ANCIENT INDIAN MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES ( SERIES ONE ) VIDUROPADESA
Hundreds of ancient Indian management books are available even today in the printed form. Most important among them are Bhagavath Gita, Yoga Vaasishta, Sukra neetisaara, Bhartruhari’s upadesa sataka, Chanakya neetisaara, Bhishmopadesa, Bharatopadesa, Lakshamnopadesa, hundreds of Subhashitas, dialogues/advise given by the gurus /Rushies in Ramayana and Mahabharata…and so on. These books and many other books of the same quality explain the management messages adoptable and adaptable for the 21st century. Here, we present few messages from Viduropadesa in the same order as it is given in his book. These messages are given by Vidura, to Dhrutharaashtra, when the latter was terribly confused whether to support his son Duryodhana who was practicing all adharma or support Dharmaputra who was the embodiment of dharma. At the junction of this confusion and self analyses Dhrutha raashtra invited his brother Vidura for consolation and for a solution to over come the problems. The messages given by Vidura to Dhrutharaashtra is known as Viduropadesha, which is the part of Mahabharatha, the great epic of Bharath.....
1. A scholar/ manager should have spiritual knowledge, devotion towards work, patience , endurance, moral strength.2. He should use the moral strength for protecting dharmic values; devotion towards work should be used for earning money and controlling luxurious expectations and the spiritual knowledge should be used for detachment.
3. The scholar should follow dharma and never practice adharma.
4. He should have faith in god and concentration towards work.
5. He should not get angry nor get excited / nor show the ego /nor be childish. He should not be a spent thrift and should not think ‘I am great and respectable’.
6. Should take other’s advise/ opinion before undertaking /doing a work.
7. He should not disclose everything about a work before it is completed.
8. Heat, cold, fear, happiness, unhappiness, luxury, poverty, etc., should not affect him positively or negatively.
9. He should not focus too much on the negatives or positives.
10. He should focus mainly on the work (Karma) / mission only.
11. A scholar/manager should use his wisdom for dharmic mission and also for prosperity in a dharmic way.
12. He should get away/ relieved from a luxurious / extravaganza in his life.
13. Expect what he deserves and whole heartedly work to achieve the goal (expectations).
14. Never ignore anything nor consider as silly; take seriously the work.
15. Try to listen as much as possible from all sources
16. Try to learn quickly and systematically
17. Never start any work without a deep understanding about the work.
18. Never interfere with others work without his consent.
19. Never talk in between without the consent of the speaker.
20. Never expect which you will not get; never feel sad on what you lost for ever and keep stability during crisis.
21. A manager should use powerful and attractive words during discussions
22. He should be in a position to convince others easily.
23. His words should reflect his wisdom and should be capable for interpreting the rules positively.
24. He should become a model for others in words and deeds.
25. His knowledge + experience + wisdom + action should work complementary to each other
26. His qualification, method of action and attitudes should also compliment each other.
27. He should never become crazy for money but should earn that through hard work.
28. Never give up any mission undertaken without completing it, however difficult may that be.
29. Never interfere with other’s work if it does not come under your purview . Treat the friends with the same dignity they show to you and never be over polite to those who do not respect / love you and never give up any good friends
30. Do not show affection / love to those who do not reciprocate and never try to fight with strong and powerful people.
32. Never try to impress by showing that an enemy is your friend
33. Never ill treat your good friends and never do bad against them / others.
34. Never try to project yourself, never doubt others (for everything).
35. Do the work undertaken within specific time limit
36. Respect the parents and forefathers, keep faith in the divine power and also try to make good friends.
37. Never enter into a house without invitation, never try to answer to a question without asking and never try to put trust on those who are not trustworthy.
38. Criticizing others for doing something and doing the same thing by self is foolishness.
39. Knowing well that self is incapable of doing something and then getting angry on others is foolishness.
40. Without knowing our own limitations and without doing any work / strain, trying to grab wealth of others is foolish.
41. Never advise those who do not deserve/ seek your guidance.
41. Expect nothing from a miser and from a useless fellow.
42. Try to follow the footsteps of highly educated, hardworking man who makes money in a dharmic way.
43. Share the food and money with others for making friendship.
44. Remember that many people do heinous work and others suffer.
45. Many a times those who create problems escape from the punishment.
46. The arrow shot from a bow may or may not kill but the intellectual power shot from an intelligent man can even uproot a nation.
47. A poison and an arrow may kill only to whom it was given/shot, the advise of a manager can destroy the whole system, including the manager himself.
48. Never eat tasty food alone, never analyze a serious matter alone, never go for a long tour alone, never walk away from a group of people sleeping together.
49. For Ship is needed for crossing the ocean similarly truth is needed for solving the problems.
50. Only one criticism / blame may have to be faced by a manager having good patience. That is ‘the manager is a coward’’ he will not have to face any other blame because patience is a great quality which attracts many
