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This article has been modified. Please see the clarification at the end.
To many, "Corporate Culture and Spirituality" might seem like an oxymoron - after all, one sounds exclusive of the other. But there was no such discord in the minds of the many top corporate honchos who had gathered at the headquarters of Sri Sri Ravishankar's ashram in Bengaluru earlier this month for the annual conference of the same title. Presided over by the new-age guru in his flowing, pristine white robes, it was attended by a roll call of big names in the industry, from State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, who delivered the valedictory address, to Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl. Some, no doubt, were there only in the role of panellists but there were also others like Amazon India head Amit Agarwal, who mentioned he was there for personal reasons. Keki Mistry was spotted quietly eating in the dining hall.
Such a scenario is not exactly unusual in India, where the best-known spiritual gurus are known to hobnob with the rich and the famous across sectors. Who can forget the image of Sachin Tendulkar, dubbed the "god" of cricket himself, sobbing inconsolably at the funeral of Sai Baba in Puttaparthi? It is, therefore, hardly anathema for corporate titans too to reveal their spiritual side. This could be in the form of adulation for gods and goddesses or those men and women who believers revere as divine representatives on earth or just as guides who help them achieve some kind of calm in their presumably chaotic lives.
Gujarat's political dispensation, too, seem to be favourably disposed towards Oza, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tweeted "Rameshbhai Oza's efforts towards a Clean India are extremely inspiring. I compliment him for his contribution to Swachh Bharat Mission." He had been appointed one of the "leaders" of the Clean India campaign in the state by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's bid to make the Bhagavad Gita a "national book" was also backed by Oza. Both the Ambani brothers, particularly Anil, also visit the Venkateshwara temple in Tirupati. Last year, Anil also helped clean the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples in his role as one of Modi's Clean India campaign ambassadors.
The other billionaire, conspicuous for his temple darshans, particularly Tirupati, is Vijay Mallya. The tycoon used to make his aircraft circle the temple on its inaugural flight. In 2012, he donated 3 kg of gold to the Tirupati temple to plate the steps to the sanctum sanctorum, and later tweeted, "Am in Tirupati. May Balaji bless us all". The same year, he had donated gold-plated doors estimated to be worth Rs 80 lakh to the Kukke Subrahmanya temple in south Karnataka. Mallya is known to be quite religious and makes no bones about it, saying in an earlier first-person account to a newspaper: "I am a deeply religious person. At the age of five, I started visiting temples with my grandparents. They taught me about the vedas. Balaji means everything to me. Even while I am travelling - whether I am on a plane or on the road - I perform a puja on my laptop." His mother had mentioned in an interview that all the cockpits of Kingfisher jets used to hold pictures of Venkateshwara. Mallya is also known to make pilgrimages to Sabarimala in Kerala, after sticking to the mandatory 42- day period of abstinence.
Of the "gurus", Sri Sri Ravishankar has quite a following among the corporate denizens and the political classes as well. The government's attempt to reward him with a Padma Vibhushan, which he declined, is just one manifestation of his clout. He attained fame for popularising Sudarshan Kriya, a breathing technique that, according to the Art of Living website "...eliminates stress, fatigue and negative emotions", and over which he has a copyright. The Art of Living Foundation also runs a programme for corporations known as Achieving Personal and Professional Excellence (APEX), which focuses on Sudharshan Kriya and which many companies and institutes have signed up for for its employees. Its advocates include Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot, who told Business Standard that Art of Living had changed his life by helping him stay calm and focused. Yash Birla, chairman of the Yash Birla Group, too, is a follower. "I am very close to Sri Sri (Ravi Shankar). He recently stayed in my house," he told Business Standard.
Others, like industrialist and media baron Subhash Chandra who heads the Essel group, turn to transcendental spiritual techniques. Chandra is a keen practitioner of Vipassana, a form of meditation. His "guru" was the late Satya Narayan Goenka, who popularised the Buddhist meditation technique with its focus on self-observation and silence, in India. In an article in Outlook magazine, Chandra said he makes time to practise Vipassana every day for 45 minutes. "It has helped me control my anger and it has taught me to handle any situation, involving anybody or anything in the world, in an equanimous manner. And to have that in today's world is a big thing." Such is his belief in the meditation technique that if anybody in any of his companies wants to do a Vipassana course, he is given time off and the absence from work does not count as leave. Chandra also financed the construction of an enormous Global Vipassana Pagoda in Gorai, a Mumbai suburb, and donated land for it.
Brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, who head the Fortis and Religare groups, are devotees of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas spiritual movement.
While the links between spiritual "gurus" and their high-profile devotees is undoubtedly a mutually beneficial relationship, one question might be why these individuals who seem to have the world at their feet need to seek solace in spirituality, just like some of us lesser mortals. Asked about why businessmen turn to spirituality, Ramesh Raman, CEO of Art of Living's APEX programme, says "Corporations always look for profits and benefits. And they have realised how this benefits their business environment. It is just the intelligent thing to do."
CLARIFICATION
An earlier version of this article had wrongly mentioned Gurpreet Dhillon as head of Religare Enterprises. The company has clarified that Shachindra Nath is the group CEO. The article had also said that Malvinder and Shivinder Singh mix spirituality and business which is wrong. This article has been corrected and the errors are regretted.
