PGPM at SPJIMR has a one credit course on Gita Shibir. When I first heard about this, I was puzzled – What a course in spirituality has to do with the management studies? My aim is to become an effective manager, at least I thought so.
But all my doubts, queries and concerns were resolved by our Dean, Dr Shrikant. The PGPM course at SPJIMR is designed to enrich our Intelligence Quotient (IQ – Head), Emotional Quotient (EQ – Heart) and Spiritual Quotient (SQ – Guts). In an introductory session on Gita Shibir, Dr Shrikant explained that in any management course, we study subjects like Financial Accounting though our aim is not to become a Chartered Accountant. We also study Business Law though our aim is not to become a lawyer. Similarly, we have this course on Gita Shibir, but our aim is not to become a sanyasi or a saint. This course on Gita Shibir helps us apply the spiritual learning from ancient Indian scriptures to our personal and corporate life. It intends to provide us with a value based growth that can transform us into better intuitive managers. In the introductory sessions by Dr Shrikant, I appreciated the fact that Gita Shibir is not about a particular religion. It is about the core concepts of spirituality which are applicable to humanity at large, irrespective of religion, caste, creed, language, country or any other differences. I also realized that these spiritual concepts make a good logical sense too and I developed a liking for this subject. I was now really looking forward to the three days of Gita Shibir session with Swami Viditatmanandji.
The three days with Swami Viditatmanandji endowed us with many pearls of knowledge and wisdom. There is a lot to learn from Geeta and it can not be summarized in a paragraph, but I would like to mention some key take aways from the session:
- We relate success only with external achievements such as wealth, power, name, and fame but in the process neglect the inner happiness. Inner happiness comes with emotional maturity which includes values such as kindness, compassion, honesty, ability to forgive others, charity, etc.
- Every relationship should be valued, nurtured and nourished. In any relationship, think what we can do for others and not what others can do for you.
- Happiness is a state of mind, a measure of adequacy. Happiness should be measured in terms of freedom, self-satisfaction and self-sufficiency and not in terms of fulfillment of desires. One needs to practice adequacy to achieve it. I remember Swamiji saying “Fake it till you make it” which means you fake being an adequate person (generous, kind, and selfless) till you actually reach there. When you practice adequacy it will automatically come to you sooner or later. Always feel that you are a giver or a contributor and one day you will actually be one. The aim in life is to be a net contributor/giver and not a net consumer/grabber.
- Unlike all other beings on earth, human beings have a free will, a freedom to make a choice. It is possible that we may misuse this freedom. We must understand that what we do has an effect on the rest of the universe because elements of the universe are interconnected. We are a part of the organic whole. The interconnected elements act in harmony with the universe. They do not compete, but co-operate with each other. So we should also behave responsibly and perform our actions in harmony with this interconnectedness.
- Every action/endeavour is a calculated risk. But we cannot determine the exact outcome based on our limited knowledge. So we must put in our best efforts and be ready to gracefully accept the outcome. Our actions are totally in our control, but the outcome is not. So it is important that we judge ourselves based on our efforts and not based on the outcome. This will enable us to take both success and failure with humility which will help us reduce stress, relax, enjoy and be happy.
- Anger is a result of failed expectations. Just as a matchstick burns itself first before it burns something else, anger burns us first before it affects others. To be free from anger, we should reduce expectations, accept the world and be compassionate.
I don’t know whether it was the energy level or the Aura of Swamiji, but during these three days, the average spirituality quotient of our entire batch seemed to be on a higher level. This was evident from the level of highly philosophical as well as practical questions that we asked during our interaction sessions. Swamiji’s answers to most of these questions provided us with wonderful insights and a different perspective of looking at things.
We all know that to be a successful person requires three things – Knowledge, Skill and Attitude (KSA). After attending the Gita Shibir, I have recognized that the PGPM course at SPJIMR is both comprehensive and complete as it focuses not only on Knowledge and Skills but also on the Attitude aspect of KSA.
-Posted by Reuben (PGPM class of 2010)
PGPM @ SPJIMR [1 Year MBA Program] 