For so long Sun Tszu's The Art Of War has ruled the boardroom. However it looks like now another eastern scripture is set to replace it at the top of every manager's bookshelf.

The Bhagavad Gita, a profound and important scripture in the Hindu faith is rapidly finding favour with business managers in the USA. So much so that the respected business publication BUSINESSWEEK decided to publish an article about it (see Karma Capitalism).

The ancient spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita seems at first like an odd choice for guiding today's numbers-driven managers. Literally translated as 'Song of the Divine', is a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, a warrior prince struggling with a moral crisis before a crucial battle between good and evil.

One key message is that enlightened leaders should master any impulses or emotions that cloud good judgment. Successful leaders are selfless, take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or financial gain. "The key point," says Ram Charan, a coach to CEOs such as General Electric Co.'s Jeffrey R. Immelt, "is to put purpose before self. This is absolutely applicable to corporate leadership today."

At the forefront of the movement to incorporate Hindu wisdom into the modern workplace is Swami Parthasarathy, an 80-year-old Hindu sage clad in a kurta and dhoti deeply learned in the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. His primary mantra is "concentration, consistency, and cooperation". Recently he held a exciting presentation on how the Bhagavad Gita can help to improve business relations.

One reason for the sudden surge in interest in Hindu philosophy in the business industry could be attributed to the fact that so many in the industry are in fact either of Hindu/Indian origin or have a strong Indian/Hindu family background.

Phrases from the Gita are now appearing frequently in many management courses and books combining the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita and the effective leadership in the business environment are popping up in bookstores everywhere.

A theory for the rise of Hindu philosophy could be attributed to the notion that business workplace has usually been seen as something unsavoury where one may well have to be of rather questionable character to succeed. Hence the Bhagavad Gita is now being used as a tool to combat this - enabling one to combine competitiveness and even aggression, together with morality and inner peace.

http://www.hinduvoice.co.uk/Issues/12/Management.htm