Ancient Hindu Scriptures and Modern Business Management

The unparalleled wisdom in Hindu Scriptures like Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Puranas are now being applied in many areas of modern business management. An article titled ‘Applying Meaning to Management With Ancient Hindu Mythology’ by Rama Lakshmi in the Washington Post explores this new trend in Business Management by tracing the methods adopted by Devdutt Pattanaik, an expert on Hindu Scriptures and he also writes the column Management Mythos in the Economic Times.

Excerpts from the article

"I am a pattern-finder. The mythologies are stars -- I point out the constellation," Devdutt Pattanaik said. "The world of business and the world of our mythological tales are not too different. The characters and the situations are similar. I apply their meanings to modern corporate management. Business is run on a pattern of behavior. I help create the belief that governs behavior."

"They understand how beliefs are created, how forms acquire meaning over centuries. They extend what is culturally familiar, intuitive and deeply personal to their professional space," Pattanaik said. "Brands are about image, belief and meaning."

"Indians are led by emotions, unlike people in the West, who are driven by reason," said Kishore Biyani, chairman of the Future Group, who chose Pattanaik to head this program four months ago. "Not all the Western management models of standard-operating-procedure fit us. How do we create management practices that are grounded in our rich repository of stories and rituals?"

"The standard Western management principle is 'If you can't measure it, you can't manage it,' " Pattanaik said.”In our ethos, 'if you measure it, you destroy it.' "