The Bhagavad Gita is an ancient text, a 700-verse Hindu scripture dating from the second half of the first millennium BCE. It has provided guidance for many millions of people. Now, writing in the International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, a team from the Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies in Faridabad, Haryana, India, suggest that the text is very much still relevant in today’s post-pandemic world. It may well provide relevant philosophical nutrition to help people, including those in business, cope with the harsh realities of life, instability, and the challenges they face in their personal and professional lives.
Monika Bansal and Surbhi Kapur suggest that the Bhagavad Gita, more formally the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, but often simply referred to as The Gita, has a narrative framework based on a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna, the Supreme Personality of the Godhead. The text brings together teachings regarding righteousness, attachment, and the yogic ideals of physical and mental health.
The team explains how the emergence of a novel and potentially lethal coronavirus in late 2019 wrought many problems through the COVID-19 pandemic it caused and that we are still living through more than two years later. Much sickness and death has taken place as well as massive disruption to millions, if not the many billions, of people around the world, society as a whole and our economic systems. We have faced many dilemmas and anxieties and many people have realized that there is a pressing need for us to relearn important life skills such as empathy, communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. With those tools we might better face the new-normal of this post-pandemic world.
A philosophical analysis of the ancient Indian literature found in The Gita has allowed the team to find practical solutions to many of the spiritual and mental problems we face at this time in human history. They suggest that leaders might learn new lessons from this text to offer the citizens help and new hope as we attempt to emerge into a post-pandemic world. The Gita is extensive and has many disparate sources and interpretations. The team concludes that future research “will help in simplifying and uncovering pearls of wisdom scattered across the firmament of ancient texts.” In addition, empirical work suggested by their literature review could provide nuanced corroboration of the benefits to humanity of The Gita as guide.
Bansal, M. and Kapur, S. (2022) ‘Life skills from Bhagavad Gita: a vital enabler for leadership excellence in pandemic times and the world beyond’, Int. J. Management Concepts and Philosophy, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.80–95.
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