Is the Gita’s teaching about transcending the modes, not just coming to goodness, relevant to the corporate world?

Podcast:

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Summary

Many wonder how to reconcile the Bhagavad Gita’s call to transcend the modes of nature with the daily requirement of functioning in the material world. This transcript breaks down how spiritual liberation and practical, responsible action coexist.

• Contextual Application: Not every teaching in the Gita is meant to be applied literally in every situation; actions like “glorifying Krishna” or “transcending the modes” carry deeper, more inclusive meanings depending on the context.

• The Importance of Sattva: While transcending the modes is vital for individual spiritual liberation, cohesive social and corporate functioning requires operating responsibly within the mode of sattva (goodness).

• Focus on Lokasangraha: Corporate professionals should focus on lokasangraha—maintaining the order of the world—by playing their part responsibly and giving back to the various communities and companies they belong to.

• Embracing Collaboration: Acting sattvically in a corporate setting means using intelligence, networking, and teamwork to face challenges, recognizing that divine help often flows through human channels and practical resources.

• Harmonizing Realities: Intermediate duties do not have to clash with ultimate spiritual goals; functioning at an earthly level works harmoniously as long as worldly obligations do not blind us to ultimate reality.

Full Transcription

Question the Bhagavad Gita talks about transcending the modes whereas for functioning in the world one needs to be in the mode of sattva so how can we explain the idea of transcending the modes in a corporate context answer not everything in the Gita has to be applied in every context literally for example when Krishna tells Arjuna that my devotees are constantly glorifying me now it is not that when Arjuna is shooting arrows in the Kurukshetra battlefield he is he is shooting arrows he is focusing only on that he is not focusing on at that time chanting Hare Krishna or glorifying Krishna so glorification has a more inclusive meaning over there he is focusing on on doing an activity which will eventually establish the glories of Krishna so it doesn’t have to be verbal glorification all the time so similarly transcending the modes is important for individual spiritual liberation but for cohesive social functioning transcendence is not as important as functioning responsibly in the world which usually requires functioning in sattva so if we consider the corporate setting there the focus will be more on lokasangraha that is on maintaining the order of the world and playing our part in maintaining the order of the world lokasangraham ek vapi sampahshin kartumar hasi so kartumar hasi, it behooves you Arjuna to act in a way that will maintain the order of the world the order of the world means here it is not some abstract concept, it can be order of our world when we when we use a device and the device doesn’t work and we need customer support if they are functioning properly then we can function properly so each one of us has our role in maintaining the orderly functioning of the world that is our responsibility, we live in the world we take something from the world, we have to give back something to the world so instead of transcending the modes, what it essentially means is that we belong to various spheres, various circles we belong to a family, we belong to a nation we belong to a community, we belong to a company we are a part of a company in that sense we belong to a company but ultimately we belong to the ultimate reality so when we are in sattva we are aware of the various larger holes that we belong to and we contribute appropriately to those holes now when we come to the sattva at that time we understand that the ultimate reality is the place of highest belonging for us and we focus exclusively on that level at that time but that does not mean that all of us are at that level immediately or all of us can function constantly at that level Arjuna was devoted to Krishna and yet when Arjuna had to fulfill his vow of neutralizing Jaidrath before sunset he set out single-handedly penetrating into the Kauravas army but eventually his student Satyaki and then his brother Bhima came to help him and he took that help so that is an example of acting sattvically, not thinking that this is just my vow and I alone will fulfill it but Krishna will protect me, yes Krishna will protect us but Krishna can protect us through various channels various mediums so the various holes we belong to so when we work in the corporate environment if we face risks, we use our intelligence, we use our networking to face those challenges rather than seeing that those are independent of Krishna we see that God’s help can come through various sources, various channels rather and one of them could be within the corporate setting, so if we are taking something from the corporate world, we need to give something to the corporate world and that reciprocation at an intermediate level if it blinds us to the ultimate reality then that is where sattva can become an obstacle to shuddha sattva but if it doesn’t blind us to the ultimate reality we are aware of the ultimate reality at the same time we are functioning at the level of the intermediate reality then it doesn’t have to be an obstacle it can work harmoniously so the Gita’s teaching of shuddha sattva is to be applied in an appropriate context and in most contexts while functioning in the world we need to focus not just on the ultimate level we are aware of the ultimate level we focus on the appropriate level that it enables to function