Gita, an epic from the Hindu religion, is not about Hinduism. I have not found the word ‘Hindu’ anywhere in it. It doesn’t prescribe methods to worship a certain deity, doesn’t dictate the colour one must wear, the food one must eat, and, the prayers one must recite.

As you must already be aware of, Gita essentially contains a discussion between the warrior Arjuna and his chariot driver, Krishna. Just before the start of the war, Arjuna got overwhelmed with grief over the thought of killing his family members. He cast aside his bow and arrows, and sank into the seat of his chariot.

एवमुक्त्वार्जुन: सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् |
विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानस: || (Gita Part 1, shloka 47)

Interestingly, Krishna didn’t drive the chariot away to a calm and quiet place to enlighten Arjuna. He spoke right at the battlefield, a far cry from meetings conducted in an environment usually totally indifferent to the topic under debate.

Spread into several chapters, Gita deals with many concepts that confuse the common man and the modern manager.

Let us take the concept of the basic business activity of welcoming the client, making them feel important, and comfortable. What is the purpose of this activity? Obviously, it is to make the customer feel good and comfortable enough to conduct business with the organization. A retail chain, Big Bazaar (now run by Reliance as Smart Bazaar), was established by Kishore Biyani in 2001 to cater to the middle class. The spacious stores of Big Bazaar were designed to offer wonderful convenience by selling moderately priced crockery to footwear, linen to stationery, jewellery to cookware, furniture to foodgrains, electronic gadgets to cosmetics, all under one roof. Naturally, the stores were quite large when compared to ordinary shops. Many were spread over multiple floors. The imposing gates of the stores were manned by and two or more hefty guards in ceremonial attire, complete with ear-to-ear moustaches. After the introductory excitement ebbed out, it was felt that the sale was below expectations. There was nothing wrong with the publicity, the location of the stores, or the range of the stock. Further analysis revealed that the targeted middle class customers, intimidated by the presence of the well-groomed guards, were presuming the merchandise to be expensive beyond their reach and therefore not entering the stores. The rich, in any case, didn’t have much of interest there. Sales improved immediately after the ceremonial guards were replaced with ones in more common uniforms.

Whether it is HR, finance, logistics, design, marketing, sourcing, or some other function, failures are bound to happen if the activities don’t synchronise with the essence of the action plan. Expense control measures are known to have increased the cost of acquiring business, quicker delivery has resulted in imperfect execution, efficiency improvement projects have caused loss of intellectual property, and attractive designs have attracted accidents. Ritualistic activities cannot yield perfect results. Neither leaders nor their followers can achieve goals with preoccupied minds. Krishna didn’t offer a readymade advice to Arjuna; he awakened the conscience of Arjuna to examine facts without prejudice.

प्रसादे सर्वदु:खानां हानिरस्योपजायते |
प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धि: पर्यवतिष्ठते || (Gita Part 2, shloka 65)

Often, the hurry to derive more and more gainful results makes one overlook details and appreciate them. When I joined the sales force of an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) product manufacturer, the managing director proudly declared that their products enjoyed more than 70% market share. Impressed, I asked him the reason behind the success. He laughed and said that no one could really explain that. The words automatically came out of my mouth, “In that case you would also not know the reason behind the loss of market share.” The company faced some tough times within years and a new managing director was appointed. Whether the scale is large or small, the experience of life changes with change in perception. Excess focus on smaller details makes one oblivious of the complete picture. One must become free of ego and false pretenses to understand a situation in its entirety.

प्रकृते: क्रियमाणानि गुणै: कर्माणि सर्वश: |
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते || (Gita part 3, shloka 27)

Eagerness to claim success often leaves one with egg on face. Those caught in the petty boundaries of designation, hierarchy, department, jurisdictions, etc., can never experience spectacular success. On the other hand, managers with open mind, due to naturally greater interactions, vision, and awareness, are able to convert seemingly non-existent opportunities into roaring successes. They are more stable, they don’t indulge in self-denial, and don’t look for scapegoats in adverse conditions. Like seasoned players, they enjoy a long run.

ज्ञेय: स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ् क्षति |
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते || (Gita part 5, shloka 3)

To sum up, don’t be conditioned by what you want. Have the courage to accept the reality even if it is not exactly as per your desire. That sincerity is the starting point for fruitful action.

य: सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम् |
नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता || (Gita part 2, shloka 57)