A book review on

The GEETA
And the
Art of Successful Management
Written by
Ajanta E Chakravarty

By
Aniket Bothare
MBA B
2010-11
Sinhagad Institute of Management and Computer Application

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 Contents
About Author.......................................................................................................................3
Authors Style / Diction........................................................................................................3
Synopsis...............................................................................................................................3
Why Manage?..................................................................................................................3
Creating Performance......................................................................................................4
Karma - WORK...............................................................................................................4
Vision and Leadership.....................................................................................................4
Bhakti’ – Devotion...........................................................................................................5
The Self-Actualized Manager..........................................................................................5
Value Systems..................................................................................................................5
‘Moksha’ – Liberation.....................................................................................................5
Summary .........................................................................................................................6
Why do you recommend this book?....................................................................................6
This book will help which individuals and why?................................................................6

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About Author
Ajanta E. Chakravarty is a management consultant and is the Director of the Centre for
Cross-Cultural Communication. Her field of interest is the exploration of modern wisdom
in ancient Indian texts. She is widely traveled and has lectured extensively in India, the
US, France and Poland. She writes extensively on management issues in national
newspapers.
Dr. Ajanta Chakravarty, is a Ph.D. in Public Administration. She is a trainer of repute
who has conducted management workshops for a number of organizations in India. To
name a few, Infosys, Cadence, Telco, ABB, Modi Xerox, Bechtel, have regularly utilized
her skill to enhance the skills of their employees Dr.Chakravarty has written several
books on management issues. Her book "Gita and the art of Management" has been
published by Harper Collins and has been rated as a "Must read" book for the manager.
Besides being a management consultant, she has initiated several steps in community
development especially focusing on Slum women and street children.

Authors Style / Diction

Ajanta E. Chakravarty writes in very elaborative however in lucid manner. Her writing is
enriched with the impact of classic English literature. Her script about the subject has
come out of contemplation and a deep research. However, the language she uses is
challenging to interpret the meaning.

Synopsis
Why Manage?
• Management deals with the people. Everyone is not brave, valiant, clever and
sensitive. An individual may display varying characteristics of ‘Courage &
Cowardice’, ‘Tolerance & Intolerance’, ‘friendliness & enmity’ under different
circumstances.
• However no matter what the circumstance, the intellectual skill of man enables
him to justify and rationalize his actions by constructing sustentative arguments
in their favor. This is what ARJUNA does.
• This is the example of ‘mental bankruptcy’ to be seen in management through
ages.
• Managers are busy creating smokescreens of excuses for indecisiveness and
nonperformance, how can an organization achieve its objectives??
• The manager is a ‘Sarathi’, the chariot driver. He does not bear weapons or fight
but a great proportion of the warrior’s success depends on the vision, skill and
ability of the sarathi to maneouvre him through the battlefield and take the best
advantage of the various opportunities.
• The warrior is executive and the ‘Sarathi’ is the manager.
• It is the manager who plans, guides, directs and takes the holistic view of the
arena to decide where his executives may operate and how.
• The executive is demoralized, dispirited and refuses to take a action. How does
the leader-manager motivate him?
• This is heart of Geeta, the song of the lord, the ultimate treatise on sound
management.

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Creating Performance
• This chapter is a lucid exposition on how the Lord moves step by step towards
creating performance orientation in a sadly dispirited Arjuna.
• Arjuna has laid down his bow and Arrow. Can he brought back by a mild
admonishment?
• A simple lesson in management:
• Can the problem be solved by the easiest method available, involving minimum
time and effort??
• It becomes imperative of good management to be able to judge the magnitude of
an issue and take remedial measures.
• A gap in the analysis, a shift in the evaluation of from the reality will lead to the
incorrect judgment.
• Arjuna’s duty was to fight. He is warrior of repute. If he does not fight, he will be
reduced to laughing stock.
• The manager is the true ‘sthitapargya’ whose senses are stable, who is focused
towards the fundamental purpose of the enterprise & proceeds towards it through
good times and bad.
• This principle the Lord explains the calm Arjuna and restore him to being a
rational logical warrior who will perform to the best of his ability , come what may

Karma - WORK
• Without work acquisition of knowledge is not possible, relinquishing work is not
the answer.
• Everyone needs to work. Working judiciously, honestly, sincerely and
compassionately creates a thriving economy. This results into prosperity.
• Karma is not the detractor; it raises man towards self actualization, if performed
selflessly.
• Leaders should try to create an environment of understanding mission by
communicating, motivating, and setting personal examples
• The organizations and individuals with selfish motives suffer the agonies of
failure at every turn, and are consigned to the dungeons of tension and
uncertainty, the well known toils of Karma.
• Division of task: Brahma, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra
• The Management performs the functions of conceptualization while executives
operationalise the plan.
• Karma : Right kind of work suited to one’s aptitude,skills, learning &
predespositions
• Akarma: Non performance, inaction
• The Way to God is through the best performance of work but without attachment
to short-term results for self

Vision and Leadership

• The leader guides, motivates. By following robust management principles
himself, he inspires the subordinates as does the Lord.
• The leadership must retain its balance, its ability to think clearly and take far-
seeing action to achieve near-at-hand goals.
• Vision is a distinguishing feature of effective leadership.

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 • Vision is actualized through insight, delving deep into human consciousness in
true search of understanding.
• Three majors:
• Insight to realize
• Examples to motivate
• Flexibility to provide different styles of leadership according to the needs
of people

Bhakti’ – Devotion
• Who is a true devotee? What are the qualities seen in him?
1. He is who is content and keeping his faith steadfast strives ceaselessly to
achieve perfection.
2. He who is impartial clean in body and mind beyond mortal feelings of pain
and pleasure who has abjured all endeavors.

An effective manager performs, follows his duties wherever he be, in whatever

role he is designated to play
If he practices the virtues of selflessness, devotion and impartiality, he is truly the
beloved of God ( a true devotee).

The Self-Actualized Manager

• It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to
become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as
the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one
is capable of becoming.
• The essence of sound management lies in presenting ideas and concepts
concisely and simply to create immediate understanding
• The hallmark of true self-actualized one is who has overcome all baser
motivations and stands on the pinnacle of consciousness

Value Systems
• Three qualities are present in every human being:
• Saatvik: Without a trace of individual interest, selfish gain
• Rajasik: work that brings recognition, praise, benefits to individual alone
(expectations in return)
• Tamasik: No goal, direction, meaning, wrong person without grace and
dignity.
• Different kind of working reflects varied value system.
• Flexibility is the core of sound management

‘Moksha’ – Liberation
• All work that one does is good and leads to perfect peace that is heaven, that is
God, that is ‘Moksha’
• A good manager prepares his subordinate well to perform on his own the tasks
assigned to him. Otherwise, he will have to constantly intervene and even

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 perform subordinate’s task for him. But the innovative communication skills
create greater understanding, & this is the acid test of a good leader.
• Everything has both the elements of good and bad. Looking for the former and
striving for betterment selflessly brings moksha

Summary
• Successful manager needs knowledge of all factors that he has to manage and
all that is beyond, which directly or indirectly impinge on his microenvironment.
• The larger vision encompasses good of mankind and the welfare of the society.
• The real manager in impartial
• Knowledge comes through contemplation and genuine altruism
• Knowledge is not enough. One has to overcome desire and anger.
• It needs a visionary manager to take a dream and convert it into reality.

The Geeta, the divine song of the Lord, encapsulates the ground truth of management
on which thrives the development and prosperity of social structures.
It is eternally relevant, eternally true. Eternally it removes doubts and inspires individuals
to tread steadyfastly the path of duty.

Nasto mohah smritir labdha

Tvatprasadan mayacyuta |
Sthito smi gatasandenah
Karishye vachanam tava ||

Why do you recommend this book?

I believe this book is excellent manifestation of spirituality associated with Management
gamut. While learning advances management techniques, we must remember that the
battle of Mahabharata fought about three thousand years ago has sown the principles of
management. Reading this book provides certainly a new facet to look at Bhagwad-
Geeta.

This book will help which individuals and why?

This book is an attempt to interpret some of the many splendoured glories of the
Bhagwad-Geeta, the context being the realistic management of modern enterprise.
I trust that this book will provide better insight about Bhagwad-Geeta. The principles
stated herein are eternal and immortal. Therefore, this book is useful for every individual.