INDIAN ETHOS AND

MANAGEMENT
INTRODUCTION

P R E PA R E D F O R C L A S S D I S C U S S I O N
BY
P F O R . S . S U R YA N A R AYA N A N
 INDIAN ETHOS AND MANAGEMENT( IEM )
• Ethos--“the set of beliefs, ideas, etc. about social behavior and relationship of a person or
group” ( Cambridge dictionary )
• Ethos-“the moral ideas and attitudes that belong to a particular group or society” ( Oxford
dictionary )
• Indian ethos is all about Indian National ethos.

•Morality is concerned with the norms, values and beliefs embedded in social processes
which define right and wrong for an individual or a community.
•Ethics is concerned with the study of morality and the application of reason to elucidate
specific rules and principles that determine right and wrong for any given situation.
•These rules and principles are called Ethical Theories.
•Ethics rationalizes a morality to produce ethical theory that can be applied to any situation.
• The difference between ethos and ethic is that
• Ethos is the character or fundamental values of a person, people, culture, or
movement while
• Ethic is a set of principles of right and wrong behaviour guiding, or representative of, a
specific culture, society, group, or individual.

As an adjective ethic is moral, relating to morals.

• Is IEM some kind of Hindu concept of management?
• Certainly not. Management is behavioural science and it has to be culture specifc.
IEM has as its basis, the culture base of India and as a country whose culture has its
roots in religion. It does draw its lessons from the religions of the land be it Hinduism,
Buddhism, or any other.

• “ Religion of a man will find perfection only when the ahimsa as preached by Lord
Budha, love by Jesus, fraternity by Mohammed Nabi and philosophical thoughts of
rishis ( saints ) of India find their confluence and consummation” Sri Narayan Guru.

• Major sources of Indian ethos:

• Vedas( sruthis) and smrithis; principles of Jainism & Buddhism; thoughts of
Vivekanada, Gandhi,Aurobindo;
• Dharma sastras, itihasas,( Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bagavat Gita)
 MODEL OF MANAGEMENT IN THE INDIAN SOCIO -
POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
• Bharatiya sanskriti:
• The culture that cultivates the farms of human hearts is Indian culture.( Agriculture
cultivates the land)
• Parents nurture children to respect:
– Matru devo bhava
– Pitru devo bhava
– Acharya devo bhava
– Athithi devo bhava
• Selfless love, respect
• Such actions considered spiritual
• Continuously improve self discipline and learning, practicing Dharma,
promoting welfare of the people.
• The salient ideas and thoughts of Indian Ethos in Management revealed by our ancient
scriptures are:
• All work is an opportunity for doing good to the world and thus, gaining materially and spiritually in our
lives (Atmano Mokshartham, Jagat hitaya cha ).
• Worship people not only with material things but also by showing respect to their enterprising divinity
within. ( Archet dana manabhyam).
• Strength and inspiration for excelling in work comes from the Divine, God within, through prayer,
spiritual readings and unselfsh work. ( Atmana Vindyate Viryam )
• He who works with calm and even mind achieves the most (Yogah karmashu Kaushalam,
Samatvam yoga uchyate ).
• As we think, so we succeed, so we become. Attention to means ensures the end ( Yadishi bhavana
yasya siddhi bhavati tadrishi )
• By mutual cooperation, respect and fellow feeling, all of us enjoy the highest good both material and
spiritual. (Parasparam bhavayantah shreyah param bhavapsyathah )
• Infnite happiness and infnite peace come to them who see the Divine in all beings (Tesham sukhm
tesham shanti shaswati )
• Regard the other person as a divine being. All of us have the same consciousness though our
packages and containers are different (Paraspar Devo Bhav )
• Indian ethos for management means the application of principles of management as
revealed in our ancient wisdom brought forth in our sacred books like our Gita,
Upanishads, Bible and Quran.
• There are 6 basic principles, which come to light in the holy books applicable in today’s
management world. They are :
1. Each soul is a potential God
2. Holistic approach
3. Equal importance to Subjectivity/Objectivity
4. Karma yoga
5. Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam
6. Co-operation
• Basic principles of Indian Ethos for Management (IEM):
• Immense potential, energy and talents for perfection as human being has the spirit within
his heart.(Each soul is a potential God)
• Holistic approach indicating unity between the Divine (The Divine means perfection in
knowledge, wisdom and power), individual self and the universe.
• Subtle, intangible subject and gross tangible objects are equally important. One
must develop one’s Third Eye, Jnana Chaksu, the Eye of Wisdom, Vision, Insight and
Foresight. Inner resources are much more powerful than outer resources.
• Divine virtues are inner resources. Capital, materials and plant & machinery are outer
resources.
• Karma Yoga (selfless work) offers double benefits, private benefit in the form of self
purification and public benefit.
• Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam - Excellence at work through self-motivation and self
development with devotion and without attachment.
• Co-operation is a powerful instrument for team work and success in any enterprise
involving collective work.
• Each Soul is a potential God
• A human being has a soul, a spark of the Divine. The divine resides in the heart of a
person. The Divine means perfection in knowledge, wisdom and power. Therefore a
human being has immense potential power or energy for self – development. Thus human
efforts can achieve even an apparently impossible goal and convert the impossible into a
reality. The partnership of God and Man can bring about extraordinary or miraculous
results; only if man chooses willingly to collaborate with God and actively participates in
the affairs of the society by right action under his guidance and grace. He can bring about
not only personal development, harmony, happiness but also prosperity of his own
organization and the society without injustice to others.
• Of course here, also, God helps those who help themselves.

• Back
• Holistic Approach
• Holistic approach in Management is based on spiritual principle of unity, oneness, non-
dual or Advaita concept. Under this principle of unity, the universe in an undivided
whole where each and every particle is connected with every other particle. Thus, entire
Humanity is ONE.
• Such an integrated human personality of self-developed manager and worker can assure
best and competent management of any enterprise, involving collective works and efforts.
It will achieve perfection or excellence in whatever sector you work. This is the ideal of
Indian ethos : ‘Atmano Mokshartham Jagat Hitya Cha.’ (For gaining perfection in
individual life, as well as for the welfare of the world.). This is the message for all
managers and workers given by the Indian ethos for management.
• Back
• Equal Importance to Subjectivity / Objectivity
• Indian ethos for management distinguishes between subject and object. Subject is subtle
and intangible. Object is concrete and tangible or visible.
• We have the concept of the third eye, the eye of wisdom. It can see even that which the
normal two eyes cannot. It can see the intangible i.e. invisible.
• Human and ethical values or qualities such as courage, vision, social awareness,
fearlessness, integrity, pure and clear mind, truth, etc. are subjective, subtle and
intangible concepts. These subjective or subtle qualities are as important as money,
materials, machines, information or data as well as human skills. Inner resources of
human beings are more powerful than external resources.
• Creator is subjective. Creation is objective. Insight i.e., creator is more important
than Outsight i.e.,creation. Our body, senses, intellect, mind,etc., are objective, seen,
tangible. But our soul atman is unseen, intangible, subtlest and subjective. Hence,
wisdom manager/ worker is much more important and valuable than knowledge manager/
worker.
• Therefore, manager must develop his third eye, ‘Jnana Chakhu’ , the eye of Vision
intution, insight, foresight and such other divine qualities or values. This is the essence of
Indian ethos for management. Back
• Karma Yoga
• It is yoga of selfless service to others. Karma Yoga is all about identifying your priorities and trying
to achieve them. Also, a person should have accountability i.e. he should always hold only himself
responsible for whatever goes right or wrong. This brings about the union of human being with the
Divine.
• Gita says that do your duty without ego and without calculations of gain or loss. One should believe
in Nishkama Karma i.e. fruits of work should not be thought of while performing the duty.
• The memorable words of Gita are “To work only you have the right and you have no right to the
fruits of work”. However, this does not mean that one should work day and night and the returns that
he gets should be almost negligible. What the Gita tries to say is that let not the fruits of action
motivate you as they might just divert your attention from work. When you are doing a job, put your
heart and soul in to it. One has no control over the future hence never waste your present in
useless dreams of future hopes and fears of present actions.
• Why Do I Work? For my own salvation and personal growth; For the good of the world.
• The inner joy of doing something gives the doer a sense of achievement and also helps him in
respecting himself more than he used to. Money is important but running behind money all the time
leads to tension, stress and total loss of peace. Self-motivation can assure self-development. When
work is performed without passion, hatred, arrogance and desire we have individual development
and social good.
• Indians always had two great truths of successful, harmonious and happy life:
• Divinity of life can be used through self-development for personal growth and also for
social welfare.
• I cannot cheat you and nature without cheating myself. Working for harmony and peace
results in a sense of fulfillment.
• It is becoming clear that a chapter, which had a Western beginning in business
management, will have to have an Indian ending. Karma Yoga is not just meant for the
common man but also for leaders and managers who if act responsibly will in turn
influence the behavior of a number of people.
• Karma Yoga thus is a good pathway for:
• Self-purification and Self-development.
• Individual growth and welfare.
• Collective growth and welfare.
• Minimum play of passion, jealousy, hatred.
• Team spirit and Teamwork.
• Autonomous management, minimum control and supervision.
• Manager acts as a Mentor.
• Self-motivation, Perfection.
• All round happiness and prosperity.
• Skills and values united, Conflicts resolved by integration. ←return
• Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam
• Yoga means excellence at work. Seek to perform your assigned duty or work in an
excellent manner. Kaushalam denotes doing work with devotion and without attachment
i.e. without being a work-a-holic. Such detatched attitude enhances its values and
improves the concentration and skill of the worker. You work with smartness,
determination and ability. Your head, heart and soul co-operate with your hands. You do
not hanker over the fruits of action. You have no anticipation of reward, or personal gain.
You become a tool of God to perform the work. Any work carried out with full
concentration, dedication and with all abilities that a person has, becomes valuable and
the person also becomes valuable to others as well as to society. In total quality
management(TQM) Karma Yoga and Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam provide valuable
contributions. Under this slogan we have one hundred percent concentration coming from
within. The extrinsic incentives e.g., money, other perks, etc. play a very minor role as
motivators.
• back
• Co-Operation
• Healthy competition is a powerful motivator for excellence and success, especially
business success. The idea of cut-throat competition is founded on the concept of
‘struggle for existence’ and survival of the fittest.
• Indian ethos says that for human beings the royal road is co-operation as a powerful
motive for team work. We are human beings having mind and power of discrimination.
• The Gita says : “ By co – operation and mutual help all shall achieve the highest human
welfare.” Unity is strength. Even in the holistic approach, we stress the co-operation
integration, synthesis and team – spirit for extraordinary performance, for enduring
harmony and peace, because in our hearts chamber is living the pure conciousness of the
Divine, i.e., Purnatman. Peaceful co-excistence, harmony, not struggle is the rule. Indian
insight endorses this in the management of any enterprise.
• Excessive competetion at work can destroy many young people and our social life. Co-
operation, united efforts and striving for success leads to all round prosperity and success
leads to all round prosperity and success in any field of human enterprise.
• Back
• The version of “Indian work ethos and principles of Indian Management “ from text book,”
Indian ethos and values in Management’ by R Nandagopal:
1. Paropakaaraartham idam sareeram
2. Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha.
3. Yagnayachartah karma
4. Parasparam bhavyantah sreyah param avasyaptha.
5. Yoga karmasu kaushalam
6. Satyam naasti paro dharmah
7. Sva-dharma nidhanam sreyah
8. Na hi kaschit api jatu tisthaty akarma=krt
• For more information please refer the following book:
• Indian Ethos and Values in management
• By
• R Nandagopal and Ajit Sankar R N