KERALEEYA SAMAJAM (REGD.

) DOMBIVLI’s

MODEL COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)

Affiliated to University of Mumbai)
RE-ACCREDITED GRADE “A” BY NAAC

B. Sc (INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)

SEMESTER I

SUBJECT: - Indian Knowledge System

 UNIT- I

SYLLABUS:-

❖ Concept and Importance of IKS;

❖ Vedas, Smiritis, Puranas, Upanishads;
❖ Management lessons from Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagvad Gita,
Panchatantra
❖ Jataka tales related to strategic management,
❖ team work, leadership, communication,
❖ swadharma, nishkam karma.
 Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems

Before beginning, we must first be clear about the meaning of the word

‘literature’. The dictionary meaning of literature is given as “written works,

especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit”. In the context of

India, where there is an unbroken living oral tradition with a history of more

than at least 5,000 years; the meaning of ‘literature’ for our present purpose has

to be extended to mean ‘composition’ to include the works composed and

transmitted orally from generation to generation.

WHY IKS

According to Kautilya Education shall aim at three outcomes as

characteristics in graduates विद्या Creation of New Knowledge वििेक

Wisdom to use the right knowledge in right time place for right purpose and

विचक्षणता the skillsets to get the proper results of knowledge in real life

These outcomes are possible only when the Education System is properly

balanced with the integration of knowledge and skills in an appropriate manner

In today s education organisation of knowledge content what to know has taken

over the best of knowledge seeking inquiry i e how to know

The entire Indian Knowledge Tradition has always focused on how rather

than what Secondly the advent of new technologies has pushed the humanity

into a big trouble.

 Human existence has been severely challenged Natural human skills are in

question In order to handle this difficult situation new skill sets are to be

ski llfully introduced in the Neo education system Not only the skills to use the

technologies but also the life skills to use the knowledge in life are very

important Disproportionate skilling in education has damaged the process of

creation of knowledge Mere knowledge sans practice has taken it to death

Ancient Indian wisdom plays very important role in this balancing act

Integration of IKS brings such a balance in Indian Education for life.

WHAT IS IKS

IKS is a collective range of Indian Knowledge that has exhibited in

systematised ways of knowing Starting from the oldest compositions of

knowledge i e the Vedic literature to the country s native and tribal folklore the

Indian Knowledge is spread as a spectrum There is a vast repository of

knowledge available not only in Sanskrit Pali and Prakrit but also in all native

Indian languages This has been remaining unexplored for the last several

decades.

Indian Knowledge encompasses the Foundational knowledge Science

Engineering Technology Humanities and Social Sciences through a structured

classification IKS Indian Knowledge System has evolved over millenniums It

has a wide range of several beaches such as Astronomy Ayurveda Yoga Health

and Well being Mathematics and Computing Languages and Linguistics

Metallurg Rasa Shastra Public Administration War Technology Management

Science and many more.

IKS contributions to the various fields include understanding planetary

movements solar centric world shape and diameter of the Earth nature of plants

herbs skills of surgical procedures discovery of zero decimal system of

numerals and approximation algorithms for computation of Pi PaniniPanini’s

universal grammar method of steel making Good Governance and Taxation and

what not?

Eighteen Vidya Sthanas Schools of learnings were part of Ancient Indian

Education which were taught in Nalanda Takshashila and other centres of

learning The Art Architecture Science Technology Craft Engineering

Philosophy Practices had been the source of India s reputation in the world That

attracted not only learners to gain but also the invaders to ruin India Knowledge

was the power and wealth of our country Today this Knowledge base is much

needed for Knowledge diplomacy which is going to rule the international

relations in future world This is what brings the power to any country India has

such a treasure of knowledge that enriched the Indian civilisation for millennia.

Kautilya’s classification of schools of learning makes it explicit that every

contemporary knowledge stream has a link with the ancient Indian knowledge

tradition
● ānvīkṣikī – used in the general sense of (contemporary) Science,

encompassing logic and philosophy

● trayī – used to refer to traditional knowledge, to the Vedas in particular

● vārttā – used to represent wealth creation (agriculture and commerce)

● daṇḍanīti – used to represent politics and public administration

The classical literature of India is usually described as chaturdaśa-vidyā-
sthānas consisting of

● the 4 Vedas (namely Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaṇaveda)

● the 6 Vedāṅgas (namely Śikṣā, Kalpa, Vyākaraṇa, Chhandas,

Niruktam and
Jyotiṣa)

● Itihāsa (Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata) and Purāṇa (Viṣṇupurāṇa,

Bhāgavata etc.)

● Dharmaśāstra (Manusmṛti, Yājñavalkya-smṛti, Parāśara-smṛti etc.)

● Darśana (Six orthodox and six heterodox systems)

● Nyāya (Logic and Epistemology)

In other places, sometimes the 4 Upavedas, namely Āyurveda (health-care),

Dhanurveda (archery), Gandharva-veda (dance, music etc.) and

Sthāpatyaveda

(architecture) are also added to the list, taking the total to 18 (aṣṭādaśa).

Introduction to the Vedas:

It is well-known that the Vedas are the oldest surviving literary

works in the whole world. The Vedas are also sometimes referred to as

trayī since there are three types of mantras in the Vedas; namely those
 metrical compositions, those that are in prose form and yet others that

are set to music. Our tradition says that Bhagavān Veda Vyāsa

compiled the Vedas largely based on these three forms; so that

● Ṛgveda came to be the collection of mantras in metrical form called Ṛks

● Yajurveda came to the collection of mantras in prose form

● Sāmaveda came to be the collection of mantras set to music

● Atharvaṇaveda came to be the collection of mantras due to the Ṛṣis Atharva

and Aṅgīras.

Each of the above mentioned Vedas are said to consist of two main

parts: saṁhitā (also referred to as mantra) and Brāhmaṇa. Some scholars opine

that the Brāhmaṇas are elaborations upon the saṁhitā.

In few places, we do see that the Brāhmaṇa is said to consist of two

more sub-parts, namely the Āraṇyaka and Upaniṣad. As a result, many

scholars say that Saṁhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Āraṇyaka and Upaniṣad collectively

make up the Vedas.

The experiences of the Ṛṣis poured out in the form of poetry came to

be known as mantras, which make up the content of the Vedas. Each mantra is

associated with a Ṛṣi (who is therefore known as mantra-draṣṭā,

 literally seer/discoverer of the mantra), devatā and Chhandas;

although there might be exceptions. The word Veda itself, coming from the

root vid (to know), means knowledge; and the Vedas as a body of literature

came to be revered as the repository of all knowledge (available at that time).

Therefore, it came to be considered very important to preserve this knowledge

exactly as it was. Hence a mechanism, similar to what is today known as

“hashing” among computer scientists, was devised back then; in which the

Vedas were learnt, recited and transmitted orally in a number of different ways,

to ensure that the different methods of recitation acted as a check on the other.

The ways of recitation are preserved even to this day and is transmitted orally

to those students learn the Vedas traditionally at a gurukula. Some of the ways

of recitations are as follows:

● saṁhitā-pāṭha: continuous recitation bound by phonetic rules and

intonation

● pada-pāṭha: a recitation marked by a conscious pause after every word,

thereby restoring each word in its original intended form

● krama-pāṭha: Ex: word1word2 word2word3 word3word4 and so on

● jaṭā-pāṭha: Ex: word1word2 word2word1 word1word2 word2word3

word3word2 word2word3 and so on

 ● ghana-pāṭha: Ex: word1word2 word2word1 word1word2word3

word3word2word1 word1word2word3 and so on.

All this effort in preserving the Vedas shows how much our ancestors

cared for knowledge and strived to preserve every letter of it. In the

above scheme, even a single letter cannot go in error, even after

several millenia pass. It may so happen that, due to natural disasters

(such as earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, floods, draught, volcanoes,

meteoric collisions) which affect an entire settlement, one entire part

of a Vedic text may be lost; but it can never happen that a single letter

may become erroneous. Therefore, due to such a perfect preservation

of the Vedic texts, the Vedas may be considered as good as

archaeological sources of evidence for conducting research.

One is compelled at this point to compare this Indian culture of

knowledge preservation with the cultures of other parts of the world.

In India, Bhaktiyar Khilji ransacked Nālandā and Vikramaśilā

universities and proceed to burn their libraries; it is said that the

library burned for seven days. In addition, most of the people who

memorized the Quran were warriors and once they were killed in

battle; the knowledge of the Quran related literature would be lost. But

in the Indian culture, people who were into knowledge production and

preservation were exempted from military duties.

Veda and Vedāṅga:

As mentioned earlier, the Vedas are a collection of poetic

mantras pouring out of the Ṛṣi’s experiences. Since these experiences

of these Ṛṣis varied from an observation of the visible sky (with the

Sun, the Moon, the stars, planets, comets, etc), to flora and fauna

around, to the forests, deserts, rivers, seas and oceans, to the people

around, to their own physical body, to their breath, to their mind,

intellect and ego and the inner Self witnessing this whole thing; the

subject matter spoken in the Vedas is vast and its meaning cannot be

easily deciphered. This problem is exacerbated in the face of natural

calamity, famine, floods, mass migration etc., due to which there will

be breaks in the knowledge tradition. Notice that the experiences of

the Ṛṣis listed above all are an integral part of nature, as how things

ARE and not created by human beings. Therefore, as the subject

matter of the Vedas deal with those which are not man-made, the

Vedas are said to be apauruṣeya; or in other words, the Vedas are

vastu-niṣṭha (in tune with reality/existance) and not vyakti-niṣṭha

(one’s
 emotions, likes and dislikes, orientations). Since the tradition holds the

view that the Vedas are ‘revealations’ and for the reason that they have

been transmitted orally, the Vedas came to be called ‘śruti’ (literally,

heard). The allied literature which does not form a part of the śruti

came to be known as ‘smṛti’ (literally, remembered). The śruti

represents timeless and eternal values which hold good for all times,

while the smṛti codifies these eternal values into codes or rules based

on the needs of the time and place for the society at hand. For

example, respecting the opposite gender as thinking and feeling

beings, and not exploiting them is an eternal value; while the exact

number of wives or husbands one can have can vary with time, place

and one’s standing in soceity. Thanks to this śruti-smṛti demarkation,

Indian society has been able to preserve its core values, yet adapting to

the ever-changing situations.

Itihāsa and Purāṇa:

A popular saying in the tradition is “itihāsa-purāṇābhyāṁ vedaṁ

samupabṛṁhayet” (the Vedic virtues and values are to be communicated

through itihāsa and purāṇa). Hence, although the literal meaning of itihāsa is

‘iti ha āsa’ (thus it happened), it is much more than a mere chronicle of dates

and events. The foremost work of itihāsa, the Mahābhārata, with 1,00,000
verses is also regarded as the fifth Veda (pañcama-veda), and also as a

kāvyam. Unlike the Vedas, there is a single story-line running through the

(itihāsas) Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, and is therefore much more

popular than the Vedas. The Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata have been served

as inspiration for numerous kāvyas (poetic literature) and nāṭakas (dramas) in

Saṁskṛtam and other Indian languages. Along with the Bṛhat-kathā (which is

unavailable for us today), the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata serve as a great

repository of communicating knowledge through the medium of story-telling.

We see that over time, these inspired Pañcatantra, Hitopadeśa, Aesop’s

fables, Arabian nights and so on.

The Purāṇas are numerous and the tradition identifies 18 main Purāṇas and

18 upa- purāṇas. The most promiment among the Purāṇas are the

Viṣṇupurāṇa, Bhāgavata-purāṇa, with Skanda-purāṇa with 81,000 verses

being the biggest among the purāṇas. The Purāṇas are not as well preserved

as the Vedas and hence there is a possibility that some interpolations may

have crept into the Purāṇic texts. The Purāṇas discuss sarga (creation of the

universe or cosmology), pratisarga (dissolution/renovation of the universe),

vaṁśa (lineage/geneology of Devas, Ṛṣis and kings), Manvantara (reigns of

kings called Manus) and vaṁśānucaritam (legends during the times of various

kings). In fact, the great Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa drew anecdotes of kings from

the Sūryavaṁśa from various Purāṇas and composed his mahākāvyam called

Raghuvaṁśa.
 1.

Management Lessons From Ramayan

Ramayan is an epic of Hindu mythology. There was a king Dashrath with four
sons named Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughan. They were half brothers but
they loved each other. They were married to the daughters of King Janak. Ram
was married to Sita, Bharat to Mandavi, and Lakshman to Urmila and Shatrughan
to Shrutakirti. They had an elder sister named Shanta. Things took an interesting
turn when Ram had to leave the kingdom. Full of twists and turns, their story was
the Ramayan, written by Saint Valmiki. It teaches us a lot. The 10 management
lessons from Ramayan are given below.

1. Committment

Queen Kaikayi, the real mother of Bharata, demanded Ram to go to the forest in
exile for 14 years and Bharat to take over as the king. King Dashrath was shattered
but when Ram came to know he obliged to his father’s commitments. It teaches us
to fulfill commitment under whatever circumstances. Ram followed his father’s
commitment. It should be understood by all the managers, executives, and
employees in a company. Everyone in a company must put effort into fulfilling the
commitment given by the manager or representative to the entities or individuals
of the external environment.

2. Leadership Skills

When Sita was abducted by Ravan, the king of Lanka; Lord Ram showed
spectacular skills of leading an army of monkeys. His first prominent quality as a
leader was of being a visionary. His vision was to rescue Sita from Ravan and
overcome all the difficulties in between. His second prominent quality was to be
an effective motivator to the army. His army developed special skills to face the
enemy under his leadership.

3. Delegation of Responsibility
Ram was also responsible for delegating the right responsibility to the right person.
Hanuman was given the responsibility to find out where Sita was in Lanka. The
engineers Nal and Neel were given the task of designing the bridge from India to
Sri Lanka. It was an engineering marvel that today has the potential to generate
electricity for millions of years because of the radioactive material in it.

4. Teamwork
Building the bridge (Ram Setu) from India to Sri Lanka was not an easy task. It
needed manpower and teamwork which was contributed by all the monkey
soldiers and their leaders including Sugriv, Jamvant, Hanuman, Nal, and Neel. It is
considered the first-ever bridge in the world.

5. Ethics

The entire Ramayan is an epitome of ethics. Ravan tricked Sita and kidnapped her
in the absence of Ram. Even then Ram always followed ethical steps to take Sita
back. He sent Hanuman with a warning to leave Sita or get into a battle ethically.
He kept giving warnings to Ravan to follow the right path before he finally killed
him.
6. Time Management

Ram and Bharat were half brothers but they loved each other. Ram was more
attached to Bharat than Shatrughan who was his real brother. The height of
Bharat’s dedication crossed its limit when he made Ram promise to return as soon
as the tenure of 14 years was over otherwise he would commit suicide. Ram could
return with Sita only after killing Ravan. He set a wonderful example of time
management by planning all the events very well and managed to arrive on time
before Bharat. Every employee must learn the importance of timely production
and delivery of the products and services to the customers to avoid the risk of
losing them.

7. Decision Making
There was a day when Ravan’s son Meghnad killed Laxman during the battle.
Ram delegated the responsibility of bringing Sanjeevani (the medicine to save
Laxman’s life). Hanuman outperformed and brought the entire mountain called
Dronagiri or Gandhmardan from the Himalayas. Hanuman exhibited excellent
skills of decision-making by deciding to take the mountain if he was not able to
identify the medicine. Lord Hanuman was an unbeatable superhero! Such
decision-making skills must be developed in not only the managers but also the
executives in times of need.

8. Coordination
The construction of Ram Setu, the bridge, did not take place with any heavy and
advanced technological equipment. It was the result of brilliant coordination
directed and performed by Nal and Neel. The entire army of monkey soldiers set a
great example of coordination for making the first-ever bridge in the world.

9. Values
The battle in Ramayana was fought to set an example in front of society to follow
the value system created by society. In the name of selfish interest, there must be a
zero-tolerance policy for the culprits. Ravan was a culprit who abducted Sita and
wanted to marry her forcefully. Therefore, Ram killed Ravan. Every company has
some value system. All the employees must understand its significance and learn
to follow it to avoid strict and penal action against them.

10. Mission

When Ram got to know that Sita was in Lanka, he set his mission to reach there
and rescue her come what may! He was a king, but he did not return to his nation
to take an army during exile. He managed to arrange soldiers, reach Lanka, and
win the battle to fulfill his mission. He faced many difficulties, but he led the way
in getting the work done by humans and animals. Getting the work done is the
simplest definition of management. Ram was one of the greatest managers in
India. He accomplished his mission by showing commendable managerial skills.
His determination is worth learning by all the employees as every company has a
mission statement. Everyone in the company should take it as if it is his own and
work towards it.

Ramayan is an epic that is used in the present times to teach various lessons on
management and morality. These 10 management lessons of Ramayan are to be
learned by us to create a respectable brand image.

Important Management Lessons from Mahabharata

Mahabharata, the biggest epic ever written ages ago. It’s said that whatever is not
there in the Mahabharata, cannot be found anywhere else. The legendary tale
continues to find prominence in every form of art and continues to overwhelm us
even today. Mahabharata story has so much to teach us. There are a lot of skills
and lessons we can learn from Mahabharata.
 1) Right Leadership and Mentorship

Kauravas had a one-man leadership hierarchy. The whole of the army was under
one person’s command. On the other hand, Pandavas had different generals
directing the operations and had authority to take decision. The Pandavas had Lord
Krishna, and the Kauravas had Karna. However, Duryodhan was really weak
without Karna.

Shri Krishna’s help in mentoring was one of the significant parameters that led to
the success of Pandavas.

2) Target and Smart Strategy

At the end, War was the target for both Kauravas and Pandavas. Karna went to
subdue other kings so that Kauravas may get wealth. On the other hand, Arjuna,
Bheema and Yudhisthra set out to acquire Divyastras, strength and strategic
wisdom. If Pandavas didn’t have Krishna and his master plan, they wouldn’t have
witnessed the victory they did.
3) Learning and Development

Arjuna grasped whatever came his way. Not only did he learn the best of military
science from Drona, but he was also interested in learning about divine weapons
from Indra. Also, he treated Yudhishter and Krishna as his mentors too, and
continued learning whatever they had to offer.

4) Commitment and Common Goal

In Kauravas side every one had personal bias. On the other side, Pandavas were
committed wholeheartedly and were willing to achieve the common goal. The
Pandavas never stopped fighting for what rightfully belonged to them. Their
courage and determination is definitely something to admire and learn from.

5) Participation of Women

Pandavas always gave respect to women and their decisions. Kunti, Draupadi,
Subhadra are few influencing female characters in Mahabharata. On the other side,
Kauravas were all patriarchal structure. Gandhari was not heard and there was no
participation of women in decision-making.

MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM BHAGAVAD GITA

● Dedication Towards Work – A popular verse of Gita advises the

detachment of expectations of desired outcomes from completing any work.

Similarly, an individual must focus in accomplishing the work not in the

outcomes associated with it.

● Selfless Work – Lord Krishna advices Arjuna to fight the battle for the

betterment of the universe. He reminded Arjuna the purpose of war which is

for the betterment of world towards the right way of living (Dharma), not

for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed or desires. Thus, in an

organization every individual should work by subordinating his individual

interest under the organizational interest.

● Work as Identity – As per Bhagavad Gita a human’s identity is not defined

by his caste, color and the family he belongs from but a human’s identity is

defined from his actions and the way he behaves with others. It is same in

context with management an individual’s identity is his capabilities, his

work and his behavior with his superiors, sub-ordinates and peers.

● Emotional Intelligence – According to Bhagavad Gita, We should not get

overconfident from our small victories and we should not feel so depressed

after every small failures, we should constantly work towards our purpose.

Similarly in management we must continue our work towards the betterment

of the organization against all odds.

● Acceptability of Change – According to Lord Krishna, a person who has

fear of change distracts himself from the right way of living (Dharma) and

does unethical actions. Alike, a person in management should not fear

change and accept the change.

● Intentions – Lord Krishna says that Intention is the essence to get the

desired goals. Any work with good intention is always accomplished with

desired goals. Equivalently, a manager’s intention towards the goal should

be clear and achievable which differentiate him from others.

● Stable Mind (a key to success) – In the middle of the battle field, Lord
 Krishna says that human life is like a battle within mind and soul, a human

must keep his mind stable, to analyze the situation and can make effective

decision in order to win the situation. In the same way, a manager should try

to keep his mind calm and take effective decision to overcome every

challenges.

Management Lessons from Panchatantra:

Rise and Fall of a Merchant

In a city called Madhura, lived a very efficient and prosperous merchant. The king

was aware of his abilities and therefore made him administrator of the kingdom.

With his well-organized and smart ways of working, he made the

administration efficient and kept common men happy and at the same time

impressed the king on the other side.

Later time came that the merchant’s daughter was getting married. He arranged a

lavish reception and invited not only the king and queen but the entire royal

household and all respected people of the kingdom.

A servant of the royal household, who used to sweep the palace, was not invited

but attended the reception. He took a seat which was reserved for royal nobles, not
meant for common invitees. This made the merchant very angry. He caught

him by the neck and ordered his servants to have him thrown out. The royal

servant felt very insulted and could not sleep all night. He thought, “If I can have

the king to disfavor this merchant, I will have my revenge. But what can I, a

common fellow, do to harm a powerful person as him”. Thinking such, he

suddenly had a plan.

Several days later, the servant was sweeping the floor near the king’s bed early in

the morning. He observed that that the king was still in bed, half awake. The

servant started mumbling, “Good heavens! The merchant has become so carefree

now that he dared to embrace the queen!”

When the king heard this lying in his bed, he jumped up and asked the servant, “Is

it true? Have you seen the merchant embrace my queen yourself?”; The servant at

once fell at the king’s feet, “O Master, I was gambling all night. I feel drowsy for I

didn’t sleep last night. I don’t know what I have been mumbling, but I said

anything improper, please forgive me.” The king spoke no more, but the servant

knew he had sowed the seed of distrust. The king thought, “It can be true! The

servant moves about the palace freely, and so does the merchant. It is possible that

the servant has seen something.”

The king was troubled. From that day onward, he withdrew his favors from the
merchant and even forbade him to enter the palace. One day, when the merchant

was entering the gateway to the palace, he was stopped by the guards. The

merchant was surprised due to this sudden change in the king’s attitude. The

servant was nearby, and mocking shouted at the guards, “Ho Guards! you are

stopping the great merchant of this kingdom. He is powerful. If you stop him, you

will be thrown out just like me.”

On hearing this, the merchant understood that the servant has caused all this

trouble somehow. He felt dejected and returned home upset over the incident. He

gave everything a second thought, and then he invited the royal servant to his

house. He treated the servant with respect and flattered him with gifts and

garments. He said kindly, “O friend, that day I did not have you thrown out due to

anger, but it was improper of you to occupy the seat reserved for the royal nobles.

They felt insulted, and out of compulsion I had to throw you out. Please forgive

me.”

The servant was already flattered with all the gifts, and he was full of joy, “Sir, I

forgive you. You have not only expressed your regrets, but also honored me with

utmost respect”. He ensured the merchant, “I will prove you how clever I am. I

will have the king favorable towards you, like he was before”. The servant went

back home.
Early next morning, when he started sweeping the floors of the palace, he waited

till when the king was lying half-awake. When the opportunity came, he started

sweeping around his bed and started mumbling, “Our king is crazy, he eats

cucumber in the lavatory!”; On hearing this, the king was taken aback. He got up

angrily and shouted at the servant, “What nonsense do you talk about? Have you

ever seen me doing such thing yourself?”; Once again, the servant fell on his knees

and prayed, “O Master, please forgive me if I said something improper. I was

gambling all last night and didn’t sleep. I feel drowsy and I don’t know what I

have been mumbling.”

The king thought to himself, “I have never eaten a cucumber in the lavatory. What

he mumbled about me is ridiculously false. Surely then, what he mumbled about

my trusted merchant the other morning must have been ridiculously false too. It

was improper of me to mistreat the merchant.”; He wondered, “After all he has

been so efficient in the whole administrative system, that without him it has

become slack.”. Thus, having considered carefully, the king invited the merchant

to the palace and flattered him with gifts, jewels and garments. He re-appointed the

merchant to his previously held position and favored his services as before.

Lessons from Panchatantra

Never underestimate one’s ability; We often underestimate people’s ability, be

it a team member, a friend or a competitor or even oneself, we should never

underestimate people’s ability. As depicted, the servant being one of the lowest

members in the organization’s hierarchy, he dint underestimate his own’s ability to

influence the topmost person of the pyramid, the King, thus able to achieve the

desired goal. We too would have come across hurdles, seems its beyond our

control or ability to overcome the challenge, still we can devise ways to influence

and make a change.

· Respond Vs React: Prevent knee-jerk reaction: In today’s challenging

environment leaders succumb to stressful, demanding situations and often react

quickly without much thought; provoked by emotions, look for quick-fix solutions

without proper analysis and understanding. As the story depicts, the King believed

what he heard from servant, carried away by his emotions he reacted without

analyzing the merits of the accusation resulted in taking a knee-jerk decision

resulted in losing an efficient administrator. A leader shouldn’t believe everything

he/she hears. There are always three sides of a story: yours, theirs and the truth. At

times, we tend to overlook the reality and believe illustrations by peers thus land

up in huge issues. When a leader tries to resolve an issue or modify a behavior

(theirs or team’s), he/she shouldn’t be diverged by the symptoms instead get to the

root cause underlying the issue/behavior and respond not react.

· Ego vs Attitude: A child has no ego, Children used to fight with buddies yet

never carry that forever; rather they get back together fast. A leader also should
never be egoistic, rather be open and flexible to adapt to the situations with a

positive attitude. As soon as the merchant realized his mistake, he was not

reluctant to approach the servant and fixed the issue by his non-egoistic, positive

approach, though he is more powerful than the servant. He didn’t flex his muscles

rather went for a positive, win-win solution. One of the hardest challenges for

leaders is to remain grounded in the face of their success. Leaders with out-of-

control egos are responsible for huge losses in productivity and profits. As a

leader, one shouldn’t fall into this trap rather being more concerned about the

needs and accomplishments of other people in the team and the organization.

· Talent and Trust: In a leadership role the most challenging part is people

management; Though the merchant is very talented and have been delivering his

responsibilities efficiently; King threw him away from his role due to a wrong

perception; it’s not only a loss for the merchant but also for the king as he lost

good talent and able administrative system. Business leaders often face challenges

with employing, engaging and retaining talent especially in this era of fast

changing and dynamic market; hence its critical for a leader to hone his/her people

management skills and be an empathetic listener, avoid prejudice to arrive at

unbiased decision making which is good for the larger organization.

Exploring Swadharma:

The importance of Swadharma in one`s life is clearly stated in the above

mentioned verse by the Lord himself but he left the subjective understanding of its
meaning to be explored and understood on humans in everyone`s own unique way.
While the Krishna puts forward about the conception of Swadharma, it is
impossible to understand without understanding the concept of swabhava and
dharma. Dharma is a pillar for an individual’s life which is fundamental for
everyone. It is a primitive key to live one’s life morally by being conscientiously
correct when accomplishing one’s duties. Then all the other notions told by Lord
Krishna can be taken into consideration and can be attempted for further
understandings.

Hence, when an individual gets aware of his dharma that is acting upon your duties
by being morally correct then the question arises that what are these duties. When
talked about one’s duties then the conceptualization of Swadharma should be taken
into consideration, as only after making an attempt to know this terminology
“Swadharma” one can answer the above question raised. For example: The frog
who tries to blow himself up in order to grow as big as a bull explodes itself to
death because the swadharma of a frog is to remain a frog.

The swadharma of a fish is to live in water. Milk may be better than water, but a
fish that insists on living in milk will die. Sun is the source of the energy that the
earth gets. But if we try to leave the earth to be closer to the source, we will be
burnt to death because our swadharma is to live on earth.

A Brahmin`s swadharma is to impart knowledge and education to the mankind

without any personal gain and interest. All the entities present in the universe are
suppose to behave according to their unique Swadharma to maintain the right
balance and flow. At the same time their Swadharma is not static or fixed. One
entity may or may not have multiple Swadharma too, depending upon its journey
and the purpose of existence. In view of mankind, Swadharma is closest to what
Krishna said “karma one should do” and the knowledge about ‘what I should’ and
‘what I should not’ comes from inner self and its nature i.e. one`s swabhav.
Understanding the concept of ‘nishkama karma’

In the great epic Mahabharata, Arjun, one of the five Pandavas, puts down
his weapons and refuses to fight in the ongoing war. He is filled with anguish
at the sight of his loved ones, the elders in particular, for whom he has great
affection. The prospect of fighting the blameless and killing his kinsmen fills
him with a strange pity. ‘I shall not fight’, he declares, leaving his charioteer
Krishna dumbfounded.

Krishna reminds Arjun that, this is no ordinary battlefield (Kurukshetra), it is

also a moral field (Dharamkshetra). The war was waged as the last resort
when all other alternatives had been exhausted. Arjun is aware that his cause
is just and yet he cannot transcend his human emotions. Krishna tries several
arguments to persuade Arjun to fight. One of these is a truly novel moral
argument based on action. Krishna knows that Arjun is a man of action, so he
exhorts him to act for the sake of his duty, without any thought to the
consequences. Krishna believes that the moral worth of an action lies in a
persons motive rather than in the consequences of the action. He speaks thus,
‘Be intent on the action, not on the fruits of action’.