IN
THE VEDAS,
THE UPANISHADS AND THE SMRITI LITERATURE
“Indians must have the firm faith India must rise and be great and
that everything that happened, every difficulty; every reverse must help and
further their end.... The morning was at hand and once the light had shown
itself, it could never be night again. The dawn would soon be complete and the
sunrise over the horizon. The sun of India’s destiny would rise and fill all
India with its light and overflow India and overflow Asia and overflow the
world. Every hour, every moment could only bring them nearer to the brightness
of the day that God has decreed.” (Sri Aurobindo)
Corporate governance is all about the rules, processes, or laws by
which businesses are operated, regulated, and controlled. Another definition is
: “acceptance by management of the inalienable rights of shareholders as the
true owners of the corporation and of their own role as trustees on behalf of
the shareholders. It is about commitment to values, about ethical business
conduct and about making a distinction between personal and corporate funds in
the management of a company.” (SEBI Committee) Indian approach is drawn from
the Gandhian principle of trusteeship and the Directive principles of the
Indian Constitution, both are rooted in the ancient scriptures of India from
the Vedas and the Upanishads and the Smriti and Niti Literature.
A good governanance helps an organization: ( Aishvarya )
• To develop appropriate strategies that would help the
organization to attain results in the achievement of stake holder objectives.
• To attract, motivate and retain the talent in the organization.
• To create a secure and prosperous operating environment and
improving operational performance.
• To manage and mitigate risk and protecting and enhancing the
company’s reputation.
The hymn is:
agnim-iLe-purohitam-yagnasyadevan-rtuvija-hotara-ratnadhatamam.Rig Veda 1.1.1
The hymn translates as: The fire-god (Agni), I invoke
(iLe), the priest (purohitam) of the exchange (yagna), the deity (deva), the
conductor (rtvik), the invoker (hotr), bestower of jewels (ratnadhatamam). The
yajaman would invoke the divine and make offerings to him and then ask what he
desired: jewels in this case. Sri Aurobindo says ‘ratna’ means‘ecstasy’. But
the very mention of exchane points to an economic and management link possible.
‘Yagna was seen as the cornerstone of culture (Sanskriti). Management is about
making these exchanges efficient and effective.’ ( Paatnaik D. )
Such
exchange happens continuosly between all stakeholders : between shareholder and
the organisation, between employees and the organisation, between customers and
the organisation, between the state and the organisation. Exchange should be
balnced, just, if it favours one side it is either inefficiency, or
exploitation, or the absence of ethics. All the various directors and managers
and supervisors and team leaders of an organisation play are the purohitams,
the rtviks, the hotras, all participating in the exchange. We are both ‘givers’
as well as getters in an yagna When there is mutual trust and a decent
exchange, relationships thrive and society prospers. That is the very first
hymn of the Veda.
The Brthadaranyaka Upanishad sums up a whole ethical philosopohy
in three words: • Daammyat: Self Control • Data: Charity • Dayadhvam:
Compassion. The Taittiriya Upanishad the teacher exhorts the pupil to speak the
truth, practice virtue, not to be negligent of virtue, welfare and prosperity,
to honour the parents and the teacher and so on. The Chhandogya instructs the
spiritual aspirant not to cause injury to any living creature either by your
mind (dhambikam), by your speech (vachikam), and action (khayikam). and to
follow austerities, charity, truth – speaking, straight forwardness among
others. The Maitrayani Upanishad, lists anger, jealous, meanness, cruelty and
rashness, among others, as vices to be avoided. The Upanishads also stress
virtues such as chastity, austerity and silence.
Manu and Yajnavalkya, stress the importance of ‘Achara’ or
conduct. Dharma is the central theme of entire ethical thought of India. By
Dharma we do not mean religion as is often wrongly traslated and quoted. The
sum total of all the universal laws which are also basis of the socio economic
order for an individual and a society are collectively called Dharma.Dharma is
traceable to the Vedic idea of Ritasya Pantha.
Or the path of righeousness and cosmic order. “Self – possession,
patience, self – control, integrity, - purity, restraint, intelligent,
truthfulness, absence of anger – these ten are the marks of Dharma.” says
Manusmriti. Manu emphasized that non – injury to other beings and truthfulness,
among others, represents the essence of Dharma.
Dharma is all about truthfulness,
non – stealing, absence of anger, modesty, purity, intelligence, self –
possession, self – control, restraint of the sense and learning according to
Yajnavalkya.
Sathyam – Truth; • Tapah – Austerity • Damah – Sense Control •
Samah – Tranquility of mind; • Dharma – Righteousness; • Danam – Charity; •
Daya – Mercy; • Nyasa – Renunciation. Are the virtues consistently proclaimed.
Vajayasaneya Samhita is emphatic in saying that one shall not covert the wealth
of others. So is the Ishvasya Upanishad when it says that all that exists is
nothing but the Almighty God and so do not crave for the wealth of others:
renounce it and enjoy : Ishavasyam idam sarvam ..
Each of the above virtue is repeatedly emphasized throughout the
Vedas and the Upanishads: for exmaple : Truth or Staya: some examples are as
follows:
“Satyam Vada! Dharmam
cara!” – Taittiriya Upanishad“Tasmat satyam paramam vadanti” – Mahanarayana
Upanishad “Satyameva Jayate : Truth alone wins,’ Mundaka Upanishad, truth is said to be the foundation of the
mother earth. To be truthful, transparent and righteous your thought, speech
and action must be consistent and same. The Upanishads put it as follows:
“Tasmat yatpurusho manasabhi gacchati! Tad vaca vadati! Tad karmana karoti!” –
Taittiriya – Aranyaka i-90 - 4 - Business has to be done truthfully –
Vajasaneya Samhita iii – 50.
The Bhagavad Gita is the ultimate treatise not only for spiritual
seeker but also for a management student:whether it is about the virtues and
daivi guna or about cosmic order and organic structure or about Yoga of work,
devotion, knowledge and self control. There are twenty values in Chapter XIII
(8 to 12), which are knowledge : declared as knowledge: • Amanitvam – humility
• Adambhitvam – Pridelessness • Ahimsa – Non – violence • Kshanti – Tolerance •
Arjavam – Simplicity • Acaryopasanam – Service to the teacher • Saucam –
Cleanliness (internal and external) • Sthairyam – Steadfastness • Atma
vinigraha – self control • Vairakyam – Renunciation • Anahankara – Absence of
ego • Janmamrityu jaravyadhi duhkha dosa anudarsanam – Reflection of the
sufferings of Life – death, old age diseases and distress • Asakti – Non –
attachment • Anabhisvanga putradaragrhadishu – Detachment towards son and wife
• Nityam Samacittatvam istanistopapattishu – Equanimit amidst pleasant and
unpleasant happenings • Mayi ca ananyayogena bhaktih avyabhicarini – Constant
and unalloyed devotion towards God. • Vivikta desa sevitvam – Love for solitary
life • Aratir janasamsadi – Detachment towards company of people •
Adhyatmajnana nityatvam – Understanding the importance of self – realization •
Tattvajananartha darsanam – Philosophical search of the ultimate truth.
“Prayers are to be offered to the Gods. Rites are to be
performed... The life of man has to be led under the very eye of God. Apart
from the duties owed to Gods there are also duties to man. Kindness to all is
enjoyed; hospitality is reckoned a great virtue. ‘The riches of one who gives
do not diminish. He who possessed of food hardens his heart against the feeble
man craving nourishment, against the sufferer coming to him (for help), and
pursues (his own enjoyment even) before him, that man finds no consoler.’
Sorcery, witch raft, seduction and adultery are condemned as vicious. Gambling
is denounced. Virtue is conformity to the law of God, which includes love of
man. Vice is disobedience to his law.” (Dr. Radhakrishnan)
Our universe is governed by panchatatwa or Panchamahabhuta : 5
elements of nature: 1. Land 2. Water 3. Air 4. Fire and 5. Sky.
1. Land : Bhumi
: be grounded, meticulous in dealing with the ground realities from all the
stakeholders.
2. Water: Be
Flexible.To take shape where it's contained that is be adaptive and Flexible
3. Air:
Invisible Presence is what management or governanance is :do it silently
4. Fire :
Destroying Evil and absorbing the good and destroys the evil. leave no trace of
what it destroys.
5. Sky - think
big and of endless possibilities even in utmost turmoil.
Culture plays a very significant role in understanding the working
attitudes of various business organization. Every action has to be done whole
heartedly without attachment to its fruits. The result of an action has to be
accepted by a learned person as the gift of God (Isvara Prasadah).
Kautilya’s
Arthsastra ..is an encyclopedia of Indian Mangmeent and Economics. He has based his work on six Vedic principles: 1.Vasudha-Eva-Kutumbakam (Accepting the whole world as one and one’s family),
2. Samarpan Bhaav (Dedication),
3. Lokasangraha (Welfare of all
beings), 4. Shubh Laabh (Ethical
Profits), 5. Nishkaama Karma (Deeds
without greed) and 6. Ati-Hyaastha-Varjayet (Shunning
extremes).
The very first stanza of Arthashastra “I, therefore, write
this book for the greater good and uplifting of the world…”.
Book I of the Arthashastra which reads “… King… shall maintain his subjects in
the observance of their respective duties by exercising authority; keep up his
personal discipline by receiving lessons in wisdom, and endear himself to the
people by bringing them wealth and doing good to them.” Also, “… The King shall
keep away from hurting the innocent and their property; avoid not only lust,
even in a dream, but also falsehood, haughtiness, and evil proclivities; and
keep away from unrighteousness and uneconomical transactions.”
In Chapter 7 of Arthashastra he notes “Not violating righteousness and economy, he
shall enjoy his desires. Then he shall never be devoid of happiness. He may
enjoy in an equal degree the three pursuits of life, charity, wealth and
desire, which are interdependent on each other. Anyone of these three, when
enjoyed in excess, hurts not only the other two but also itself.”
While mentioning the “Duties of the King” he writes, “A King by
overthrowing the aggregate of the six internal enemies, namely lust, anger,
greed, vanity, haughtiness and overjoy, shall restrain the sense organs…” Also,
in the same chapter, “The King may enjoy his desires but only by ensuring
non-violation of righteousness and no harm to the economy. “
“In the woods”, he says “that tree is chopped first which is
straight.” The essence of life is” finding the balance between good and bad
actions, happiness, and unhappiness, pain and pleasure, cries and laughter.”
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