Mindfulness and Non-Violence in Business

Mindfulness and non-harming are traditional Indian virtues. In modern times, more emphasis has been placed on mindfulness than non-harming. Mindfulness has become an important practice of many successful entrepreneurs, CEOs and other leaders. Mindful leadership is based on mindfulness, which is defined as intentionally paying attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way. Mindfulness can be a key competence of leaders through which they can gain courage, enthusiasm and awareness. Leaders, now more than ever, cultivate mindfulness for the purpose of bringing their mind’s capabilities to bear on the practice of leadership. The most influential leader to integrate the principle of non-harming into daily practice was Mahatma Gandhi, who practiced non-harming as a fundamental governing principle for activity. Today non-harming is more important than even before, especially now that humanity has the power and technology to influence and change the vital functioning of the planet. The authors describe business models whose goal is to practically implement the principle of non-harming: Community Supported Agriculture, Ethical Banking and The Slow Food Movement. They also present cases of entrepreneurial initiatives that are based on the goals of non-harming: Windhorse Evolution, the Apopo Foundation, Interface and the Social Venture Network. Non-harming seems to be indispensable for the creation of a sustainable world. The balance between mindfulness and non-harming should be re-established.