The globe has begun to consider the underlying causes of the difficulties we face in the twenty-first century. Many countries around the world have seen various permutations and combinations of ideologies, including socialism, communism, secularism, feminism and fascism. They are adequate for fixing specific problems, but full and integral answers can only be discovered by investigating humanity’s moral, social, and spiritual ideals. Economic and fiscal policies are only tools for achieving the social needs and ends. A study of Bharatiya approaches to these ideals will be beneficial for this activity.
Swami Vivekananda, who had previously highly praised the achievements of Bharatiya intellectuals, also condemned intellectuals for imposing some obsolete practices on Bharatiya society. Swamiji had explored the Western world with open eyes and an open heart. He remarked, “The West has studied mostly outwardly, while Bharat has studied mostly inwardly.” Cultural philosophy and ideology principles are interior manifestations of minds. The main difference between the approaches of the West and the East is that the West perceives things outwardly, whereas the Bharatiya mind sees things from both within and outside. Consequently, the Bharatiya approach has always been holistic. The technique begins with an individual and progresses in a spiral pattern to family, society, nation, world, and finally, universe. So it includes the individual (Vyashti), society (Samashti), nature (Shrushti), and the Almighty (Parmeshti). It thinks that the Almighty (Parameshti) is a common thread that connects everything in one string.”
Deendayal stated, “The first attribute of Bharatiya culture is that it views life as an integrated totality. It takes an integrative approach. The West’s bewilderment stems mostly from its tendency to divide life into chunks and then try to glue them together. We acknowledge that there is diversity and plurality in life, but we have always sought to identify the unity that underpins them. This endeavor is completely scientific. Today, we understand that the entire cosmos is simply a type of energy. Philosophers are basically scientists.” Western philosophers advanced to the principle of duality. Hegel proposed the principles of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Karl Marx used his principle as the foundation for his analysis of history and economics. Darwin saw the idea of ‘Survival of the Fittest’ as the sole foundation of life. In contrast, Bharatiyas saw existence as fundamentally interconnected. The roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the tree all grow from seed. Projections differ, but living fundamentals are the same. All of these have unique shapes and colours, as well as, to some extent, unique properties. We realise their connectedness with one another.
The eternal nature of the soul is one of the key principles defined by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Even in recent management literature, the concept of a soul is gaining popularity. In his book The 8th Habit, Stephen Covey advises professionals to listen to their “inner voice.” When introducing the entire person paradigm, he discusses the four dimensions of a person: spirit, body, heart, and mind.
A careful investigation of our ancient Bharatiya scripture, which includes the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Arthashashtra, yields a genuine treasure trove. This jewel offers the best instructions for how an individual should behave towards his family, society, and colleagues. Hindu texts are a corpus of knowledge that guides people in understanding the divine nature of the “ultimate truth” and mapping their own path to self-realisation. They are fully spiritual knowledge that teaches spiritual principles using numerous analogies from the temporal cosmos and the natural world around us. The Bharatiya scriptures provide extensive knowledge in science, spirituality, psychology, and management. A single person’s well-being and activities can have an impact on the overall success of an organisation.
The Bhagavad Gita discusses current (Western) management themes such as vision, leadership, motivation, work excellence, goal achievement, purposeful work, decision-making, and planning. There is a considerable difference. While Western management theory typically addresses challenges at the material, external, and peripheral levels, the Bhagavad Gita addresses issues at the fundamental level of the human mind. When a person’s basic thinking improves, so do the quality of his actions and the outcomes.
Workshop by a think tank at Devon (UK)
A workshop hosted by a think tank for ‘Holistic Economics’ in November 2007 in Devon (UK) was a significant step toward such a study. The following passage from the report on the ‘think tank’ attests to their work: “We need Renaissance. We must reconsider everything we now take for granted, beginning with our fundamental ideals. We don’t need to ‘wipe the slate clean’, but we do need to take stock of all we have and start over with whatever is good and worth preserving, while letting the rest go; we don’t need to waste time on philosophies, institutions, and technologies that are clearly failing. Above all, we must think ‘holistically’, that is, consider everything in relation to everything else. This is what the world is now failing spectacularly at.
“The current economy is purposefully geared to generate wealth, with the seeming notion that if we have enough money, we can always buy our way out of difficulties. Political leaders aspire, above all, to enhance the Gross Domestic Product. However, GDP is only a measure of the overall economy in circulation and has no direct bearing on human well-being. However, our entire society is committed to the concept of personal accumulation and overall economic progress. Economic growth will almost certainly be most effectively achieved through a profit-making economic system. That system is neoliberalism, and that is what we have. “We need an economy that operates on its own terms while remaining firmly founded in moral, spiritual, and social values, as well as being in tune with the physical realities of the Earth. There are plenty of suggestions, but many have already been implemented and proven to be effective.”
Professor Colin Tudge at Devon
“Today’s politicians enjoy arguing, and some genuinely feel that they are acting in the best interests of the people. They want to maximise total happiness, yet they are committed to the concept of maximising GDP, which has little to do with happiness. It is easy to imagine societies in which GDP is maximised by destroying the environment; wrecking local societies (the people who rely on the forest or fish in the rivers); and all new wealth ends up in the hands of the (hawkish) minority, who then use it to make changes that cause even more havoc for the poor majority. Indeed, such examples are all around us. We should measure success in terms of Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product. Bhutan has already established this as a principle”.
“There’s one final irony. The Schumacher workshop that explored these concerns came to this conclusion – Gross National Happiness rather than GDP – by abandoning utilitarian ethics in favor of virtue ethics. But let us take a closer look at the current economy. It serves us so poorly because it is inherently materialistic and competitive. However, its failings are exacerbated by several fundamental structural problems, which, sadly, few people comprehend, including many of the world’s leaders.”
The entire spiral of individual, family, community, nation, universe, and almighty, as well as their interconnections, needs in-depth analysis and action. The book “The Key to Total Happiness” discusses all of these factors in length and how they must be interlaced using sanatan principles that have previously been successfully tested and confirmed. That is why the world is gradually shifting toward Hindutva philosophy in order to make the world a better place to live, and communists, urban naxals, the world’s few wealthy families who practice communism, and capitalists must comprehend this better and sooner. Otherwise, their downfall would be much faster.
