Bhagvad Gita Be Emotionally Intelligent

1. Be Emotionally Intelligent: Follow
Bhagvad Gita
“Mind is very restless, forceful and
strong, O Krishna, it is more
difficult to control the mind than to
control the wind”
Arjuna to Sri Krishna
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2. In this chapter, we will see how our ancient sacred
teachings may enlighten a modern day manager to
identify, interpret and apply emotions in personal
and professional life. We will also see how an
emotionally intelligent manager can update his skills
based on the sacred teachings of ancient times. It is
generally believed that emotions have not received
adequate attention in organizations since the
emergence of scientific management in the 19th
century, which focused on designing organizational
systems based on rationality to control/eliminate
emotions. It was falsely believed that emotions are
disruptive and interfere with effective functioning
of individuals in organizations. No doubt emotions
could be disruptive if these are exhibited at a wrong
time or in other words, are inappropriate to a
situation. However, emotions, if exhibited
intelligently are very constructive and play an
important role in organizational effectiveness.
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3. The emotional make-up of Indian society can be gauged
from the philosophies it has inherited from its
ancestors. These are accumulated life experiences
gathered over thousands of years resulting from
culmination of civilizations passed on from
generation to generation through Shuruti. Emotions
play an important role in any society and are
reflective of its strengths and weaknesses. Hence, we
may agree with the premise that emotions are acquired
largely by observing things happening around us in
the social environment and our reactions to the
environment. The way one conducts one’s intrapersonal
and interpersonal relationships reflects one’s
emotional intelligence. The emotional competency,
emotional maturity and emotional sensitivity
constitute a common thread, which concretizes the
emotional intelligence of a person. The objective of
this chapter is to find out the ways to be
emotionally intelligent as enshrined in our sacred
sayings.
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4. Looking into the ancient past, we find that the
Indian society is predominantly a ‘Hindu’ society
which has thrived on ancient literature and religions
which have taught us ways and means to live, sustain
and develop. The ‘Hinduism’ advocates that “A man
should first seek spiritual wisdom and thereafter
pursue material ambitions.” He/she will then never
lose his/her peace of mind. For example, when the sea
of one's mind is agitated by the waves of emotions,
it cannot reflect tranquility. One needs to have
perfect emotional self-control or emotional self-
mastery to attain self realization. Emotional self-
control implies both control of the body and control
of the mind. We need to keep all the senses
emanating a vast variety of emotions under our
control. This means one must lead an emotionally
intelligent life. According to Indian scriptures our
senses are like wild horses, the body its chariot
and the mind its reins. Intellect is the driver. The
Atman is the Lord of the chariot. If the senses are
not kept under proper control, they will throw this
chariot into a deep abyss. He/she who keeps the reins
firm and drives this chariot intelligently by
controlling the horses (senses) will reach the
destination (Moksha or the Abode of Eternal Bliss)
safely. The author has found that most of the
literature relating to human behaviour, emotional
traits, and personality characteristics signifying
effective handling of ongoing environment, is found
in great ancient holy epic called ‘Bhagwat Gita’.
Bhagwat Gita is the holy book of authority for the
Hindus meaning ‘Song of Divine’. It was written some
5000 years ago by Rishi Vyas and it is believed and
practiced by Indians by heart. Although it appears in
the mythological epic the ‘Mahabharata', it is given
the status of 'Shruti' as it contains the essence of
the Upanishadic teachings of the Vedas. The central
theme of the Bhagwat Gita is sanyas i.e.,
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5. renunciation. It means exploration of the purpose of
human life. It states that renunciation is a desired
goal. "Work away; but offer the fruits of your
actions to God. Do not run after the objects of the
senses. Lead a detached life. Yet renunciation does
not mean running away from one's duties. As long as
we feel we are bound we have to make an effort to be
free. The way to achieve this is by righteous living.
Shrugging off your duties towards society is not the
way forward, teaches the Bhagwat Gita. Further, that
work which gives elevation, joy and peace to us is
right and that which brings depression, pain and
restlessness to us is wrong. This is an easy way to
find out right and wrong. However, an individual with
the acumen of emotional intelligence would be in a
position to judge the distinction between right and
wrong. “Let noble thoughts come from all sides”,
Bhagvad Gita tells today’s manager. This conveys that
there should not be any restriction on receiving
thoughts and one should not be apprehensive about
outside influences. A manager may learn to open up to
novel ideas and accept or reject them after due
considerations. An intelligent manager would do well
to himself and his community if he recognizes the
importance of this. Great men and women have
appreciated the wisdom of the Bhagvad Gita across
cultures, religions, races and professions. The need
for the spiritual illumination provided by the
Bhagvad Gita is never as urgent as it is now, in the
darkness of a world torn apart by cultural
fragmentation, terror, rank materialism,
technological isolation and global competition.
Why is it necessary to be emotionally
intelligent? We are enlightened by Bhagvad Gita that
being genuinely in touch with emotions tends to be
tremendously difficult amid work and other
activities. Emotions don't follow a routine, and if
you have a tendency to ignore your feelings, the mad
rush of present day life makes it convenient to
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6. suppress and avoid feelings as they arise. Yet
nothing is more precious than experiencing your
feelings and moods. They are the most spontaneous
part of your makeup, the most primary expression of
your awareness as it relates to the world. You are
the totality of all the relationships you have, and
the most accurate mirror of them is your emotions. It
helps to make your emotions enjoyable. The life of
feelings is meant to be rich and satisfying, but if
your emotions are strangers to you, you cannot enjoy
them. Many people have convinced themselves that they
have few, if any, emotions. Yet, despite your
efforts to repress them, there is a feeling attached
to every single thought we have. Bringing all these
feelings to light puts you back into the wholeness of
the mind-body connection, and wholeness is the most
satisfying state in you would love to live. We term
this state as being emotionally competent.
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7. It may be seen that the teachings and knowledge of
Bhagvad Gita are directly relevant to today’s
corporate world. We believe that a sincere adoption
of Bhagvad Gita teachings may still have positive
relevance to our managers. What are these teachings?
The various episodes as enshrined in Bhagvad Gita
provide succinct illustrations of beneficial results
of righteous behaviors and harmful effects of sinful
behaviors. Learned religious leaders in the past
often cited these sacred sayings to rulers, the
kings, the princes and others in their hours of
indecision and despondence. Over centuries and
millennia they provided guidance to successive
generations in making morals and ethical judgments as
to what is right and what is wrong. The philosophy of
Bhagvad Gita has been summarized in the following
sections keeping in view the emotional aspects of
one’s personality. The Bhagvad Gita needs an
intelligent reinterpretation in the changed context
of modern times and its wisdom can motivate and guide
a manager on how to appropriately adopt ancient
philosophies in the present life. Only those issues
which are considered important from management
effectiveness viewpoint, have been highlighted here.
The idea behind such an exercise is to identify areas
in which sacred sayings of Bhagvad Gita can be
applied for leading a harmonious life at workplace
and elsewhere. These broad areas of Bhagvad Gita
identified in the background of the great war of
Mahabharata are as under:
a) How To Succeed: Bhagvad Gita Tells The Way
b) How to Resolve Conflicts: Learn From Bhagvad
Gita
c) Jealousy-Its Origin and Fallout
d) Stand For Dharma-the Righteousness
e) Believe In Karma: the Path of Action
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8. f) Tackling Emotional Upsets Effectively: The
Bhagvad Gita’s Way
We will now discuss the above sacred teachings of
Bhagvad Gita individually:
a) How To Succeed: Bhagvad Gita Tells The Way
The concept of emotional intelligent and its role in
success has been beautifully explained by Bhagvad
Gita. The Bhagvad Gita says that there are two ways
to succeed in life. These are the paths of
‘knowledge’ and the path of ‘desire’. These paths are
controlled by our rational mind as well as emotional
mind as shown in the table below:
KNOWLEDGE
(The Rational Mind)
DESIRE
(The Emotional Mind)
Sri Krishna says that the
path of knowledge is
difficult. Tools of
Knowledge are 'Vivek' which
distinguish between what is
real and what is unreal in
other words distinguishing
fact from fancy. Bhagvad
Gita further tells that
time is life; so 'killing
time' is a form of gradual
suicide. Learn to invest
every moment of your life
in thing which counts for
The desire is an emotional
response to immediate
environment and
instinctively drives a
person towards satisfying
that desire. From desire
comes attachment; from
attachment comes passion.
Passions further arise
desires and attachments.
When passion is not
satisfied, it generates
anger; from anger arises
delusion that causes loss of
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9. knowledge. One must realize
that the cause of bondage
is 'desire'. Let the
discriminating faculty
direct the mind and keep
the desires for objects of
pleasure under control.
'Thus using dispassion and
discrimination go above
your primitive nature in
search of the divine',
teaches Sri Krishna. The
rational mind is the outer
mind facing the object and
is termed as ‘objective
mind’. In Sanskrit we call
it Manas. The modern day
psychologists refer it as
rational mind or IQ
memory. With loss of memory,
wisdom is lost and that
brings complete ruin. The
‘mantra’ of Bhagvad Gita is
therefore to lead a detached
life and not to run after
objects of senses of worldly
pleasures. This directly
means suppressing one’s
emotions, feelings and
desires. The inner mind is
called the ‘subjective mind’
and in Sanskrit it is termed
as ‘Buddhi’. The modern day
psychologists refer it as
emotional mind or EQ.
It may be seen that the teachings of Bhagvad Gita
tend to be followed by Indian society in letter and
spirit. We have learned to concentrate on ‘knowledge’
and suppress ‘desire’ or emotions. Such behaviour is
evident today and Indians by habit tend to either
ignore or suppress emotions. In fact expressing
emotions is largely considered to be a sign of
weakness or defeat. In other words, ‘thinking mind’
is considered to be superior to the ‘emotional mind’
in the development of personality. However, In the
changed environment of business and elsewhere,
emotions are playing a major role today to improve
life. This may not to be taken as contradiction of
what Bhagvad Gita teaches but be seen as being in
harmony with the changed environment. We may
reinterpret the preaching of Bhagvad Gita by saying
that emotions that lead us to depression,
uncontrolled anger, jealousy, wrong path etc. need
to be controlled. In contrast, the emotions which
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10. lead us to harmony, self esteem etc. need to be
encouraged. Emotionally intelligent organizations are
now recognizing that emotional knowledge is an asset,
perhaps the only one that grows with time, that
harnessed properly can provide them with the ability
to continuously compete and innovate into the future.
What follows from the above is that, if the mind
is disturbed, the individual is disturbed. If the
mind is at peace, the individual is also at peace. An
individual is whole and healthy in whom the objective
and subjective aspects of mind work in unison with
each other, and in the moment of conflict or doubt,
the objective mind readily comes under the
disciplining influence of the subjective mind. But
unfortunately, except for a rare few, the majority of
us have minds that are split. This split between
subjective and objective aspects of mind is created
by the layer of egoistic desires in the individual.
The greater the distance between these two aspects of
the mind, the greater the inner confusion in the
individual, the greater the egoism and low desires
which the individual comes to exhibit in life. The
psychological interpretation tells that there should
be a harmonious relationship between IQ and EQ. The
recent research has proved that EQ plays a dominant
role as compared to IQ in attaining ‘success’ in
life.
The readers may note that while defining emotions
the Bhagvad Gita has also elaborated upon the concept
of Gunas, the moods. The Bhagvad Gita tells us that
there are three moods which express themselves from
expression to expressions. These three moods called
the Gunas are; Unactivity (Sattwa), Activity (Rajas),
and Inactivity (Tamas). The concept of Sattwa is that
of ‘perfect purity’, the Tamas of ‘foul darkness’ and
Rajas of ‘dusky colour’. When the mind is purified
(Sattwa) from all its agitations (Rajas) and the
intellect is cleansed of criminal lust (Tamas), the
personality experiences inward peace and happiness.
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11. The psychological being in everyone of us
continuously comes under the influence of these
moods. These three moods reflect differently among
different people in the same ways as the water poured
into hundred different bottles look different not
because of water but because of shape and colour of
each bottle. The moods in different proportions
influence every individual and results in the
distinct flavours every time in each personality.
The modern manager must therefore know precisely what
are the nature and behaviour of these moods and also
must learn the art of subjectively diagnosing them in
oneself. For example, a manager under the influence
of Tamas would lose capacity to discriminate between
the right and wrong and would act as if under the
influence of hallucination or stupefaction. A manager
should therefore be sensitive enough to recognize
the various influences under which one is forced to
function from time to time. This will help him to
discard all wrong impulses, immoral tendencies,
unethical urges and animal passions and keep himself
balanced in righteous living. Even an intelligent
manager will need repeated consolation when being
extremely agitated by any dire emotion. The way out
is to be emotionally sensitive towards ongoing
environment.
b) How to Resolve Conflicts: Learn From Bhagvad Gita
Let us see how Bhagwat Gita tells us
about the genesis and strategies to resolve the
conflict. What is dramatically interesting is that in
the background of the Bhagwat Gita there are a large
number of individual agendas that the many characters
pursue, and the numerous personal conflicts, ethical
puzzles, subplots, and plot twists that give the epic
a strikingly powerful development. For example,
conflict is reflected when Arjun is torn between his
duty to fight for justice and his love for his
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12. kinsmen - whom he has to fight. This situation is
being termed by the psychologists as the greatest
conflict a human being can face in life. As we know
that on the battlefield of Kurukshetra Arjuna becomes
dejected and debates with Sri Krishna that no war
threatening such a mass scale destruction can be
justified on any grounds. Sri Krishna, through his
dialogue convinces him that he has to fight; there is
no other way. The discussion brings into focus
various interesting aspects which can help modern day
managers to solve emotional conflicts. For example,
while facing psychological conflicts in circumstances
such as taking decisions under pressing
circumstances, balancing judgments impartially etc,
the managers may find insight from Bhagvad. In the
beginning Arjuna, the great and brave warrior, finds
himself suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of
mental depression, grief, dejection and fear when he
realizes that he has to fight with his close
relatives - brothers, uncles, and teachers - present
as his enemies. Arjuna is greatly disturbed about the
outcome of the war; destruction and death that was
sure to follow. He feels like retiring to the forest
rather than to kill his own relatives. The brave
warrior Arjuna, with Sri Krishna as his charioteer,
is standing between the two arrayed armies at
Kurukshetra ready to start the battle, and then
Arjuna lays down his arms to retire at the back of
his chariot! Trembling with nervousness and anxiety,
unable to lift his mighty bow he pleads to escape
from the consequences of the war. His emotions of
love for the near ones, his concepts of duty and
Dharma, all appear to be confusing to him. He is
unable to determine the correct approach in this
piquant situation of grave urgency and emergency. In
such an emotionally charged setting let us see how he
was convinced to resolve the conflict to fight or not
to fight the war.
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13. Arjuna turns to Sri Krishna, his friend, his
teacher, and his all: "How can I kill them? O
Krishna, I am unable to decide my further plan of
action”. Sri Krishna says, "O Brave one, why this
infatuation at this hour! Why have you given yourself
to this unmanliness and cowardice? Do not think that
by your high talk of 'renunciation and retiring to
forest' future generations would adore you and call
you mighty and intelligent. On the contrary, for
centuries to come, blame would be put on you for
running away from the battlefield. Generation after
generation, people would laugh at you and make fun of
your unmanly flight." "In such a crisis, whence comes
upon thee, O Arjuna, this dejection, un-Aryan-like,
disgraceful, and contrary to the attainment of
heaven?” "Yield not to unmanliness, O son of Kunti !.
Cast off this mean faint-heartedness and arise, O
scorcher of thine enemies." On listening to this
masterly advice, Arjuna steadies himself and fights
the war to win.
We find Krishna repeatedly motivating his friend
Arjuna with the words, ‘get up and fight’. It may be
seen that in the hour of conflict Arjun was provided
with emotional support by Sri Krishna, which helped
him understand his inner strengths, and competences
and he decided to walk on the righteous path. The
only emotionally intelligent way left to him was to
fight the war irrespective of the emotional bonding
he had with his opponents. He acted firmly, with
conviction and showed emotional maturity. His
behaviour has also proved that being emotional does
not mean being a weak person. On the same lines
Bhagvad Gita is beneficial to modern managers in
solving the identical situations they may face in
workplace. It may be interpreted as a call to each
one of us to get up and fight the battle of our own
life, and be successful. The success story of Arjuna
fighting and winning the battle after being motivated
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14. by Sri Krishna should be emulated by one and all. How
to re energize yourself in the event of demotivation
can help managers to a great extent. In practical
life every man is a victim of ‘Arjuna-Disease and the
‘Krishna-Cure’ which is the theme of Bhagvad Gita.
As the saying goes, the war Arjuna fought at
Kurukshetra was not the last war between the Kauravas
and the Pandavas. The war, according to Sri Krishna,
will continue in all Yugas. In these wars, the
kauravas will again and again confront the Pandavas.
In all these years, lord Krishna will be Arjuna’s
charioteer. The divine message of the lord will be
delivered again and again. This reflects the symbolic
philosophy that such war like situations will surface
again and again in our day to day lives and we have
to get up and fight them. The whole Bhagvad Gita has
been unfolded in the ‘battle field’ of Kurukshetra;
it has the potential to motivate modern managers who
have also to ‘fight out’ in the competitive business
world.
The Bhagvad Gita epitomizes the mental conflicts
and dilemmas of a man of action - the great warrior
King Arjuna - and their resolutions with the aid of
his Divine Teacher - Lord Krishna - in the midst of
the battlefield of Kurukshetra leading to affirmative
action. Every modern manager faces similar moral
quandaries and spiritual quagmires in his or her
battlefield of day-to-day living. The Bhagvad Gita
offers an immortal and eternal message for practical
living - one of philosophical sublimation and mental
transcendence.
c) Jealousy-Its Origin and Fallout
The jealousy is an important emotional response
widespread in human psyche. It denounces rational as
well as emotional mind and usually ends up in the
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15. feelings of aggression, dejection, and inferiority
complex. It also has its origin in ‘egoism’ of an
individual. The canvas of Mahabharata is full of
instances of jealousy among its characters. It
appears that Bhagvad Gita has provided perfect
background to teach us as to how to subliminate even
these apparently negative emotions to help the
process of regeneration of mind, character and the
principles of a civilized society where the weakest
member of the society.
Let us now see the instances of the genesis of
powerful emotion called jealousy. As the story goes,
out of all Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna had immense
liking for the sport of archery. He practiced this
art with great concentration and perseverance. Soon
he became an expert in this art. Acharya Dronacharya
was very much pleased with Arjuna and showed
preferential love and favour towards him. This caused
a natural adolescence jealousy in the heart of
Duryodhana and silently ill feelings like hatred
towards Pandavas took birth in his heart. One day the
Kauravas openly criticized their Guru for favour
shown towards Arjuna, telling him they also were not
less skillful in archery. As a reply to their
criticism, Acharya Dronacharya arranged an acid test
to decide the best archer amongst all. Accordingly, a
wooden bird was put on a branch of a distant tree. It
was partly hidden by the foliage. A prominent
artificial eye was painted on the wooden bird. The
Acharya called all his disciples and said, "Look my
children, a bird is sitting on that far off tree. You
have to hit the arrow exactly in its eye. Are you
ready?" Everyone nodded. First the eldest Yudhisthira
was invited to try his skill. He stretched his
bowstring and was about to release the arrow when
Dronacharya asked him a question, "May I know what is
visible to you at this point of time?" Yudhisthira
replied innocently, " I am seeing you, the tree,
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16. people around me, and the bird!” Similar questions
were put to Duryodhana, Bhima, Nakul, Sahadeva and
others, and Acharya Drona got the similar answers as
those given by Yudhisthira. Acharya told them to step
aside as it was obvious that with such poor
concentration they were sure to miss the target!
Lastly, it was the turn of Arjuna. He readied
himself, his bow and arrow in perfect graceful
harmony! When the Guru asked him, "O Arjuna, will you
tell me what is being observed by you?” And Arjuna
replied, "Sir, at this point of time only the eye of
the bird is visible to me." When asked by the Acharya
whether he was able to see the bird, the tree, and
people around, Arjuna replied in negative maintaining
that he saw the eye of the bird only. Dronacharya was
pleased with Arjuna's immense concentration and
correct approach towards the art of archery. He then
explained to Duryodhana how due to such peculiar
qualities and powers he preferred Arjuna as his best
disciple. Everyone saw the point, including
Duryodhana; but the seed of jealousy was sown in his
heart. In his attempt to equal Arjuna, Duryodhana
fell victim to anger and similar base emotions; the
effect of it was visible later in the evil designs of
Duryodhana, which led to the war of Mahabharata.
The above story is reflective of multiplicity of
emotions culminating in jealousy. The other emotions
reflected are hatred, fear, apprehension, anger,
disappointment, depression, shock on the one hand and
concentration, conviction, dedication and motivation
on the other. The story tells us the genesis of
negative emotion namely jealousy and its
ramifications. The defeat in the archery competition
sowed the seeds of inferiority complex in the hearts
of kauravas, which culminated with the feelings of
jealousy, hatred and revenge towards Pandavas
resulting in the great war of Mahabharata.
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17. The modern day managers may note that the feeling
of jealousy has its origin in the feelings of
inferiority complex or egoism. If not tackled in time
this can mould itself in the feelings of revenge,
aggression and hatred. Hence, the managers need to
master the appropriate emotional competency to negate
the impact of these feelings at all costs. Bhagvad
Gita says that bitterness is secret hatred. It often
comes because we believe someone criticized us
unfairly. All criticism hurts, but with emotional
maturity, we can keep from letting it makes us turn
sour. This requires emotional sensitivity, which
means understanding the threshold of emotional
arousal and responding to it appropriately. However,
there is a caution. The feelings of jealousy, egoism
and inferiority are not always negative in nature and
may sometimes help managers in facing healthy
competition and in personal growth, if viewed and
practiced with sensitivity and maturity. The managers
further need to understand that emotions arouse
desires which are like scattered mustard seeds. They
break up our personality likewise in infinite tiny
fragments. Jealousy and hatred are the natural
consequences of fragmented mind. Spiritual discipline
is like engaging in the act of collecting the
scattered seeds into one heap. Though difficult, such
a practice creates positive impulse to become one
with others. This is also the process to become
ethical. Peaceful, and selfless actions lead to
building of mature and tranquil personality.
d) Stand For Dharma- the Righteousness
The term ‘Dharma’ is one of the most
intractable terms in Bhagvad Gita meaning
righteousness. The term has been defined as religious
code, as a system of morality, as duty, as charity
etc. It means the ‘law of being that makes a thing or
being what it is’. For example, it is Dharma of fire
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18. to burn, of the sun to shine, the earth to sustain
life, etc. Similarly, all human beings are also
expected to follow their Dharma till the last breath.
The family Dharma is thus nothing but the rules of
living, feeling, thinking, and acting as better
citizens of country. The today’s managers would do a
lot of good to themselves and the society if they
understand the tenets of Dharma and stand for it.
But how many of us stand for the righteousness
i.e., right cause, these days. Do we earnestly take
cognizance of evils and corruption around us as
responsible citizens of country? Do we raise our
voice against the exploitation and humiliation of
poor, needy and underprivileged sections of our
society? Are we not witness to open violation of
human rights in the society? Do we follow the path of
righteousness?
It is shocking to observe that many powerful
characters of Mahabharata miserably failed to protect
their dharma and the interests of their country and
family in the event of adversity. All this is told to
us in yet another story of infuriated Duryodhana and
uncle Shakuni. They were not happy with the glorious
progress and prosperity of their cousins Pandavas and
their kingdom Indraprastha. Unmanaged jealousy and
hatred, as is well known, create conditions for
revenge and meanness. Somehow or the other they
wanted to see an end to the well being of Pandavas.
Duryodhana and Shakuni started to analyze the
strength and weaknesses of their counterparts. At
last, uncle Shakuni, the great schemer and
manipulator, found the weak point he was looking for.
He knew that Yudhisthistra as a king was bound by the
Dharma of the time, unlikely to refuse to play game
of dice if royal invitation was sent to him. He
specially prepared a dice that followed his command.
On receiving the invitation, the five Pandava
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19. brothers and their wife Draupadi reached Hastinapur.
A warm welcome awaited them. Yudhisthira was bound to
lose as the game was already corrupted by Shakuni.
Shakuni came up with requisite number with his
magical dice. But as a losing gambler, Yudhisthira
lost reason and discrimination. He put his estate
Indraprastha at stake and as expected lost that turn
too. Hope never dies for a gambler! Yudhisthira asked
Shakuni to put at stake his brothers Bhima, Arjuna,
Nakul, and Sahadeva and lost.
At last, the desperate gambler in Yudhisthira put
Draupadi, their wife at stake! The destiny of this
great Bharatavarsha –the India as was called in those
days - could not be changed, as if it had the tacit
sanction of Almighty! Male chauvinism put a helpless
lady at the mercy of crooks. As was destined,
Yudhisthira lost the dice, and with it started the
dark period of India’s downfall. Draupadi became the
serving maid of Duryodhana and Kauravas. Victorious
and lustful Duryodhana asked his brother Dushasana to
bring Draupadi to the court. He obeyed his elder
brother and brought helpless Draupadi dragging by her
hair. Her protest that Yudhisthira had no right to
put her at stake remained unheard. All heads in the
court drooped with shame. Bhishma, Dronacharya, and
Vidura could do nothing. King Dhritarashtra remained
silent. Duryodhana ordered Dushasana to disrobe the
lady. Bhishma objected, Dhritarashtra trembled, but
the lust, pride, and blind power of victory was not
prepared to listen or see sense. Helpless Draupadi
had but one hope Sri Krishna to save her grace. Here,
Dushasana pulled one yard of her robe -sari - and
two yards were added by the grace of Sri Krishna! The
evil Dushasana went on and on, his hands aching and
paralyzed with fatigue, but there was no end to the
covering of Draupadi's body. At last Dushasana
collapsed, completely exhausted. “Victory to Lord
Krishna", exclaimed Draupadi and fell down
unconscious tears rolling down her eyes. But still,
1

20. Shakuni and Duryodhana were not to be put off.
Duryodhana baring his thigh invited Draupadi to sit
on it. This was the last straw on camel's back. The
infuriated Bhima rose to kill Duryodhana but was
prevented by Yudhisthira to act. "O brothers, we have
no right to protest or fight against our master. We
are all slaves of Duryodhana", said he.
After they had lost, the drama of Draupadi
humiliation enacted, everything lost in the game was
returned to Pandavas on the intervention of elders
and when they were returning to there homes, they
were again under the pressure of Duryodhana invited
for a fresh game. This time Shakuni himself put the
new condition that whosoever loses second time will
relinquish his kingdom and go to forest exile for
twelve years with additional one year of living
incognito. If detected in the last year, again exile
of twelve years will ensue. Yudhisthira agreed and
the game started. As destined the Pandavas lost the
game again. After facing insult and humiliation all
the five Pandavas and Draupadi put on simple dress
and left for the forest.
The agony of Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Vidura can
only be imagined at the outrageous treatment meted
out to Pandavas in general and Draupadi in
particular. The disgrace of their own daughter-in-law
left them speechless and hurt to the core. But their
protests and appeals for sanity fell on the deaf ears
of Duryodhana and Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra was
too weak a king and a father whose heart went out for
the 'love' for Duryodhana. He always looked in the
narrow confines of comforts and material pleasures
for his son, Duryodhana. He could not think beyond.
That Duryodhana was treading the path of self-
destruction by setting such an example of ignoble
behaviour towards women that was sure to lead to the
downfall of India in coming centuries. Based on this
2

21. episode the question being asked by the present
generation is: "Why did Bhishma, Dronacharya, and
Vidura not desert the evil company of king
Dhritarashtra?" Why did they not stand by Pandavas
who were following the path of Dharma. The answer to
this query is being searched for all these centuries,
in India and elsewhere! In part, Bhishma himself
gives the answer. He had vowed to remain loyal to the
throne of Hastinapur irrespective of who occupied it.
He never cared to make a distinction between the
throne and the king. This pledge was more than
anything to him. His life, non-righteous behavior of
Kauravas, and sufferings of Pandavas had no value in
the face of his pledge. As to Dronacharya and Vidura,
they were the paid servants of king Dhritarashtra.
They choose not to honestly discharge their duties as
a teacher and a minister. It was essential for them
to serve their master who gave them name, fame, and
position. To save their own jobs they preferred to
remain silent and did not oppose the king or found
faults with him (or his sons). Probably, they had no
say in such matters; and to revolt was to show
disloyalty to the throne whose salt they had eaten.
It may be noticed that even after the expiry of
approximately 5000 years, we have innumerable
individuals who behave and exhibit personality
identical to that of Bhishma, Vidura and
Dhritarashtra.
The role of the then society which cries for the
protection of mental, physical and social health of
women in India also needs to be scrutinize here. The
social norms prevalent at that time did not allow a
woman to have independent thinking and feeling. One
only wonders if the situation has changed even after
a lapse of five thousand years. It may be seen that
Draupadi invited wrath and insult from Kauravas
because she choose to reject Duryodhana as a suitor.
This infuriated Duryodhana to insult her as it had
2

22. hurt his ego. It is pitiable that even today millions
of women are publicly humiliated, assaulted, raped
and murdered as a ‘punishment’ for challenging the
male domain. The women have by now learned not to
retaliate or call back if they want to feel safe in
the family or in the society.
Draupadi’s burning passion for revenge against
kauravas, who disrobed her in the full assembly in
the presence of her five husbands, terminated in the
epic war between Kauravas and Pandava in
Kurukshetra. Draupadi’s oath that she would tie her
long tresses only with bloodstained hands is symbolic
of her emotional personality characteristics
reflecting self-esteem and capacity to fight back.
Her anguish while being disrobed and humiliated in
the Kauravas court led her to curse that a country
where women are reduced to such ignominy would never
prosper. Even today many of us believe that women’s
anguish and cries against monumental injustice has
left India with centuries of sufferings, slavery and
bloody conflicts. This has led to the development of
two distinct emotional characteristics among Indian
womanhood i.e., vengeful anger and gentleness. The
outrageous treatment meted out to Draupadi is
symbolic of the insecurity of the women in particular
and the common and the weak in general in the
society. Unfortunately the position has not changed
even today. it also makes the position of the
Bhishma, Dronacharya and Vidura untenable. The
argument of Bhishma that he was bound to the throne
is weak and unconvincing. He was committed to the
throne and not to the person who occupied it.
Therefore, it was imperative upon him to oversee that
the occupier of the throne does not defy it by his
actions and jeopardizing its sanctity. For
inexplicable reasons he failed to protect the
interest of the state by subjecting himself to the
whimsical commands of the occupier. Dronacharya, as
2

23. teacher was bound to assert his moral authority over
the King, yet he too under the garb of being the
servant of the state allowed himself to be a party to
an unjust rule. His love for Arjuna does not mitigate
his culpability. Vidura, the minister was duty bound
to offer the correct advice. It might be said that
he always approved the mechanizations of Duryodhana
and company. But one might well ask if the role of a
minister is to go on offering advice which is never
heard? Is it morally correct for him to continue in
the post when he is repeatedly failing in protecting
the long term interests of the state?
The tragedy of the Mahabharata is partly due to
the inability of the individuals to manage their
emotions and therefore reach out for the right path.
The above unfortunate happenings are relevant even at
present. Today also we see many bureaucrats, public
servants and managers and executives loyal to corrupt
rulers and manipulative business houses. It is not
uncommon to see many 'righteous persons' keeping mum
over irregularities and misconduct of their bosses.
We encounter instances of rape, physical exploitation
and murders of hapless women everyday in the present
society and prefer not to raise our voice. The social
scientists conclude that it is becoming an
international phenomenon. The stance of Bhishma,
Dronacharya, Vidura, and etc. remaining silent at the
great injustice meted out to Draupadi, a woman and
Pandavas will always remain unanswered. Such
incidences are not uncommon in any era or epoch. Some
are dramatized; others are forgotten in the flow of
time. However, they expose weakness of human nature
and character. These incidents reflect a weak
personality, which would not stand and revolt in the
event of crisis. This tale of Mahabharata urges its
followers to fight for righteousness and not to be
cowed down by the evil elements of society. If we can
do so we will be following the path of righteousness
2

24. and in turn show our emotional sensitivity towards
social evils and emotional maturity to raise our
voice against them. Such response would be known as
an emotionally intelligent response.
e) Believe In Karma: The Path Of Action
The theory of karma is the central theme of
Bhagvad Gita which when translated into modern day
management may provide fresh approach into ‘doing’
the ‘right’ things at the ‘right’ time. Needless to
say that the deeds or actions of a manager not only
reflect his past experiences but also the future
likely actions he/she is likely to initiate.
Everybody looks for peace and happiness and nobody
likes to face adversity. That is why the soul is
bounded with Karma (deeds or actions). Bhagwat Gita
tells us that future is always based in our present
deeds whether they are good or bad. We can change our
future happening by virtue of our present pious deeds
and worship and by adopting true path. The aim of
human being is, spread brotherhood, love humanity,
spread cooperation, discharge duties, do pious deeds
and finally get salvation. Hindus believe in
reincarnation. The basic belief is that a person's
fate is determined according to his deeds. These
deeds in Hinduism are called 'Karma'. A person who
does good Karma in this life will be awarded with a
better life in the next incarnation. A person who
does bad Karma will be punished for their sins, if
not in this incarnation then in the next incarnation.
Karma Yoga (duties towards nation/organization/family
etc.) preached in Bhagwat Gita are the duties related
to the religious Mahabharata war for which Arjuna is
fundamentally liable to discharge being a warrior and
he discharged the same accordingly. Therefore, Sri
Krishna says to Arjuna, 'Your only duty is to act
(right to work) and not to hanker after the fruits
(or the results) thereof.' Neither the purpose of
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25. your actions nor the work should bind and blind you.
To work is to worship with total non-attachment and
selfless attitude. An emotionally intelligent manager
would interpret his/her emotions and follow the path
of actions. He/she would also decide which path of
action will lead him/her towards ‘success’ at the
workplace and personal life.
The managers may note that Bhagvad Gita tells
about valid actions, inaction, and improper or
prohibited actions. Sri Krishna teaches, the path of
action, as “Action is better than inaction. Without
action no one can survive." He teaches, "respond in
such a way that it does not bind but frees one from
ignorance." The method prescribed by Sri Krishna is:
"Do all work as worship to God. Do everything to the
best of your ability; suited to your ongoing
environment." In order not to be bound by our actions
we have to offer the fruits of our action to God. We
have to bear in mind that we are not the real doers -
the real doer is God (Sri Krishna) who is just the
witness to all these activities. 'Actionlessness' in
midst of all action is the secret prescribed by this
path. It may be seen that Bhagvad Gita provides for
continuous responding to ongoing environment with
emotional sensitivity. Whatever the scriptures
advocate should be accepted as correct action.
Similarly, the great sages and seers, prophets and
avatars also are sources for determining beneficial
karma. One should follow their advice. Actions like
hoarding, engaging in corrupt practices, bribery,
doing harm to others are considered bad. Similarly,
excessive, inappropriate and unmindful expression of
emotions such as lust, greed, hatred, anger, and
jealousy must be shunned. Therefore, these are not
proper karma. A manager who learns to appropriate
emotions to the desired levels will always get
appreciation. In other words he/she would be termed
as emotionally intelligent.
2

26. Every action produces some effect in the form of
impression on the subtle mind. As we sow, so do we
reap! Repeated karma of similar nature becomes a
habit. The sum total of karma is tendency which is a
learned emotional response to a particular situation.
The character of a manager is determined by such
tendencies; predominantly good tendencies make a
person noble, and bad tendencies him/her wicked. We
begin encountering karma as soon as we are born, and
continue to act till death in ceaseless chain of
karma. It is a continuous process of cause and
effect. Emotion is the main motivating factor behind
the karma. It may be noticed that complete
fulfillment of any emotion is impossible; on the
contrary, as habits, these emotions lead us to do
repeated karma even against our wish. Our karma may
harm us or may prove injurious to others; still we
act according to our predominant emotional
tendencies. Similarly, binding with good karma make a
manager work for the good of others (empathy). The
theory of karma also outlines the keys to maximizing
productivity at workplace and satisfaction in
personal life. As you, too, complete your own
personal Karma, you will naturally have a less
stressful attitude toward previously distressing
situations, and a strengthened ability to be present
in the moment, regardless of the circumstances. If
you wish to be emotionally competent and desire to
achieve all you have been longing for follow the
‘karma’, which is emotionally, spiritually and
practically beneficial for the entire humanity. It
may be observed that successfully and appropriately
responding to a vast variety of emotional stimuli
being elicited from inner self and external
environment is the key to understand theory of karma.
If a manager is looking to enrich your experience of
well-being and wish to lead an exciting and
extraordinary life, Bhagwat Gita can show the way
through the path of action.
2

27. f) Tackling Emotional Upsets Effectively: The Bhagvad
Gita’s Way
The managers may learn certain emotional
competencies to tackle emotional upsets by emulating
the sermons of Bhagvad Gita. The emotional upheavals
in personal and professional life affect the
productivity, effectiveness and self image. The life
of Pandavas in exile is a perfect example of tackling
emotional upsets in life. As the story goes, losers
in the deceitful act of gambling, and humiliated by
Kauravas, the Pandavas started for their exile in
forest. Sri Krishna reached Kamyak forest where
Pandavas and Draupadi were staying and advised
Pandavas to be patient and not lose heart. He
explained that the ordeal they had to face was for
their good, as "experience is the only source of
effective learning". Good and bad experiences are
essential to get correct perspective and fulfillment
of life. Suffering and sorrows bring requisite
feeling of renunciation essential to seek higher
goals in life.
However, not satisfied with the arguments of Sri
Krishna, Draupadi questioned him about the recent
insult inflicted on her at the hands of Duryodhana
which was fresh in the mind of Draupadi. She had also
not forgotten scornful laughter of Dhritarashtra and
Shakuni. All these memories made Draupadi emotional
and angry. Opening her heart to Sri Krishna, she said
in anguish: "O Krishna, how is it that this Draupadi,
sister of the Lord of Universe and wife of five
brave, powerful and invincible Pandavas has to go
through such horrible time? Was that not their duty
to protect me and punish the miscreants? Was that
fair on the part of Dhritarashtra to allow Dushasana
to drag me by hair and attempt to remove my clothing?
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28. Does Yudhisthira have right to put me at stake when
he himself had become slave of Duryodhana? And even
if the husband becomes slave does he lose right to
come to the rescue of his wife; does he lose the
right to protect the honour of his wife?" Draupadi
was emotionally upset due to assault on her honour.
She asked empathetically why Sri Krishna the God
incarnate allowed the game of dice in the first
instance as it leads to total corruption and
degeneration of the race. He would have forcefully
prohibited Duryodhana from engaging in such vice.
Gambling, smoking, drinking, hunting, and
prostitution are the curse on humanity, which every
righteous person should labour to avoid. The persons
who engage in these acts are doomed to destruction
and moral death. She rightfully demanded an answer
from Sri Krishna. The barrage of questions affected
Sri Krishna intensely. With due seriousness he
proclaimed, "O dear sister, do not grieve. I promise
you that every Kaurava would shed more tears than
what you have shed; for the non-righteous Kauravas
and their supporters in this shameful act are sure to
perish at the hands of Pandavas very soon." He
sermons Draupadi to face the challenges of life with
optimism as one day it is Pandavas who will conquer
and rule the mother India. The episode tells us to be
patient, optimistic and keep aim at your target to
enjoy the fruits of future. The managers may learn to
delay the gratification of reacting to the
uncomfortable situations instantaneously and strike
back as and when environment becomes favorably
inclined. Such a tendency is a sign of emotional
competency.
Another emotional competency we learn from
Bhagvad Gita is to face stress in life. The cause of
stress is basically because of built up of emotions
and the perceived inability to meet the existing
challenges or problems satisfactorily. This happens
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29. when the emotions could not get released or resolved.
Even though it is the same world for everyone, yet as
perceptions differ so do the responses. The important
causes of stress as enumerated in Bhagvad Gita are,
keeping goals without taking into consideration of
ones capacity and inclinations, imagining that
without the ‘fruit’ life would not be worth living,
imagining ourselves to be the only one responsible to
attain our goals, entertaining values and life-styles
which do not help us relax, having self-centered,
calculative and loveless relationships and faulty
perceptions about ourselves, life and also the world
at large.
How to counter the causes of stress. The Bhagvad
Gita says that you are never alone. “Look at the
cosmos, the world, the seasons, your body, everything
is working so beautifully. There is a great
intelligence operating in and through everything. One
should learn the art of performing actions while
holding the hands of this power called God. Everyone
in the world seeks pleasure, but it is strange to see
that majority has never cared to go into this secret
of life. Happiness is never in any object,
achievement or person in life. It is the subjective
essence of all. It is extremely important to open the
inner gates of joy, thereafter there will be a
subjective revolution in life. Further we learn from
Bhagvad Gita is that the essence of one is the
essence of all. Atma is Paramatma. Know that and be
free from all sense of limitations. The experience of
knowing one’s self is the experience beyond
description. It is verily total contentment. The
cancer of selfishness and egocentric existence is
rooted out completely thereafter.Any person who sees
the above facts of life, and also assimilates this
knowledge, shall certainly root out the very cause of
stress. Any other methodology is a compromise; it is
only a temporary cure, or a first aid. The thrust of
2

30. most the stress workshops is only in facilitating
release of 'pent-up-emotions' and do not provide any
plan of action to guarantee that the emotions will
not be repressed in the first place. Bhagvad Gita
provides a holistic approach in this regard. Before
facing the situation charge your mind with positive
thoughts and emotions, know your stress symptoms and
stressors Learn the ways to emotional release and
intense living, learn to 'let go' and relax,
cultivate positive qualities such as not getting
swept away by surge of an emotion, not losing your
cool for the fault of others, see all ego-centric
actions to be the cause of all negativities etc.
Yet another emotional competency to learn is
self-realization. It further means emotional
maturity, which constitutes evaluating emotions of
oneself, identify and express feelings and balancing
state of heart and mind. This is a state where an
individual recognizes his inner self and responds
accordingly. As stated in Bhagwat Gita, meditation is
the tool to achieve self-realization. In a secluded
place establish a posture with a straight back.
Concentrate between the eyebrows or on the tip of the
nose. Fix the mind on the Self (Atman). Develop one
pointed concentration called 'Dhyana' and achieve
Self-realization (or Union with God) in the state
called 'Samadhi'. Observing moderation in everything;
with strict celibacy; one overcomes the lower self in
order to gain the higher Self. Thus the Yogi no
longer relishes the pleasures of the senses. He
cannot be deluded any more. He abides in the Self.
Needless to say that many modern organizations and
individuals are practicing meditation to tackle
emotional upsets such as frustrations, conflicts,
inferiority complexes, stress and burnout etc.
3

31. Another emotional competency which the Bhagwat
Gita teaches you how to express yourselves. It may be
understood that there are many moments in our lives
when we knowingly suppress many of our emotions. This
becomes cause of many emotional upsets. The
psychologists explain that repressed emotions
accumulate a tremendous amount of dynamic energy
which must necessarily seek a field of expression. If
the expression of repressed emotions is not permitted
it can boomerang back to destroy the very individual.
As we may see in Mahabharata, the great hero Arjuna
came under the influence of his repressed conditions
on the battle field and behaved as a victim of
perfect neurosis. The causes of his emotional
repressions are not far to seek. A great hero,
confident of his own strengths, was made to live
amidst the unjust tyranny of his Machiavellian
cousins. At the same time the great archer could not
give vent to his nature because of the righteous
policy of peace of his elder brother, Yudhishthira.
Moreover, during the last year of their lives
incognito, the Pandavas family had to serve as a
menials in the palace of king Virata. The carping
injustice and the cruel indignities caused a lot of
repression in Arjuna’s mind. For expression of these
repressed emotions he found a healthy way in the
severe tapas which he performed during his life in
the jungles. It now transpires that an individual
needs to channel to express himself or herself for
healthy and stress less life. But how to do it is the
question.
If the managers decide to follow these
philosophies it may provide them eternal peace and
happiness. There are innumerable strategies
illuminated in Bhagvad Gita to cope with unpleasant
situations. For example, Bhagvad Gita tells you that
your behaviour should never be such that you don't
expect others to behave like you do. Revenge is not
3

32. always better, but neither is forgiveness; learn to
know them both, so that there is harmony. Be aware
that after joy follows sorrow and sorrow is followed
by joy like a cycle of day and night. They
ceaselessly rotate on the wheel of life;
This is relevant from point of view of modern concept
of management such as adaptability and flexibility –
an important sign of emotional maturity. These tell
you to behave differently in different situations. If
you have to get angry, do it; only thing to keep in
mind is that the anger should be appropriate to the
situation-neither more nor less. In addition, Bhagwat
Gita tells you that friendship is an important
emotional relationship, which has to be followed in
letter and spirit; similarly enmity is also an
emotional relationship, which needs to be followed up
to its logical conclusion. We are told to be
emotionally competent and fight your way out.
There are numerous other teachings Bhagwat Gita
has given which ranges from being emotionally mature
to being emotionally sensitive. The teachings go a
long way in helping us to understand how to tackle
emotional upsets in life. The modern world can
benefit by putting them in practice. For example,
according to Bhagwat Gita, lying is to deception what
adultery is to lust. Being honest about our
dishonesty is a lot harder than just not telling
lies; but it will bring freedom and wholeness when we
learn how to do it. Anger and lies may make people
mad; but genuine love and truth can be far more
convincing, and could lead to fiercer persecution. If
only we would confess our sins, our fears, our
disagreements, our delusions, our weaknesses, etc.,
we could be "cleansed from all unrighteousness." Such
a situation may be described as being emotionally
intelligent in modern times. The social conscience
forces us to hide the truth about the many games we
play with opponents in an effort to score points
3

33. against them. It may be wise to keep some things
(like suspicions) secret for a while, but it is
important to be clear with yourself and with God
about what is really happening. Clinging to a unique
self-image can blind people to the benefits of
identifying with others who preach the truth. Fear
and pride hold us back from spiritual growth. Make
the impossible possible, make room for us where there
is no room, bringing back life to us for we are as
good as dead. Mind is very restless, forceful and
strong, it is more difficult to control the mind than
to control the wind. But if we can master the art of
doing the same we will have all the joys in life and
handle emotional upsets. This is the real mantra of
Bhagvad Gita for modern day managers.
Conclusion:
While summarizing the lessons learned we may say
that a manager would know to inculcate the emotional
competency of righteousness actions from Bhagvad
Gita. It may be seen that the popularity of the
Bhagwat Gita is, to some extent due to the fact that
it managed to show that different pathways to God are
all equally valid. God can be reached through
different ways. Here ‘reaching the God has to be
interpreted in a wider perspective by the managers.
It may include craving for a satisfying personal life
or having effective outcome at workplace or perhaps
both. Any path which provides inner strength or
satisfaction to a manager to achieve his/his goals is
the path of action. It may be seen that Bhagwat Gita
stresses the paths of knowledge, action, devotion and
meditation while discouraging the path of emotions.
This may not be interpreted as ‘emotions’ being given
low priority or being ignored in Bhagwat Gita. The
correct interpretation would be that emotions, many a
times are so forceful and blind that they take over
human cognition and non-cognition. The effect in such
3

34. a circumstance is disastrous. Hence, Bhagwat Gita
tells a manager to regulate emotions in an
appropriate way and measure. This may be referred to
as emotional sensitivity which helps a person to
maintain harmony, rapport, and comfort with others.
Finally, a manager can choose the pathway or any
combination of pathways to suit his/her own
abilities.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote that ‘I find solace in the
Bhagvad Gita when disappointment stares me in the
face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go
back to Bhagvad Gita and begin to smile in the midst
of overwhelming tragedies’. A deep insight into the
tenets of holy Bhagvad Gita can help you inculcate in
your personality the traits of a great manager and
chief executive like Arjuna or greatest teacher and
patron like Krishna or an effective leader like
Yudhistra. There are other characters, as we have
seen, who in their own right, exhibit traits
reflecting diverse emotions, thought to be
appropriate even in modern times. This is why this
great epic is considered relevant and appropriate
even today worldwide. We have to learn to spread the
bright light of Bhagvad Gita to the world to achieve
definite excellence and move towards a stress free
and a dynamic managerial environment, which could be
applied both in our day-to-day activities and in the
competitive corporate environment.
3