God may not hold board meetings, but the boardroom is certainly seeking an audience. To optimise performance by channelling their minds to a 'higher' level the corporate buzzword has moved beyond the realms of brainstorming. Most are now seeking to satiate a soul-search and looking for wisdom that only a guru can impart.
When the high profile Ambani clan invited renowned spiritual guru Murari Bapu to speak at the Dhirubhai Ambani memorial lecture, the message was loud and clear, being in sync with the inner self was as important as chasing numbers for the annual report. Be it Reliance, Mafatlal, HDFC, larsen and Tubro or the Confederation of Indian Industries (Cll) all have sought holistic guidance from gurus at one point or the other. According to the spiritual speakers themselves, the high level of competitiveness has increased negative feelings and stress, reflected in extreme cases by growing suicide rates.
Art of living, ISKCON, Vedanta Vision, Vedanta Academy have now specially designed packages to answer these spiritual needs. Art of living courses, initialised by the Times Foundation, see a number of corporates dedicating themselves to sessions in breathing exercises, meditation and spiritual reflection. Motivational talks, interspersed with spiritual wisdom, by Swami Parthasarthy of the Vedanta Academy have entrepreneurs listening in rapt attention.
Regular workshops for corporate executives, which translate Vedantic philosophy into practical business life, are conducted by many spiritual speakers "Spirituality can help business do better," is the new mantra. Reflected in the fact that a guru like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has a dedicated following from amongst the captains of the corporate world, including Vijay Mallaya. According to ISKCON's Radhakrishna Prabhuji, in this day and age of credit cards and consumerism, the spirit is left wanting. "We go to whoever invites us, so many industrial groups have expressed interest. All just want some peace of mind."
"People are beginning to understand that spirituality helps in bringing success to business too, they see that in the West people have accepted it. The trend will continue here, "says Jaya Rao of the Vedanta Vision who interprets the Bhagwad Gita to fit in with modern life.
While the trend is growing, most
spiritual teachers say there is no one constant 'guru' for any company.
Often the allegiance of the top management is the deciding factor.
The best of the corporates, nevertheless, offer a variety of
spiritual channels for the employees to choose what suits their quest best.
The search say gurus should be knowledge based.