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Devdutt Pattanaik

In the jungle, the big eat the small; no one helps anyone. In dharma, the big help the small. But this can only happen when you feel secure. Most rich, powerful, and knowledgeable people are not secure. This is why they continue to consume, combat, and compete, oblivious of other people’s hunger. They fear they will be eaten if they do not eat. They live in a dog-eat-dog world. Their life is an eternal rat race. Full of violence, stress, and arguments. A jungle. A war-room. A Rana-Bhoomi. 

Dharmic Leaders work towards being secure so that they can be ambitious for others, content for the self, and generous for both. Dharmic Leaders feel successful when they feed others and get others to feed them, voluntarily. They strive to create a pleasure-dome of collaboration, reciprocity, and benevolence. A ranga-Bhoomi. 

This book seeks to introduce Homo economicus, the rational selfish being favored by modern society, to Homo Dharmicus, the sensitive and compassionate being of ancient Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu lore. 

A lot depends on how we see the other. Do we see them as opportunities or threats, or do we see them as people, with strengths and weaknesses? 

In this chapter, we will analyze the act of giving, receiving, and observing.

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Dharmic Leadership with Devdutt Pattanaik

EPISODE 1 : How to Exchange?

Having understood the exchange, let us understand what is exchanged... 

In nature, plants and animals seek food in order to survive. Plants and animals also need power, to get food, and not become food. An animal without power will not eat and be soon eaten by others. Animals increase their power by collaborating with each other in herds, packs, and hives. Competition helps the stronger and faster get a greater share of the food. Collaboration helps the group; competition helps the mighty. 

Culture exists to provide food and power to humans. But for humans, food and power take very complex forms, as hunger and insecurity are fueled by imagination. For humans, that which satisfies human hunger is Lakshmi, the goddess of food and fortune, whose name is derived from the word laksha, or target. She is what we value and hoard the most. Durga is the goddess of security and power. Like Lakshmi, she too can be stored, stolen, and shared. Her name is derived from durg, or the fortress. Then there is Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, who helps humans discover, invent, and innovate new forms of food, and security. 

In this chapter, we will focus on the goddesses, Lakshmi, Durga, and Saraswati, who embody resources, power, and knowledge that humans exchange in the market.

EPISODE 2 : What is Exchanged?

Having understood the exchange and what is exchanged, let us understand who participates in the exchange. This is the unique feature of Dharmic Leadership and separates the Yagna from other forms of exchange such as barter and contract. 

In barter, only goods and services are exchanged. Personal beliefs do not matter. In contract, beliefs are either false or true. True beliefs make us respect the law, ethics, and morality. In Yagna, inclusion of other people’s beliefs allows our beliefs to expand and uncrumple the mind infinitely. As the mind expands, we become generous because we are content and content because we are ambitious. This makes Yagna an exercise in transformation unlike contract, which is at best, an exercise in conversion. As belief shifts, so does behavior, and so does business.

In Indian mythology, the female form is given to the constituents of the cultural body, that which can be exchanged. The male form is given to the psychological body, that which can transform. Brahma is who we are by default. We consume resources, power, and knowledge and, so we chase the goddesses relentlessly. Discontentment makes us Shiva who grows indifferent to the goddess until he realizes her value. Finally, as Vishnu, we discover that we are also goddesses, that which can be consumed by others. Here gender is used as a metaphor to convey the complex relationship between mind and matter. Do we wonder what comes first: hunger or food? This gives rise to the question, who came first: god or goddess? Rig Veda says, ‘They gave birth to each other, Daksha to Aditi and Aditi to Daksha.’ 

In this chapter, we will study ambition through stories of Brahma and his sons, contentment through stories of Shiva, and generosity through stories of Vishnu.

EPISODE 3 : Who is Exchanging?

The theory of Dharmic Leadership is very different from the theory of Modern Management. Modern Management is based on anxiety. We have only one life to achieve greatness, and one life to save the world. There is a sense of urgency in the pursuit of happily ever after. Hence the emphasis on the comparison, combat, and competition. Dharmic Leadership is more relaxed. In the Indian scheme of things, history exists before and after us. There will be always people who will be anxious, ambitious, combative, and competitive. We still need to create an ecosystem of collaboration and pleasure and turn Rana-Bhoomi into Ranga-Bhoomi, at least around us. 

In this chapter, we will take an anthropological journey and understand how the invention of exchange established human culture, and why exchange in India took the form of Yagna.

EPISODE 4 : Emergence of Exchange

Having appreciated the anthropology of Dharmic Leadership, we will now venture into the world of history. 

No idea is static. No idea emerges in perfection. Every idea responds to various geographical realities and historical forces. In this chapter, we have to take a historical journey to appreciate how the meanings of Dharma, Ahimsa, and Yagna changed from pre-Vedic through Vedic to post-Vedic times.

EPISODE 5 : History of Dharma

Having appreciated the anthropology and history of Dharmic Leadership, we will now venture into the world of mythology. 

Myth is the subjective truth of a culture, transmitted over generations through stories, symbols, and rituals, that acts as a glue binding people together while differentiating them from others. This need to bind the in-group and distinguish it from the out-group is why Western myths are different from Chinese myths which are different from Indian myths. Any attempt to force everyone to share the same myth leads to violation and violence. 

In this chapter, we have to take a mythological journey and appreciate how Dharmic Leadership can enable collaboration, rather than competition, between Western, Chinese, and Indian societies even though they have different truths.