Arun Jain invokes Ahimsa in House of Commons

The speech which went viral on social media garnered quite a few admirers, who lauded Jain for revisiting the Mahatma Gandhi’s enduring legacy of non-violence.  Prabal Basu Roy, a Sloan Fellow, London Business School, PE investor and a former CFO at Polaris said on a professional networking site, “Jain got the opportunity to address the House of Commons on the role of Ahimsa in Business Excellence. It was a proud moment for India and Indians, and most particularly those of the Polaris/ Intellect Design family who have closely worked with him over the years. This is the second intervention of the core messages from our ancient scriptures in the British parliament after another friend and classmate, Jitesh Gadhia, currently a Member of the House of Lords, made an entry to the august house with the Rig Vedas last year.” 

He added, “Long after Gandhiji demonstrated the power of Ahimsa to the world during our independence movement, I hope Arun’s address will kindle interest amongst management thinkers and practitioners, at least in India, to start injecting Eastern wisdom in Management models instead of blindly following Western thinking in all respects.” 

TN Vittal, former AVP, IT, Polaris also said, “When we find global forums invite you to share your knowledge and experience, it’s a proud moment for all of us at Intellect. You will agree that the underlying principle of Ahimsa is Inclusion. In my journey at Intellect, I have seen you practicing this Inclusion in your own way, leading to business excellence. I feel that listening to you - live - is a meditative experience. Keen to attend your live speech – long time since I heard one in person.”

Arun Jain’s speech at the House of Commons seems to have struck a chord with India Inc, as both members of the business community and the public have found reasons to be inspired by his words. 

Edited excerpts from the speech: “Ahimsa starts at the thinking level and speaking level. We need to reconsider business - and the core values of team work, collaboration and networking. When you think positively about everyone, then the network comes closer to you. 

Every business is dependent on networking, collaboration and team work. As soon as our thinking changes about ahimsa, we encounter the second thing – acceptance. One thing about ahimsa is that when you start thinking of not hurting anybody else, then you start accepting another person’s point of view, leading to multiple thought processes (Anekantavada) – i.e multiple views with an obligation of dissent. 

This creates opportunity to dissent not as a matter of dissent but as an obligation.  It’s a source of creativity and a source of innovation. Multiple strong views can prompt new solutions and spur innovation. Business excellence is nothing but innovation. While thinking at this level, the third thing happens – it creates curiosity - the internal journey of discovery. This has been well documented as the curiosity of lifelong learning. 

By learning continuously - you are picking best practices of competitors of global trade. That reflection translates to next level of business. And another flowering happens – that of non-attachment. This is different from detachment - You may be doing business but not attached to the outcome of it, like the Gita says. 

The core values such as collaboration, innovation and creativity, lifelong learning (curiosity) and risk-taking – help us drive towards the right darshan (end goal).”