6 Lessons from Mahabaratha

Mahabharata, the great epic of the Bharata dynasty, is not just a saga of war teems or a material of philosophical and devotional values. It is a tale that inspires awe and wonder, and is a true amalgamation of do’s and don’ts that can be related to every aspects of our day-to-day life.

Take a look at the six workplace lessons than can be drawn from this epic tale ascribed to the sage Vyasa, as listed on the Economic Times, based on the inputs of Devdutt Pattanaik, Chief Belief Officer, Future Group.

1. Don’t Be A Bhishma At Work:

Bhishma (Devavrata), the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu and Goddess Ganga, is depicted as a noble figure in the popular versions of Mahabharata. Yet most people wonder why he met a sorry end in the hands of Arjuna, pinned to the ground, suspended between the heaven and earth and unable to move his limbs.

As per the Hindu mythology and old Vedic ashram system, a man is supposed to enter vanaprasth ashram, i.e. retire, once his son has a son of his own, and enter sanyas ashram, i.e. renounce the world entirely, when his grandson has a son of his own. This is fundamentally a talent management policy that is meant to make certain that the old makes a way for the new.

Bhishma essentially went against the system. He took advantage of the boon ‘Swiccha Mrityu’ (control over his own death) and refused to die even after his grand-nephews became old enough to take control and rule the kingdom. Basically he refuses to let go, thus lord Krishna pinned him to the ground and got him out of the way, so that life can move on and natural order is restored.

So don’t be a Bishma at work. Yes, we are identified by the work we do and it is not easy to let go of our identity. But ultimately, you must learn to respect the natural order, let it go and allow the new breed to take control, when the time is right.

2. Business actions are not always rational, they are actually rationalized:

The Pandavas were struggling to make any inroads in the battle until Bhishma was in charge of the Kauravas. They realized that the victory was far from reality until Bhishma was at the helm. Though their grandsire couldn’t be killed because of his boon, he can be definitely incapacitated, thus preventing him from further participating in the battle.

They came to know that their grandsire would not take up arms in front of a woman. But women were forbidden from the battle field and the Pandavas were very desperate to find a way out. Finally they found a solution in Shikhandi, whose gender was ambiguous.

Pandavas saw Shikhandi as a man and made him ride on the chariot, while Bhishma saw him as a woman, lowered his bow and fell prey to Arjuna’s arrows.

As the Pandava interpretation seized them the victory, you can say that Shikhandi was a man. But this is not the rational answer; this is actually a rationalized one, since the rational explanation is completely independent of the outcome and exists before the actual event. Rational explanation is true irrespective of the outcome, whereas the rationalized explanations seek out for ways to justify the outcome.

In the business world, people take a decision based on how they perceive the situation, and if it works and bears fruit, they are taken by surprise. But the world at large is rationalized and demands justification.

3. Consequences of a Decision:

Decisions do not exist in isolation and are interpreted differently by different individuals.

Every individual perceives it from their own individual point of view and thus, every decision contributes to the measure of the one’s own value.

In the Mahabharata, Yudhishtira’s coronation in the newly built capital city of Indraprastha was attended by all the kings of the earth. During the coronation, the priests asked him to honor his guests and the first one to be honored had to be the most respected individual in the guest list.

Yudhishtira and his brothers, the Pandavas, were unanimous about their decision and decided to honor Krishna. But unfortunately, this did not go well with the other dignitaries present at the ceremony. They took this as an insult and raised objections. Tempers flared at the coronation ceremony, heated words were exchanged, and finally violence broke out

4. What Is Fair In Business Partnership?

In the ancient times, there were two asura brothers who were inseparable, and hence, indestructible. Threatened by their rising power, Indra, ruler of devas, made a wicked plan. He sent Tilotamma, an apsara, to seduce and destroy the evil brothers. Enslaved by her beauty both the brothers wanted to marry the apsara. But Tilotamma told that she would marry the stronger of the two and set a fight between the two, which eventually led to their end.

This was the story narrated by Narad exclaiming the risks of having a common wife to the Pandavas, which eventually led to the decision that each one of them would be husband to Draupadi for a year exclusively, in turns.

The brothers thought the decision regarding the common wife was fair and no one of course bothered to consult the daughter of Drupada. Who would have been the choice if the decision was left to Draupadi and would it be fair?

In business it is extremely hard and tricky to weigh both effort and fruits of labor. Which one is a fair decision and which one is not? And who decides what is fair? After all, fairness is biased and subjective

5. Responsible Managers Behave like Ram Instead of Pandavas:

Though both the twin epics of India are centered on forest-exile the reaction to the exile in both epics are startlingly different.

In the Ramayana, Ram goes into exile so that his father can keep his word to his step-mother, and states that neither Kaikeyi nor his father is to be held responsible. Whereas in the Mahabharata, Pandavas who go into exile following the loss of their kingdom in a gambling game, keep blaming Kauravas for trickery and fraud.

Though the loss of kingdom and exile into the forest is a symbol of misfortune, the response to this unfortunate event distinguishes the great from the mediocre and makes Ram king worthy of worship.

Managers of today can be classified into two categories, namely, Ramayana Managers and Mahabharata Managers. While the former take full responsibility for a situation, even if they are not to be held guilty, the latter step back from taking responsibility for a situation, even if they are held accountable.

6. Jealousy and the Issue of Power:

When Pandu came to know that his blind brother’s wife, Gandhari, was expecting a baby, he was deeply saddened and wept as he was unable to make his own two wives pregnant. After learning that his first wife Kunti could bear children by calling upon the gods, he insisted her to use the power. She called three gods and had three sons by them.

Later Pandu requested her to share the power with Madri, his second wife, so that even she could have children. After sharing the power, Madri called upon the twin gods and had two sons in a single go. Pandu again asked Kunti to share the power with Madri, but she refused. She was concerned that if Madri cleverly used the power to call upon another set of twin gods and ended up having more sons, she would become the more favored wife.

When this news spread and reached Gandhari’s ears while she was pregnant, she was utterly disappointed and started beating her belly with an iron bar to force out the child.

This is what hatred, jealousy and issue of power do to people, though they all pretend to be noble and dignified