Indian Scriptures

The Vedas are the eternal source of knowledge from which all the other Hindu Scriptures originated. When we say eternal books of knowledge, it carries a sense of oneness with the Supreme Lord. Scriptures are the holy books of a religion that are pious and revered. All the religions in the world have one scripture eachwhereas Hinduism has many Scriptures. Hindu scriptures are divided into Shruti and Smriti. the Shruti is the primary authority and the Smriti is the secondary. the Shruti literally means what is heard. the great rishis of yore heard the eternal truth which was later compiled by the great rishi Veda Vyasa in the four Vedas - Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. Smritis on the other hand include Itihasas or epics, Puranas or chronicles, Agamas or the manuals of worship and Darshanas or the schools of philosophy. All these are the supreme books of human knowledge and form the foundation of Hindu religion.

The Bagavad Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna and the Pandava prince Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra War. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Lord Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form. Two words that are of paramount importance in grasping the Upanishads are Brahman and Atman. The Brahman is the universal spirit and the Atman is the individual Self. Differing opinions exist amongst scholars regarding the etymology of these words. Brahman comes from the root brh which means "The Biggest The Greatest The ALL." Brahman is "the infinite Spirit Source and fabric and core and destiny of all existence, both manifested and unmanifested and the formless infinite substratum and from whom the universe has grown." Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. The word Atman means the immortal perfect Spirit of any living creature, being, including trees etc. The idea put forth by the Upanishadic seers that Atman and Brahman are One and the same is one of the greatest contributions made to the thought of the world. The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas. Some of its verses are still recited as Hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occasions, putting these among the world's oldest religious texts in continued use. The Rigveda contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc.

Indian culture has a rich spiritual heritage, deeply rooted in Dharma signifying ethical values. These ethos insist on understanding the nature of good, laying down practical means of attaining a life of perfection, with actual application of moral ideals. Ethical Values like truth, ahimsa were the core of social life in ancient India - demonstrated, endorsed and re-emphasized in various ancient Indian scriptures like the Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti, etc. This book consists of nine chapters portraying a treasure of ethical values and is an attempt by the author to highlight these jewels of ancient Indian heritage which have stood the test of times and can help our society at large and corporates in particular, for being imbibed , to lead a more contented life and better sustainable business. Happy Reading.

Indian scriptures are the treasure hove of philosophy—the philosophy of work and life. They offer vital guidelines on Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Social Psychology, Human Behavior and Modern-day Management concepts. Ancient Indian scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and some parts of Mahabharata are included in the book for HRM topics such as self-management, ethics, values, work potential, motivation, leadership, boss management, stress management and interpersonal relationships, etc. The study used quantitative methodology and collected data from 273 participants working in ten Indian companies. The statistical results have been included in the book only briefly to retain flow and fluency of thought for the reader. The work addresses the vital HR management issues in a culturally sensitive approach that is thoroughly based on Indian scriptural advices. The study proposes to plug the gaps in existing management knowledge that is lopsidedly based on the Western management research and theories. Resultantly, Arjuna Syndrome Model and Krishna Cure Model are presented. These models plug in the gaps in existing literature in the HRM and advance theory by suggesting novel ways of managing emotions, motivation, leadership, interpersonal relationships, recruitment and work potential at workplace.

Management as a subject and various theories associated with it are largely considered as brainchild of the West. the moment this topic is raised, the names of western thinkers, such as F.W. Taylor, Robert Owen and Peter F. Drucker, come to our mind. However, the fact is that all the management theories and hypotheses propounded so far, draw heavily from the Indian scriptures. Indian sages and gurus, like Sukra, Kautilya and Vedavyas laid the foundation to better management through their literary works as early as in the pre-Christian era. This book, Better Management and Effective Leadership through the Indian Scriptures, aims at discovering the treasure hidden in the Indian texts, making the management scholars all over the world feel proud of our literary heritage and appreciate the farsightedness of the Indian thinkers. It is an endeavour to reveal that, be it in any sphere of academics, Indian scholars were in no way secondary to their western counterparts; they were rather the precursors.

Comprises such sacred books of India as the hymns of the Rig-Veda, the world's first recorded poems, the stirring pantheistic speculations of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita, a cosmic drama of God's self-revelation in human history, on the field of human battle.

In this extraordinarily candid book, Umesh Patri presents a fresh reappraisal of the impact of Indian scriptures on American transcendentalism which flourished in New England in the 19th century. The major premise of the study is that other influences on the transcendentalists, such as Chinese, Persian, Sufi, Arabic, Neo-Platonism and German transcendentalism, are of less significance than that of Indian scriptures comprising of Hindu and Buddhist texts. In the writings of Emerson, Thoreau and minor transcendentalists like Alcott, Fuller, Channing, Johnson, Brownson, etc., the influence of Indian scriptures is clearly discernable. An attempt has been made here to show that Indian scriptures have not only influenced the philosophical thinking of these writers but also their lifestyle and social conduct. It also attempts to show that transcendentalism was not an isolated movement but was a part of a cultural renaissance which swept the entire nation in the wake of avid interest and curiosity in the ancient lore of other countries. Transcendentalism, it is suggested here, continues to affect the thinking of Americans and can be viewed as a continuing movement of thought in American intellectual history. This book draws attention to many aspects of transcendentalism which have not been adequately discussed so far.