SINDULAND GENIUS
Timeless ideas from the land where the Sindu Flowed
...As applied in the present context
Home... Literature... Ref7: Yogyathwa
Book Publisher: Pearsons
Author: Bala V Balachandran; T N Seshan; Nixon Fernando
No of Pages: 225
Price: Paper back Rs399/- (Kindle Rs252/-)
I.S.B.N: 978-93-325-4376-8
Availability: Get your copy here or click on this link
“This Book is ably designed to be a landmark in the management literature of the 21st century.”
------N Vittal , IAS (Rtd.), Former CVC of India
Bala V Balachandar, Padma Shri, is J.L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Information Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. USA and also founder, Chairman and Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India
T N Seshan,(Late) was Former Chief Election Commissioner of India and Former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India.
Nixon Fernando, former Lecturer, Great Lakes Institute of Management was also Course Head MIT-SOG, Pune and was Lecturer, National Defence Academy, Pune.
What peole have said...
"This (book) is the essence of the Bhagwad Gita that has been condensed by the authors..."
"Victor Hugo said, ‘nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come’. So far as India’s unique contribution to the world--Yoga or Yogyathwa--is concerned, it can definitely be said that this is an idea whose time has come."
-----Mr. N Vittal IAS - Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner
Leadership need not always be about leading a team, it should be applied on an individual level as well. Take control of your life, delegate responsibilities to everyone around ... according to their abilities. It is important to realize that you are a leader.
-----Ms. Gautami Tadimalla - Indian Film Actress
In today's role I guess Kama and Artha takes centre stage and Dharma and moksha gets relegated but this book does not belittle kama and moksha but emphasises the need for leaders to pursue kama and moksha with a sense of Dharma instilled into it
-----Mr. Vinod Dasari - Managing Director – Ashok Leyland
And I am glad that this book provides food for thought for people to become role models as leaders and not imitate some of the bogus leaders that we have.
-----Mr. T S Krishna Murthy IAS - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India
This is a book where people have done that(lead) and then shared their experience. It is a great opportunity for all entrepreneurs, start-up peoples and young people in India to read and be successful in life. If you open the first page and read it, it says ‘Simple access to powerful leadership’. Go through that, and become a powerful leader and build a strong and successful India.
-----Mr. Manikandan Thangaratham, Director – Kindle Devices
Leadership isn’t something that you earn, it is something that you learn, adopt and adapt. I assure that one who reads this book will look at their job or work at an organization in a more different and positive way.”
-----Prof. Bala V Balachandran - Author
Click here for a review that appeared in Deccan Chronicle
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book is about transformational leadership, but unlike others most other books in the realm of leadership studies this book studies leadership from first principles (pertaining to fundamentals of human metaphysical nature). The book brings out precious gems from India’s ancient roots and presents it in a global arena to further the aim of developing credible leadership. It comes out of the “Great Lakes Institute of Management”, an institution which, in a short time, has made a global name in the fields of Management, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. And the book is true to the School’s tagline “Global Mindset, Indian Roots”. The origin of the book, in Prof Bala's own words: "I said, ‘even if he (Mr. Seshan) cannot give his time etc., Nixon, you must pick his brain, I will also pick his brain, Let us consolidate all of that'. And that is exactly what (the book) Yogwathwa is all about,"
Spectacular authorship: The book is spearheaded by the Founder Dean and Global Management Guru, Prof Bala V Balachander, and has the Legend of the Indian Election Commission Mr. TN Seshan as one of the authors. Both have massive experience in leadership. The book emerges, amongst other things, from their immense experience and wise insight. ... The third author Nixon Fernando has lectured at the cradle of military leadership, the National Defence Academy, Pune for Ten years besides other places.
Definition of Yogyathwa: In the Release function Prof Bala described the meaning of 'Yogyathwa' as follows: "It is about good, better and best: Yoga, yogyatha and Yogyathwa. Yoga is a disciplined way of doing things were the mind body and soul probably are in unison so that you can be more productive. There are all kinds of ways (yoga is practiced), commercial ways also. Then at the next level came yogyatha. Yogyatha means capabilities, skill sets, talent, other kinds of knowledge, interacting; all of them combined. So if you want to be a CEO or a Leader, (you can ask) ‘what Yogyatha (competence) does he have?’ That is were yogyatha came. But that is not enough. Yoga, the discipline thing, everybody practices it. As for the second, even if you have all the skill sets, you are not a leader. There is something more that is required to make you a leader. And that is what is Yogyathwa; good, better, best. Yogyathwa is essentially an embodiment of all of the first and on top of that all of the second and more; putting others ahead of you. I always say: ‘If your ego is bigger than your logo, then you go".
Basics of Transformational Leadership: What is it that distinguishes managers, bosses and leaders? Hitler was a leader in his own right and so was Gandhi, and yet we know that they were completely opposite in impact; what is it that definitely draws the line between the two? Do good leaders have to sacrifice excellence or is it their other nature? And most of all is leadership in-born in a few or is it a universal phenomenon? These questions are addressed squarely in the book and the link between theory and practice is sought to be established in it. And all this is sought to be done by exploring the basic nature of humans… rather their basic spiritual nature and therefore explores the concept of leadership from first principles.
Power of Transformational Leadership: Gandhiji had no money, no government, no army—nothing to tempt the huge masses of India to listen to his calling, and still he had such huge impact… What is the true nature of power that he wielded? And is it available to the average student of management? How is ‘yogyathwa’ connected with this power that he wielded?
Practical application: The book also shows that leadership can be practically enhanced without needing to understand theory in all its depth; it is not necessary for someone to know how a computer is built to be able to use it. As such, the book introduces the reader to many techniques that the ancient Indian sages used to enhance leadership in their wards.
Who will benefit? This is also ideal as a text book for finishing schools that focus on enhancing leadership related knowledge and abilities in their participants. It is also a book which teachers, mentors and coaches must refer so that they can benefit even younger students. For Indologists it is a must read. And all those who seek to find some common ground between science and spirituality will find the ideas promising. It is great value add to any collection on leadership and a reference book for all students of leadership.
BOOK RELEASE
From left:
Ms. Gautami Tadimalla - Indian Film Actress,
Mr. T S Krishna Murthy IAS - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India,
Prof. Bala V Balachandran - Author,
Mr. N Vittal IAS - Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner,
Mr. Vinod Dasari - Managing Director – Ashok Leyland
Mr. Manikandan Thangaratham, Director – Kindle Devices
Mr. Nixon Fernando, Author
the distinguised audience, amongst others, included Mr. Mohan Lakhamraju, Vice – Chairman, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Mr. Gandhirajan IPS - ADGP, Mr. Sunil Kumar – Centre Head, World Bank, Chennai and Mr. Sankaran V, Director at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Former General Manager ONGC
Click here to check out the video from Youtube presenting highlights of the event.
FOREWORD
N Vittal
Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India,
This Book, by the eminent and singularly outstanding civil servant T.N. Seshan IAS[Retd], and the equally legendary academic Bala Balachandran, who has built up the Great Lakes Institute of Management Chennai into a reputed institution in an incredibly short span of time, along with their competent associate Fernando, is ably designed to be a landmark in the management literature of the 21st century. ...
Yogyathwa is a significant new word freshly minted by the authors to cover the unique concept of yoga articulated in Indian heritage of tradition and literature, scripture and culture for more than seven thousand years. It is certainly not one more of the umpteen words of jargon that clutter management literature today. Yoga at the most elementary level means union and inherent harmony. This in itself confers strength and insures against any possibility of internal conflict, waste and the resulting weakness. In short it is synonymous with POWER.
This concept Yoga or Yogyathwa has been articulated by many thinkers and spiritual teachers in Indian heritage covering a very wide spectrum of life… In other words, it is a meta concept. It is not confined to one specific or limited area of life. In short it is a whole way of life itself. The authors have tried to highlight how the concept of Yogyathwa can be equally effective in tackling the problems of any organisation or situation today and provide simple and powerful access to great leadership.
As mentioned earlier, Yoga represents union or coming together of forces and principles. This power of the union is more than that of the power of uniformity. Swami Aurobindo pointed out this especially and said that what we should aim for is unity and not uniformity. Dictators like Hitler choose the path of imposing uniformity and consequently failed in the long run. On the contrary, this power of unity is what it is because unity arises when people buy into a concept and own it.
The book covers this unique aspect of Yogyathwa very well and explores it with the Bhagvat Gita as the pivot… Bhagawat Gita has rightly been called as the quintessence of Vedas, Upanishads and Vedanta. In this exercise, the authors cover the entire spectrum of management of business and all types of organisations, as well as the entire spectrum of public life and governance. The classic frame of reference, for this exercise is the conversation between Yudishtra, Krisnna and Bhishma in the Shanthiparva of the Mahabharatha, one of the two great epics of India. The other of course is Ramayana. The whole issue of Raja dharma, Apat Dharma and Moksha dharma are discussed in this episode. These conversations provide a basis of the concept of Yogyathwa elaborated in this book.
The declared objective of Great Lakes Institute of Management is “GLOBAL MINDSET INDIAN ROOTS”… This book articulates this concept very powerfully by invoking the concept of Yogyathwa as the basic unifying principle. As I see it, Power is the key vital word of the whole book. The ultimate message of this book comes through, when the concept of Yogyathwa is demonstrated to be the sheer force of alignment or focus resulting in strength of the union
There is yet an important third element, namely, the ethical principle. The ultimate professionalism comes from a unique mix of skill, competence and ethics. Detachment from the results and performing one’s duty competently is the central message of the Gita. Such a powerful combination is, in the ultimate analysis, simple, because there remains no doubt about the course of action. After all, the entire Bhagvat Gita was an exercise in finding a way out in the highly confusing situation where there were powerful arguments on either course of action and the choice that were made, and in making the choice the concept of ethics had to be supreme; and this has been provided for. The essence of this Yogyathwa is reiterated in this present book, and the book also explores it through various exercises which have been systematically articulated in its chapters. At the end of course, any student exposed to this book, would have not only have understood in his mind the concept but also have imbibed the values. He will pass the ultimate test. He will be able to walk the talk, when it comes to the principle of Yogyathwa and become a powerful and an ethically successful leader.
The essence of yoga has been distilled by Lord Krishna in Bhagavat Gita, which in turn is considered as a unique document. And it is not surprising that each of the 18 chapters of the Gita has been described individually as yoga.
The concept of yoga can be applied in different areas, and from the management point of view the focus is generally on the 2nd Chapter of the Gita, which in turn also talks about Karma Yoga. The Indian Administrative Service, which is the premier service for governance in the country, has the motto taken from this chapter of Gita – yoga karma kaushalam – efficiency in work is yoga. Sprinkled throughout the Bhagvat Gita are instances of the principles of effective leadership and management. At least some of them are worth recording here.
The last sloka of the Gita focuses on not only the need for professional competence but also the need for observing the right way of conduct or dharma.
yatra yogesvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhutir
dhruva nitir matir mama
Where the Yogesvara Krishna (represents the divine vision) and Arjuna (the professional archer) combined together, there is wealth - sri, success – vijay and justice - niti. But this sloka requires further elaboration:
After all, Lord Krishna is seen as poorna purushotham. In other words, Vishnu (Lord Krishna is an ‘avatar’ of Vishnu) is the supreme God and he is the protector and creator of the universe. The book also refers to the concept of purusha and prakruti, Prakruti being nature and purusha representing not merely the male principle but the supreme principle of power. Lord Vishnu takes many avatars and these avatars are with a purpose. Whenever dharma is threatened, he comes to the world to restore dharma; more importantly to protect those who observe dharma and punish those who are practicing adharma.
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata
Abhythanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham
Paritranaya sadhunang vinashay cha dushkritam
Dharmasangsthapanarthay sambhabami yuge yuge
is what he says in the Bhagvat Gita.
Among the avatars Rama avatara and Krisha avatara are important. Krishna, as we saw earlier, is called poorna purushotam, whereas Rama represents the concept of mariyada purushotam. The concept of mariyada purushotam can, from the management point of view, be interpreted as perfection within the bounds restricted by human limitations. While the Gita recognizes this—that as humans all of us are subjected to restrictions—it shows that it is possible to achieve perfection within this limitation. In fact, the essential message of Gita is that one should strive to observe dharma – righteous conduct and achieve perfection/competence in one’s skill. That is why we go back to the last sloka which we are examining—of the Bhagvat Gita. When Lord Krishna, representing poorna purushotam— which is perfection in itself—combines with a perfect professional like Arjuna; then there is success and wealth and above all justice.
Let us not forget that the entire Bhagvat Gita is presented with Arjuna, a competent professional, getting the best advice from the Lord himself. He receives it in the battle field when he is in a great sense of confusion, fighting emotions, and not knowing the right way to go. Lord Krishna reminds him that as a professional his focus should be on performing his dharma and duty and he should not be too concerned about the results, because if he was so much focused on the results, then, to the same extent he will not be able to perform the duty, or perform competently.
The basic message of the Gita brings out a number of relevant aspects that are timeless, which any person, who aspires to be a leader, in any field, has to bear in mind. The present book rightly aims at this; it not only articulates the principles but by applying the most imaginative invocation and application of technology and pedagogy skills, the book tries to make the students of Great Lakes imbibe the values.
Mere bookish knowledge is of no use. In fact, mere theoretical knowledge has been ridiculed. There are a number of stories attributed to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa out of which is a story about the vedic pundit asking the boatman whether he had learnt the Vedas, and ultimately realizing that he was in danger of losing his own life because he did not know the simple practical skill of swimming. There are also countless proverbs to this effect, like in Tamil that ‘a gourd drawn on paper will not be able to remove the hunger of a person’.
But how does one imbibe values then?
It is here that the entire mix of case studies, the interaction and exposure to role models and leaders along with their biographies becomes important. While each person recognizes that no two situations are similar, by a process of intellectual osmosis and repeated exercises and action research, one case still learn the values.
The ultimate test is in walking the talk. The book itself contains examples of great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and a number of others. But in this context of yoga and application of that concept in difficult situations, did we have such leaders? The answer is a resounding YES,
In politics, based on my experience as a civil servant, two leaders come to my mind in the context of Yogyathwa. They are Chakravarthy Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji, a great leader in the freedom struggle and P.V Narasimha Rao the prime Minister of India who introduced the economic liberalization policies in the 1990s. They demonstrated the concept of powerful leadership through Yogyathwa.
The superb biography of P.V. Narasimha Rao by Vinay Sitapati titled ‘Half-lion’ published this year is a must read for any student of Yogyathwa. P.V.N, had to physically operate in a politically weak situation and in fact, ignominy. Taking over the leadership of the country at a time when it was financially almost bankrupt, he used the financial crisis as an opportunity to bring economic reforms and getting the country out of the permit license raj era. And even when the crisis became manageable, he continued the thrust towards bringing in a liberal economy which would unleash the potent spirit of exercise of the will of the people. He was a unique person in that he had been a lifelong scholar and a person who was exposed to the wide range of deep literature of Indian tradition. He was able to invoke the values at the appropriate times and show how the combination of ethics and supreme skill in political management can lead to long term benefit in terms of good governance of the country.
C. Rajagopalachari, who was a colleague and fellow patriot along with Mahatma Gandhi, held high positions of authority including the position of the Governor General of India. In those early days had the foresight to develop a new party on the basis of market oriented liberalism; even when the Indian National Congress and its brand of socialism were all pervasive. He had not only imbibed the values of sanathana dharma but also throughout his life, demonstrated that Yogyathwa can enable a person to perform the leadership function effectively; irrespective of the formal position of authority one occupies one can make a contribution and provide leadership.
Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents perhaps in himself the very effective and appealing message of Yogyathwa. Thanks to his emergence as the Prime minister of India after the 2014 general elections, the reference to powerful leadership seems to be very appropriate. Today’s media, while describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repeatedly invoke the concept of powerful leadership.
Yoga has many dimensions, and starting with the purely physical one of ashtanga yoga, which controls the body, the ancient Roman ideal of mensano in corporasano (latin for ‘Sound mind in a sound body’) was achieved in practice by our forefathers, by the unique development of yoga. Effectiveness of yoga as a very powerful tool for controlling the mind and disciplining oneself was superbly demonstrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his visit to the United States in 2014. He was strictly observing, in those days, the fasting required for the navratras. Nevertheless, there was no hint of any lack of energy, enthusiasm or vigor in his stunning performances in the mega events like the address to the NRIs in the Madison Square Gardens and in the one-to-one interaction with President Obama.
This brings me to another happy aspect of this book; in a special way the timing of its publication is superb! Yoga perhaps got the best recognition from 2014 when Narendra Modi achieved the tectonic shift in the political scene in India by achieving an electoral victory of majority in the Lok Sabha. The remarkable performance, on the political level, for a party like BJP, which was not present in nearly one third of a country, is a miracle; but this remarkable political achievement itself is another demonstration of the basic theme in this book which is focused on the effectiveness of yoga as leadership principle.
The benefits of yoga are today universally recognized and one of the many achievements of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been persuading the United Nations to readily accept observing 21st of June as International Yoga Day. This shows that the world has come to recognize the distinct contribution to human development made by India.
Victor Hugo said, ‘nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come’. So far as India’s unique contribution to the world Yoga or Yogyathwa is concerned it can definitely be said that this is an idea whose time has come. The authors deserve kudos for coming up with a right book at the right time; they must be congratulated for coming up with this new dimension to the management literature on the unique and vital subject of leadership.
There is another aspect of Yogyathwa which needs to be highlighted and which is not only mentioned in the Bhagvat Gita but also in other Indian heritage literature. This is the concept of the gunas. These are qualities of a person or the basic temperament or attitude to life. Lord Krishna identifies three basic gunas of people. These are, rajo guna, tamo guna and sattva guna and explains how no person can escape behaving according to his guna. Yogyathwa can make a difference.
The concept of yoga can be looked at as a continuous interplay of different forces and an exercise in mastering, to begin with, oneself by disciplining the mind and the body. Self-discipline, in turn, is the triggering point for a virtuous cycle of behaviour and this internal consistency in itself gives tremendous strength. Wherever there have been contradictions internally, there have been disasters—extreme cases too like the psychologists recognize as multiple personality disorder. There is another aspect: it is equally important to remember that mere skill and competence cannot save a person if there is lack of integrity. Integrity becomes very much a part of dharma; and Yogyathwa, as a construct, brings together all the elements relating to skill, the type of people concerned, the need for adjusting action to the situation and all the time achieving a balance between competence and the right values.
It is interesting that the questions of success and failure or hate and love have all been resolved and the concept of respecting all lives and basic principles of Yogyathwa are not contained only in the Bhagvat Gita, which in turn is the quintessence of all the Upanishads and the Vedas. Vedenta itself is beautifully condensed by Prof Parthasarathy who says it means Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha. When an individual is concerned, he must strive for liberation or perfection, and when it comes to a society, the society should try to do the best it can for the world. In fact, Paropakaram Idam Shareeram is for the welfare of others. The concept of social capital and corporate social responsibility all arise from this basic message of the yoga of treating the entire world as one family - Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
Keeping an open mind and considering that there could be other points of view, it is very important as emphasized in the Rig Veda: Aa no Bhadrraha Kritavo yantu Vishvata. An inherently leading and healthy respect for all points of view has been a unique Indian concept thanks to the tradition going back to more than 7000 years to the time of Ramayana, which is also reflected in this Book.
With the focus on Yogyathwa as the core theme, and reflecting the message of India’s heritage of thinking, Great Lakes has, through this book, created a forum where its goal of roots in India and global vision, becomes a living reality for every student who passes through the portals of this vibrant institution.
I congratulate the authors once again and I am sure this book will be a landmark in the Management literature of the 21st century.
N VITTAL
IAS (Rtd.)
Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India
Chennai
17.07.2016
PREFACE
Honorable TN Seshan, the mercurial former CEC of India is no ordinary IAS Officer. It requires guts to disqualify a sitting Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh from the National Cabinet and he did it; he did that because it was the right thing to do according to law. Truly the nation has gained immensely from him this upright and honest officer. The students at Great Lakes have had him as a full time faculty and have gained from their interaction with him. And my desire has always been that his phenomenal works and thoughts must continue to influence not only the students from Great Lakes but all students for posterity. When a proposal came for intellectual work to be done by him in the context of the leadership, there could have been no greater person or opportunity and with that the team for the book fell into place. ...
Great Lakes has the tag line “Global mind set: Indian roots” because of the conviction that there is immense wisdom in what the ancient Indian thinkers passed down and because this can bring great succor to the whole world. It is an all-embracing philosophy and is truly global in outlook. Despite all its visible flaws, and beyond these flaws, lies a treasure trove of wisdom; and that wisdom can indeed be accessed by a scientific and rational thinker…
The team considered several proposals for approach to the book and finally zeroed in on a representation of the core aspect of leadership brought forth by the modern day sage Sirshree Tejparkhi of the Tej Gyan Foundation. Building around this core representation and borrowing from a whole lot of wise men across the world, a draft gradually emerged, and after several iterations and back and forth between the authors this book has emerged. An outcome of the insights and skills of all three authors, it offers a unique and path breaking outlook on Transformational Service Leadership (TSL)
The task was not easy. If leadership is a science a skill and an art, then Transformational Service Leadership is what it is mostly because of the art component; it has to do with human creativity, human feelings and the human spirit with a service mentality. And this necessarily meant that the authors must take on the metaphysical head on blending the Art of Leadership with the Science of Management.
How does one bridge that gap between science and spirituality to the satisfaction of both domains? It is a tough ask, but if that is where the secrets of transformational leadership are hidden then that is where we must search and investigate.
What has resulted is a bold analysis into the metaphysical as seen from a scientific perspective. We see no reason for conflict between science and spirituality. With a little effort one can navigate the difficult topic and come out with clear reasoning and viable action plans. This is a minefield alright, but with due diligence the arguments have been presented in a way that should lay out the truth for the genuine inquirer.
The elephant emerged as the apt metaphor to represent the collection of ideas. A Majestic Elephant takes on its challenges head on, that is the spirit… if its parts are represented by the goals which leadership hopefuls must seek to attain, the Majestic Leadership Elephant is that which will make the transformational difference. When the world looks to India for a Service Leadership, the elephant has the best analogy for the same.
The book was pitched at the average MBA College student or student with an interest in Leaders, but the authors made sure that the others who can benefit from this insight are not excluded from the loop. Any individual who has had a basic education can access and understand the thought processes that are represented here. Those who are not interested in academic rigor can conveniently skip out the parts which deal with the reasoning behind the findings but still find a lot of material to work upon. The Indian civilization and history offers many techniques that can be used to enhance leadership without bothering to really going into the nitty-gritties. After all, you don’t need to learn electronics to operate a radio…
Many of the term used in the book has Indian origins, this has its own advantages and disadvantages as well… For those who are not familiar with the terms, the authors have endeavored to explain the terms in the best way possible in such a way that the reading of this book will suffice, however the rich traditions of India have techniques and skills hidden in them which an outsider would need to make considerable effort to internalize. On the other hand the Indians who are familiar with the terms used in this book will realize that they have to unlearn considerably and look at the familiar terms in a new light; however they will be facilitated, through their traditions, to benefit from the latent skills and techniques taught to them in their families… The book tries its best to strike the right balance. In these days we look for a complete characterisation in one word, a Mathura, we have YOGYATHWA for Leadership.
As such, this book has something for everyone. It has been designed in such a way that a teacher or a parent who is nurturing young ones will be first able to understand the inner mechanizations of the human self; from that understanding they will be able to groom their wards appropriately.
What has finally emerged is a product that we as authors are proud of. That it will go to improve the quality of leadership in the future is the prayer with which the book is being released. We need to awaken the Majestic Leadership Elephant in our students so that they go on to make the change that we so much desire…
God Bless the students in pursuing Service Leadership!!!
Bala V Balachandar
CONTENTS
Preface
Foreword
About the Authors
Introduction
Section 1: Mulling on the Definitions
1. Anti-Definitions
**Coding and Decoding of the Meaning of Words Must be Identical **What the Authors Mean ...
2. The Confusing Synonyms of Leadership
**Is the Vocabulary Related to Leadership Wide Enough? **There is a Critical Need to Resolve **Trying to Resolve It **The Pursuit of Leadership
3. A Complete Leader
**A Holistic View on Leadership is Important **A Picture to Capture Seven Ideas of Leadership
Section 2: The Core Premises of Leadership
4. The Common Soul Theory of Leadership 19
**Introduction **The Overall Frame-work of the Common Soul Theory of Leadership **Is This a Discovery or an Invention? **When a Student Searches for Evidence **A Consolation Even for those Who Don’t Get Evidence **Summary **In Conclusion
5. The Chief Attribute of a Leader: Yogyathwa 34
**The Common Soul **The Chief Task in Leadership **Common Soul and the Natural State **How to Establish Connection Between the Common Soul and the Head **A Yoga Related Word Used in Common Conversation **The Induction Effect of a Yogi
6. Reasoning Out the Metaphysical Truths in Leadership Discussions 42
**The Question of Being Rational **Leadership has Aesthetic Content **Limiting Studies to the Material Sphere is Like This **Should I Sacrifice ‘Rationality’ for This? **The Process of Inquiry that is Rational **Models **Establishing Theories Through Proofs **Pursuit of Truth **Coming Back to the Common Soul Theory of Leadership
7. The Technical Nuances of Yoga and Yogyathwa 51
**Pursuing the Path of Knowledge **The Relative Merits of the Two Paths **The Origins of the Idea of Yoga **The Theory/Model of the Universal Brahman **Benefits of the Theory of the Universal Brahman
Section 3: Suzerainty and its Role in Good Teams
8. Under What Conditions Can I be Called Up for Suzerainty? 63
**A Conceptual Base for Studying Suzerainty **Basic Postulates on the ‘Emergence of Suzerains’ **To be a Suzerain
9. Who Ends Up Becoming the Suzerain?
**Certain Factors Up the Chance for Becoming a Suzerain **Dormant Suzerainty **The Exact Nature of the Agenda and the Members of the Group Competent in that Particular Agenda **Skilled and Experienced Administrators and Managers **The Preferred Organizational Structure for Meeting that Agenda and the Suzerainty Style of the Suzerain **Selection and Promotion Systems Established within Groups **The Presence of True Leaders in the Group **The Actual Dynamics and Drama of the Situation at Hand
10. When Groups Search for Good Suzerains 80
**Organizations Want Good Suzerains **The Right Way to Say What is a Good Suzerain **Selection of Good Suzerains Infused into Life Culture
11. As a Suzerain to a Group, What are My Prime Concerns? 86
**Four Point Focus for Suzerains **Four Steps for Pre-existing Organizations **Failing to Communicate Agenda Related Information **The Team Perspective Has a Three Point Focus
12. The Fundamental Ingredient for Success of Organizations 93
**The Three Point Focus of Organizations **The Chance of Failure **Driving a Positive Spiral through Excellence
Section 4 Getting to the Heart of Excellence
13. A Study of Excellence as Evolved in Modern Thought 103
**The Disciplines that Have Inquired into Excellence **Operations Theory **Motivation Theory **The Metaphysical is Important
14. Motivation and Excellence According to Ancient Indians 109
**Impactful Ancient Indian Insights and Models **The Four Impeller Model of Human Nature **The Variance between the Materialistic and the Spiritual **Proof for the Theory **Why this Four-Impeller Model Needs Further Analysis by a Student of Leadership **Need for a ‘Performer’s’ View **Each One Takes his Own Call
15. Understanding the Nuances of Dharma 118
**The Study of Dharma Needs the Attention it Deserves **So What is Dharma? And How is it Relevant to Today’s Suzerain? **First Component: The Supreme Self **Second Component: Rule of Law **Third Component: A Sense of Duty That is Not **Fourth Component: Era Specificity
16. Defining a Leader Vis-à-Vis Yogyathwa and Dharma
**The Belief System of the Suzerain Who Understands Yogyathwa and Dharma **How a Leader Encounters an Organization **Dharma as an Imparted Feeling **The Primary Role of the Leader in Dharma **Summary
17. The Metaphysical Models and their Scientific Validation 135
**Retracing Back to the Relevant ‘Models’ **The Four Impeller Model of Motivation **The Common Soul Theory of Leadership **The Model of the Universal Brahman **Dharma and Its Four Components **Important Conclusions from the Models **Credibility of these Theories/Models
Section 5: Pursuit of Excellence Through Yogyathwa and Dharma
18. Usefulness of the Theories/Models to a Leader in Practical Life 143
**Suzerains Please Note **Each Generation of Humans has a Right to Choose How It Lives **The Start Point has Always been Awareness, Understanding and Belief **Some Important Aspects of How the Learning was Applied in Society **In Conclusion
19. Dharma of the Present Age: With Special Reference to Companies 152
**Spiritual Terms need not to be Put-offs in Rational Analyses **Dharma Explains a Wide Range of Observations on Leadership **Dharma in the Context of Companies’ Contribution to Society **Dharma for this Age
20. Why CSR and Ethics are Important for a Company 161
**The Company Footprint and CSR **Ethics
Section 6: Unleash the Leadership Potential
21. The Suzerainty and Leadership Matrix: Understanding were We Stand 167
**A Map to Track Leadership Journeys **The Suzerainty-Leadership Matrix **Mohammad Ali Jinnah **Mahatma Gandhi
22. The Journey of the Complete Leader 174
**The Majestic Leadership Elephant **The Journey of a Leader **A Prayer from the Authors
23. Difficult Leadership Signposts Simplified 179
**Leadership Quotes: How Theories/Models Explain Them **A Leader must be a Master of the Present Moment **When Something is Accomplished under A True Leader, the Leader is Barely Visible and They All Say ‘We Did It’ **Let Him Lead Who is Led by his Bright Heart—Sirshree Tejparkhi **He Who Does not Know How to Follow Does not Know **How to Lead . . . (Mahatma Gandhi) **A True Leader makes Leaders Not Followers (Tom Peters) **Is the Desire to be a Leader a Self-Contradiction? **Servant Leader **Leadership by Example **Everyone is a Leader **Case Studies
24. Developing Yogyathwa Systematically 192
**Resolving that Yogyathwa is Life Fulfilling **A Systematic Compilation on Practices that Enhance Yogyathwa **Self-Restraint **Following the Do’s **Yogasana **Pranayama **Withdrawal from The Senses **Concentration **Meditation **Moksha/Nirvana/Self-Realization **Conclusion
25. The Interfaces You Can Use to Develop Yogyathwa 200
**When Traditions are Based on Wisdom **Transforming Yogic Skills in Various Stages of Life **Various Influences Used to Transfer Yogic Skills **In Conclusion
Appendix A: Karma Yoga 211
**The Overall Objective of Yoga **Karma Yoga **Summary
Appendix B: Bhagavad Gita: On the Same Work Being Mediocre or Excellent 216
**The Bhagavad Gita, an Insightful Observation into Human Nature **My Team Perform at Mediocrity or Excellence? **The ‘Me’ Used Here is Impersonal **To Be Devotional or Mindful of Results **Motivating People to Work in Industries
Appendix C: The Suzerainty and Leadership Matrix with Details 221
**Higher Resolution with More Divisions
CHAPTER 3
(Sample Chapter)
YOGYATHWA: SIMPLE ACCESS TO POWERFUL LEADERSHIP
For Creating the world’s best MBA
Listen to Mr. TN Seshan explaining what must go
into training leaders in the business arena.(Click the following youtube link)
Yogyathwa is practical to-do book on
transformational leadership. It takes a lay-man’s view of a profound
truth and uses the developed framework to use time honoured ideas
and techniques, of the traditional sub-continent culture, to enhance
leadership at all levels.
Yogyathwa is based on ancient Indian Wisdom
Deep wisdom has sustained civilization for thousands of years in the Indian sub-continent.
And that wisdom also has a take on what genuine leadership is all about
...
Prof Bala explains how the wisdom in the
Bhagwad Gita connects with Transformational Leadership and there
fore explains how India can become a Super Power or 'Vishwaguru' as
leaders otherwise call it.
Material Success or Spiritual good? or
Both?! Corporate leader and former CEO Enfield India, Vinod Dasari,
pinpoints what he admires about the book... neither spiritual
pursuit nor material success is looked down upon by the authors he
says...
The Dalai Lama believes that India has
great treasures to offer. Yogyathwa is a book that reaches out into
that wisdom and connects it to modern thought; much as the Dalai
Lama wished for. One can rest assured that Yogyathwa does make that
connection
Understanding real Transformational leadership
Transformational through experience and through
first principles
...
# Transformational Leadership is best
experienced rather than explained. Prof Bala draws from his vast
experience to show how the majesty of an elephant is a good mascot
to communicate that feeling of genuine leadership.
# Starlet and socio-political activist Gautami
Tadimalla rightly figures out how Yogyathwa, which in turn is linked
to Dharma, is about how each and every individual is able to handle
his own affairs at excellence.
# leadership has Skill, Knowledge and
Spiritual dimensions. All dimensions must be addressed to get a
holistic view of Transformational Leadership. Yogyathwa addresses
the that vital dimension which makes or breaks a Transformational
Leader.
The Motivation involved is not ‘need’ based
# Vishwaguru has its own unique method for
motivation, it inverts the traditional use of Maslow's Hierarchy.
...
Motivating through Dharma makes people act from a place of feeling
completeness...
The book adds unique flavour to management
literature
# Mr N Vittal, illustrious former CVC of India
has forwarded the book Yogyathwa. He had some important
...
messages for his audiences and potential readers of the book. This is a crisp
version of what he highlighted
6. A quick look… What is this book Yogyathwa
all about…
A tribute to the Personalities involved
# TN Seshan as seen through N Vittal's eyes. A rich
...
and heart felt tribute.
5. Prof Bala Balachandran explains how the
authors of "Yogyathwa" were constituted into a team
11. The book is dedicated, on the part of the
third author, to his parents Angelus and Laeticia. The release of
the book happened when they had just completed 50 years of
togetherness.
Book Publisher: Pearsons
Author: Bala V Balachandran; T N Seshan; Nixon Fernando
No of Pages: 225
Price: Paper back Rs399/- (Kindle Rs252/-)
I.S.B.N: 978-93-325-4376-8
Availability: Get your copy here or click on this link
“This Book is ably designed to be a landmark in the management literature of the 21st century.”
------N Vittal , IAS (Rtd.), Former CVC of India
Bala V Balachandar, Padma Shri, is J.L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Information Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. USA and also founder, Chairman and Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India
T N Seshan,(Late) was Former Chief Election Commissioner of India and Former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India.
Nixon Fernando, former Lecturer, Great Lakes Institute of Management was also Course Head MIT-SOG, Pune and was Lecturer, National Defence Academy, Pune.
What peole have said...
"This (book) is the essence of the Bhagwad Gita that has been condensed by the authors..."
"Victor Hugo said, ‘nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come’. So far as India’s unique contribution to the world--Yoga or Yogyathwa--is concerned, it can definitely be said that this is an idea whose time has come."
-----Mr. N Vittal IAS - Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner
Leadership need not always be about leading a team, it should be applied on an individual level as well. Take control of your life, delegate responsibilities to everyone around ... according to their abilities. It is important to realize that you are a leader.
-----Ms. Gautami Tadimalla - Indian Film Actress
In today's role I guess Kama and Artha takes centre stage and Dharma and moksha gets relegated but this book does not belittle kama and moksha but emphasises the need for leaders to pursue kama and moksha with a sense of Dharma instilled into it
-----Mr. Vinod Dasari - Managing Director – Ashok Leyland
And I am glad that this book provides food for thought for people to become role models as leaders and not imitate some of the bogus leaders that we have.
-----Mr. T S Krishna Murthy IAS - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India
This is a book where people have done that(lead) and then shared their experience. It is a great opportunity for all entrepreneurs, start-up peoples and young people in India to read and be successful in life. If you open the first page and read it, it says ‘Simple access to powerful leadership’. Go through that, and become a powerful leader and build a strong and successful India.
-----Mr. Manikandan Thangaratham, Director – Kindle Devices
Leadership isn’t something that you earn, it is something that you learn, adopt and adapt. I assure that one who reads this book will look at their job or work at an organization in a more different and positive way.”
-----Prof. Bala V Balachandran - Author
Click here for a review that appeared in Deccan Chronicle
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book is about transformational leadership, but unlike others most other books in the realm of leadership studies this book studies leadership from first principles (pertaining to fundamentals of human metaphysical nature). The book brings out precious gems from India’s ancient roots and presents it in a global arena to further the aim of developing credible leadership. It comes out of the “Great Lakes Institute of Management”, an institution which, in a short time, has made a global name in the fields of Management, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. And the book is true to the School’s tagline “Global Mindset, Indian Roots”. The origin of the book, in Prof Bala's own words: "I said, ‘even if he (Mr. Seshan) cannot give his time etc., Nixon, you must pick his brain, I will also pick his brain, Let us consolidate all of that'. And that is exactly what (the book) Yogwathwa is all about,"
Spectacular authorship: The book is spearheaded by the Founder Dean and Global Management Guru, Prof Bala V Balachander, and has the Legend of the Indian Election Commission Mr. TN Seshan as one of the authors. Both have massive experience in leadership. The book emerges, amongst other things, from their immense experience and wise insight. ... The third author Nixon Fernando has lectured at the cradle of military leadership, the National Defence Academy, Pune for Ten years besides other places.
Definition of Yogyathwa: In the Release function Prof Bala described the meaning of 'Yogyathwa' as follows: "It is about good, better and best: Yoga, yogyatha and Yogyathwa. Yoga is a disciplined way of doing things were the mind body and soul probably are in unison so that you can be more productive. There are all kinds of ways (yoga is practiced), commercial ways also. Then at the next level came yogyatha. Yogyatha means capabilities, skill sets, talent, other kinds of knowledge, interacting; all of them combined. So if you want to be a CEO or a Leader, (you can ask) ‘what Yogyatha (competence) does he have?’ That is were yogyatha came. But that is not enough. Yoga, the discipline thing, everybody practices it. As for the second, even if you have all the skill sets, you are not a leader. There is something more that is required to make you a leader. And that is what is Yogyathwa; good, better, best. Yogyathwa is essentially an embodiment of all of the first and on top of that all of the second and more; putting others ahead of you. I always say: ‘If your ego is bigger than your logo, then you go".
Basics of Transformational Leadership: What is it that distinguishes managers, bosses and leaders? Hitler was a leader in his own right and so was Gandhi, and yet we know that they were completely opposite in impact; what is it that definitely draws the line between the two? Do good leaders have to sacrifice excellence or is it their other nature? And most of all is leadership in-born in a few or is it a universal phenomenon? These questions are addressed squarely in the book and the link between theory and practice is sought to be established in it. And all this is sought to be done by exploring the basic nature of humans… rather their basic spiritual nature and therefore explores the concept of leadership from first principles.
Power of Transformational Leadership: Gandhiji had no money, no government, no army—nothing to tempt the huge masses of India to listen to his calling, and still he had such huge impact… What is the true nature of power that he wielded? And is it available to the average student of management? How is ‘yogyathwa’ connected with this power that he wielded?
Practical application: The book also shows that leadership can be practically enhanced without needing to understand theory in all its depth; it is not necessary for someone to know how a computer is built to be able to use it. As such, the book introduces the reader to many techniques that the ancient Indian sages used to enhance leadership in their wards.
Who will benefit? This is also ideal as a text book for finishing schools that focus on enhancing leadership related knowledge and abilities in their participants. It is also a book which teachers, mentors and coaches must refer so that they can benefit even younger students. For Indologists it is a must read. And all those who seek to find some common ground between science and spirituality will find the ideas promising. It is great value add to any collection on leadership and a reference book for all students of leadership.
BOOK RELEASE
From left:
Ms. Gautami Tadimalla - Indian Film Actress,
Mr. T S Krishna Murthy IAS - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India,
Prof. Bala V Balachandran - Author,
Mr. N Vittal IAS - Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner,
Mr. Vinod Dasari - Managing Director – Ashok Leyland
Mr. Manikandan Thangaratham, Director – Kindle Devices
Mr. Nixon Fernando, Author
the distinguised audience, amongst others, included Mr. Mohan Lakhamraju, Vice – Chairman, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Mr. Gandhirajan IPS - ADGP, Mr. Sunil Kumar – Centre Head, World Bank, Chennai and Mr. Sankaran V, Director at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Former General Manager ONGC
Click here to check out the video from Youtube presenting highlights of the event.
FOREWORD
N Vittal
Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India,
This Book, by the eminent and singularly outstanding civil servant T.N. Seshan IAS[Retd], and the equally legendary academic Bala Balachandran, who has built up the Great Lakes Institute of Management Chennai into a reputed institution in an incredibly short span of time, along with their competent associate Fernando, is ably designed to be a landmark in the management literature of the 21st century. ...
Yogyathwa is a significant new word freshly minted by the authors to cover the unique concept of yoga articulated in Indian heritage of tradition and literature, scripture and culture for more than seven thousand years. It is certainly not one more of the umpteen words of jargon that clutter management literature today. Yoga at the most elementary level means union and inherent harmony. This in itself confers strength and insures against any possibility of internal conflict, waste and the resulting weakness. In short it is synonymous with POWER.
This concept Yoga or Yogyathwa has been articulated by many thinkers and spiritual teachers in Indian heritage covering a very wide spectrum of life… In other words, it is a meta concept. It is not confined to one specific or limited area of life. In short it is a whole way of life itself. The authors have tried to highlight how the concept of Yogyathwa can be equally effective in tackling the problems of any organisation or situation today and provide simple and powerful access to great leadership.
As mentioned earlier, Yoga represents union or coming together of forces and principles. This power of the union is more than that of the power of uniformity. Swami Aurobindo pointed out this especially and said that what we should aim for is unity and not uniformity. Dictators like Hitler choose the path of imposing uniformity and consequently failed in the long run. On the contrary, this power of unity is what it is because unity arises when people buy into a concept and own it.
The book covers this unique aspect of Yogyathwa very well and explores it with the Bhagvat Gita as the pivot… Bhagawat Gita has rightly been called as the quintessence of Vedas, Upanishads and Vedanta. In this exercise, the authors cover the entire spectrum of management of business and all types of organisations, as well as the entire spectrum of public life and governance. The classic frame of reference, for this exercise is the conversation between Yudishtra, Krisnna and Bhishma in the Shanthiparva of the Mahabharatha, one of the two great epics of India. The other of course is Ramayana. The whole issue of Raja dharma, Apat Dharma and Moksha dharma are discussed in this episode. These conversations provide a basis of the concept of Yogyathwa elaborated in this book.
The declared objective of Great Lakes Institute of Management is “GLOBAL MINDSET INDIAN ROOTS”… This book articulates this concept very powerfully by invoking the concept of Yogyathwa as the basic unifying principle. As I see it, Power is the key vital word of the whole book. The ultimate message of this book comes through, when the concept of Yogyathwa is demonstrated to be the sheer force of alignment or focus resulting in strength of the union
There is yet an important third element, namely, the ethical principle. The ultimate professionalism comes from a unique mix of skill, competence and ethics. Detachment from the results and performing one’s duty competently is the central message of the Gita. Such a powerful combination is, in the ultimate analysis, simple, because there remains no doubt about the course of action. After all, the entire Bhagvat Gita was an exercise in finding a way out in the highly confusing situation where there were powerful arguments on either course of action and the choice that were made, and in making the choice the concept of ethics had to be supreme; and this has been provided for. The essence of this Yogyathwa is reiterated in this present book, and the book also explores it through various exercises which have been systematically articulated in its chapters. At the end of course, any student exposed to this book, would have not only have understood in his mind the concept but also have imbibed the values. He will pass the ultimate test. He will be able to walk the talk, when it comes to the principle of Yogyathwa and become a powerful and an ethically successful leader.
The essence of yoga has been distilled by Lord Krishna in Bhagavat Gita, which in turn is considered as a unique document. And it is not surprising that each of the 18 chapters of the Gita has been described individually as yoga.
The concept of yoga can be applied in different areas, and from the management point of view the focus is generally on the 2nd Chapter of the Gita, which in turn also talks about Karma Yoga. The Indian Administrative Service, which is the premier service for governance in the country, has the motto taken from this chapter of Gita – yoga karma kaushalam – efficiency in work is yoga. Sprinkled throughout the Bhagvat Gita are instances of the principles of effective leadership and management. At least some of them are worth recording here.
The last sloka of the Gita focuses on not only the need for professional competence but also the need for observing the right way of conduct or dharma.
yatra yogesvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhutir
dhruva nitir matir mama
Where the Yogesvara Krishna (represents the divine vision) and Arjuna (the professional archer) combined together, there is wealth - sri, success – vijay and justice - niti. But this sloka requires further elaboration:
After all, Lord Krishna is seen as poorna purushotham. In other words, Vishnu (Lord Krishna is an ‘avatar’ of Vishnu) is the supreme God and he is the protector and creator of the universe. The book also refers to the concept of purusha and prakruti, Prakruti being nature and purusha representing not merely the male principle but the supreme principle of power. Lord Vishnu takes many avatars and these avatars are with a purpose. Whenever dharma is threatened, he comes to the world to restore dharma; more importantly to protect those who observe dharma and punish those who are practicing adharma.
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata
Abhythanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham
Paritranaya sadhunang vinashay cha dushkritam
Dharmasangsthapanarthay sambhabami yuge yuge
is what he says in the Bhagvat Gita.
Among the avatars Rama avatara and Krisha avatara are important. Krishna, as we saw earlier, is called poorna purushotam, whereas Rama represents the concept of mariyada purushotam. The concept of mariyada purushotam can, from the management point of view, be interpreted as perfection within the bounds restricted by human limitations. While the Gita recognizes this—that as humans all of us are subjected to restrictions—it shows that it is possible to achieve perfection within this limitation. In fact, the essential message of Gita is that one should strive to observe dharma – righteous conduct and achieve perfection/competence in one’s skill. That is why we go back to the last sloka which we are examining—of the Bhagvat Gita. When Lord Krishna, representing poorna purushotam— which is perfection in itself—combines with a perfect professional like Arjuna; then there is success and wealth and above all justice.
Let us not forget that the entire Bhagvat Gita is presented with Arjuna, a competent professional, getting the best advice from the Lord himself. He receives it in the battle field when he is in a great sense of confusion, fighting emotions, and not knowing the right way to go. Lord Krishna reminds him that as a professional his focus should be on performing his dharma and duty and he should not be too concerned about the results, because if he was so much focused on the results, then, to the same extent he will not be able to perform the duty, or perform competently.
The basic message of the Gita brings out a number of relevant aspects that are timeless, which any person, who aspires to be a leader, in any field, has to bear in mind. The present book rightly aims at this; it not only articulates the principles but by applying the most imaginative invocation and application of technology and pedagogy skills, the book tries to make the students of Great Lakes imbibe the values.
Mere bookish knowledge is of no use. In fact, mere theoretical knowledge has been ridiculed. There are a number of stories attributed to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa out of which is a story about the vedic pundit asking the boatman whether he had learnt the Vedas, and ultimately realizing that he was in danger of losing his own life because he did not know the simple practical skill of swimming. There are also countless proverbs to this effect, like in Tamil that ‘a gourd drawn on paper will not be able to remove the hunger of a person’.
But how does one imbibe values then?
It is here that the entire mix of case studies, the interaction and exposure to role models and leaders along with their biographies becomes important. While each person recognizes that no two situations are similar, by a process of intellectual osmosis and repeated exercises and action research, one case still learn the values.
The ultimate test is in walking the talk. The book itself contains examples of great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and a number of others. But in this context of yoga and application of that concept in difficult situations, did we have such leaders? The answer is a resounding YES,
In politics, based on my experience as a civil servant, two leaders come to my mind in the context of Yogyathwa. They are Chakravarthy Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji, a great leader in the freedom struggle and P.V Narasimha Rao the prime Minister of India who introduced the economic liberalization policies in the 1990s. They demonstrated the concept of powerful leadership through Yogyathwa.
The superb biography of P.V. Narasimha Rao by Vinay Sitapati titled ‘Half-lion’ published this year is a must read for any student of Yogyathwa. P.V.N, had to physically operate in a politically weak situation and in fact, ignominy. Taking over the leadership of the country at a time when it was financially almost bankrupt, he used the financial crisis as an opportunity to bring economic reforms and getting the country out of the permit license raj era. And even when the crisis became manageable, he continued the thrust towards bringing in a liberal economy which would unleash the potent spirit of exercise of the will of the people. He was a unique person in that he had been a lifelong scholar and a person who was exposed to the wide range of deep literature of Indian tradition. He was able to invoke the values at the appropriate times and show how the combination of ethics and supreme skill in political management can lead to long term benefit in terms of good governance of the country.
C. Rajagopalachari, who was a colleague and fellow patriot along with Mahatma Gandhi, held high positions of authority including the position of the Governor General of India. In those early days had the foresight to develop a new party on the basis of market oriented liberalism; even when the Indian National Congress and its brand of socialism were all pervasive. He had not only imbibed the values of sanathana dharma but also throughout his life, demonstrated that Yogyathwa can enable a person to perform the leadership function effectively; irrespective of the formal position of authority one occupies one can make a contribution and provide leadership.
Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents perhaps in himself the very effective and appealing message of Yogyathwa. Thanks to his emergence as the Prime minister of India after the 2014 general elections, the reference to powerful leadership seems to be very appropriate. Today’s media, while describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repeatedly invoke the concept of powerful leadership.
Yoga has many dimensions, and starting with the purely physical one of ashtanga yoga, which controls the body, the ancient Roman ideal of mensano in corporasano (latin for ‘Sound mind in a sound body’) was achieved in practice by our forefathers, by the unique development of yoga. Effectiveness of yoga as a very powerful tool for controlling the mind and disciplining oneself was superbly demonstrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his visit to the United States in 2014. He was strictly observing, in those days, the fasting required for the navratras. Nevertheless, there was no hint of any lack of energy, enthusiasm or vigor in his stunning performances in the mega events like the address to the NRIs in the Madison Square Gardens and in the one-to-one interaction with President Obama.
This brings me to another happy aspect of this book; in a special way the timing of its publication is superb! Yoga perhaps got the best recognition from 2014 when Narendra Modi achieved the tectonic shift in the political scene in India by achieving an electoral victory of majority in the Lok Sabha. The remarkable performance, on the political level, for a party like BJP, which was not present in nearly one third of a country, is a miracle; but this remarkable political achievement itself is another demonstration of the basic theme in this book which is focused on the effectiveness of yoga as leadership principle.
The benefits of yoga are today universally recognized and one of the many achievements of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been persuading the United Nations to readily accept observing 21st of June as International Yoga Day. This shows that the world has come to recognize the distinct contribution to human development made by India.
Victor Hugo said, ‘nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come’. So far as India’s unique contribution to the world Yoga or Yogyathwa is concerned it can definitely be said that this is an idea whose time has come. The authors deserve kudos for coming up with a right book at the right time; they must be congratulated for coming up with this new dimension to the management literature on the unique and vital subject of leadership.
There is another aspect of Yogyathwa which needs to be highlighted and which is not only mentioned in the Bhagvat Gita but also in other Indian heritage literature. This is the concept of the gunas. These are qualities of a person or the basic temperament or attitude to life. Lord Krishna identifies three basic gunas of people. These are, rajo guna, tamo guna and sattva guna and explains how no person can escape behaving according to his guna. Yogyathwa can make a difference.
The concept of yoga can be looked at as a continuous interplay of different forces and an exercise in mastering, to begin with, oneself by disciplining the mind and the body. Self-discipline, in turn, is the triggering point for a virtuous cycle of behaviour and this internal consistency in itself gives tremendous strength. Wherever there have been contradictions internally, there have been disasters—extreme cases too like the psychologists recognize as multiple personality disorder. There is another aspect: it is equally important to remember that mere skill and competence cannot save a person if there is lack of integrity. Integrity becomes very much a part of dharma; and Yogyathwa, as a construct, brings together all the elements relating to skill, the type of people concerned, the need for adjusting action to the situation and all the time achieving a balance between competence and the right values.
It is interesting that the questions of success and failure or hate and love have all been resolved and the concept of respecting all lives and basic principles of Yogyathwa are not contained only in the Bhagvat Gita, which in turn is the quintessence of all the Upanishads and the Vedas. Vedenta itself is beautifully condensed by Prof Parthasarathy who says it means Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha. When an individual is concerned, he must strive for liberation or perfection, and when it comes to a society, the society should try to do the best it can for the world. In fact, Paropakaram Idam Shareeram is for the welfare of others. The concept of social capital and corporate social responsibility all arise from this basic message of the yoga of treating the entire world as one family - Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
Keeping an open mind and considering that there could be other points of view, it is very important as emphasized in the Rig Veda: Aa no Bhadrraha Kritavo yantu Vishvata. An inherently leading and healthy respect for all points of view has been a unique Indian concept thanks to the tradition going back to more than 7000 years to the time of Ramayana, which is also reflected in this Book.
With the focus on Yogyathwa as the core theme, and reflecting the message of India’s heritage of thinking, Great Lakes has, through this book, created a forum where its goal of roots in India and global vision, becomes a living reality for every student who passes through the portals of this vibrant institution.
I congratulate the authors once again and I am sure this book will be a landmark in the Management literature of the 21st century.
N VITTAL
IAS (Rtd.)
Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India
Chennai
17.07.2016
PREFACE
Honorable TN Seshan, the mercurial former CEC of India is no ordinary IAS Officer. It requires guts to disqualify a sitting Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh from the National Cabinet and he did it; he did that because it was the right thing to do according to law. Truly the nation has gained immensely from him this upright and honest officer. The students at Great Lakes have had him as a full time faculty and have gained from their interaction with him. And my desire has always been that his phenomenal works and thoughts must continue to influence not only the students from Great Lakes but all students for posterity. When a proposal came for intellectual work to be done by him in the context of the leadership, there could have been no greater person or opportunity and with that the team for the book fell into place. ...
Great Lakes has the tag line “Global mind set: Indian roots” because of the conviction that there is immense wisdom in what the ancient Indian thinkers passed down and because this can bring great succor to the whole world. It is an all-embracing philosophy and is truly global in outlook. Despite all its visible flaws, and beyond these flaws, lies a treasure trove of wisdom; and that wisdom can indeed be accessed by a scientific and rational thinker…
The team considered several proposals for approach to the book and finally zeroed in on a representation of the core aspect of leadership brought forth by the modern day sage Sirshree Tejparkhi of the Tej Gyan Foundation. Building around this core representation and borrowing from a whole lot of wise men across the world, a draft gradually emerged, and after several iterations and back and forth between the authors this book has emerged. An outcome of the insights and skills of all three authors, it offers a unique and path breaking outlook on Transformational Service Leadership (TSL)
The task was not easy. If leadership is a science a skill and an art, then Transformational Service Leadership is what it is mostly because of the art component; it has to do with human creativity, human feelings and the human spirit with a service mentality. And this necessarily meant that the authors must take on the metaphysical head on blending the Art of Leadership with the Science of Management.
How does one bridge that gap between science and spirituality to the satisfaction of both domains? It is a tough ask, but if that is where the secrets of transformational leadership are hidden then that is where we must search and investigate.
What has resulted is a bold analysis into the metaphysical as seen from a scientific perspective. We see no reason for conflict between science and spirituality. With a little effort one can navigate the difficult topic and come out with clear reasoning and viable action plans. This is a minefield alright, but with due diligence the arguments have been presented in a way that should lay out the truth for the genuine inquirer.
The elephant emerged as the apt metaphor to represent the collection of ideas. A Majestic Elephant takes on its challenges head on, that is the spirit… if its parts are represented by the goals which leadership hopefuls must seek to attain, the Majestic Leadership Elephant is that which will make the transformational difference. When the world looks to India for a Service Leadership, the elephant has the best analogy for the same.
The book was pitched at the average MBA College student or student with an interest in Leaders, but the authors made sure that the others who can benefit from this insight are not excluded from the loop. Any individual who has had a basic education can access and understand the thought processes that are represented here. Those who are not interested in academic rigor can conveniently skip out the parts which deal with the reasoning behind the findings but still find a lot of material to work upon. The Indian civilization and history offers many techniques that can be used to enhance leadership without bothering to really going into the nitty-gritties. After all, you don’t need to learn electronics to operate a radio…
Many of the term used in the book has Indian origins, this has its own advantages and disadvantages as well… For those who are not familiar with the terms, the authors have endeavored to explain the terms in the best way possible in such a way that the reading of this book will suffice, however the rich traditions of India have techniques and skills hidden in them which an outsider would need to make considerable effort to internalize. On the other hand the Indians who are familiar with the terms used in this book will realize that they have to unlearn considerably and look at the familiar terms in a new light; however they will be facilitated, through their traditions, to benefit from the latent skills and techniques taught to them in their families… The book tries its best to strike the right balance. In these days we look for a complete characterisation in one word, a Mathura, we have YOGYATHWA for Leadership.
As such, this book has something for everyone. It has been designed in such a way that a teacher or a parent who is nurturing young ones will be first able to understand the inner mechanizations of the human self; from that understanding they will be able to groom their wards appropriately.
What has finally emerged is a product that we as authors are proud of. That it will go to improve the quality of leadership in the future is the prayer with which the book is being released. We need to awaken the Majestic Leadership Elephant in our students so that they go on to make the change that we so much desire…
God Bless the students in pursuing Service Leadership!!!
Bala V Balachandar
CONTENTS
Preface
Foreword
About the Authors
Introduction
Section 1: Mulling on the Definitions
1. Anti-Definitions
**Coding and Decoding of the Meaning of Words Must be Identical **What the Authors Mean ...
2. The Confusing Synonyms of Leadership
**Is the Vocabulary Related to Leadership Wide Enough? **There is a Critical Need to Resolve **Trying to Resolve It **The Pursuit of Leadership
3. A Complete Leader
**A Holistic View on Leadership is Important **A Picture to Capture Seven Ideas of Leadership
Section 2: The Core Premises of Leadership
4. The Common Soul Theory of Leadership 19
**Introduction **The Overall Frame-work of the Common Soul Theory of Leadership **Is This a Discovery or an Invention? **When a Student Searches for Evidence **A Consolation Even for those Who Don’t Get Evidence **Summary **In Conclusion
5. The Chief Attribute of a Leader: Yogyathwa 34
**The Common Soul **The Chief Task in Leadership **Common Soul and the Natural State **How to Establish Connection Between the Common Soul and the Head **A Yoga Related Word Used in Common Conversation **The Induction Effect of a Yogi
6. Reasoning Out the Metaphysical Truths in Leadership Discussions 42
**The Question of Being Rational **Leadership has Aesthetic Content **Limiting Studies to the Material Sphere is Like This **Should I Sacrifice ‘Rationality’ for This? **The Process of Inquiry that is Rational **Models **Establishing Theories Through Proofs **Pursuit of Truth **Coming Back to the Common Soul Theory of Leadership
7. The Technical Nuances of Yoga and Yogyathwa 51
**Pursuing the Path of Knowledge **The Relative Merits of the Two Paths **The Origins of the Idea of Yoga **The Theory/Model of the Universal Brahman **Benefits of the Theory of the Universal Brahman
Section 3: Suzerainty and its Role in Good Teams
8. Under What Conditions Can I be Called Up for Suzerainty? 63
**A Conceptual Base for Studying Suzerainty **Basic Postulates on the ‘Emergence of Suzerains’ **To be a Suzerain
9. Who Ends Up Becoming the Suzerain?
**Certain Factors Up the Chance for Becoming a Suzerain **Dormant Suzerainty **The Exact Nature of the Agenda and the Members of the Group Competent in that Particular Agenda **Skilled and Experienced Administrators and Managers **The Preferred Organizational Structure for Meeting that Agenda and the Suzerainty Style of the Suzerain **Selection and Promotion Systems Established within Groups **The Presence of True Leaders in the Group **The Actual Dynamics and Drama of the Situation at Hand
10. When Groups Search for Good Suzerains 80
**Organizations Want Good Suzerains **The Right Way to Say What is a Good Suzerain **Selection of Good Suzerains Infused into Life Culture
11. As a Suzerain to a Group, What are My Prime Concerns? 86
**Four Point Focus for Suzerains **Four Steps for Pre-existing Organizations **Failing to Communicate Agenda Related Information **The Team Perspective Has a Three Point Focus
12. The Fundamental Ingredient for Success of Organizations 93
**The Three Point Focus of Organizations **The Chance of Failure **Driving a Positive Spiral through Excellence
Section 4 Getting to the Heart of Excellence
13. A Study of Excellence as Evolved in Modern Thought 103
**The Disciplines that Have Inquired into Excellence **Operations Theory **Motivation Theory **The Metaphysical is Important
14. Motivation and Excellence According to Ancient Indians 109
**Impactful Ancient Indian Insights and Models **The Four Impeller Model of Human Nature **The Variance between the Materialistic and the Spiritual **Proof for the Theory **Why this Four-Impeller Model Needs Further Analysis by a Student of Leadership **Need for a ‘Performer’s’ View **Each One Takes his Own Call
15. Understanding the Nuances of Dharma 118
**The Study of Dharma Needs the Attention it Deserves **So What is Dharma? And How is it Relevant to Today’s Suzerain? **First Component: The Supreme Self **Second Component: Rule of Law **Third Component: A Sense of Duty That is Not **Fourth Component: Era Specificity
16. Defining a Leader Vis-à-Vis Yogyathwa and Dharma
**The Belief System of the Suzerain Who Understands Yogyathwa and Dharma **How a Leader Encounters an Organization **Dharma as an Imparted Feeling **The Primary Role of the Leader in Dharma **Summary
17. The Metaphysical Models and their Scientific Validation 135
**Retracing Back to the Relevant ‘Models’ **The Four Impeller Model of Motivation **The Common Soul Theory of Leadership **The Model of the Universal Brahman **Dharma and Its Four Components **Important Conclusions from the Models **Credibility of these Theories/Models
Section 5: Pursuit of Excellence Through Yogyathwa and Dharma
18. Usefulness of the Theories/Models to a Leader in Practical Life 143
**Suzerains Please Note **Each Generation of Humans has a Right to Choose How It Lives **The Start Point has Always been Awareness, Understanding and Belief **Some Important Aspects of How the Learning was Applied in Society **In Conclusion
19. Dharma of the Present Age: With Special Reference to Companies 152
**Spiritual Terms need not to be Put-offs in Rational Analyses **Dharma Explains a Wide Range of Observations on Leadership **Dharma in the Context of Companies’ Contribution to Society **Dharma for this Age
20. Why CSR and Ethics are Important for a Company 161
**The Company Footprint and CSR **Ethics
Section 6: Unleash the Leadership Potential
21. The Suzerainty and Leadership Matrix: Understanding were We Stand 167
**A Map to Track Leadership Journeys **The Suzerainty-Leadership Matrix **Mohammad Ali Jinnah **Mahatma Gandhi
22. The Journey of the Complete Leader 174
**The Majestic Leadership Elephant **The Journey of a Leader **A Prayer from the Authors
23. Difficult Leadership Signposts Simplified 179
**Leadership Quotes: How Theories/Models Explain Them **A Leader must be a Master of the Present Moment **When Something is Accomplished under A True Leader, the Leader is Barely Visible and They All Say ‘We Did It’ **Let Him Lead Who is Led by his Bright Heart—Sirshree Tejparkhi **He Who Does not Know How to Follow Does not Know **How to Lead . . . (Mahatma Gandhi) **A True Leader makes Leaders Not Followers (Tom Peters) **Is the Desire to be a Leader a Self-Contradiction? **Servant Leader **Leadership by Example **Everyone is a Leader **Case Studies
24. Developing Yogyathwa Systematically 192
**Resolving that Yogyathwa is Life Fulfilling **A Systematic Compilation on Practices that Enhance Yogyathwa **Self-Restraint **Following the Do’s **Yogasana **Pranayama **Withdrawal from The Senses **Concentration **Meditation **Moksha/Nirvana/Self-Realization **Conclusion
25. The Interfaces You Can Use to Develop Yogyathwa 200
**When Traditions are Based on Wisdom **Transforming Yogic Skills in Various Stages of Life **Various Influences Used to Transfer Yogic Skills **In Conclusion
Appendix A: Karma Yoga 211
**The Overall Objective of Yoga **Karma Yoga **Summary
Appendix B: Bhagavad Gita: On the Same Work Being Mediocre or Excellent 216
**The Bhagavad Gita, an Insightful Observation into Human Nature **My Team Perform at Mediocrity or Excellence? **The ‘Me’ Used Here is Impersonal **To Be Devotional or Mindful of Results **Motivating People to Work in Industries
Appendix C: The Suzerainty and Leadership Matrix with Details 221
**Higher Resolution with More Divisions
CHAPTER 3
(Sample Chapter)
A COMPLETE LEADER
Chapter Objectives
After studying this chapter you will be able to:
1. Get a bird's eye view of the seven aspects of leadership that a student must focus upon, understand and practice for maximum gain. ...
A Holistic View on Leadership is Important
The answer to the question ‘who is a leader?’ is not straightforward because it involves a dimension of man that does not come under the domain of science. That is, there is the art dimension of leadership which has aesthetic content. Or in other words, one can surely say that leadership is in the realm of the metaphysical. And studying metaphysical aspects requires the introduction to some concepts that may be uncommon or unfamiliar to many.
Our purpose is to understand what the essential nature of leadership is and how it is linked with things and ideas that can be practically used in day-to- day life. These ideas and concepts must assist in developing the personality of a leader and must also help organizations chart a path, progressing along which they can maximize the benefits from suzerainty and leadership.
A Picture to Capture Seven Ideas of Leadership
In pursuit of this holistic picture, we shall focus on the following seven ideas in the book. Hopefully, these will be able to encapsulate the arguments and learning presented in this book, so that it will assist the reader/student in (a) understanding the issue in depth, (b) in motivating him to work on it and (c) in inspiring him to take up the recommended course of action suggested by the wise. The seven attributes to which the student/reader must pay attention to are the following:
1 Be: COMMON SOUL
2 Practice: Yogyathwa
3 Attain self sufficiency: SUZERAINTY NEEDS
4 Take responsibility: TEAM NEEDS
5 Focus and facilitate: EXCELLENCE
6 Uphold: DHARMA
7 Wisely choose: SUZERAINTY-LEADERSHIP MATRIX PATH
Understanding all these aspects is important in order to maximize the gains from this course on leadership. As we go along we shall not only understand the various aspects, but also relate them to each other. They can be conveniently memorized using the following diagram . . . .
The Majestic Leadership Elephant
The Reader must endeavor to constantly relate to this diagram as he makes progress when reading the book. The understanding of each aspect will gradually develop as we move along; sometimes sequentially and sometimes in parallel. Hopefully, at the end one may see himself riding piggy back on it, assured that all aspects are absorbed into him and the majestic leadership elephant that he is riding on is sturdy and headed in the right direction.
After studying this chapter you will be able to:
1. Get a bird's eye view of the seven aspects of leadership that a student must focus upon, understand and practice for maximum gain. ...
A Holistic View on Leadership is Important
The answer to the question ‘who is a leader?’ is not straightforward because it involves a dimension of man that does not come under the domain of science. That is, there is the art dimension of leadership which has aesthetic content. Or in other words, one can surely say that leadership is in the realm of the metaphysical. And studying metaphysical aspects requires the introduction to some concepts that may be uncommon or unfamiliar to many.
Our purpose is to understand what the essential nature of leadership is and how it is linked with things and ideas that can be practically used in day-to- day life. These ideas and concepts must assist in developing the personality of a leader and must also help organizations chart a path, progressing along which they can maximize the benefits from suzerainty and leadership.
A Picture to Capture Seven Ideas of Leadership
In pursuit of this holistic picture, we shall focus on the following seven ideas in the book. Hopefully, these will be able to encapsulate the arguments and learning presented in this book, so that it will assist the reader/student in (a) understanding the issue in depth, (b) in motivating him to work on it and (c) in inspiring him to take up the recommended course of action suggested by the wise. The seven attributes to which the student/reader must pay attention to are the following:
1 Be: COMMON SOUL
2 Practice: Yogyathwa
3 Attain self sufficiency: SUZERAINTY NEEDS
4 Take responsibility: TEAM NEEDS
5 Focus and facilitate: EXCELLENCE
6 Uphold: DHARMA
7 Wisely choose: SUZERAINTY-LEADERSHIP MATRIX PATH
Understanding all these aspects is important in order to maximize the gains from this course on leadership. As we go along we shall not only understand the various aspects, but also relate them to each other. They can be conveniently memorized using the following diagram . . . .
The Majestic Leadership Elephant
The Reader must endeavor to constantly relate to this diagram as he makes progress when reading the book. The understanding of each aspect will gradually develop as we move along; sometimes sequentially and sometimes in parallel. Hopefully, at the end one may see himself riding piggy back on it, assured that all aspects are absorbed into him and the majestic leadership elephant that he is riding on is sturdy and headed in the right direction.