The Bhagavad-Gita and Business Ethics

Abstract

The study of ancient wisdom has recently become a subject of growing interest. During the past decade we have witnessed an increase in the amount of literature on applying ancient wisdom in the context of business leadership. In the Asian context, the ancient literature from India and China is pregnant with several lessons which are relevant and useful for business leadership. Among the literature from the Indian context, the Bhagavad-Gita is one of the most popular and most cited by many scholars and practitioners in the field of business leadership. However, based on a survey of business leadership literature from the Bhagavad-Gita, very few works are found on the pressing and important topic of business ethics. Therefore, in this chapter the author attempts to explore and incorporate the ethical principles found in the Bhagavad-Gita into business leadership. In presenting the business ethics from the Bhagavad-Gita, the author has employed hermeneutics, which is a qualitative methodology used for the interpretation of ancient literatures. The Bhagavad-Gita advocates a consciousness and a spirit-centered approach to the subject of business ethics based on eternal values and moral principles that should govern the conduct of business leaders. This chapter is likely to provide insights into Indian business ethics for Western business leaders, enabling them to work more effectively with Indian business leaders in India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Western Europe and North America where there is a significant Indian population.