Bhagavan Leadership: Significance of Context in Leadership

Explore the concept of Jnana (knowledge) in Bhagavan leadership and its profound impact on effective leadership. Discover how cultivating knowledge can lead to wisdom, insight, and transformative leadership.

The story so far….

I found an interesting way of looking at the word Bhagavan (God). Parasara Muni (father of Vyasa) explains the meaning of the word “Bhagavan” in Vishnu Purana as –

Bhagah asya asti iti bhagavan – the one who has bhaga is called Bhagavan. Bhagavan is the one who has Bhaga, the six-fold virtues in absolute measure.

And these six virtues are

Aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah jnanavairagyayoscaiva sannam bhaga itirana (Visnu-purana: 6.5.74)

Jnana is all-knowledge; vairagya – total dispassion; viryasya – the capacity to create, sustain and resolve; yasas  – absolute fame; Sri  – all wealth; and aisvarya  – overlordship.

Continued…

Moving forward and applying the learning in the organisational context, I found this concept of “Bhagavan” intriguing. And naturally started to think about how this concept would be in use today.

Did our Rishi-munis mean to indicate “God” when they spelt out the meaning of Bhagavan?  That may be unlikely because the concept of the “God” has a very different philosophy according to our scriptures. The Vedanta (combination of the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and the Brahma Shastra) explains the supreme consciousness in us. The concept of “tat tvam asi” (you are that) or “aham brahmāsmi” (I am Brahman) explains that each one of us is “That” supreme consciousness. The context is not religious but highly spiritual.

So who is a “Bhagavan” in the organisational, management and social context? Who is that person who embodies all these six virtues?

Thinking about this, I could relate these virtues with authentic leadership characteristics – both in a social and management context. Though the manifestation of these virtues may be seen in different forms, all these virtues are present in administration at all levels. So, be it Gautama Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Vivekananda, Ratan Tata, Bill Gates, or Jack Welch.

These virtues may not be present in an individual in absolute or equal quantities but relative measures. A well-rounded leader will embody such virtues in some proportion, depending on the functional area they are exposed to.

I would like to take up these virtues in separate write-ups and interpret them in the organisational or management leadership context, not the social context.

So “knowledge” or “Jnana” in an organisational context would differ from the concept of knowledge at a spiritual or philosophical level. To explain this, Knowledge at a spiritual level would mean knowledge of the Self – “Brahman”, self-realisation or knowledge and understanding that we are all part of the supreme source of energy – the supreme consciousness. In simple words, it is that knowledge which answers the question – “Who am I?”

That Knowledge is the ultimate truth. However, we may also use the concept of “Knowledge” as that knowledge which is required to perform and manage organisations. So at an organisational level, what is needed is the (i) knowledge of the functional domain of business and the (ii) knowledge of doing or running a business.

This is how the manifestation and interpretation of the six virtues would differ in the social, philosophical and organisational context.

In this write-up, “leader/s” are assumed to be people at the organisational management level who would run and own the business or people in the leadership pipeline.

The subsequent write-up would be precisely on the virtue of “Knowledge”.