Moral Consciousness

Like many other books in this genre, The Bhishma Way proves that most of the situations we face in our lives, be it as businessmen, politicians or executives, have uncanny resemblances to the predicaments witnessed in the Mahabharata. Through Bhishma and his interactions with other characters, the author helps readers better understand the dilemmas of modern-day businesses and politics.

Profit-making is considered a legitimate human objective and forms an integral part of four of the purushartha or goals - kama, moksha, artha and dharma. The author cites examples - such as the handling of the Union Carbide case or the Bhopal gas tragedy, as it is referred to in India; N. Srinivasan's conflict of interest as the promoter of India Cements and as chief of BCCI, and James Hardie's fall-out with the tribals in Australia - to emphasise the importance of values, dharma, truth, justice and the spirit of governance, over material profits and losses made in the decisions.

The author also discusses the conflict in the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer - head of the team that developed the atom bomb during the Second World War - just before he conducted artificial nuclear explosions in the deserts near Almagordo, New Mexico of the US, a few days before it was exploded in the skies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan, by the US forces. Although he was dismayed by its destructive power, he finished the job entrusted upon him as a scientist.

This is similar to what Lord Krishna explained to Arjun during the war - that he must do his duty as a warrior and not be bothered about the end result - as written in the Bhagavad Gita. Also similar to how Bhishma whole-heartedly fought for Kauravas, despite not being convinced about their deeds or their cause, because of the promise he made to his father about staying loyal to the throne. Most of the values the book discusses are critical to enhance the perceptions, culture, and decision-making powers in organisations.

N. Balasubramanian, a professor at IIM Ahmedabad, has used his teaching skills to analyse situations brilliantly, but lags behind when it comes to being creative as an author. Instead of building on Bhishma, one of the most complicated characters from the Mahabharata, his narrative deviates to other characters such as Ekalavya, Drona, Duryodhana and characters from the Bhagavad Gita. Repeated references to outside characters confuse the reader and, at certain points, weaken the arguments. However, the book is a good attempt at deriving lessons from Bhishma's life. A must read for those keen to adopt a higher moral code in day-to-day decision-making.