means of
spies, bring about security and well-being by (energetic)
activity, maintain the observance of their special duties (by
the subjects) by carrying out (his own) duties, acquire
discipline by (receiving) instruction in the sciences, attain
popularity by association with what is of material
advantage and maintain (proper) behavior by (doing) what
is beneficial (1.7.1).
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 1, January 2014
As Narayana Murthy of Infosys once said about leadership
in an interview:
Leadership is about transformation i.e. being a change
agent. Its about making people more confident and
making people think of impossible and make it happen.
People are always watching their leader, so it should be
Leadership by example. Leader has to create an objective
and have to gain trust of a people. Its the Journey about
sacrifice and He has to demonstrate genuine, discipline,
value system, commitment, aspirations, honesty in his
actions and decisions. If you want people to contribute by
giving ideas, you should become magnet. Accepting your
own weakness, though it is difficult to stand up and say I
am wrong is overcoming ego. It is very difficult to say that
success of Organization is not because of me but because
of everyone in the Organization. And thats the creation of
implicit trust in you. (Narayana Murthy, 2011)
No wonder, Infosys has survived many downturns and has
consistently been the most revered in the Indian IT
industry among the shareholders as well as stakeholders.
And it has happened because leadership is not just based
on efficient management practices but also on a model
which is more transparent, responsible and ethical.
Recently Infosys has to call back his founder inspite of
him taking retirement from active services of Infosys
which brought into limelight a very vital and important
thing of creating a Rajarishi who can take the baton from
the predecessor which is well defined in the ancient Indian
wisdom.
It throws light on one of the most important future
challenge for HR which is developing the next generation
of Corporate Leaders.
(source: Report published by Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM) on Future HR Challenges and
Talent Management Tactics in Nov 2012.)
3. FORTIFIED FORT DURG - A
HOLISTIC PERCEPTION:
A stable, well-ordered, and highly motivated Organisation
(State) that excels in internal management will be in a
better position to calibrate itself to meet challenges from
its rivals, absorb shocks and defeats, and have a slightly
larger margin of error that may well make the difference
between survival and oblivion or success and failure, very
aptly described by Chanakya.
By integrating Indian wisdom with current management
practices we can really have a more holistic approach to
business and leadership. The holistic approach to
management involves a major paradigm shift from focus
on shareholders to focus on stakeholders - one that takes
into account the needs of shareholders, employees,
customers, society, and the environment. Internal strong
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Strategies should be made considering The Market / Client
/ Customers / Society / Environment.
When we ape the management style of other countries, we
are likely to face various problems. The main objective of
these countries is to increase the quantity of output and
make a lot of money. They may not be so much concerned
about the welfare of society or consumers in the host
country. Indian culture is entirely different, wherein we
are happy when the society is happy. This is the Indian
way of viewing holistic business performance, where
selfishness and maximizing profits is not the prime motto.
Indian culture possesses such lofty ideals owing to which
it has been able to bestow spiritual knowledge to the world
from time immemorial. The tradition of Bharatiyas is:
Samastha Lokaha Sukhino Bhavantu (May everyone in
all the worlds be happy). Holistic understanding is
awareness, not partial understanding. Knowing in bits and
pieces, (fragmented way) is not Awareness. Awareness
means knowing in entirety. Therefore, every educated
person must make an effort to understand things in a
holistic way. Only after understanding them in a
satisfactory way, must we venture to enter the world.
Successful practitioners of HR will be those who will be
able to achieve balance between external as well as
internal stakeholders. They should be able to treat all
employees equally and with equity and Act globally.
Today line managers realize that competitors can more
easily copy price, product and technology but the way to
manage people and organizations is a unique advantage
that competitors cannot easily copy. HR has become more
strategic not because HR wants to be strategic but because
line managers need insights that good HR professionals
can offer. Even the Head of HR will be a full contributor
to business discussions so that he/she can help create value
for employees, build disciplines to deliver strategy, create
customer share from key customers, create investor
confidence in future earnings and create confidence in
broader community. For holistic managerial effectiveness,
managers should equip themselves with both skills and
values.
Chanakya has identified seven pillars for a stable kingdom
with a holistic angle to it. If we relate those seven pillars
by translating them into seven elements that can
strengthen the growth oriented sustainable organization,
we have a treasure of management wisdom.
. ...
. ..
The king, the minister, the country, the fortified city, the
treasury, the army, and the ally are the constituent
elements of the state. (6.1.1)
This holistic approach is the key to any successful
business. In his ground breaking Arthashastra, Chanakya
lists the seven pillars of an organization :
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 1, January 2014
The King - The Leader - leadership
The Minister - The Manager
The Country - The Market / Client / Customers /
Society / Environment
The Fortified City - Head Quarters
The Treasury - Finance / Shareholders
The Army - The Team / Employees
The Ally - Friend / Consultant
Thus, a fractional perceiver sees only individual beads.
The holistic perceiver sees the thread that HOLDS the
beads together in a beautiful garland. Holistic perception
leads to ultimate perfection.
4. MITRA A WAY THROUGH
SPIRITUAL CONGRUENCE:
The World Commission on Culture and Development
defined culture as ways of living together and argued
that this culture is a core element of sustainable
development. Globalization is probably one of the most
widely used economic terms. In an economic context,
globalization refers to the reduction and removal of
barriers between national borders in order to facilitate the
flow of goods, capital, services and labor. The barriers
could be in the form of tariffs, quotas or other protectionist
strategies.
However, in a true sense, it is about amalgamation of
cultures to form one single global culture. This is an idea
which is most neglected in the whole process of
globalization nowadays. Some predict that globalisation
and the liberalisation of the goods and services market will
lead to cultural standardisation, reinforcing existing
imbalances between cultures. It is a coherent fact that
globalization plays a significant role in the growth and
sustainability of business.
For making globalization more inclusive and facilitating a
positive acculturation we can have a term called as
spiritual congruence where adopting a commonality
approach will be of utmost importance. Traditionally,
organizations or institutions tried to approach new
cultures, new practices in either Superiority approach or in
a Pragmatic way which somehow fails to establish
harmony between Organisations.
Chanakya outlines the advantages of
networking/socialising with influential people, as well as
those with greater experience. And not surprisingly, makes
a rather persuasive case for hanging out with those of
greater experience, strength, intelligence and power and
adopting the best practices which has passed the litmus
test of sustainability.
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Adopting the best practices which are those methods or
programs that have been found to be successful in
accomplishing the goals of Mitra Organisations and that
can be used, or adapted for use, in our circumstances.
By employing a method or program thats been tested and
found successful increases the chances that the
Organisation can accomplish their goals. It can leverage
the benefits like by using a recognized best practice makes
it easier to justify the work, it can bolster the credibility of
an organization, makes it easier to get funding and
removes a lot of the guesswork from planning.
Institutions, both social and economic, will have to play a
leading role towards facilitating this process of spiritual
congruence for creating a global environment which is
more conducive for globalization. Healthy trade relations
based on a feeling of oneness could certainly go a long
way towards making the process of globalization more
inclusive in nature and creating a uniform economic
order across the world. With oneness, both our personal
and professional experiences are in harmony and we have
fewer conflicts of interests. Such a harmony will also be
promoted on an inter organizational level within an
industry and there would be less rivalry.
To quote an example of how a Divine family exists in
peace and concord. Shiva has snakes on His arms, on His
head and around His waist; one of His sons, Kumara, rides
on a peacock, which attacks snakes; another ride on a
mouse, which the snakes feed on. One son has the head of
an elephant, which whets the appetite of the lion, which is
the vehicle used by Durga, the consort of Shiva, who is so
inseparable that She is the left half of the body of Shiva
Himself. Nor is the lion friendly by nature to the bull,
which Lord Shiva Himself has as His vehicle! Shiva has
fire on the central part of His brow, and water, the River
Ganges, on His head, incompatible both. Imagine how
loving and how co-operative the various components have
to be to render life on Kailash smooth and happy.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussions we conclude that firstly, much
of modern management principles existing today can be
derived from the body of knowledge of the ancient Indian
scriptures. However, in practice, the sustainability of the
existing management frameworks is still dubious.
Secondly, through the wisdom of Ancient Indian
scriptures and taking the understanding the model of Four
Key Interwoven Elements of Management, we can make
the existing modern management paradigms more
sustainable in practice.
Through the wisdoms of Kautilyas Arthasastra we can not
only promote a more ethical and responsible leadership on
an individual or institutional level but also move towards
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 85
Volume 3, No. 1, January 2014

the direction of restoring harmony among the

Organisations towards establishing a sustainable business
through spiritual congruence.

REFERENCES
[1] R.P. Kangle, The Kautiliya Arthashastra Part II,
Motilal Banarsidass, 1972, pp.12-14.
[2] R. Pillai, Corporate Chanakya, Jaico Publishing
House, 2011, pp. 16-29
[3] A R Thapan, The Penguin Swami Chinmayananda
Reader, Penguin Books, 2004, pp. 6-11
[4] R.K. Bhaskar, Man Management A Values-Based
Management Perspective, SSSS&S Welfare Society:
India, 2009, pp. 132-139
[5] D Goleman , Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter
more than IQ, Bloomsbury, 2002, pp. 199.

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