The ‘Dharma’ and ‘Karma’ of CSR from the Bhagavad-Gita

Abstract

In recent years, numerous researches have been conducted on CSR from various perspectives. From a survey of CSR literatures from spiritual and religious perspectives, there are some studies based on the Quran (Islam) and the Bible (Christianity) made by scholars. However, the Bhagavad-Gita (Hinduism) is yet to be explored in the context of CSR. This article is therefore timely and fills the gap in the CSR literature. In this article, the authors employs hermeneutics, a qualitative research methodology which involves the study, understanding and interpretation of the BG particularly the concept of ‘dharma’ (duty) and ‘karma’ (action) in the context of CSR. In a nutshell, the BG provides an inside-out approach to CSR, which is the development of individual leader’s self-conscience of his¹ dharma (duty) and karma (action). Based on the BG’s insights, CSR should ideally begin with ISR (Individual Social Responsibility includes Personal Social Responsibility) and to go beyond CSR with GSR (Global Social Responsibility). These three social responsibilities are the essential dharma and karma of corporate leaders. The leaders and the role they play in corporations are crucial in ensuring transparency, good conduct and governance towards the ultimate aim of achieving CSR. This article is expected to provide a framework to the study of BG philosophy from other aspects of corporate management; such as corporate governance, corporate ethics and human resource management in the near future.

Keywords

Bhagavad-Gita philosophy spirituality and CSR CSR ethics ISR GSR dharma karma leadership philosophy Indian culture

Introduction

India as a country is being widely recognized as one of the most exciting and emerging economies in the world as Indians and Indian companies are making tremendous impact in the global arena; therefore globally there is an enhanced interest in the contribution of Indian managerial ideas (Chatterjee, 2009). India is also regarded as an emerging economy which has witnessed unprecedented levels of economic expansion, alongside China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil. With an average growth rate ranging between 6 and 8 per cent since 1991, India’s economy is considered as one of the world’s 10 big emerging markets and India is poised to become the fourth largest by the year 2020 after China, the USA and Japan (http://www.economywatch.com/indianeconomy/indian-economy-overview/).

In terms of development Indian management ideas, Panda and Gupta (2007) in their paper ‘Call for developing indigenous organisational theories in India: Setting agenda for future’ which appeared in the 1st Volume of International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management; asserted that during the last two to three decades, academic scholars worldwide have increasingly realized the limitations of universal applicability of Western and or Japanese management theories and practices across all nations (e.g. Boyacigiller & Adler, 1991; Gopinath, 1998; Hofstede, 1993; Kiggundu, Jorgensen & Hafsi, 1983; Rousseau & Fried, 2001). This has led to a growing interest in indigenous leadership theories, i.e., relevant management theories and practices based on local conditions and socio-cultural factors. They (Panda & Gupta, 2007) argued that the reviews of literature reveals that most of the findings of existing studies (most of which have been conducted in organizations located in the USA) did not replicate in other nations (Bhagat & McQuaid, 1982). They suggests that management knowledge is not universal and it is culture specific and therefore it is essential for developing countries in Asia such as India to explore their indigenous management thoughts based on ancient wisdom.

However such an effort seems to be absent and this can be seen in the coverage of reading materials in various management curriculums not only in the Indian context but also in other Asian countries including Malaysia. Most business schools keep on prescribing either American, British and Australian text books or books on western tradition (Muniapan, 2008). As a result in the mind of the management learners, the western management models seems to be made superior and nowhere good management values from the local culture (indigenous) perspectives are taught. This attitude and mindset is likely to continue unless efforts are not made to develop the culture specific (indigenous) models, otherwise Indians and Asians will likely lose their ‘Indianess’ and ‘Asianess’ in the near future.

Chatterjee (2009) in his recent paper on ‘Managerial ethos of the Indian tradition: relevance of a wisdom model’ which appeared in the first volume of Journal of Indian Business Research, highlighted the importance of ancient Indian tradition and wisdom in the constructing an Indian model of management. He (Chatterjee, 2009) proposed a model based on seven pillars of wisdom which underpins that the individual is the source of all transformation and the cultivation of higher values in individuals’ behaviour, organizational and in the societal context. These pillars are (a) niskama karma or action without desires, (b) chittasuddhi or quality of mind and character, (c) karma or action, (d) guna (quality—goodness, passion and ignorance) dynamics, (e) striving for purna or holistic development and self-mastery, (f) lokasangraha—enlightened collective welfare (this is highly relevant for GSR or global social responsibility) and (g) dharshan or integrated vision.

In the Indian² context, the BG, in recent years has attracted interest among academics not only in theology, philosophy, spirituality, but also in management. The studies to explore the BG (or related to the BG) in management and leadership were made by scholars such as Chakraborty (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999), Chakraborty and Chakraborty (2008), Sharma (1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003), Krishnan (2001, 2003), Kejriwal and Krishnan (2004), Satpathy (2006, 2007), Muniapan (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010), Muniapan and Dass (2008, 2009), Muniapan and Satpathy (2010), Muniapan and Shaik (2007), Satpathy & Muniapan (2008), Roka (2006), Parashar (2008) and others.

The BG or ‘Song of the God’ is one of the ancient and the most beloved scriptures of India. The Hindus, regard this ancient text with the same respect and love as Muslim regards the Quran and Christians regards the Bible. From the BG, the Hindus seek comfort and spiritual enlightenment. The BG is also considered by eastern and western scholars alike to be among the greatest spiritual books the world has ever known (Muniapan, 2010).

Objectives

BG has yet to be explored fully in the context of CSR; although several concepts from the BG are relevant to construct a CSR model; therefore this article attempts to explore CSR insights from the BG. This article also attempts to highlight the CSR thoughts from the BG, although for many people and also to the scholars, presenting CSR from a philosophy, religious and spiritual text such as BG may look rather strange. These will eventually dispel the wrong notions and belief that prevail regarding the relationship between ancient Indian philosophy and management (CSR) and will provide a framework for the development of future philosophy related research studies in the area of CSR.

Methodology

The BG is written in the Sanskrit language; which is one of the oldest languages in the world. This article is based on a qualitative research methodology called hermeneutics, which is the interpretation of scripture and classical literatures. The interpretation of selected verses from the BG; has been made to provide its relevance to the concept of individual social responsibility (ISR), corporate social responsibility (CSR) and global social responsibility (GSR). The interpretation was done based on four stages; namely identification, investigation, interpretation and integration. The identification stage involves searching for the relevant direct and indirect CSR equivalent verses; this will be followed by a detailed investigation of the verses in terms of content and context.

The next stage involves interpretation by providing the meaning and the relevance of the verses from the CSR context. The final stage is the integration of the verses involves adopting, modifying the lessons from the verses and provide commentaries from the perspectives of ISR, CSR and GSR.

Religion (Spirituality) and Business (Management)

Religion and spirituality play a significant role in the development of human values and behaviour which has a great impact to business and corporate management. Research also suggests that the encouragement of spiritual and religious principles in business can lead to benefits in the areas of creativity, honesty and trust, personal fulfilment and commitment, which will ultimately lead to increased corporate and business performance (Krishnakumar & Neck, 2002; Muniapan, 2009, 2010). The interest in spirituality and religion at workplace is also growing at workplace as people are exploring philosophy, transpersonal psychology, meditation, yoga, Buddhism, Taoism and many other spiritual schools of thought. There has also been an increasing interest in integrating spirituality and management as the numbers of articles on spirituality in management journals are increasing (Kale & Shrivastava, 2003; Muniapan, 2009, 2010).

In the academic journals, there has been considerable research on the relationship between spirituality, religion and business (Abuznaid, 2005, 2009; Beekun & Badawi, 2005; Calkins, 2000; Epstein, 2002; Weaver & Agle, 2002; Zinkin & Williams, 2006). There have been numerous conceptual studies which have linked and integrated the religious faiths and scriptures such as the Bible (Christianity), the Quran (Islam) writings from the perspectives of business (Epstein, 2002; Sacks, 2004; Stackhouse et al., 1995; Tamari, 1990; Zinkin, 2004; Zinkin & Williams, 2006). This conceptual work has led to empirical research into the relationship between religion and business. Zinkin and Williams (2006) in their studies on Islam and CSR cited some of the earlier studies made on the relationship between religion and business which includes Miesing & Preble (1985), Ibrahim & Angelidis (1993), Terpstra et al., (1993), Smith & Oakley (1996), and Angelidis & Ibrahim (2004).

In terms of the impact of spirituality and religion on CSR practices, several researches support the idea that spiritual and religious people have a wider notion of CSR than non-spiritual and religious people (Agle & Van Buren, 1999, p. 581; Brammer et al., 2005; Weaver & Agle, 2002; Rest, 1986; Zinkin & Williams, 2006). In the study by Brammer et al., 2005 on religion and attitudes to CSR, data collected from a large cross country sample of over 17,000 individuals confirmed the notion that religious individuals do tend to hold broader conceptions of the social responsibilities of business than non-spiritual and religious individuals.

In the analysis of spirituality and religion in the organizational context, there are three most popular viewpoints namely intrinsic-origin view, the religious view and the existentialist perspective. The intrinsic-origin view of spirituality argues that spirituality is a concept or principle from inside an individual. Guillory’s (2000, p. 33 cited in Krishnakumar & Neck, 2002) definition falls within this perspective as he defines spirituality as ‘our inner consciousness’ and ‘that which is spiritual comes from within-beyond our programmed beliefs and values’. This perspective of spirituality argues that spirituality is something, which is beyond the rules of religion.

The religious views of spirituality are those that are specific to a particular religion. For example, the Christians believe that spirituality is the ‘call for work’, the Hindus believe that spirituality is in doing the work with utmost devotion, the Buddhist’s view hard work and devotion are the tools to modify an individual’s life, Islam preaches its followers to be more committed to their organization and encourages cooperation and consultation. Other views like Taosim and Confucianism also propose the importance on teamwork and togetherness (Krishnakumar & Neck, 2002).

Existentialist view of spirituality on the other hand according to Krishnakumar and Neck (2002) is connected to the concepts such as the search for meaning of what we are doing at workplace. Some of the existential questions, which come up are why am I doing this work, what is the meaning of the work I am doing, where does this lead me to and is there a reason for my existence and the organization’s, etc.

This article takes the religious views of spirituality which is specific to the Indian context by examining the CSR perspectives from the BG. Among the world’s major spirituality and religious traditions, Christianity and Islam have received wider attention from a business and CSR perspective. The BG (Hinduism³) however is yet to be explored in the context of CSR; therefore this article is timely as it fills the gap in the CSR literature.

The Bhagavad-Gita

The BG is said to be the summary of all the Upanishads⁴ by Adi Sankara who beautifully quoted this in his BG dhyana (meditation) number 3, after saluting Sri Vyasa Muni⁵ and Sri Krishna⁶ as follows: sarvopanisado gavo dogdha gopala nandanah, partho vatsah sudhir bhokta dugdham gitamrtam mahat—All the Upanisads are the cows, the milker is Sri Krishna, the cowherd boy, is Partha (Arjuna)⁷ is the calf, men of purified intellect are the drinkers, the milk, is the supreme nectar of the BG (Chidbhavananda, 1992). Sri Krishna himself has milked this supreme wisdom for the benefit of the whole mankind. It is the ardent belief of the Hindus that those who drink this nectarine milk of the BG will strengthen and develop themselves mentally to face the battle of life with a smiling face at every step. The milk is also considered to be a perfect and a balanced food, it is easily digestible and those who drink the easily digestible nectar like milk of the BG are nurtured and nourished in body, mind, intellect and spirit and they will become the master of their inner and outer world as was the case with Arjuna⁸.

Many great thinkers such as Albert Einstein⁹, Mahatma Gandhi¹⁰ and Albert Schweizer¹¹ as well as Madhvacarya¹², Sankara¹³ and Ramanuja¹⁴ from bygone ages have all contemplated and deliberated upon timeless message of the BG. The BG’s intrinsic beauty is that its knowledge applies to all people and it does not confine any sectarian ideology. It can also be approachable from the sanctified realms of all religions and is glorified as the epitome of all spiritual teachings. The proficiency in the BG reveals the eternal principles which are fundamental and essential for spiritual life from all perspectives and the esoteric truths hidden within all religious scriptures (Muniapan, 2010). The primary purpose of the BG is to illuminate the humanity with the realization of the true nature of divinity; for the highest spiritual conception and to attain love of God¹⁵.

Over the centuries many renowned scholars and philosophers from all over the world have commented on the BG and elucidated the teaching of the BG in many publications and lectures. It is universal and non-sectarian and its teachings are applicable not only to Indians but to everybody. Charles Wilkins translated the first English language version of the BG in 1785 from the original Sanskrit. At present there are more than 1000 English language versions and commentaries of the BG written by many scholars in India and around the World. The BG has also been translated into more than 500 world languages other than English.

The BG was said to have been delivered at battlefield in Kurukshetra more than 5,000 years before the commencement of war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Sri Krishna was said to have spoken the BG to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra in 3102 B.C.; just prior to the commencement of the Mahabharata war. This date corresponds to 1700 years before Moses, 2500 years before Buddha, 3000 years before Jesus and 3800 years before Prophet Mohammed.

The BG has exercised an enormous influence, which extended in early times to China and Japan and lately to the western countries. The two chief scriptural works of Mahayana Buddhism¹⁶—Mahayana Sraddhotpatti (The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana) and Saddharma Pundarika (The Lotus of the True Law)—are deeply indebted to the teachings of the BG. Mahatma Gandhi who preached the Bhagavad-Gita philosophy, said: ‘I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming external tragedies—and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teachings of the BG (Muniapan, 2009, 2010).

The BG comprises of 18 chapters, with the first six chapters explaining the Karma Yoga (selfless action) namely the actions of self-doubt, spirituality of Being, selfless action and wisdom in action, work sanctification and meditation for full consciousness. The second set of chapters 7–12, is on Jnana Yoga (self-knowledge). This second series is the key to actions of detachment through the understanding of supreme Truth, unity with Truth, devotion, alignment, universal form and divine qualities. The final six chapters, 13–18 teach the ‘how to’ for unquestionable devotion. These are actions for detachment, transcendental wisdom and knowledge of supreme (Chow, 2007). The BG presents some of the core values and principles of Dharma, Karma, Loka Sangraha, Kausalam, Vividhta and Jigyasa (Athreya, 2005; Basin, 2010) which could be instrumental in nurturing ISR, CSR and GSR.

The BG starts with the word ‘dharma’ and ‘dharma’ is an important concept in the Vedanta¹⁷ philosophy and in India. In the context of Vedanta (Vedas) and Hinduism, it means one’s righteous duty. ‘Dharma’ is often translated as occupational duty, virtues, ethics, righteousness and religion. Besides ‘dharma’ in BG, ‘karma’ is the concept of ‘action’ or ‘deed’, understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect. ‘Karma’ is considered to be a spiritually originated law of nature. ‘Karma’ is not fate, for humans act with free will create their destiny. According to karma theory, if one sows goodness, one will reap goodness; if one sows evil, one will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate response. Both concepts are also found in various other Indian religions such as Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.

The BG and CSR Dharma

A widely quoted CSR definition by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development states that ‘Corporate social responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large’ (http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/RGk80O49q8ErwmWXIwtF/CSRmeeting.pdf).

CSR refers to the obligation of an organization which considers the interests of all their stakeholders which includes the customers, employees, shareholders, communities and ecological considerations in all aspects of their operations. This obligation is seen to extend beyond their statutory obligation to comply with legislation. In the American context, Steiner and Steiner (2006) relate the practice of CSR to the philanthropic work of wealthy business owners John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, who gave away millions of dollars to social causes. However, CSR goes beyond the normal philanthropy or charity activities of an organization as CSR requires organization take into full account of its impact on all stakeholders and on the environment when making decisions. In a nutshell, CSR requires the organizations to balance the needs of all stakeholders with its need to make a profit and reward shareholders adequately (Muniapan & Dass, 2008).

Organizations are viewed as legitimate and an integral part of society, but essentially it should create wealth for the society through the right means of action. ‘Sarva loka hitam’ in the BG referred to ‘well-being of stakeholders’. This means an ethical and social responsibility system must be fundamental and functional in all business undertakings. The CSR requirements in the Indian context stresses on the concept of ‘dharma’ which is given great importance in the BG.

According to the BG philosophy, dharma is the way of life for every man and this is true for a corporation. It is not a question now whether the corporations have social responsibility or not but the question is how to discharge the corporate responsibility. The BG model of discharging the responsibility by following the dharma can be a model for discharging CSR by incorporating ISR and GSR.

‘Dharma’ is one of the aims of human life besides wealth (artha), desires (kama) and liberation (moksha). There is a systematic relationship of each of these aims. The ultimate element of life should be interpreted as a drive to achieve moksha or liberation guided by dharma and kama using artha as a tool. Business is a means in creating artha or wealth. The business principles need to be based on ‘dharma’ and ‘dharma’ should always be protected. ‘Dharma’ has been explained to be that which helps the welfare of all living being. In the Mahabharata¹⁸, Karna Parva, Chapter 69 Verse 58 eulogizes it as follow: ‘dharma’ sustains the society, ‘dharma’ maintains the social order; ‘dharma’ ensures well being and progress of humanity, ‘dharma’ is surely that which fulfils these objectives (Muniapan, 2006).

The BG emphasizes that one should not run away from his or her ‘dharma’. In the BG, Sri Krishna motivates and encourages Arjuna to perform his ‘dharma’ and not to run away from the battlefield (BG 3.8)—‘Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working, one cannot even maintain one’s physical body without work’ (Prabhupada, 2003, p. 170). Sri Krishna further stressed that duty (dharma) needs to be done without attachment and for those who do their duty without attachment will attain the supreme goal—(BG 3.19). In his explanation, Sri Krishna gave the example of King Janaka (father of Sita and father-in-law of Sri Rama in Ramayana¹⁹) who attained perfection solely by performance of his prescribed duties—(BG 3.20). Therefore Sri Krishna instructed Arjuna to perform his duty for the sake of educating the people in general.

The success and failures of any CSR initiative can be attributed to leadership. Therefore the organizational leadership needs to set example to their people or followers as whatever the leader does, the people will follow and whatever standards or example the leader sets people in general will follow (BG 3.21). This implies that for a CSR initiative to be successful, the leadership and support from the top management is essential. Sri Krishna also says that all sorrows from the society would be removed if socially conscious members of a community feel satisfaction in enjoying the remnants of their work performed in yagna (sacrifice) spirit (selfless welfare of others)(BG 3.13).

In (from) the Vedas (BG), there are four principal kinds of ‘dharma’ known as chatur (four) dharma, as follows:

Rita-dharma

Rita dharma or the universal duty is the inherent order of the cosmos. The concept of Rita dharma is derived from the Vedas (BG). The concept of Rita, literally means the ‘course of things.’ It stands for inviolable cosmic order or the law in general and the immanence of justice. This is a term which it is difficult to translate by any single English equivalent, but is usually rendered as the Law or Order (represents in a way both natural and moral order) by English translators of the Vedas. It is through Rita that the rivers flow; the dawn is born of Rita; by Rita the moon and stars keep their courses. It is the same law or order that governs the course of nature, that is involved in the right ordering of the sacrifice, and that is manifested in the moral law [S.P. Rai (http://www.purifymind.com/EasternIdeas.htm)].

Rita dharma can therefore be understood as the dharma that upholds the world order. Therefore the BG describes it in a different form where Sri Krishna says in verse 4.3, ‘That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science.’ Sri Krishna says again in verse 4.7 about the eternity and the relationship of the mortal and physical world with the Divine, ‘Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.’—sa evayam maya te ‘dya, yogah proktah puratanah; bhakto ‘si me sakha ceti, rahasyam hy etad uttamam (BG 4.3), ajo ‘pi sann avyayatma, bhutanam isvaro ‘pi san; prakrtim svam adhisthaya, sambhavamy atma-mayaya (BG 4.7). Finally in the verse 7.10 of the BG, Sri Krishna declares that, ‘O son of Prtha (referring to Arjuna), know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men—bijam mam sarva-bhutanam, viddhi partha sanatanam; buddhir buddhimatam asmi, tejas tejasvinam aham (BG 7.10).

There exists a responsibility for every one of us including the businesses to abide by the Rita Dharma. We can call this in modern term as the responsibility towards the cosmic order. For this every one of us has to obey the order that is the seed of the physical world and which exists from the beginning of the time. The concept of Rita dharma provide us with GSR which the business or corporation need to consider beyond CSR.

Varna Dharma

Varna dharma or social duty defines the individual’s obligations and responsibilities within the nation, society, community, business and family. This is directly relevant to social responsibility (CSR). Organizations are to safeguard the interest of the stakeholders and for that they are to be efficient and effective. The employees are the primary stakeholders of the organization. According to Carroll and Buchholt, 2003, the companies as well as the employees must work for their self-interest and the ‘self-interest’ argument suggests that for a long-term perspective corporations should conduct themselves in such a way in the present as to assure themselves of a favourable operating environment in the future. This view holds that companies must look beyond the short-term, bottom-line perspective and realize that investments in society today will reap the benefits in the future. Furthermore, it may be in the corporate world’s best interests to engage in socially responsive activities because, by doing so, the corporate world may forestall governmental intervention in the form of new legislation and regulation.

If we go by the arguments of Carroll and Buchholtz (2003) every employee and the organization as a whole has to work for their self-interest. By serving self-interest they can serve the interest of the society. Sri Krishna therefore says the following in the BG, ‘Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction. Even the maintenance of your body would not be possible by inaction’—niyatam kuru karma tvam, karma jyayo hy akarmanah; sarira-yatrapi ca te, na prasiddhyed akarmanah (BG 3.8). ‘The four Varna or divisions of human society, based on aptitude and vocation, were created by Me’—catur-varnyam maya srstam, guna-karma-vibhagasah; tasya kartaram api mam, viddhy akartaram avyayam (BG 4.13). ‘The division of labor into the four categories—Braahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra—is also based on the Gunas inherent in peoples’ nature (or the natural propensities, and not necessarily as one’s birth right), O Arjuna’—brahmana-ksatriya-visam, sudranam ca parantapa; karmani pravibhaktani, svabhava-prabhavair gunaih (BG 18.41).

The essence of the above teachings of the BG is very specific and tells to perform the duty as prescribed to one based on his ability. In the modern world also the jobs are allotted looking into one’s ability and efficiency therefore Sri Krishna says that I have done the division of labour. If one performs his allotted duty faithfully than he is said to be following the Varnaashrama dharma. The BG (Chapter 18, 45–48) explains how by following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect—janmana jayate sudrah samskarad bhaved dvijah veda-pathad bhaved vipro brahma janatiti brahmanah.

Ashrama Dharma

Ashrama dharma or duties of life’s stages is a developmental ‘dharma’. The natural process of maturing from childhood to old age through fulfilment of the duties of each of the four stages of life namely brahmachari (student), grihastha (householder), vanaprastha (elder advisor) and sannyasa (religious solitaire) in pursuit of the four human goals: dharma (virtue), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (liberation). This is individual social responsibility (ISR) in relation to the family and society.

The Vedic (Hindu) philosophy in general says that all the four ashramas lead you to moksha or liberation if you follow strictly the dharma as laid down for each and if you devote yourself steadfastly to your uplift. Each ashrama is important to the particular stage; the conduct of the individual, his practice, that is the essential test. Whatever be the ashrama, if the person follows the dharma laid down for that stage and carries it out in practice and steadfastly yearns for liberation, he can get it; there is no doubt. Without giving up the duties assigned to one’s ashrama, the person has to treat all with equal consideration—kinsmen as well as others. He must be aware of the rights of the elders and the obligations of juniors; he has to be full of sympathy and willingness to help; he should treat with loving kindness all those who are dependent on him; he must grow wiser with each new experience of the world; he should acquaint himself with the scriptures (sastras) and be alert to do dharma and avoid adharma; he must foster and protect his wife and children with a sense of responsibility; he has to trample down the eight egoisms, the conceit that develops from family, wealth, character, personal beauty, youth, scholarship, native place and even accomplishments in austerity.

In this stage we are associated with some kind of organization and therefore we are to discharge our social responsibility in the best manner. For a corporation this can be thought of as the individual social responsibility of leaders.

Svadharma

Svadharma or personal duties, or obligation is one’s individual pattern through life, according to one’s own particular physical, mental and emotional nature. Svadharma is determined by the sum of past ‘karma’ and the cumulative effect of the other three dharmas. It is the individualized application of ‘dharma’ dependent on personal ‘karma’, reflected on physical characteristics, health, intelligence, skills and aptitudes, desires and tendencies. This is personal social responsibility (PSR) in relation to the individual life and growth.

‘Svadharma’ is choosing the right vocation and the job for the self. The BG identifies three gunas (qualities) satva (goodness), rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance) and says that these three gunas are present in every man in different proportions. One must choose a profession befitting to one’s own temperament or the most dominating guna. Gunas are the inert qualities of a man and one is happy if he chooses a vocation that suits most to him. Therefore the BG says the following: ‘Better to do one’s own dharma imperfectly than the dharma of another, however well discharged. Better is death in one’s own dharma; the dharma of another is fraught with fear’—sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah, para-dharmat sv-anusthitat; sva-dharme nidhanam sreyah, para-dharmo bhayavahah (BG 3.35). sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah, para-dharmat sv-anusthitat; svabhava-niyatam karma, kurvan napnoti kilbisam (BG 18.47).

While recruiting people the companies also look for ‘appropriate’ people with related qualities. Therefore it is always better to pick a job that suits one’s background, experiences, tendencies and desires that ultimately determines one’s personality. According to the BG duty is to be performed like a Yogi. The BG therefore explains the nuances of the Karma-Yoga. Yoga means ‘dexterity in action’. It is possible only when someone is in a profession of spontaneous inclination. Sri Krishna provides an example of choosing one’s svadharma, he says, ‘Arjuna is a soldier (kshathriya) and his svadharma is to fight.’—Svadharmamapi chaavaekshya, na vikampithumarhasi; Dharmyaddhi yuddhaachchraeyOnyath kshathriyasya na vidyathae (BG 2.31).

When one is in a profession that suits one’s talents and temperaments he is peaceful, balanced and equanomous. ‘Svadharma’ is a broad term meaning several things like one’s vocation, calling, and ‘what is right for an individual’. When someone performs the Svadharma his productivity and efficiency in the work is high as he is self-motivated to do the work. He is self-actualized. Thus the person utilizes the resources in hand in the best possible manner and the social responsibility to use the resources efficiently is fulfilled.

BG and CSR Karma

From the BG, the law of ‘karma’ (cause and effect) is also highly relevant for CSR as it is expected to motivate the business people to carry out their responsibilities and duties to serve humanity. This ancient Hindu philosophy implies that the present nature of an individual’s life (effect) or organizations is determined by their antecedent actions (cause). Good ‘karma’ needs to be accumulated by business for long term benefits. In the context of CSR, organization should not only be interested in their own welfare but also the welfare of all stakeholders and society. ‘Karma’ is then a concept of reward or punishment for the choice made by individual or corporation. Hence, the law of ‘karma’ ‘emphasized’ the ‘dharma’ as a key plank for self-realization and for the organization to reach its potential. It has been argued that all virtues are conducive to spiritual development and is spiritual when performed with the realization of its relation to the inner spirit (Chakraborty, 2006). In the teachings of BG, it has been advised that perfect actions lead one to the ‘gateway to liberation (moksha)’. Evidently, this Hindu philosophy on ‘karma’ has set a framework for organizational action for good corporate ‘karma’ by the promotion of CSR (Muniapan & Dass, 2008). The BG also promotes the concept of nishkama karma; a perspective on action and decision making that emphasizes performing one’s deeds without attachment to the fruits thereof—and where both the action and the fruits are offered to the divine. In the CSR context, the societal contribution must not have with any expectations in return but rather as a duty need to be done to the society.

Conclusion

This article has provided the ‘dharma’ and ‘karma’ of CSR from the perspective of BG. As BG is as wide as an ocean, it is not within the scope of this article to explore all the scriptures within BG. BG begins with individual social responsibility, promotes CSR and goes even beyond to GSR which stands for the good of humanity social, cultural, moral and spiritual from global perspectives.

The CSR can be discharged by following the chatur-dharma by the corporation and the people of that corporation. If we move from the micro to the macro level, the corporation and its members are to follow the four dharma according to the conceptual framework of svadharma (individual) + ashrama dharma (stages of life) + varna dharma (position hold in the corporation) + finally the rita dharma (cosmic order). We can interpret the dharma to understand the different aspects of the Corporate Social Responsibility as INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY (includes PERSONAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY) + CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY + GLOBAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY. This dharma’s are the karma’s to be performed by the individuals and corporate leaders. The BG therefore provides a model for researchers to explore CSR from individual, corporate and global perspectives.

In a nutshell, the BG concepts of ‘dharma’ and ‘karma’ provide an inside-out approach to CSR, which is development of the individual leader’s self conscience. The leaders and the role they play in corporations are crucial in ensuring transparency, good conduct and governance towards the ultimate aim of achieving CSR. Future studies can explore other aspects of corporate management; such as corporate governance, corporate ethics and human resource management from the perspectives of BG philosophy.

Footnotes

Notes

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