Management needs those who practice what they preach

“Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow,” says Sri Krishna in the Gita. The visionary leader must be a missionary, extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to help others. “I am the strength of those who are devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness,” says Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita.

The despondency of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita is typically human. Sri Krishna, by sheer power of his inspiring words, changes Arjuna’s mind from a state of inertia to one of righteous action, from the state of what the French philosophers call “anomie” or even alienation, to a state of self-confidence in the ultimate  victory of “dharma” (ethical action.)
When Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri Krishna reminded him of the purpose of his new-found spirit of intense action – not for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and desire, but for the good of many, with faith in the ultimate victory of ethics over unethical actions and of truth over untruth.
Sri Krishna’s advice with regard to temporary failures is, “No doer of good ever ends in misery.” Every action should produce results. Good action produces good results and evil begets nothing but evil. Therefore, always act well and be rewarded.
My purport is not to suggest discarding of the Western model of efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but to tune these ideals to India’s holistic attitude of ” lokasangraha” – for the welfare of many, for the good of many. There is indeed a moral dimension to business life. What we do in business is no different, in this regard, to what we do in our personal lives. The means do not justify the ends. Pursuit of results for their own sake, is  ultimately self-defeating. (“Profit,” said Matsushita-san in another tradition, “is the reward of correct behaviour.” – ed.)

A note on the word “yoga”

Yoga has two different meanings – a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning is “a state of stability and peace and the means or practices which lead to that state.” The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings.

M.P.Bhattathiri

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What scholars say about Holy Gita

“No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is
better loved, in the West, than the Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such
a work demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy
with the theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem it is a symphony in
which God is seen in all things. The Swami does a real service for
students by investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning.
Whatever our outlook may be, we should all be grateful for the labor
that has lead to this illuminating work.”
— Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy University of Southern California

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“The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great
religious civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the
world. The present translation and commentary is another manifestation
of the permanent living importance of the Gita.”
— Thomas Merton, Theologian

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“I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s
scholarly and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most
valuable work for the scholar as well as the layman and is of great
utility as a reference book as well as a textbook. I promptly
recommend this edition to my students. It is a beautifully done book.”
Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton University
“As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of
Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to the
majestic title of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. The great interest that his reading of the Bhagavad-gita
holds for us is that it offers us an authorized interpretation
according to the principles of the Caitanya tradition.”
–Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne University, Paris

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“I have had the opportunity of examining several volumes published by
the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them to be of excellent
quality and of great value for use in college classes on Indian
religions. This is particularly true of the BBT edition and
translation of the Bhagavad-gita.”
–Dr. Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia University

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“If truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there
must be a kind of truth in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, since those who
follow its teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing in the
bleak and strident lives of contemporary people.”
–Dr. Elwin H. Powell Professor of Sociology State University of New York, Buffalo

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“There is little question that this edition is one of the best books
available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada’s translation is an
ideal blend of literal accuracy and religious insight.”
–Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall College

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“The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a
common part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less because it
is alien per se than because we have lacked just the kind of close
interpretative commentary upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta has here
provided, a commentary written from not only a scholar’s but a
practitioner’s, a dedicated lifelong devotee’s point of view.”
–Denise Levertov, Poet

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“The increasing numbers of Western readers interested in classical
Vedic thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By
bringing us a new and living interpretation of a text already known to
many, he has increased our understanding manyfold.”
–Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization University of Chicago

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“The scholarly world is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita has been translated many times,
Prabhupada adds a translation of singular importance with his
commentary.”
–Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of Religions and Director of Libraries Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California

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“Srila Prabhupada’s edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France,
where many hope to become familiar with traditional Indian thought,
beyond the commercial East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since the
time Europeans first penetrated India. “Whether the reader be an adept
of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is
will be extremely profitable. For many this will be the first contact
with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal India.”
–Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences Institute of Political Studies, Paris, France

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“It was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but
large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in
another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same
questions which exercise us”
–Emerson’s reaction to the Gita

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“As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much
grief to see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the
role of gurus and spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very
excited to see the publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Sri A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It will help to stop the terrible
cheating of false and unauthorized ‘gurus’ and ‘yogis’ and will give
an opportunity to all people to understand the actual meaning of
Oriental culture.”
–Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Centre for Oriental Studies, The University of Mexico

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“The Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive one, of the
summaries and systematic spiritual statements of the perennial
philosophy ever to have been done”
–Aldus Huxley

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“It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and beautifully explained work. I don’t know whether to praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gita, its daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility of its ideas. I have never seen any other work on the Gitawith such an important voice and style. . . . It will occupy a significant place in the intellectual and ethical life of modern man for a long time to come.”
–Dr. Shaligram Shukla Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University

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“I can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found
explanations and answers to questions I had always posed regarding the
interpretations of this sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I
greatly admire. If the asceticism and ideal of the apostles which form
the message of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is were more widespread and
more respected, the world in which we live would be transformed into a
better, more fraternal place.”
–Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire, Catholic University of Paris

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“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this
universe everything else seems so superfluous.”
— Albert Einstein

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“When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and
I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and
find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the
midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will
derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.”
–Mahatma Gandhi

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