The Eminent Lecture Series (ELS) is a joint initiative by the School of Contemporary Knowledge System (CKS) and the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC). Interactive sessions with speakers from diverse backgrounds are organised to amplify the knowledge and awareness of the Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth (CVV) community.
A workshop titled ‘Bhagavad Gita and Management’ was held online on 11 August from 3:00 – 4:00 pm. The speaker was Sri. Surya Prakash Pati. Sri. Pati completed his fellowship in management in the year 2011 from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. Later, he worked as an Associate Professor at Chandragupt Institute of Management, Patna and as an Adjunct Faculty at the Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. He is also a member of the Board of Studies at CVV.
The webinar began with a prayer by Ajith Krishnan (third-year BCom), followed by a welcome speech by Harigovind A B (third-year BCom).
The speaker started his lecture by relating the Bhagavad Gita to Mahatma Gandhi and how the epic had helped the father of our nation in his freedom struggle. Later, he discussed G. D. Birla and the austere rules he followed. Mr. Birla was the main sponsor for INC during the freedom struggle and his life was deeply influenced by the Gita.
Mr. Surya Prakash stated that the Gita was a book on competition, and it represents everyone’s lives at different levels. The war between Pandavas and Kauravas was not simply a war between cousins, it was a war of values and principles. It can be analogised with business organisations and political parties today, such as Amazon and Flipkart, Jio and Vi, NDA and UPA etc. During his speech, he elucidated the life stories of Padma Shri Subhashini Mistry and Bo Songvisava, a renowned chef from Bolan, Thailand.
The main key points from his lecture included conserving, building a culture, renouncing and being an example of a value. After the vibrant Q&A session, the webinar was closed with a vote of thanks by Harigovind.
