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<ul><li>Tamil Nadu’s technical varsity <keyword id="6364790" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="anna-university">Anna University</keyword> is facing heat as it proposed introducing ‘Philosophy’ as a subject for engineering students. </li><li>The university plans to teach Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads to postgraduate students. </li><li>This move fired a debate in the state, criticising it for imposing of <keyword id="6390141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sanskrit">Sanskrit</keyword> and Hindu religion. </li><li>The university has rolled out six audit courses (non-mandatory) in all for the overall personality development of the students, following the guidelines of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).</li></ul>Tamil Nadu’s technical varsity Anna University is facing heat as it plans to teach the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita as a part of <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/bhagavad-gita-for-engineering-students-creates-controversy-in-anna-university/articleshow/71293637.cms">‘Philosophy’ </a>to engineering students. The university plans to teach the mentioned scriptures as part of audit course, which is not mandatory, to postgraduate students. The university said that ‘Srimad Bhagavad Gita’ by Swami Swarupananda can aid in personality development. This fired a debate in the state. M K Stalin, President of <keyword id="294965" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dravida-Munnetra-Kazhagam">Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam</keyword> (DMK) <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/dmk-left-slam-move-to-impose-sanskrit-in-anna-university-no-course-is-compulsory-says-the-varsity-1603375-2019-09-26">said</a> that "It is condemnable to attempt imposition of Sanskrit by making philosophy compulsory in the syllabus of Anna University's CEG campus." The university responded by saying that the students are free to choose any audit course, and it is not a compulsion to go with Philosophy. "We are not imposing anything, in fact, we are not teaching Sanskrit at all," it argued. The university rolled out six audit courses in all as per the guidelines of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). "To provide students with well-rounded development, we are introducing more and more courses in humanities," the university noted. Demanding withdrawal of the subject from the engineering syllabus, CPI (M) state unit secretary K Balakrishnan said, "This is against the principles of secularism. Introducing the teaching of a particular religion in a syllabus studied by students from all faiths and the state government standing by that, is not acceptable." See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-bill-to-do-away-with-ugc-and-aicte-will-be-tabled-in-the-parliament-in-october/articleshow/71305689.cms">A Bill to do away with UGC and AICTE will be tabled in the Parliament in October</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/aicte-awards-for-top-colleges-and-organisations-with-best-internships/articleshow/70834885.cms">The top Indian colleges and organisations for internships, awarded by AICTE</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/according-to-aicte-78-engineering-colleges-are-going-to-shut-down-this-academic-year/articleshow/70345828.cms">Over 70 engineering colleges in India opt for ‘progressive closure’ as they fall short of students, checkout the full list</a>

Anna University faces heat as it proposes Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads for engineering students

As the auspicious festival of <keyword id="3578494" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Janmashtami" source="Orion">Janmashtami</keyword> approaches on 26th August 2024, devotees across India and the world are gearing up to celebrate the birth of <keyword id="19906323" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lord-Krishna" source="keywords">Lord Krishna</keyword>, one of the most revered deities in Hinduism. This day marks the divine arrival of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, who is celebrated for his wisdom and love for his devotees. On this special occasion, sharing heartfelt wishes, messages, images and quotes is a beautiful way to spread the joy and blessings of Shri Krishna. <div type="image" title="Happy janmashtami" msid="112798008" hostid="261" sizebytes="1259813"></div> <h2>Wishes for Krishna <keyword id="19996782" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Janmashtami-2024" source="Orion">Janmashtami 2024</keyword></h2><ul><li>May Lord Krishna steal all your worries and fill your life with love, peace, and happiness. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>Wishing you a blessed Janmashtami! May Lord Krishna's divine grace be with you today and always.</li><li>On this Janmashtami, may your heart be filled with love, and your life be filled with happiness. Jai Shri Krishna!</li><li>Let the spirit of Janmashtami bring you joy and inspire you to live with love, humility, and devotion. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May the blessings of Lord Krishna fill your life with good health, wealth, and prosperity. <keyword id="8011345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Happy-Krishna-Janmashtami" source="Orion">Happy Krishna Janmashtami</keyword>!</li><li>Celebrate the birth of Kanha with full fervour and joy. Wishing you a blessed and joyful Janmashtami!</li><li>May the divine presence of Lord Krishna always be with you and your family. Wishing you a very Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May Krishna's blessings fill your life with love, laughter, and happiness. Happy Janmashtami 2024!</li><li>On this Janmashtami, may your heart and home be filled with the love and joy of Krishna. Jai Shri Krishna!</li><li>May Lord Krishna's flute invite the melody of happiness into your life. Wishing you a very Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May the teachings of Lord Krishna inspire you to lead a life full of wisdom, love, and peace. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>Wishing you a joyous Janmashtami filled with the blessings of Krishna and the love of your near and dear ones.</li><li>Let us celebrate the birth of the divine saviour with devotion and joy. Wishing you a very Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May the love and blessings of Lord Krishna always be with you. Have a blessed Janmashtami!</li><li>May Lord Krishna bless you with all the things you desire and deserve. Wishing you a very Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>On this holy occasion, may Lord Krishna bless you with eternal happiness, love, and peace. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May you find your love and happiness on this Janmashtami. Wishing you a blissful Janmashtami 2024!</li><li>Let us celebrate the birth of Krishna with love, joy, and devotion. Wishing you and your family a blessed Janmashtami!</li><li>May Lord Krishna bless you with wisdom and courage to follow the path of righteousness. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>Wishing you a Janmashtami full of love, peace, and happiness. May Krishna always be with you.</li><li>May the divine light of Lord Krishna always guide you in your life. Happy <keyword id="218220" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Krishna-Janmashtami" source="Orion">Krishna Janmashtami</keyword>!</li><li>On this divine occasion, may Lord Krishna bless you with love, joy, and peace. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>Wishing you and your family a Janmashtami filled with love, devotion, and prosperity. Jai Shri Krishna!</li><li>May Lord Krishna bring joy, peace, and love to your life on this Janmashtami. Happy Krishna Janmashtami!</li><li>May the divine blessings of Lord Krishna bring you eternal happiness. Happy Janmashtami 2024!</li><li>May Krishna’s blessings bring you love and prosperity. Wishing you a blessed and joyful Janmashtami!</li><li>Let the celebrations of Janmashtami bring joy, peace, and love into your life. Jai Shri Krishna!</li><li>Wishing you a Janmashtami full of love, peace, and prosperity. May Krishna’s blessings be with you always.</li><li>May Lord Krishna’s divine grace fill your life with love, happiness, and peace. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>On this Janmashtami, may you be blessed with love, happiness, and success. Happy Krishna Janmashtami!</li></ul><div type="image" title="Janmashtami" msid="112798015" hostid="261" sizebytes="1275199"></div><h2>Messages for Krishna Janmashtami</h2><ul><li>On this holy occasion of Janmashtami, may Lord Krishna bless you with prosperity and success. May you find peace and happiness in his divine love.</li><li>As you fast and celebrate on Janmashtami, may the love and blessings of Lord Krishna be with you. Wishing you a joyful and blessed Janmashtami!</li><li>Let us follow the teachings of Lord Krishna and lead a life of truth and righteousness. Wishing you a blissful Janmashtami!</li><li>The divine festival of Janmashtami is here! Let us celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna with love, devotion, and joy.</li><li>May the celebrations of Janmashtami be as joyful as Shri Krishna's childhood. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>As we celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna, let us take a moment to reflect on his teachings and the path of righteousness. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>On this Janmashtami, may you find the strength to overcome all your challenges with the divine grace of Lord Krishna.</li><li>Let us spread love and happiness in the name of Lord Krishna. Wishing you a joyous and blessed Janmashtami!</li><li>May the teachings of Lord Krishna inspire you to lead a life full of love, peace, and happiness. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>On this divine occasion of Janmashtami, may Lord Krishna bless you with love, peace, and prosperity. Jai Shri Krishna!</li></ul><h2>Quotes of Shri Krishna</h2>“Do your duty without expecting the fruits of your labour.” – Bhagavad Gita <div type="image" title="Shri Krishna" msid="112798036" hostid="261" sizebytes="2058811"></div> “You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of the work.” – Bhagavad Gita “Change is the law of the universe. You can be a millionaire, or a pauper in an instant.” – Bhagavad Gita “Whatever happened, happened for the good. Whatever is happening, is happening for the good. Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.” – Bhagavad Gita “When a man dwells on the objects of sense, he creates an attraction for them; attraction develops into desire, and desire breeds anger.” – Bhagavad Gita “There is neither this world, nor the world beyond, nor happiness for the one who doubts.” – Bhagavad Gita <div type="image" title="Radha Krishna" msid="112798105" hostid="261" sizebytes="2223783"></div>“The mind is restless and difficult to restrain, but it is subdued by practice.” – Bhagavad Gita “He who has no attachments can really love others, for his love is pure and divine.” – Bhagavad Gita “The soul is neither born, and nor does it die.” – Bhagavad Gita “The wise man lets go of all results, whether good or bad, and is focused on the action alone.” – Bhagavad Gita These wishes, messages, and quotes you can share with your loved ones to spread the joy and blessings of Shri Krishna on Janmashtami 2024. Celebrate this festival with devotion, love, and a heart full of gratitude! SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/webstories/8-iconic-krishna-temples-to-visit-on-janmashtami/slidelist/112702875.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">8 iconic Krishna temples to visit on Janmashtami</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/webstories/janmashtami-2024-8-spots-to-celebrate-lord-krishnas-birth/slidelist/112654098.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Janmashtami 2024: 8 spots to celebrate lord Krishna’s birth</a>

Happy Krishna Janmashtami 2024: Wishes, messages, images and quotes to celebrate Shri Krishna's birth

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The use of a sacred Hindu scripture during the "Oppenheimer" sex scene is sparking outrage among India's right wing.</li><li>Reading from the Bhagavad Gita occurs during an intimate scene featuring Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer and Florence Pugh's Jean Tatlock.</li></ul>The use of a sacred Hindu text during a sex scene in "Oppenheimer" is drawing backlash from India's right-wing groups.The historical drama, directed by <a href="https://www.insider.com/christopher-nolan-doesnt-use-smartphone-email-writes-script-no-internet-2023-7">Christopher Nolan</a>, tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist known as the father of the <a href="https://www.insider.com/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-atomic-bomb-no-cgi-response-2023-7" rel="">atomic bomb</a>. The film stars <a href="https://www.insider.com/cillian-murphy-blue-ocean-eyes-distraction-on-oppenheimer-set-2023-7">Cillian Murph</a>y in the titular role, with Florence Pugh playing his lover, Jean Tatlock.During the <a href="https://www.insider.com/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-sex-scenes-explanation-essential-2023-7">sex scene</a> between both characters, Tatlock pauses to ask Oppenheimer to read from a copy of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oppenheimer-famous-quote-become-death-destroyer-worlds-from-hindu-scripture-2023-7">Bhagavad Gita</a> — a holy Hindu text."And now I am become death, destroyer of worlds," Oppenheimer says as they resume sex. The use of the Bhagavad Gita during the sex scene has caused an uproar among right-wing groups in India, with one politician demanding the scene be removed globally. Uday Mahurkar, India's Information Commissioner, called the scene "a scathing attack on Hinduism," per a <a href="https://twitter.com/UdayMahurkar/status/1682763212339695617">statement</a> that he posted on Twitter on Saturday. "A divine gift to human civilisation by Bhagwan Sri Krishna, the Bhagwad Geeta, is one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism," Mahurkar said in the tweet. "One is perplexed as to how the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) could approve the movie with this scene."In an <a href="https://twitter.com/UdayMahurkar/status/1682824374238466048" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open letter to Nolan</a> posted on Twitter on the same day as the previous tweet, Mahurkar goes on to say that the scene "amounts to waging a war on the Hindu community and almost appears to be part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces." He calls for Nolan to remove the scene from the film around the world: "Should you choose to ignore this appeal it would be deemed as a deliberate assault on Indian civilisation."Mahurkar's tweets have sparked a flurry of replies. While some support his stance, others think his claims are blown out of proportion.A Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/asheem/status/1682932399645028353">responded</a> by saying that the scene "merely dramatized the perversity of Oppenheimer," and that "no one in their right mind who saw a 20 second reference to a Sanskrit verse will take it a slur on Hinduism." Despite that, India's Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur is looking to take action against the Central Board of Film Certification for failing to "safeguard the interests of the public," The Times of India <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/union-minister-anurag-thakur-warns-of-action-on-cbfc-over-oppenheimer/articleshow/102089099.cms?from=mdr">reported</a>.Apart from the sex scene, the quote from the Bhagavad Gita is repeated several times throughout the film. Oppenheimer was deeply interested in the scripture, and it had, in part, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oppenheimer-famous-quote-become-death-destroyer-worlds-from-hindu-scripture-2023-7">helped him make sense of his actions.</a>Murphy told Indian film critic Sucharita Tyagi in an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63PQ31wSCrA&amp;ab_channel=SucharitaTyagi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> last week that he had read the Bhagavad Gita in preparation for his role."I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text — very inspiring," Murphy said. Referring to Oppenheimer, Murphy added: "I think it was a consolation to him, he kind of needed it and it provided him a lot of consolation, all his life."This is not the first time that India's right-wing groups have taken offense over a scene.In 2020, some Hindu nationalist politicians were outraged at a kissing scene between a Hindu woman and a Muslim man at a Hindu temple in the Netflix series "A Suitable Boy," per <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/23/media/a-suitable-boy-netflix-india-intl-hnk/index.html">CNN</a>. Universal Pictures and India's Central Board of Film Certification did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

The use of a sacred Hindu scripture during a sex scene in 'Oppenheimer' has sparked controversy among India's right-wing groups

Sri Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu is also known as the Purna Avatar or the complete manifestation of the supreme cosmic energy. Krishna was born on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark phase of the lunar month (Krishna Paksha) in the month of Shravan. Krishnashtami, Krishna Jayanti, or <keyword id="218220" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Krishna-Janmashtami" source="Orion">Krishna Janmashtami</keyword> is celebrated in Hindu households. Krishna gave us the most sacred teaching of Bhagavad Gita. Several miracles and divine plays performed by Lord Krishna are described in the Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata. Hence Krishna is revered as Jagadguru or the divine master who dispels darkness and lights the lamp of wisdom in people’s hearts. On the day of Krishnashtami, greet your near and dear ones with some select messages and quotes shared here. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Krishna janmashtami 2022 messages and greetings" comment="subhead" text="Krishna janmashtami 2022 messages and greetings">Krishna janmashtami 2022 messages and greetings</cmsannotation> <ul><li>Krishna, the divine teacher of the universe, is always here with you -- to guide you to lead your life with clarity, joy, confidence, and hope. Let the day of Krishnashtami ignite benevolent spirits in you and dispel the darkness of ignorance. May you be blessed with divine protection. </li><li>May Lord Krishna be with you and your family, always! Blessings of Health, Wealth, Love, and Happiness. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>Murli Manohar… Giridhara Gopala… Govinda Hari… This Janmashtami, as you chant the names of Shri Lord Krishna, may he shower upon you his divine blessings. Happy Krishna Janmashtami!</li><li>Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna… Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare… Wishing you a happy and blessed Krishna Janmashtami!</li><li>May the blessings of Lord Krishna enhance each moment of your life… this Janmashtami… and always!</li><li>May the blessings of Lord Krishna always be with you and your family. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May Lord Krishna bless you and your family with peace and happiness… Happy Krishna Janmashtami!</li><li>Sending your way, warm heartfelt wishes. May you enjoy this joyous occasion. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May the Natkhat Nand Lal always provide you and your family with happiness, health, and prosperity. </li><li>May the festival of Janmashtami bring you joy, peace, and love. Happy Krishna Janmashtami!</li><li>May Lord Krishna's flute invite the melody of love into your life. Wishing you all very Happy Janmashtami!.</li><li>May Lord Krishna steal all your tensions and worries… And give you all the love, peace, and happiness on this holy occasion of Krishna Janmashtami.</li><li>On this Janmashtami, may all your wishes come true and may Nand Gopal shower his blessings on you and your loved ones! Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>May the blessings of Lord Krishna fill your life with happiness on this Janmashtami.</li><li>May Lord Krishna give you strength and inspire you to face all problems in life with great courage. Happy Krishna Janmashtami!</li><li>May Lord Krishna come to your house and take away your Makhan &amp; Mishri along with all your worries &amp; sorrows.</li><li>Let there be love and laughter in your life with Lord Krishna's blessings. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>On this holy occasion of Shri Krishna Janmashtami, I hope and pray that the blessings of Shri Krishna may always be with you. May your heart and home be filled with happiness, peace and prosperity. Happy Janmashtami!</li><li>This Shri Krishna Janmashtami, eliminate the Kansa within you, to restore Dharma. May only goodness prevail. Here's wishing a very Happy Shri Krishna Janmashtami to you and your family.</li><li>May this auspicious occasion of Shri Krishna Janmashtami bring a lot of positivity, peace and harmony in your life. Happy Janmashtami to you.</li><li>May Lord Krishna give you strength and inspire you to face all problems in life with great courage. Happy Krishna Janmashtami!</li></ul> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Happy Krishna Janmashtami - quotes from Bhagavad Gita" comment="subhead" text="Happy Krishna Janmashtami - quotes from Bhagavad Gita">Happy Krishna Janmashtami - quotes from Bhagavad Gita</cmsannotation> "The secret of karma yoga which is to perform actions without any fruitive desires is taught by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita" - Swami Vivekananda "It is better to perform one’s own duties imperfectly than to master the duties of another. By fulfilling the obligations one is born with, a person never comes to grief" "The message of the Gita is to be found in the second chapter of the Gita where Lord Krishna speaks of the balanced state of mind, of mental equipoise" - Mahatma Gandhi "The mind is restless and difficult to restrain, but it is subdued by practice" "Experience cold or heat, pleasure, or pain. These experiences are fleeting; they come and go. Bear them patiently" "I enter into each planet, and by My energy, they stay in orbit. I become the moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables"

Krishna Janmashtami 2022 wishes, messages and quotes

<ul><li>Like Humans, do brands also straddle between <keyword id="1339547" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mrityu" source="Orion">Mrityu</keyword> and <keyword id="12853" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="moksha" source="Orion">Moksha</keyword>? Find out in this 2 part article series by <keyword id="9324569" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shashwat-das" source="Orion">Shashwat Das</keyword>, Founder, <keyword id="7465777" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="almond-branding" source="Orion">Almond Branding</keyword>.</li><li>He shares how a few preachings of the Bhagavad Gita are applicable to brands as well.</li></ul>The other day, I came across an interesting insight from the Bhagavad Gita. In its Chapter 2, the Gita says that unlike a human body, the soul is immortal. While the human body may die of death or disease, the soul inside never dies. It simply gets in to new clothes (body) and continues its journey. This made me think whether this preaching of the Gita is applicable to brands as well? I started looking around for examples where brands have either died completely or have risen from the dead or the brink of death to emerge stronger in a new avatar. I did find a number of brands which have died their natural death, but more than that, I found that the number of brands that have reinvigorated themselves is far higher. Also, most of these re-born brands are even doing much better than before! So, just like the mighty Arjun who went to Lord Krishna for answers, I too went to Lord Google and started searching for answers to my questions. I had just two questions: <ol><li>Why do brands die and </li><li>How should a dying or a dead brand revive itself? </li></ol>In this article let us answer the first question first? Why do brands die? After much research and my interaction with many practicing experts I found the answers to these crucial questions. So, why do brands die in the first place? There are many reasons for this. But the main ones are: <ul><li>Being stagnant</li></ul>They say that rolling stones gather no moss. This is true for brands too. Brands that do not keep them updated to conditions around them become stagnated start to lose their charisma. Customers always like to connect with brands who are their own personality. If brands do not make an effort to emulate the customer’s personality or atleast lead a customer towards achieving one, then death is certain. There are many examples in India where brands remained stagnated and died without even realising what hit them. Remember brands like HMT, Campa Cola or Ambassador cars? These brands did not anticipate the changes happening around them and more importantly, even after knowing it refused to change thus leading to their death. Avoiding stagnation becomes more critical when we realise that most of them were market leaders once upon a time! <ul><li>Being disconnected with its customers</li></ul>Every brand has to evolve with its customers. Brands that realise the changes occurring in customer sensibilities in time and adapt themselves to these changes not only survive, but often thrive. Take the brand Lifebuoy. From being a mere bathing soap that had a very rustic look, Lifebuoy is today positioned as a health soap. There were times when Lifebuoy was used by people only to clean themselves after toiling in fields and dirt. But not anymore, Lifebuoy is much more than that today. It is a health-cum-beauty soap. Another brand that has remained connected with its customers is Pepsi. Pepsi keeps reinventing its brand identity every few years. Being a global brand, Pepsi looks for universally common themes and incorporates them into its visual identity elements. <ul><li>Misplaced value equation</li></ul>Customers buy a particular brand because that brand balances their value equation completely. To some, value is in terms of money while to some it is functional benefit and to some it is emotional benefit. But the moment a brand fails to balance this equation, things start going bad for a brand. Look at what happened to brands like shopclues.com. Once considered as a unicorn material, shopclues.com does not even appear in the customer’s consideration set today. Or for that matter MTNL. Once considered as the lifeline of Mumbai &amp; Delhi, the Millennials or the Gen-Z customers don’t even know about MTNL. <ul><li>Deliberate Decision</li></ul>While some deaths are a part of their own doing, sometimes it is forced on them. There was a time in India when GoldSpot, Limca and Citra ruled the carbonated fizzy drinks market. When Coca Cola wanted to re-enter India with its own set of brands that competed head-on with these three, it simply bought the out and quietly killed them. While some old-timers still remember these brands, the feeling is only nostalgic. To kill them was a deliberate decision of the brand owner. The same happened with Uncle Chips, once a leader in the potato chips market. Lays took over the brand and quietly killed it replacing it with its flagship. Today, Uncle Chips is half-dead. Half dead because, Lays uses Uncle Chips to kill competition in areas where Lays is weaker or absent. Once the field is clear, Lays takes over the market. Uncle Chips is now a mercenary! <ul><li>Failed resurrection</li></ul>There have been instances in the past when a brand was taken over with an intention to make it even bigger instead of killing it. Binaca and Hamam were once popular brands in the toothpaste and bathing soap category before they were sold. The intention of the new owner was to make them even bigger. But for reasons unknown, these brands collapsed even after multiple attempts to revive &amp; resuscitate them. <ul><li>Premature Death</li></ul>Death does not differentiate between infants, young adults or adults. It just happens! Remember Tata Nano, the great Indian car? The Nano is a classic example of a great brand died which died as an infant. While the product was flawless and perfectly placed on the value equation, its positioning proved to be its undoing! Nobody wanted to buy a car that shouted out loud “you couldn’t afford to buy a bigger car” every time one used it! Here was a car which had everything going right for it, but just failed in managing the perceptions right. Another example is of the soap brand LeSancy. It probably had the best value equation – the longest lasting soap! But then this strongest point proved to be its nemesis. Beyond a point, its long-lasting nature proved too much for the customers who were habituated to change/replace their soaps much frequently. Just like in life, there are exceptions to each of the situations mentioned, but this is by and large the case. The reasons can be many, but the fact remains that brand health is very fragile. Even minor accident may lead to their untimely death. Hence it is important to conduct regular health-checks, get vaccinated and keep the brand’s immunity at high to avoid any sudden surprises. But just like death is certain in our world, resurrection/revival is just round the corner for every brand, provided they make it to that corner! For every dying brand there are 100’s other who undergo a transformation and make a comeback with a bang. While some brands like Coca-Cola don’t disturb their visual identity but keep doing contemporary things, there are brands like Pepsi which revamp almost everything. We will see about such forever young brands in the next article. Hence, the route to achieving brand moksha is to avoid getting trapped in any of the above mentioned situations. And more importantly, if unfortunately your brand is caught in one, then the faster it gets out of it the better. Or else death is certain!

Why do brands die?

In what can be seen as a subtle message in the backdrop of the recent India-China face-off in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed and reportedly a similar number, if not bigger, were on the Chinese side, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> used the <keyword id="6362857" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-yoga-day">International Yoga Day</keyword> on Sunday to send out a message. He asserted Yoga allows "emotional stability to confidently negotiate the challenges before us". "Yoga enables us to stay balanced in every situation," he said invoking Swami Vivekananda to say, "that a principled individual remains active and in complete peace even amid challenges". He also invoked Lord Krishna from Bhagavad Gita to suggest "Yoga is but efficiency in action". The Gita contains a series of dialogues between Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Lord Krishna in the middle of Battlefield Kurukshetra where the "dharma yudha" or a battle between right and wrong was to begin. Modi said: "Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita that Yoga is but efficiency in action. This mantra always teaches us that Yoga provides us strength to become more successful in life". Modi directly touched upon the issue of the pandemic while saying that the ancient Indian meditation system has been a source of emotional strength to many during these trying times. "Many people all over the world infected by COVID-19 are benefitting from Yoga. They are getting the strength in fighting the disease. Yoga provides the self confidence and mental strength by which we are able to face challenges and also overcome them. Yoga provides mental peace and power to endure pain," said Modi as he addressed the nation through a televised program. He claimed, worldwide many corona infected individuals are "benefitting" from Yoga. Highlighting India's contribution for universal brotherhood, PM Modi remarked that "Yoga, enhances our quest for a healthier planet. It has emerged as a force for unity and deepens bonds of humanity. It does not discriminate, it goes beyond race, colour, gender, race and nation." However, he added, "Right eating and drinking, right play, right habits of sleeping and rising and right way of doing one's duties - Yoga is this itself," he summed up. He again invoked ancient ideologies to state, "Nishkama Karma - serving everyone without any selfish motive - has also been called in our tradition as Karma Yoga. This Indian thought, embedded in our culture, has been experienced by the whole world whenever in need". While, he advocated Indians to practice Yoga as a part of their regular lives instead of for just a day, he made the point of making India a global beacon of solidarity was unmistakable, particularly at a time when China has been increasingly facing global isolation from nations like Japan, Australia, Canada, the US and others. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known for using symbols, imageries and Indian epic to make his point. While he did not even passingly mention the recent stand-off between the two nuclear armed Asian nations, the context and background of it is clear for everyone. He was likely to be present at Leh for this year's <keyword id="2630208" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yoga-Day">Yoga Day</keyword>, as per the plans made before the pandemic outbreak. The Ladakh capital is the groud zero of the violent face-off in Galwan Valley where Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed on June 15 night. Last year, Modi led a grand event on the occasion of International Day of Yoga from Ranchi. He has been an active supporter of the ancient Indian meditation system and have earlier led top Indian leaders to do 'asanas' on Delhi's Rajnath, in the past. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/12-yoga-poses-you-should-never-try-at-home-without-supervision-according-to-yoga-experts/slidelist/76477223.cms">14 yoga poses you should never try at home without supervision, according to yoga experts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/this-international-yoga-day-beat-stress-and-join-the-virtual-challenges-and-yogacations-from-home/articleshow/76458556.cms">This International Yoga day, beat stress and join the virtual challenges and ‘Yogacations’ from home</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/article/international-yoga-day-messages-and-quotes/articleshow/76472589.cms">International yoga day 2020 messages and quotes</a>

PM Narendra Modi invokes Swami Vivekananda, Lord Krishna in International Yoga Day message

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On Tuesday, October 11, Tulsi Gabbard announced she is leaving the Democratic Party, accusing it of being "hostile to people of faith and spirituality."</li><li>The former congresswoman from Hawaii was raised in the Science of Identity Foundation, an offshoot of the Hare Krishna religious movement.</li></ul>Tulsi Gabbard has strong words for anyone who asks about the religious sect she grew up in.The former congresswoman and her staffers have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-race.html">repeatedly claimed</a> that media interest in the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) and its guru's influence on Gabbard <a href="https://www.meanwhileinhawaii.org/home/opinion-gabbards-pr-team-is-getting-desperate">amount to</a> "Hindu-phobic bigotry."Gabbard lodged a similar line of attack when she announced on Tuesday that she is leaving the Democratic Party, accusing the party of being "hostile to people of faith and spirituality.""I can no longer remain in today's Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism," she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Z1x8Ou8VU">said</a> on an episode of her self-titled podcast.Gabbard, who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tulsi-gabbard-bio-photos-2020-democratic-candidate-2019-7">made history</a> in 2012 when she became the first American Samoan and practicing Hindu in Congress, also denounced what she said were Democrats' "open border" policies and anti-police rhetoric.Gabbard has historically been reluctant to publicly speak about her spiritual journey in SIF, which has roots in the Hare Krishna movement that exploded in the US during the 1960s and 70s. But her upbringing in the religious group — as well as her spiritual ties to its leader, Chris Butler — has left <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-campaign.html">many wondering</a> how it has shaped her beliefs, political and otherwise.<div type="image" title="Chris Butler of the Science of Identity Foundation" height="831" width="1108" msid="94951971" hostid="261" sizebytes="47102"></div><h2>SIF evolved from the Hare Krishna movement</h2>The Hare Krishna movement was started in 1966 by AC Bhaktivedanta, a 70-year-old Indian man who landed in New York with just 40 rupees to his name. Bhaktivedanta <a href="https://theharekrishnamovement.org/tag/tompkins-square-park/">preached and chanted in</a> Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, tapping into the countercultural spirit of the 1960s.The movement swiftly became the largest branch of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, part of the Hindu school of thought. Hare Krishnas <a href="https://theharekrishnamovement.org/category/yoga-2/">believe</a> that chanting mantras, vegetarianism, and yoga can awaken the sleeping soul and enable them to experience an eternal connection with Krishna, the supreme god.Chris Butler was a young yoga teacher and surfer in his early 20s when the Hare Krishna movement reached Hawaii. He had already amassed a small following of his own, but found it difficult to attract new followers against the mainstream movement.In 1971, Butler met Bhaktivedanta and agreed to a trade: He would turn his disciples over, and become an initiate of Hare Krishna. Butler gained a new name, Siddhaswarupanada, which <a href="https://sif.yoga/about/jagad-guru">means</a> "one's spiritual form which is full of bliss."But Butler clashed with his guru. Deviating from Hindu principles, Butler <a href="https://www.prem-rawat-bio.org/nrms/gurus/chris_buttler.htm">married</a> and instructed his followers not to shave their heads or wear robes, while Bhaktivedanta <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe">chided</a> him for his non-orthodox teachings.When Bhaktivedanta died in 1977, Butler splintered from the Hare Krishna movement to start the Science of Identity Foundation. He began to further deemphasize traditional Hindu texts and practices, and began to expound his own controversial views.Butler taught that homosexuality is evil, using <a href="https://iowainformer.com/video/butler-aids.mp4">virulent homophobic rhetoric</a>, and that public schools and the outside world were not to be trusted. Children of followers were homeschooled, and some — <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-campaign.html">including</a> Gabbard — were later sent to schools the SIF created in the Philippines.The SIF amassed a tightly-knit community of around a thousand followers in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. Among them were Mike and Carol Gabbard, who would name one of their daughters <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe">after</a> "tulasi," the Sanskrit word for the holy-basil herb that appears in the Bhagavad Gita as an offering to the Lord.<div type="image" title="Hare Krishna founder AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada during a parade, San Francisco, California, July 1974" height="2180" width="2907" msid="94951972" hostid="261" sizebytes="767788"></div><h2>Some ex-members describe the SIF as an abusive cult</h2>Tulsi Gabbard and her siblings were raised as Hindus and vegetarians, she <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121105052532/http://www.indoamerican-news.com/archives/12109">told</a> the Indo American News before her first run for Congress. She grew up largely among fellow disciples, singing or chanting sacred Hindu songs on the beach, the New Yorker reported. Gabbard met both her first husband and her <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tulsi-gabbard-bio-photos-2020-democratic-candidate-2019-7">current spouse</a>, freelance cinematographer Abraham Williams, in SIF, <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-campaign.html">according to</a> New York Magazine.While Gabbard has described her experience growing up in the group as one that was seemingly positive, some other ex-members have described themselves as survivors of a cult."I was raised to believe Chris Butler was God's voice on earth, and if you questioned him or offended him in any way, you were effectively offending God," someone who identifies as a former member of the SIF <a href="https://medium.com/@lalitamann/an-insiders-perspective-on-tulsi-gabbard-and-her-guru-e2650f0d09">wrote</a> in a 2017 Medium post. "Questioning the leader was spiritual suicide, which was seen as worse than death."Another former member told New York Magazine that Butler was vulgar and vindictive, excoriating people for small slip-ups like driving poorly or failing to clean water cups properly.Butler has denied these claims, and Gabbard told the New Yorker that these experiences didn't chalk up to her own: "I've never heard him say anything hateful, or say anything mean about anybody," Gabbard said. "I can speak to my own personal experience and, frankly, my gratitude to him, for the gift of this wonderful spiritual practice that he has given to me, and to so many people."Both Butler and Gabbard also said the foundation is a resource, not a religious organization, though Butler acknowledged that he does have "disciples" as "Jagad Guru," or "teacher of the world," the New Yorker reported.<div type="image" title="Tulsi Gabbard on stage for a town hall in Fremont, CA, during her 2020 presidential run" height="577" width="769" msid="94951973" hostid="261" sizebytes="19274"></div><h2>Gabbard's identity politics and multiculturalism</h2>Gabbard has often downplayed the influence of Butler, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe">telling</a> the New Yorker that she has "had many different spiritual teachers, and continue[s] to." But she acknowledged that he had shaped her Hindu identity, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzinepQi28c&amp;t=1s">referring</a> to him as her "guru dev," or spiritual guide. Gabbard also told the New York Times in 2019 that Butler and his work still guide her.The way Gabbard has presented herself to the public is caught up in the "fraught" ways America has come to understand multiculturalism — the idea that we should honor all cultures and faiths, according to Radhika Parameswaran, professor of cultural and media studies at Indiana University, Bloomington."What multiculturalism doesn't take into account are issues of social justice, inequity, or histories of oppression. Or, if it does, it does it in a very tokenistic, surface way," Parameswaran told Insider. "When you think about somebody like Tulsi Gabbard and her adoption of Hinduism… you also have to peel back the layers and look at the way religion can be used as a tool of oppression."While it would be speculation to determine another person's private beliefs, Parameswaran said she doesn't see how Gabbard's spiritual background could not have had an influence on her or her politics.<h2>Criticisms of Islamophobia and anti-gay rhetoric</h2>In addition to his homophobic attitudes, Butler has espoused hostile views toward Muslims, <a href="https://bylinetimes.com/2019/10/03/islamophobic-world-view-of-tulsi-gabbards-guru-revealed-in-unearthed-recordings-can-she-still-run-for-president/">calling them</a> "demons."Throughout her career, Gabbard has made herself a prominent ambassador of American Hinduism, forging <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99OPOxYaTl4">relationships</a> with Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, and other Indian leaders. She has drawn criticism for <a href="https://thecognate.com/us-presidential-candidate-tulsi-gabbard-justifies-2002-gujarat-pogrom-sparks-furore/">defending</a> Modi's party, which has been accused of being complicit in <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/india-muslims-marginalized-population-bjp-modi">widespread violence against Muslims</a>. Some have also <a href="https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/exclusive-why-tulsi-gabbard-doesnt-want-hillary-as-prez/20160309.htm">directly</a> <a href="https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-tulsi-gabbard/">criticized</a> Gabbard for stoking Islamophobia with public <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1436768723491180545?t=a8kO8tjak2plKy5lhAT81Q&amp;s=19">statements</a> she has made linking Islamic beliefs with acts of terrorism.Gabbard has also been accused of flip-flopping on her stance on gay marriage: After <a href="https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/01/13/politics/kfile-tulsi-gabbard-lgbt/index.html?amp_gsa=1&amp;amp_js_v=a9&amp;usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&amp;aoh=16657801990396&amp;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp;ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2019%2F01%2F13%2Fpolitics%2Fkfile-tulsi-gabbard-lgbt%2Findex.html">acknowledging</a> her past work with a known anti-gay organization that promoted controversial conversion therapy, Gabbard publicly <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/17/tulsi-gabbard-apology-lgbt-comments-1109541">renounced</a> her previously-held anti-gay views. However, in April 2022, Gabbard <a href="https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/04/04/tulsi-gabbard-says-florida-dont-say-gay-law-should-have-gone-further/">defended</a> Florida Governor's Ron DeSantis's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which has come under fire for being discriminatory.As of time of publish, Gabbard's team did not provide a comment to this story when requested.

Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult'

'Oppenheimer' fact v. fiction: What the movie got right and wrong according to a nuclear historian

Modern management as we know it today thrives on an assumption: that it is objective and rational. Of course, cutting edge thinkers know that it is not so. But that management is objective and rational remains a dominant perception. Subjectivity plays a key role in management. And subjectivity is influenced strongly by culture. The way we see the world is conditioned by the culture we have been most exposed to since childhood. 
 
A child brought up in Denmark, for example, all his life, has a very different understanding of life, compared to a child brought up in India, Internet notwithstanding. There will be many things in common, but there will also be many differences. How much focus do we pay to subjectivity relative to objectivity, irrationality relative to rationality, in management thought? People are divided on this. 
 We have been conditioned to look upon subjectivity and irrationality as wrong, even evil, the source of problems and the source of chaos. Yet, it remains a factor impacting business and can be a lever that can change the way we conduct business and solve problems we face today. In Denmark, one is exposed to an <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> of 5 million people, 80% of the same ethnicity. In India, one is exposed to an economy of 1200 million people, where less than 40% speak the same language, and the remaining 60% speak 15 languages, and there is great diversity along economic, political, linguistic, educational, religious and caste lines. 
 
Management principles that will emerge from, and will be applicable to, Denmark may not work as well in India. This seems pretty obvious, but many people challenge this. Such reaction reaffirms the idea that different people see the world differently: the world is not a rational, logical, objective space, where there is one truth. There are many truths. But some truths are more favoured and more dominant than others, and even positioned as THE truth. 
 
Belief is an assumption based on how many data points we are exposed to, and how we join these data points: the more the dots, the more complex the pattern. The more the experience, the more ways we know to join the dots. And so belief keeps expanding. Like a business plan which changes when assumption changes, our understanding of business and management changes dramatically when our belief changes, or rather expands. Notions of business and management as we know it today comes primarily from the USA and Europe. 
 
These are shaped by western cultures. Historically, today’s management is influenced by principles of the roman Army, Jesuit Missionaries, and Industrial engineering of the 19th century – all western. It is not objective at all. It does not take worldviews of China and India into consideration to say the least. It assumes itself as rational, independent of cultural thinking. And that is its greatest shortcoming. 
 
Mathematics and statistics may be universal languages, but the way we read the results varies with the cultural gaze embedded in the leadership. This understanding is critical in the new ‘postinternet’ world order where everything is mingling and merging and we are realizing that all things western are not necessarily modern, or complete, or suitable for all contexts. It is important to re-evaluate our gaze. It is important to expand our mind, join more dots. 
 
Sun Tzu and The Art of War became popular in the 1980s because of the success of Japanese corporations and it gave management thinkers all over the world exposure to Chinese thought (Sun Tzu was not from Japan). Since India became a hub of outsourcing and a potential market for many in Europe and America, people have been wondering about Indian thought. Hence the proliferation of books on Chanakya and Bhagavad Gita. 
 
Chanakya appeals to the rationalist and Bhagavad Gita appeals to the philosopher. But neither takes into consideration the vast body of knowledge embedded in the stories, symbols and rituals of India. Neither takes into consideration Lakshmi, the restless but delightful goddess of wealth, the most popular Goddess in India (not just amongst Hindus). Perhaps this has something to do with 19th century disdain for all things ‘myth’ and an obsession for rationality and scientific thinking. 
 
Of course, today social scientists know that ‘myth’ is essentially a cultural point of view that expresses itself through stories, symbols and rituals: every society has its own myth. There is no culture that has no myth. Western thought is also a myth that shapes the modern world; it is neither rational nor real. The mythology of modern management is rooted in the belief that ‘all that is measurable can be managed’. It lends itself (wrongly) to the secondary assumption that ‘all that is not measurable does not exist’. A good scientist is acutely aware of this. But how many good scientists are out there? Most scientists of the world do come from cultures that value monotheism (one god, one truth) over polytheism (many gods, many truths). Even atheism is presented along monotheistic lines where rationality is argued as a god. 
 Emotions cannot be measured, imagination cannot be measured, but these play a critical role in policy making and business decisions. We cannot be indifferent to them simply because they defy both measurement and rationality. This measurement-celebrating western myth has resulted in placing more values on processes (measurable) than people (not so measurable). We rely more on institutions than on individuals. This has its roots in Biblical myth (one half of western myth) where the tribe or church is more important than the individual member. We are constantly seeking to institutionalize <keyword id="6357934" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Steve-Jobs">Steve Jobs</keyword> of Apple and <keyword id="6354630" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mark-Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword> of <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword>. 
 
Ironically, these two gentlemen are embedded in the Greek myth (the other half of western myth) where glory comes from doing something extraordinary that challenges the status quo. They broke the prevalent assumptions of communication. They were what the Greeks called hero, men who changed the rules of the game, like Alexander, who was then invited by the gods to the special heaven called Elysium. 
 
Western management myth subscribes to the Biblical and Greek mythologies that are similar to each other in that they value only one truth. They are also at odds with each other: the one focuses on the collective and the other focuses on the individual. Please note: Biblical mythology does not mean the Christian Bible, it refers to a vast body of thought that emerged from Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Levantine, where great value is placed on central authority. 
 
Social scientists have used this individual/collective framework to explain cultural phenomenon all over the world not realizing this framework is western, not global. Different cultures have different frameworks they operate from. This is especially true in china and India. China values relationships and India values contexts. Neither china nor India thinks in terms of tribe/ church/institutions, although words like clan and caste do give the impression that they do. 
 
Hence guanxi (special relationships) are so critical in Chinese business. In Confucian china that dominated the court culture, the focus is the relationship between one and the other, not one and the many. This is a critical difference. The Chinese does not think China, he thinks ‘boss’ or ‘subordinate’. The boss embodies China, until he is overthrown by someone more noble and worthy. People often equate Chinese with ants. Incidentally, the institutional model is also about ants. 
 
In the Chinese worldview, the pecking order of ants matter. In the institutional worldview, the anthill matters more than the ants. India values neither ants nor anthill. Great value is given to impermanence (think Buddha). Nothing is fixed, except maybe gender and caste that are determined at birth. Everything else, even family structures are continuously changing. So the individual is continuously trying to figure out his relationship with the other in every context. Caste relationships, and village relationships, are more reliable than relationship with the government or someone far away. 
 
In the realm of impermanent structures, there is no fixed institution (as in the West) or boss (as in China); everything is changing and so one has to figure out at each interaction that status of the other, hence oneself. This creates a lot of ambiguity that exasperates people who do business in India. A simple tool to understand different cultures is to study the dominant mythology of the land: the stories, symbols and rituals that are favoured by a society. 
 Unlike psychoanalytical ‘archetype’ models that seek the common and the universal, the approach needs to be more structural – seeking differences. This reveals why the <keyword id="6362609" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Manager">manager</keyword> from Denmark is so different from the manager from India even though both are educated in the same B-schools and have gone through the same induction and training programmes. The difference is not just because of personality (individual) or the culture (collective) or institution (collective), but also because of relationships and context: the Danish manager will be very different in a roomful of Danes as compared to a roomful of Indians and vice versa. 
 
Biblical mythology celebrates rule-following prophets (Moses) and kings (Solomon), while Greek mythology celebrates rule-defying heroes (Odysseus, Theseus, Jason, Hercules). Indian mythology has both rule-following Ram and rule-breaking Krishna, both of whom, are not two different characters but the same character, Vishnu, in two different contexts: he follows rules as Ram in Treta Yuga and breaks rules of Krishna in Dvapara Yuga. 
 Then there is Shiva who is indifferent to all rules and who beheads Daksha who seeks to impose rules on others, for Shiva is more interested in the intention beyond the rules, beyond the processes, beyond the institution. In chasing the institutional model of modern management, we do not question its intention. It is structurally designed to celebrate greed: growth in profit quarter after quarter to satisfy the shareholder. Yes, we keep speaking of stakeholders, but the only action favouring stakeholders seems to be more rules: regulations protecting <keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="environment">environment</keyword>, or workers and rules compelling the rich to be more charitable. 
 The reliance is once again on processes than people. The assumption is that the world can only be made a <keyword id="808955" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="better-place">better place</keyword> through commandments. The assumption is that democratically-generated policies are bound to be fair, just and good. The assumption is the Board of directors are good or can be forced to be good through intervention of regulators and independent directors and other watchdogs. Modern management conversations rarely speak of people, or rather it leans disproportionately towards processes. 
 When there are conversations about people, they tend to focus on what they have (think <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>) or what they do (think <keyword id="71133" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Warren-Buffet">Warren Buffet</keyword>), but never know who they are. More often than not, the assumption is if you are a successful <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">entrepreneur</keyword> and have created an institution of enviable market capitalization, you must be a smart leader who inspires people (think <keyword id="28113" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narayan-Murthy">Narayan Murthy</keyword>). Who a person is cannot be reliably measured. Personality tests, designed using western methodologies, map people in a vacuum and do not take contexts and relationships into consideration. They map people as ‘archetypes’ in a fixed ‘template’, or as ‘pegs’ in a fixed set of ‘holes’. 
 
They do not consider relationships as in relational databases (who is in the cell above and below). They do not consider personality that keeps changing according to desha (geography), kala (history) and patra (roles), which define a yuga (context). Thus we grapple with incomplete patterns. 
 It is time to increase the dots and find more ways of joining the dots. It is time to look beyond known constellations to the billions of galaxies out there. It is time to also consider the very <keyword id="2827667" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="indian-approach">Indian approach</keyword> to management.

Thinkers/Thinkers 50: Devdutt Pattanaik asks why bother with a very Indian approach to management?

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">APMaharishi Mahesh Yogi joins the Beatles in Wales in 1967.</div></div></div>There was an utter media frenzy over The Beatles' journey to the Indian Himalayas in February 1968 to meet with their guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.Several months prior, he had given each of them a mantra and taught them his technique known as <a href="https://www.tm.org/">Transcendental Meditation</a> (TM).As the world's biggest band went through a spiritual journey, the public watched every move, and for millions of Americans and Europeans, this was the first time they heard words like "karma," "guru," or "yoga," and the first time they saw Eastern meditation.One of the people watching The Beatles was Ray Dalio, who would go on to found the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Dalio, who was in college at the time, decided to try the technique in 1969. Because he had found its effects to be profoundly positive, he explained in Dr. Norman Rosenthal's 2011 book on TM, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Transcendence-Healing-Transformation-Transcendental-Meditation/dp/1585429929">Transcendence</a>," he has meditated daily without fail. He would also go on to become the biggest proponent of TM on Wall Street, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-trend-transcendental-meditation-2016-10">where it has taken off in the past few years</a>.The practice of TM is quite simple. It has entered a new wave of mainstream popularity, where doctors are prescribing it to their patients to lower blood pressure and stress levels - as approved by the American Heart Association - and investors are recommending it to each other to gain an edge.It's due to a variety of factors: the scientific validation of TM, the mainstreaming of meditation in general, and the networking effect spreading across influential people. But, as Philip Goldberg argues in his 2012 book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Veda-Emerson-Meditation-Spirituality/dp/0385521359">American Veda</a>," all of this dates back to The Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After their '68 meeting, he writes, "Our understanding and practice of spirituality would never be the same."TM can seem mysterious, and even cult-like to casual observers. To get a better idea of what it actually entails, I spent the past two months digging into its history and its ancient roots. I learned the practice in September at the <a href="https://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/">David Lynch Foundation</a>, a nonprofit cofounded by the film director in 2005 that teaches the technique for free to disadvantaged middle school and high school students, veterans with PTSD, and victims of domestic abuse. For the rest of us, instruction costs $960, but the foundation was willing to waive the fee. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-transcendental-meditation-2016-11">I have continued to practice it daily</a>.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">APMaharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the International Meditation Society and "The City of Nations" in Kashmir, shown Dec. 1975</div></div></div><h2>The Maharishi's mission</h2>In my four days of introductory TM training, I watched a couple videos of Maharishi - a title meaning "great seer" often used for shorthand when referring to him- and learned that he based his technique on ancient Vedic knowledge.Born in India as Mahesh Prasad Varma in 1918, he renounced his name and familial ties in typical Hindu monk fashion after graduating from Allahabad University in 1942 with a physics degree and traveling to Jyothir Math in the Indian Himalayas to study under and serve Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the man he reverentially called Guru Dev.Saraswati was the exalted leader of the city's monastery. When Maharishi spread TM, he made it clear that although he and his guru were Hindu monks, his practice was not tied to the Hindu faith.I discussed this dynamic with Suhag Shukla, executive director of the <a href="http://www.hafsite.org/">Hindu American Foundation</a>.She pointed out that Hinduism is a word for a very broad set of beliefs with many different schools, and that it is not a dogmatic or proselytizing religion. And while she and her organization would prefer for millions of non-Hindu Americans to better acknowledge and appreciate the Hindu roots of many of their meditation and yoga practices, she clarified that when the Maharishi set out to spread a secularized version of something he learned as a Hindu, he wasn't necessarily compromising its effectiveness or being disingenuous about his motives.Under Guru Dev, the Maharishi studied the Upanishads, the segments of the four ancient Sanskrit books of scripture known as the Vedas that focus on the self and its relationship to God. In Vedic traditions generally collected under the umbrella of Hinduism, there is one God; the many deities you may be familiar with, like Krishna, are, to put it simply, different manifestations of this one God.In "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Smart-Owners-Guide/dp/1586380192/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479237930&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=bhagavad+gita">The Bhagavad Gita</a>," the ancient book that the Maharishi also studied, Krishna, representing the Supreme Being, says of meditation, "Wherever the mind wanders, restless and diffuse in its search for satisfaction without, lead it within; train it to rest in the Self. Abiding joy comes to those who still the mind. Freeing themselves from the taint of self-will, with their consciousness unified, they become one with Brahman [God]."This idea of looking into one's self to achieve peace and connect with the unity of existence is still present in TM, albeit in scientific terms.Guru Dev and Maharishi developed a close bond, but Guru Dev could not name Maharishi as his successor before he died because Maharishi was not born into the brahmin caste. He did, however, entrust Maharishi with the mission of spreading the practice of meditation. He was not to spread anything religious, but to create a more peaceful world. This came at a time in the 20th century when Indians were starting to gradually migrate west in greater numbers, and several gurus - including one of Steve Jobs' favorite spiritual writers, Paramhansa Yogananda - decided to share Indian philosophical traditions with a wider audience.Maharishi took the meditation practice he learned from his teacher, called it Transcendental Deep Meditation (later shortened), and went on a tour that started in India in 1955 and went international in 1958.He immediately began connecting with academics to study the potential health benefits of TM. Over the course of the past 50 years, there has been <a href="http://www.tm.org/transcendental-meditation">a wealth of peer-reviewed studies</a>, many funded by the National Institutes of Health, that determine TM allows its practitioner to enter a state of "restful alertness" that lowers stress-inducing hormones, which in turn lowers blood pressure and decreases the propensity for anxiety.<h2>The push to the mainstream</h2>David Lynch Foundation director Bob Roth knew the Maharishi, who died in 2008, for many years and said that he was a man well-versed in both science and other global religions. It gave him the ability to naturally, and genuinely, adapt his message about the benefits of TM to whomever he was speaking to, whether they were Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, or atheist. And while Maharishi writes, as he does in his book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Science-Being-Art-Living-Transcendental/dp/0452282667/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479237978&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=science+of+being+and+art+of+living">Science of Being and Art of Living</a>" for example, using the spiritual vocabulary he was familiar with (with concepts like karma and "God consciousness"), he insisted on keeping TM non-denominational, with no requirement beyond learning the technique.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Ermindo Armino/APThe materials for a puja ceremony to Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the teacher to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation.</div></div></div>Roth was adamant about this point, to avoid having TM misconstrued as a religion in disguise. He noted as examples that he is Jewish, that my teacher Mario Orsatti is Catholic, and that the head of the TM organization - which is different from the DLF and which I'll get to in a moment - Tony Nader, is a Lebanese Christian.That's not to say, however, that TM has always been accepted and understood. For example, a New Jersey state judge in 1979 ruled that it could not be taught in public schools because it was a religion, citing the puja ritual in the introductory lesson and its founding on ancient spirituality as proof.The puja, which every TM teacher performs before that student's first lesson, is a tradition Hindus perform to show respect to their guru. In TM's case, the puja is performed to Guru Dev, an act that the Maharishi did not consider to be comprising to his practice's secularity, and an act of acknowledgement to his teacher that he believed essential to passing on his technique.When Maharishi was entering the last stage of his life, he decided to consolidate his TM organization so that it could continue to spread meditation around the world without him. Founded in 2000, he named it <a href="http://www.globalcountry.org/videos/">the Global Country of World Peace</a> - this is the organization Tony Nader oversees - and appointed "rajas" to oversee the spread of TM in different parts of the world.Along with this title, derived from India's political rather than spiritual history, he also decided they would be dressed in symbolic white robes and golden crowns for ceremonial gatherings. If you look at any of the TM conspiracy websites out there, you'll always find these pictures. At one point in 2007, this costume choice led to <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/director-buys-berlin-mountain-david-gets-lynched-over-invincible-germany-meditation-center-plan-a-517873.html">a disastrous, publicized speech</a> where Germany's raja was viciously booed offstage after repeatedly proclaiming that Germany would be "invincible" (a term Maharishi used in a spiritual sense to refer to a collective state of enlightenment) but that, in his poor presentation, made it sound like he was calling for the revival of the Third Reich."American Veda" author Philip Goldberg was a TM teacher from 1970-1977, and he said that even though he learned of Maharishi's decision to go with the costume choice many years after he stopped teaching TM, he was "shocked," and knew many fellow TM practitioners who agreed.I brought this concern to Roth, telling him outright that it did indeed look cult-like. He said he fully understands that position, but he wanted to clarify that the costumes are used on rare occasions, and are not religious. He compared it to the use of strange-looking robes in graduation ceremonies.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Sarah JacobsDavid Lynch Foundation director Bob Roth, left, and TM teacher Mario Orsatti.</div></div></div>Over these past two months, I've spent several hours talking candidly about TM and its history with Roth and Orsatti.Roth told me that he's seen all of the negative as well as positive coverage of TM over the years, and he thinks that with everything out there, people can see past attacks and take the actual technique of TM for what it is: a simple and effective form of stress relief.As Orsatti told me: If practitioners want to implement meditation the same way the Maharishi did, into their spiritual lives, they can; if they do not believe in God or want to keep meditation separate from their spiritual beliefs, that works too. If they want to actively participate in the David Lynch Foundation's philanthropy or the TM organizations mission of spreading the practice to those who'd like to learn it, the option is open to them; if they want to learn the technique to add a productivity tool to their arsenal, that's great.Despite all of his secondary ventures, including his university and his network of "rajas," the Maharishi's primary goal was to spread a technique that Indians had used for millennia as a way to be more at peace with the world, stripped of any baggage that came with it."I think where we are today is where Maharishi always wanted it to be - which is science-based, and evidence-based, and fits in with medicine and mainstream wellness programs," Roth said. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-donald-trump-president-2016-11">RICHARD BRANSON: We've just 'got to give Donald Trump and his team three months, six months'</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9jYTZqNzE6-s17joC1Zxhtnz8N8r6UQm" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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