An effective work culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen tasks.
Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture – "daivi sampat" or divine work culture and
"asuri sampat" or demonic work culture.
Daivi work culture ‐ involves fearlessness, purity, self‐control, sacrifice, straightforwardness, selfdenial,
calmness, absence of fault‐finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy
and pride.
Asuri work culture ‐ involves egoism, delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work not
oriented towards service.
Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is
needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel, "yogah karmasu kaushalam" should be understood. "Kaushalam"
means skill or technique of work which is an indispensable component of a work ethic. “Yogah" is
defined in the Gita itself as "samatvam yogah uchyate" meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind
(detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856‐1920, the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as
"Lokmanya," probably the most learned among the country's political leaders. For a description of
the meanings of the word "Yoga".)
By making the equable mind the bed‐rock of all actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of
work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical process no mind can attain equipoise. The guru,
Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary in the performance of one's duty is that
of maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and failure. The calm mind in the face of
failure will lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that
corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work done is the Gita's
prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle leads to lack of incentive for
effort, striking at the very root of work ethic. To the contrary, concentration on the task for its own
sake leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to the true mental happiness of the
worker. Thus, while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage or
extrinsic rewards, the Gita's principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed moral,
satisfaction.
Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture – "daivi sampat" or divine work culture and
"asuri sampat" or demonic work culture.
Daivi work culture ‐ involves fearlessness, purity, self‐control, sacrifice, straightforwardness, selfdenial,
calmness, absence of fault‐finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy
and pride.
Asuri work culture ‐ involves egoism, delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work not
oriented towards service.
Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is
needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel, "yogah karmasu kaushalam" should be understood. "Kaushalam"
means skill or technique of work which is an indispensable component of a work ethic. “Yogah" is
defined in the Gita itself as "samatvam yogah uchyate" meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind
(detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856‐1920, the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as
"Lokmanya," probably the most learned among the country's political leaders. For a description of
the meanings of the word "Yoga".)
By making the equable mind the bed‐rock of all actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of
work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical process no mind can attain equipoise. The guru,
Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary in the performance of one's duty is that
of maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and failure. The calm mind in the face of
failure will lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that
corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work done is the Gita's
prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle leads to lack of incentive for
effort, striking at the very root of work ethic. To the contrary, concentration on the task for its own
sake leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to the true mental happiness of the
worker. Thus, while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage or
extrinsic rewards, the Gita's principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed moral,
satisfaction.
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