The session on How the power of “myth” can be leveraged in business Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik had the entire audience listening with rapt attention.

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned mythologist, author, leadership coach & motivational speaker. In addition to this he is a  qualified doctor & the Chief Belief Officer of Future Group.

Here are some of the thought provoking ideas he had talked about:

Whenever you have a rule, there will be a rule breaker & someone will find a way to bend the rules.

• Sanatan law states: Wherever there is a rule there will be a rule breaker. In business we all like the idea of Rules- with their promise of predictability.
• On one hand we revere Lord Ram who follows rules & we also worship Lord Krishna who bends them.
• Both are right. Both are divine.
• Indian mythology never gives prescriptions. It gives frameworks.

Frameworks provided by Indian mythology can be applied in our day to day life, especially in the cases of conflicts.

• 3 categorizes of leaders according to Jain mythological framework: “Vasudev, Chakravarti, Tirthankar”.
  • Vasudev – Rule breakers who do so to (re)establish justice or a new balance. Entrepreneurs fall under this category.
  • Chakravarti:  A Ruler who controls & establishes systems. He is the ‘King’; makes laws and creates stability. E.g. Auditors, regulators, most CEO’s.
  • Tirthankar – Someone who can find a balance between the Chakravartis & Vasudevs… He understands that both are important for sustained, systemic growth and change.  E.g. Chief Mentor (Narayan Murthy, KV Kamath)
• An example of a Vasudev : Krishna.
• An example of Chakravarti : Rama.
• A Tirthankar is he who finds the ‘fjord’ – the bridge between the two .
• ‘Fjord’ means a bridge which already exists, awaiting discovery. (origin: Norwegian).

 In Jain mythology – becoming a Tirthankar is man’s highest calling.

• Vasudev, Chakravarti & Tirthankar. Most leaders don’t know this framework, but intuitively understand the need for both .
• The predictability of ‘Stability’ and ‘disruptiveness of growth’ are important – and the Leader has to often play the role of the “Tirthankar” – judiciously calibrating the amount of each needed in a given situation.