Management Techniques of Bhagvan Shri Krishna

2[Management Techniques of Bhagvan Shri Krishna]

[Management Techniques of Bhagvan Shri Krishna]5

IMPORTANCE OF THE FLUTE BEARER IN THE FIELD OF MANAGEMENT

1. INTRODUCTION

Initially the importance of management was not felt as greatly as today. Management is becoming an important part of every institution, every corporate body, every department or every company. People are learning more and more managerial skills. They want to adopt modern methods to improve their institution but our mind set is such that we tend to follow the west. We Indians always underestimate our country. Much research is being done to learn new managerial tricks. We are adopting western strategies and policies to improve us. After aping them, their strategies may undoubtedly give us immediate solutions but they are not the permanent solutions because their ultimate aim is to get the work done no matter how. They are not relationship oriented but only work oriented. This has ruined our working atmosphere. But still we are investing a lot of money and our valuable time in learning these managerial tricks from these big countries. We thank them and feel obliged for guiding us in this field. But whatever we want to follow and adopt in our offices today, actually had been given by Lord Krishna many centuries back. We always talk high about other cultures but we forget that our culture is the best among them. Our sacred books are the treasure house of this world. People from other countries are following us. In the heart of hearts, they admire our culture and the knowledge, which is there in our holy Granth. We, Indians are very fortunate that we have Gita written by Lord Krishna. Whatever he has mentioned in Gita is relevant for all ages. Lord Krishna is one of the greatest Management Gurus. He has given many valuable teachings to us through this sacred book.

These days all the managers want that they should fulfill their duty effectively. They want to run their firms smoothly. They apply different principles of management and want to satisfy their workers all the more. According to them the following are important for the smooth functioning of their office:

Vision Mission Leadership qualities Proper Planning Team Building Innovative ideas Proper working environment Right attitude towards work Excellence in work Motivation Decision making Time management Anger management Mental and physical health Reviewing performance.

Managers know their responsibilities and their main aim is to get their work done. They hire experts to guide and help them in planning their work. They spend a lot of money for training their people. We do not look inside our holy Gita. If we turn the pages of Gita, we will find all the lessons necessary for running an office. It is full of important teachings. At the time when the Mahabharata was about to start, Arjuna refused to fight. He said he couldnt fight with his own brothers and kins.

At that time Krishna explained all the principles of life to Arjuna. He taught him how a person should understand these principles and how should he behave to lead his life. He gave a spiritual enlightment to Arjuna. He persuaded him and got him ready for the battle. He became his leader and showed the right path to him. Lord Krishna had all the qualities, which should be present in present days managers. When we read Gita we get to know many lessons of management, which are still unknown to us. Since ages, Bhagwat Gita has had all the management lessons which we have been looking for in the western texts.

The first thing, which we learn from Gita, is that we should start our day with prayers whether we are at home or in an office. This will remove negativity and create a positive environment around us.

The second thing, which Krishna taught us is that we must be true to ourselves. These days people are over worked and full of work pressure. They behave in a different manner and do not help others, as they themselves are helpless. They have an identity crisis. They neither understand their personality nor understand the personality of others around them adding more to the already confused life that they lead. Krishna as a leader guides us how to understand others and then work accordingly. He said one should hate the sin not the sinner. Therefore, Gita provides clarity to us by removing all of our doubts.

Third lesson, which Gita teaches us, is how to control the unfulfilled desires, which are very common in people. This world, which is full of materialism, in order to achieve success and satisfaction, people should learn to control their state of mind. The person whose desires are under his control is the most contended person in the world.

The next lesson we get from Krishna that the selection of resources should be done very carefully and intelligently. As we know that Arjuna selected only Krishna for his side while Duryodhana chose Krishnas large army. After knowing the ending of the battle we can understand the importance of the right selection of the resources. Whatever resources are there in our office we should utilize them completely. He made this very clear to us that quality is more important than quantity. Presence of mind, creativity and truth are valuable than the logical count.

Next lesson, which we get from Krishna, is to form a proper relation between our problems and the cause of these problems. According to him whenever we face any problem we should inquire about the problem and think about our situation. We should try to find out the cause of our suffering. Until and unless we will come to know about our mistakes we will not take any remedial action. So in order to solve our problems we should do the root cause analysis. This will make our life less problematic.

Next vital message we get from Krishna is:

"karmany evadhikaras tema phalesu kadachanama karma-phala-hetur bhurma te sango stv akarmani"(Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

Krishna said that people should work for the sake of work not for the sake of its fruit. He laid importance to work or Karma. He said we should concentrate on our duty and have full faith on God. We should leave everything on him. By doing this we will be more dependent upon God than this physical world. So we would be away from negativity and negative qualities like anger, fear, greed, desire etc. These days people work only for their personal benefits such as promotions, increments etc. The managers too motivate them in this direction. This approach is not a correct approach. Krishna said success will come to you automatically when you work without thinking about the fruit of that work. So one should perform his duty and do not think about its fruit. Our concentration should be on the work not on the result of that work.

Next important lesson of management Krishna has given is to keep the right attitude towards work. We all know that attitude counts a lot. A winning attitude will take us to the top but doing work only to complete it will not take us anywhere. Work is worship should be the motto of our life. This is the biggest principle of management that we should give importance to our work first. The very word management means a systematic way of doing all activities in any field. Krishna as a management Guru tells us the same concept that cultivation of the right attitude towards our work is very essential.

In chapter 16 of Gita, Krishna has categorised our work into Daivi work and Asuri work. Daivi means when we work with purity, calmness, politeness, without harming others, without jealousy, envy, and selfishness. Asuri work means just the opposite of Daivi work. It is very important to understand the difference between these two, hence the day we stop thinking about the result or the fruit of our task we will start doing Daivi work. Whatsoever principles and concept Krishna has given to us are all inter related to each other.

Next important management lesson we get from Krishna is that there is a lot of difference between the basic nature of animals and human beings. If animals fight or kill each other, there is no question of sin on their parts. But we are not animals so we should not indulge in fighting or abusing each other. We, as human beings should realize our ultimate goal of life. Many a times in our office we realize that things are not moving as we want them to go or even people are misbehaving and creating unnecessary problems in our way. At that time the teachings of Krishna show us the right path. They are like a full moon whose light guides our path even in the darkest of night. Next Krishna avers in Gita that if we want to get peace and success then we should give ourselves in the hands of the supreme God. He knows how to plan and what to plan for his people. He is the best manager of this world. He can foresee our future; has complete knowledge about us. Whenever we are in trouble he is always there to help us.

Now we will compare this world to an office and God to a manager of that office. We should have full faith in the working of our boss. Whatever plans he makes for us should be followed religiously. It is guaranteed that the day we start believing in our boss our office environment will improve. Krishna further advises us to understand the sound philosophy of life. Instead of blaming others we should try to improve our performance. We can write an essay on the topic, How to put blame on others but it is very difficult to accept our own faults. The easiest formula for our success is to identify our mistakes and learn a lesson out of them.

Next lesson, which we get from Krishna, is regarding our desires. Krishna said that in our life desires come and go and we should notice them quietly. In an organisation also we should ignore our desires, which are the root cause of all our problems. Krishna suggests us to do meditation but for that we should have to control our mind. Once our mind is in control then all our problems will go away. People in an office mostly fight because their mind and desires are not in their control.

Next lesson we get from him is that as a manager one should give equal chance to others to earn money in an office. We should understand that we can work for improving our destiny but we have no say in the destiny of others. So let others also get equal chance to earn and rise in the office and life. This surely will improve the working conditions of our office.

Next lesson we get from Krishna is about leadership. He said a leader should be very dynamic, bold, vocal, practical and hard working. He should know how to manage everything. The best leader is the one who can foresee things and make plans accordingly. His vision and mission should be clear and his policies should be transparent. Needless to mention that no leader can match with Lord Krishna no matter how so ever modern concepts he follows. As a leader there is no match for the qualities of Krishna because the way he persuaded Arjuna for Mahabharata is not possible for anyone. If we go through his life we will find that he has managed everything so well. He had two mothers, two fathers, two home-towns and two important women Radha and Rukmani but he managed all very effectively. His oratory skills, communication skills and inter-personal skills are outstanding. He had to fight many battles in his life but all of them were very planned and successful. In the end he says that the following things are responsible for failure in our life:

2. REASONS FOR FAILURE

The main driving force in todays youth is greed. He is no doubt ambitious but he strongly believes in competition. He can go to any extend to win the competition. Heavy decrease in the level of moral values. People in todays world have no values. They do not respect anybody and give importance to their personal gains only. Today people overestimate their abilities. They are over confident. They do not believe in God. They follow the wrong path. In place of leadership qualities they have qualities of a dictator. They do not guide others but they force others to follow them. There is lot of disorder and confusion in the offices. There is a lack of motivation and proper work culture in our institutions. Money is more important than people.

3. ROLE OF A MANAGER ACCORDING TO KRISHNA

When The Flute Player was imparting knowledge to his disciple Arjuna, he said that as a leader he should think high. His actions should aim at achieving higher goals. He should not only think about himself but his main aim should be to motivate his team members. He said as a leader he has to select the right action to perform as every action we do in this world produce results. Result will be good or bad depends upon our action. Good actions attract good result while bad actions bring bad results.

As the Lord avers inGita, No doer of good ever ends in misery. He said as a leader it is our duty to take the right road out of many roads. Leaders/Managers should be extremely positive, dynamic, practical, understanding and energetic. Their line of action should attract their followers. They should perform their duties very efficiently so that they can motivate people for a common goal.

According to Krishna, Managers should play the role of a counselor also. Whenever we see people working under us are going in the wrong direction immediately thereafter we should counsel them. Who else other than the Lord could be a better counselor? He counseled Arjuna during Mahabharata. Arjuna said to Krishna that:

Mind is very restless, forceful and strong, O Krishna, it is more difficult to control the mind than to control the wind

Krishna with the help of his inspiring and powerful words raised his level of confidence and taught him how to control mind. He brought him back to the right path and we all know what had happened in that battle. Krishna guides us the leadership traits and the team management skills.

4. CONCLUSION

We need management in every part of our life. People are so much after their greed, desires etc that they just want to get everything in their life. The modern formulae, which we are adopting these days, are very shallow. No doubt they provide solutions but they are not permanent or long-term solutions. On the other hand, the philosophies, concepts and the teachings of Krishna have given us permanent lessons for matchless performance. They are the lifelines of our existence. He is a man of actions. The way he had distributed the roles and responsibilities among Pandavas in the battle was remarkable. He personally guided Arjuna by becoming his Saarthi. He showed him the right path that leads Arjuna to success.

For a leader team spirit, planning and organising skills are very important. These skills are very much present in Krishna. His managerial qualities are extra-ordinary. He is not only our guide, but also our management guru who motivates us to face this challenging world and to lead successfully the journey called life.