Observations and feedback - 1st International Conference on Vedic Foundations of Indian Management on April 19-21, 2012 in Haridwar, India in collaboration with Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi and Center for Indic Studies, University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth), USA. The conference was hosted by the University of Patanjali, Haridwar.

1. Unintended Consequences
The New India Awakes to Their Own Western Crises
Maureen Kelsey, Dehli, India - 28 April 2012
Recently, I was invited by ISOL conference organizer to participate in and present
at the 1st International Conference on Vedic Foundations of Indian Management on
April 19-21, 2012 in Haridwar, India in collaboration with Faculty of Management
Studies, University of Delhi and Center for Indic Studies, University of
Massachusetts (Dartmouth), USA. The conference was hosted by the University of
Patanjali, Haridwar.
The conference was a first step to bring spirituality into business and to reinvent
management and education in order to transform the economy, organizations,
government and society.
In summary, the ISOL chairman stated in opening remarks, it’s a matter of spirit,
and I couldn’t agree with him more.
While it’s a beginning, the why(s), how to(s) and in what ways the first step is
taken is at least of equal importance to taking that first step.
During the afternoon of day one, I shared a quote by Carl Jung after a visit to India
in 1938:
It is quite possible that India is the real world, and that the white man lives in a
madhouse of abstractions. Life in India has not yet withdrawn into the capsule of
the head. It is still the whole body that lives. No wonder the European feels
dreamlike; the complete life of India is something of which he merely dreams.
When you walk with naked feet, how can you ever forget the earth?
Clearly, as validated by presenter after presenter, this India no longer exists.
So, India suffers the same profound crises as the West—greed, corruption, scams,
scandals, trust and legitimacy of business leaders and government, collapsing
western models, loss of ethos, wealth inequality, resource scarcity, sustainability,
the educational system…..words repeated over and over.
One could easily acknowledge that a consensus was reached in a call to return to
their roots; good news—these roots are those expressed so eloquently, or to use
the word of the session moderator “beautifully”, by Carl Jung in 1938.
Having significant feet-on-the-ground global experience, there was a familiar
dynamic that occurred—people feel free, less fearful to share their thoughts and
feelings with the foreigner. This was the case, and the comments offered
completely resonated. After all, we are all human.
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2. Some clarification: the conference did not look or feel like an ’international’
conference in the sense of scope, inclusion and language.
The scope was India; foreigner participation was negligible, and quite a few
presenters spoke Hindi with no translation provided, while participants from other
parts of India have only a functional knowledge or no knowledge at all of this
language, like the few foreigners.
If a representative from the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth), USA,
attended, no introduction was made, nor information provided as to in what way
this University was part of the collaboration.
An undertone of anti-western sentiment was unambiguous. This was demonstrated
through attitudes, behaviors and ideas in areas of exclusion, isolation and blaming.
While Western models are surely at a point of “collapsing” and great dissatisfaction
understandable, ‘scapegoating’ existed, easily recognizable.
Surely, these models were adopted by the Indian institutional power structure and
were widely acknowledged as prevalent today.
Positive reactions were noted to the verbalized idea of “turning away from West to
East to the Japanese system of quality”, the origin of which is W. Edwards Deming.
Further, Japan suffers the profound crises like the West and an enormous price is
being paid by the people, as well as Nature and our planet resulting from
Fukashima. In addition, loneliness becoming a ‘norm’ is recognized as one of the
big issues in Japan? http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/04/20124285139116752.html
The expression—when you point your finger at another, there are 4 more pointing
back at you—comes to mind, and it would be beneficial to consider:
Man's task is to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the
unconscious. We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not
liberate, it oppresses. Carl Jung
I had an association with the stage of anger in the grieving process, an
understandable human reaction to waking up to the reality of profound, multi-
faceted, complex crises.
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3. As this was my first academia conference, I learned the format was typical from a
seasoned, well traveled professor, his experience being Europe, US and India. How
it works—the system decides who is most important and prioritizes time (from 1
hour to 10 minutes) for presentations, which are habitually reading a previously
submitted paper.
On the morning of day 2, an Indian presenter shared that while 75 delegates
registered, only 30 were present by his headcount, a 60% dropped out; actually, I
had observed this dropout the afternoon of day 1. One reason for this, provided by
the same well-traveled professor, is that the system cares mostly about a paper
and attendance on a CV / resume. Another common reason shared by various
professors—boring.
Sharing my overall observations, together with the overused declarations about
having “the solution”, with the above-mentioned Indian presenter, he replied, “it’s
like designing a product without the customer” to which I said, “Yes, and it appears
there is no broad awareness, like it all goes over the head.” His reply: “like a frog
in a well” which I enjoyed greatly, as he is entrenched in this academic system. The
level of attendance did not recover.
There were bright lights, in particular the presentation on leadership and practice
and another that had the style of a chat with good friends about thoughts and
reflections—a call to look deeper into Elinor Ostrom’s Tragedy of the Commons,
sustainability, the abundance mindset, Carl Jung’s topology, cultural diversity and
interdependence, MIT’s innovation, among others—very insightful.
So, what about the spirit?
As one who has studied and practiced the enormous body of learning of Carl Jung,
rightfully so, spirit is a BIG word that could be discussed at length. Here is an
abstract that includes a brief summary about spirit.
“Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875, Kesswil, – June 6, 1961, Küsnacht) was a Swiss
psychiatrist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology. Jung's unique
and broadly influential approach to psychology has emphasized understanding the
psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, world religion and
philosophy. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician for
most of his life, much of his life's work was spent exploring other realms including
Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature
and the arts. His most notable contributions include his concept of the psychological
archetype, the collective unconscious, and his theory of synchronicity. Jung
emphasized the importance of balance and harmony. He cautioned that
modern humans rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit
from integrating spirituality and appreciation of the unconscious realm.
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4. Jungian ideas are not typically included in curriculum of most major universities'
psychology departments, but are occasionally explored in humanities departments.”
Spiritual quotes:
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of
ourselves.
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in
the darkness of mere being.
The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that
suits all cases.
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks
outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
http://www.spiritual-experiences.com/spiritual-quotes/quote.php?teacher=30
In “Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious”, Jung wrote
”But the more we become conscious of ourselves through self-knowledge, and act
accordingly, the more the layer of the personal unconscious that is superimposed
on the collective unconscious will be diminished. In this way there arises a
consciousness which is no longer imprisoned in the petty world of the ego, but
participates freely in the wider world of objective interests. This widened
consciousness is no longer that touchy, egotistical bundle of personal wishes, fears,
hopes and ambitions which has always to be compensated or corrected by
unconscious countertendencies; instead, it is a function of relationships to the world
of object (.e. outer objective reality), bringing the individual into absolute, binding
and indissoluble communion with the world at large.”
Like –‘snapping out of it’.
Or, perhaps, the speech by Peter Senge, addressing graduates on Feb 22nd at the
University of Guelph, answers this question as well as how it connects to education,
business and society. Peter is a senior lecturer at the Massahusetts Institute of
Technology’s Sloan School of Management. His most recent work focuses on
sustainability. Here is some text of his speech with the link provided following to
listen to it in its entirety.
….How on earth will be live together?.... What is the inner state that we bring?
What is our focus? Where are we? What matters to me? How can I make my
community better? ... And of course, community can be expanded.…Good fortune
tends to come to those who most are focused elsewhere, they’re not focused on
getting their fortune….This is not a random phenomena. It is directly influenced by
the state of our consciousness as we do what we do. Consciousness: You can tell
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5. where people are coming from, what’s their orientation, what’s their spirit, what’s
their energy, what’s the state of consciousness? That inner state that we bring is
far more influential than all the skills, than all the knowledge, than all the
connections, than all the resources—all of those are important but they are
somehow forged into something that make a difference based on that inner state…
most important is the cultivation of the inner state, and that inner state is our
relatedness; we are social animals--the curiosity to strive to learn and our ability to
learn and work together… While all the other things are important…, our loving
relationships define us; so that inner state is a state of relatedness. The idea of
compassion is a byproduct of having a sense of connection and that sense of
connection is innate in us. One simple way to define education, I would prefer over
all others, is developing the capacity to do what you are naturally capable of doing,
to embody and enact Nature’s deep imprint. If we can stay true to that spirit of
education, a lot of the big problems of the world will become solvable in ways
they’re not otherwise, because they’re not going to be solved by solved by skills
and talent and connections and resources; they are important, but they’ll get
solved by inner orientation and our capacity to be connected to one another and
Life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLd3y3_Wf
How to maximize our efforts and expand our impact to convert good intentions into
real positive change for the better? How can we make our community better?
No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive. Mahatma Gandhi
Interdependence – creating abundance, opportunity and increased prosperity
through cooperation and collaboration
Close the gaps in knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity and
interdependence which were plentiful–to more balanced gender participation to
national recognition of multi-cultures, to transnational participation, to inclusion of
diverse styles, to inclusion of the missing voices of key stakeholders…. Where were
students, heads of companies, like Wipro, entrepreneurs, social enterprises, NGOs,
government reps…..?
Already, for a long time we live in a global world—interdependence. Let’s take a
moment to look at interdependence as defined by Wikipedia:
“...a dynamic of being mutually and physically responsible to, and sharing a
common set of principles with others. This concept differs distinctly from
"dependence" in that an interdependent relationship implies that all participants are
emotionally, economically, ecologically and or morally "interdependent." Some
people advocate freedom or independence as a sort of ultimate good; others do the
same with devotion to one's family, community, or society. Interdependence
recognizes the truth in each position and weaves them together. Two states that
cooperate with each other are said to be interdependent. It can also be defined as
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6. the interconnectedness and the reliance on one another socially, economically,
environmentally and politically.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdependence
Jungian psychoanalyst Eugene Pascal wrote: “Human dignity is by and large a
product of a naturally spontaneous expression of who we intrinsically are.”
Consider what one does not know and understand, one can come to fear, hate and
even attack. Fear and hate are products of ignorance.
Every individual, ethnic group and country has a unique contribution to make on
the levels of personal, local, national and global in perceiving, evaluating and
solving life's challenges. Understanding this reduces longstanding mutual conflicts,
frustrations and risks.
Comprehending the affect of typology in the human family, allows one to move
beyond arrogant tolerance. We can then see that we all are a part of global
consciousness, each with our distinct contributions. One of the primary methods of
managing interdependence is intercultural dialogue. The need for this
communication and intercultural competencies is evident. Skills are needed to
manage differences creatively.
Let’s take a look at the great strength, positive energy and experiences that result
when one embraces and celebrates diversity taking into account our
interdependence. Benefits delivered are real dialogue, exchange of ideas, exploring
varied perspectives and robust collaboration bringing creativity, depth, range,
balance and innovation. When we allow differing perspectives, we stimulate
exploration, increasing and expanding our options.
When one embraces and celebrates culture, diversity and collaboration: Benefits
delivered are real dialogue, exchange of ideas, exploring varied perspectives and
robust collaboration bringing creativity, depth, range, balance and innovation.
When we allow differing perspectives, we stimulate exploration, increasing and
expanding our options.
Diverse outlooks compel us to uncover potentially damaging implicit, inferred
assumptions. We are freed up to synthesize new ideas combining options previously
considered at odds. We are energized to develop processes capable of supporting
innovative solutions built on consensus that are enduring.
The growth and complexities of a global economy and the coordinated efforts to
respond to these crises have increased the line of reasoning for a more sustained
and systemic global cooperation.
There is no animal or creature, no plant life, nothing in the hierarchy of Nature with
which we are not intimately, spiritually interlinked. The new sciences have proven
we are all part of the same energy system and came from a field of energy that has
no limit. We are interdependent and infinite in our abilities.
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7. Every one of us is an instrument of culture; it is necessary to establish a new
culture of conscious harmonious interconnectedness by bringing light to our own
shadows, and this necessitates agents of calm.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. No problem
can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. Albert Einstein
The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play
instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it
loves. Carl Jung
Little to no attention was given to strategy, systems thinking, design, eco-systems,
the organization (including learning organizations), change and transformation,
SMEs / entrepreneurship, social enterprises and the use of social media,
considering we live in accelerated times when innovations like YouTube, facebook
and twitter, in something like the blink of the eyes, revolutionized the way we
communicate and behave.
What is innovation?
“Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes,
services, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and
society. Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of a
new idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the
idea or method itself.
Innovation can therefore be seen as the process that renews something that exists
and not, as is commonly assumed, the introduction of something new. Furthermore
this makes clear innovation is not an economic term by origin, but dates back to
the Middle Ages at least. Possibly, even earlier.
The central meaning of innovation thus relates to renewal. For this renewal to take
place it is necessary for people to change the way they make decisions, they must
choose to do things differently, make choices outside of their norm. Schumpeter
c.s. (~1930) seems to have stated that innovation changes the values onto which
the system is based. So when people change their value (system) the old
(economic) system will tumble over to make room for the new one. When that
happens innovation has occurred. So innovation must be seen as something that
does, not something that is.
On a lower level, innovation can be seen as a change in the thought process for
doing something, or the useful application of new inventions or discoveries
It may refer to incremental, emergent, or radical and revolutionary
changes in thinking, products, processes, or organizations.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation
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8. An organization is a system that requires “systems thinking”. The term “systems
thinking” describes the awareness that one cannot consider events in an
organization in isolation. Any change in one part of the organization affects the
entire organization, not simply how individual events affect things on a local level.
Consider a mobile with all its connected, integrated parts. Touching one part of the
mobile causes the entire mobile to move or shift, synchronous with all other parts.
Mobilizing the system or organization’s energy in the same direction,
simultaneously or synchronously and outward to the customer, frees the
organization to achieve high levels of quality, reliability, customer and even
employee satisfaction.
A learning organization is essential and one that can effectively develop and use
knowledge to make change for the better. The old way or “command and control” is
built on the idea that the world and all that occurs is predictable. In today’s
organizations, the only thing that is predictable is that they do change and change
and change.
Commitment and operating at all levels the core value of people as the greatest
resource. This requires balance of head and heart leadership that is committed
through communication, behavior and utilizing timeless universal principles.
Development of the individual to be all he/she can be and empowerment to
participate fully and make change for the better in, trustful relationships, in
collaboration and working in teams. In today’s workforce, knowledge workers are
humans, not machines; assets, not costs; responsible for their productivity,
managing themselves, continued learning as well as teaching; own the task of the
work and innovation; and are responsible for quality as much as (or more) than
quantity of work.
When an individual knows and feels that you are for him/her and his/her success is
as important as any bottom line number and experiences this in the daily work life,
all things are possible. They want to be where they are and actually have fun. I am
both blessed and feel privileged to have worked with so many in such a way and
who continue on this path.
Healthy, functional learning organizations in which servant leadership operates and
the people are truly valued as the most important resource. This means that the
end does not justify the means, having integrity as a core value together with real
diversity (backgrounds, management styles…) where healthy debate can occur,
voices are allowed to be heard and effective conflict resolutions exists.
Servant leaders understand and lead the balance of execution with reflection, action
with spirit, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and value the tangibles and
intangibles. They place emphasis in the organization on integrity, coaching,
mentoring, training and development, accountability, chosen responsibility and self-
empowerment. Utilizing systems thinking, seeing the big picture and driving fear
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9. out of the organization is essential along with commitment to development,
recognition, collaboration and consensus building.
As organizations / systems are people, they are living organisms—interlinked,
interrelated, evolving, varying, shifting, altering, transforming… and bi-polar, like
all of Nature. “Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling
and self-sustaining processes (biology) from those that do not.
A biological process is a process of a living organism, and biological processes are
made up of any number of chemical reactions or other events that result in a
transformation. Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and
living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution,
distribution, and taxonomy. In biology, life is the condition which distinguishes
active organisms from inorganic matter.
Living organisms undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, possess a capacity to
grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce and, through natural selection, adapt to their
environment in successive generations. More complex living organisms can
communicate through various means." (source: Wikipedia)
"Organization: The act of organizing; the act of arranging in a systematic way for
use or action The state of being organized; also, the relations included in such a
state or condition. What is organization but the connection of parts in and for a
whole, so that each part is, at once, end and means?” (Coleridge)
“That which is organized; an organized existence; an organism. An arrangement of
parts for the performance of the functions necessary to life. The cell may be
regarded as the most simple, the most common, and the earliest form of
organization. (McKendrick)” (source: biology online)
Utilizing the linkage and balance of process and culture, a desired customer-centric,
customer-driven platform can be achieved. To advance innovative vision aligned
with strategy, identifying and implementing strategic solutions, requires integrating
culture, requirements, management, processes, applications, systems,
technologies, services, relationships and competencies.
With widely published evidence that the vast majority of change and
transformation initiatives are unsuccessful, one can wonder why organizations
continue to do the same thing over and over expecting different results, a
commonly held expression of insanity.
“Though a majority of respondents at publicly traded companies say
their redesigns increased shareholder value, only a very small group of
respondents—8 percent of those who have been through a redesign—
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10. say their efforts added value, were completed on time, and fully met
their business objectives.”
https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Organization/Change_Management/Taking_organizational_r
edesigns_from_plan_to_practice_McKinsey_Global_Survey_results_2721
And let’s consider too why so many hold on so tight to the mechanistic approach in
light of the fact that humans are part of Nature, also widely published and surely no
secret that organizations are systems comprised of living organisms—people.
Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he
imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is
embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If
inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is
constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to
modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets
corrected. Carl Jung
Consider Deming’s Profound Knowledge Model which shows psychology is one of
the 4 points underlying system, knowledge and variation.
In systems thinking, knowledge is the product of science which occurs within the
system or organization, while understanding is the product of why (and often whys)
which occurs outside the system.
Both are equally important although it is a common mistake that an imbalance exits
between the two as understanding is so often considered unimportant, like the
necessity of head and heart.
It is advantageous to learn the dynamics, in particular typology, or how your own
individual psyche works and how psychic energies function in humanity.
Deming’s Profound Knowledge Model
System Knowledge Variation
Psychology
Certainly, focusing in the McKinsey Report on the “How the best organizations do it”
provides truly beneficial information. An issue of particular interest, as one of the
root causes, is:
“However, among respondents at the most successful organizations, the challenge
most frequently cited as the most harmful is company leadership undermining the
change. In our experience, this tends to happen when leaders wait too long to
make difficult talent-management changes.”
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11. The above represents a personal observation that I have made for years—most
companies have been and continue profiling out diversity and talent who have the
needed skills to bring about successful change and transformation.
Here, I would like to restate a part of Jung’s observation:
If inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is
constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to
modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets
corrected.
In Eugene Pascal’s book, Jung to Live By, he mentions that the process of alchemy
shows that there is opportunity for 80% of lead to be transformed to gold. In this
regard, may the light shine upon us all and may we consider:
“Man's task is to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the
unconscious. We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does
not liberate, it oppresses.” Carl Jung
And let’s revisit Albert Einstein: Look deep into nature, and then you will
understand everything better. No problem can be solved from the same level of
consciousness that created it.
We can look at change and transformation as a process, adaptable, agile,
flexible….. to living organisms, like organizations that are comprised of people.
Key elements of the process: Personalized introspection, using intrinsic motivation,
keeping it simple or practical and at the same time powerful with integrity, dignity
and sincerity with and for the individual(s).
Although we cannot change other people or society, we can change ourselves, and
when we change ourselves, something in the society in which we live also changes.
We can change society on the “cellular” level. Quality (Deming), cultural diversity
trainings, experience and long-term study, application and practice of psychology
have taught me that a mechanistic view (command and control) simply doesn’t
work. As much of the work of Jung’s analytical psychology has been proven by the
new sciences, there exists universal, timeless validity.
I view the shift in power to the East is positive for the world, an opportunity to
restore the imbalance of the prevailing West’s deep-rooted hyper-rationalism,
unwavering belief in the infallibility of science (left brain, power wielding Logos), as
if mystery and the ‘irrational’ and the need for Eros (Mother Earth) do not exist,
which prohibits wholeness and wreaks havoc that we see in epidemic addictions,
destruction of Nature, broken relationships and un-relatedness, to name a few. This
is most evidenced by loss of heart in its unending quests to dominate, using
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12. ignorance and propaganda to fuel fear and hate, targeting ‘evil empires’ and
making wars for profit.
While change is in the air, many thanks to the inspiration of the Arab Spring that
showed tremendous strategy and organizational skills combined with immense
heart and tech savvy, using social media tools (and overcoming obstacles like
shutdown internet), that greatly enhanced connectivity and collaboration, the now
worldwide Occupy movement and others across Europe have mentors, coaches and
a network that spans the globe to aid and assist in overcoming the long and deep-
rooted history. Surely, this will require time and more to overcome.
Stay tuned to India—an insight into a nation’s past promotes and understanding of
its present life and future. (The same can be said about organizations and families.)
Through research and extensive communications with folks around the globe, while
it is true to say the West looks to India for profit and to generate their own growth,
it is also true that many look to India as Asia’s leader.
Having been invited by a Russian Duma MP to submit a paper and attend a
conference in Sochi in September of this year—“International Innovation of
Education”—I will be sharing these observations for their consideration. To
participate or not to participate? At present, that is an unanswered question.
Highly recommend viewing this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbY2HhL3PfA
Chandran Nair, Founder of Global Institute For Tomorrow (HK), Advocating a critical view on
Asia's development
About the speaker
Most think Asia is booming. Chandran NAIR thinks we are heading for catastrophe if we go
on with more and more consumption. But he is optimistic—the title of his latest book,
Consumptionomics: Asia's Role in Reshaping Capitalism and Saving the Planet, makes the
point. An unreserved advocate for a more sustainable approach to development in Asia,
Chandran has advised governments and multinational corporations, served as Chairman of
Asia's leading environmental consultancy Environmental Resources Management (ERM), and
founded the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT), an independent social venture think tank
dedicated to advancing the understanding of the impacts of globalization through thought
leadership and positive action to effect change. In 2008 he also set up Avantage Ventures, a
social investment advisory firm based in Hong Kong.
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