God and Business

KISHOR KULKARNI





Krishna, in the Bhagawad Gita (9:27), tells Arjuna to live life in God-consciousness. Sant Shri Jnaneshwar in his commentary says, “Whatever activities you perform or whatever things you enjoy; whatever rituals you perform for My sake; whatever charity you offer to the deserving; whatever wages you give to your staff; whatever penances and such regimens that you may perform; do all such karmas that come naturally to you, for My sake and with devotion. But offer them to Me without any desire for fruit and forget that you performed them after doing them.“M K Gandhi's trusteeship doctrine flows from this philosophy , “Supposing I have come by a fair amount of wealth..., I must know that all that wealth does not belong to me; what belongs to me is the right to an honourable livelihood, no better than that enjoyed by millions of others. The rest of my wealth belongs to the community and must be used for the welfare of the community .“
The owners should bear in mind that the organisation functions for the Divine who is present in everything, animate and inanimate. The organisation should be run with due regard to all the stakeholders.
Shareholders, employees, consumers of products produced andor marketed by the organisation, suppliers of material to the organisation, society, government and the environment as a whole are all stakeholders in the organisation.Most importantly , the owners should never think that the organisation is for their personal profit alone.