Indian Management Philosophy

The immense diversity and complexity of the 5,000-year-old Indian tradition and culture make it almost impossible to identify one single and unilateral Indian philosophy. Moreover, the concepts developed in the different schools of Indian philosophical systems and the paths outlined often appear conflicting and in contention with each other. This makes the search through this maze of thoughts and ideas difficult and confusing indeed. Hence, in the context of the theme of Spirituality in Business, a few relevant sources of classical Indian literature have been chosen here that may be useful to modern management worldwide as it struggles through a time of turbulence, uncertainty, and crisis for a dawning of wisdom in the minds of business leaders. The texts chosen here include the Upanishads, a veritable treasure house of precious wisdom transmitted in the form of conversations between a teacher/master and a learner/disciple. This exploration may throw some light on the framework and the process of holistic learning for leadership development and the art of asking questions. Toward the end of this paper, a few insights will be shared on decision making and conflict resolution in the time of crisis, as offered in the celebrated Indian text Srimat Bhagavadgita, which is actually a case study of the applied wisdom of the Upanishads in a battlefield on the eve of the unfolding of a drama of death and annihilation. Darshan, the classical Indian (Sanskrit) word for philosophy, is all about seeing to start with. Such seeing is not just a matter of visual reception but organic perception. Thus the philosopher is also a “seer” of reality in its totality, a Rishi.