Management by Consciousness, by G.P. Gupta and M. S. Srinivasan, is a book that will help all the readers to explore and harness the immense innate powers possessed by everyone. Whatever we are seeking, in whichever field or activity, there are corresponding powers with our consciousness, which when fully manifested can help us to achieve the highest effectiveness in that activity. This book also makes it very clear that it doesn’t mean rejecting external aids or technology, but underscores a shift of emphasis in our approach from an excessive reliance on outer aids and instruments to a much greater reliance on our inner powers, with external aids and technology as supplements or supports for expressing or enhancing the efficiency of inner powers.

The book is divided into two parts, the first part is on knowing and understanding of consciousness, faculties of consciousness, the technology of consciousness, self-governance, consciousness approach to business management, the leadership of the self and intuition to name a few. This portion of the book mainly focuses on exploring and harnessing the immense powers within. This part comprises a collection of writings from Sri Aurobindo, the Mother, Swami Vivekananda, Jigme Wangchuck, M.P. Pandit, M. S. Srinivasan, Shraddhalu Ranade, Gary Jacobs and G. P. Gupta.

The second part of this book deals with three case studies of persons who have used Integral Leadership and Consciousness to succeed. The first case study is about Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy (known as Dr V., founder of Arvind Eye Care chain of eye hospitals), an eye-care visionary and an exemplar of ‘integral leadership’. He was able to build an institution where spiritual inspiration, social sensitivity and kind service blend harmoniously with professional excellence, executive skill and corporate efficiency. The second case study is about R. K. Talwar, who is an praiseworthy banker. His moral courage and spiritual dedication elevated the level of his leadership from the average to extraordinary height. And the third case study is about a successful youngster who has minimized his negative effects and maximized his positive potentials by consciously enhancing the natural capacities to succeed in the career with the help of his mentor. These real-life case studies depict that consciousness is very important for realizing the full potential in a human.

This book is an entirely revised version of an earlier book with the same title published in 1994. In the words of the editors of this book, the main objective of this revision is to make it more relevant to the present conditions of business and management and also incorporate new research and studies on the consciousness approach to management.

As stated earlier, this book is suitable for any reader who wants to understand and learn about ‘consciousness’ from the rudiments to its highest form and especially for readers who wants to explore and harness the immense powers within for their work life.

About the editors:

Dr G. P. Gupta, Formerly Professor, Chairman, Dean and Director, School of Business Management and Commerce in Indian Universities; visiting faculty to various universities in the USA; Lecturer on contemporary problems of management in Japan, the USA, the UK, Germany and other west European countries; coordinator of non-traditional management-oriented courses at Birlagram, Nagda (Madhya Pradesh).

M. S. Srinivasan is a Senior Associate at Sri Aurobindo Foundation of Integral Management (SAFIM), Puducherry. He has an extensive knowledge in the field of Integral Management. He is a prolific writer and has authored many books and published numerous articles in the field of Integral Management in many nationally and internationally reputed journals.

Jayachandran F

Research Associate

Sri Aurobindo Institute of Research in Social Sciences (SAIRSS)