Free Business Sutra: A Very Indian Approach to Management by Devdutt Pattanaik Page B

his karana-sharira. His desire to dominate, be feared and respected by everyone constitutes his sukshma-sharira.
    In contrast to him is Hanuman, a monkey of immense strength (sthulasharira) who is content to be seen as the servant of Ram (karana-sharira), who does not seek to dominate and would rather seek meaning by helping the helpless Ram without seeking anything in return (sukshma-sharira).

    While animals need food to nourish only their physical body, humans also need sustenance for their mental and social bodies. Animal movements are governed by feeding and grazing, human choices are governed by desire for wealth, power, fame, status and recognition. The purpose of yagna is to satisfy every human hunger. Failure to satisfy these hungers transforms the workplace into a rana-bhoomi.
Balwant is a tall man who has always been good with numbers. But his father could not send him to school beyond the fourth standard and he was forced to work in a field. Balwant imagines himself as a leader of men and so he migrated to the city looking for opportunities to prove his worth. Currently he works as a doorman in a building society, a job he got because of his commanding height. Everyone notices his height and uniform. Thus, they are able to identify his role and his status in society. A few observe how good he is with numbers. Hardly anyone notices that he loves to dominate those around him. As a result no one understands why he gets irritated when members of the building society order him around. They feel he is lazy and arrogant. They see his physical body and his social body, not his mental body.

Only humans can exchange
    There is always more hunger than food. The Upanishads tell the story of how Brahma invites his children to a meal. Brahma's children are a metaphor for people who feel they have no control over their imagined reality. They expect to be fed. After the food has been served, he lays down a condition, no one can bend their elbows while getting to the food. The food as a result, cannot be picked up and carried to the mouth. Some children complain, as they cannot feed themselves. Others innovate: they pick up the food, swing their arms and start serving the person next to them. Others feed them in reciprocation.

    This is the first exchange, which leads to its codification as a yagna in the Rig Veda. Brahma's children who complain and ignore the value of the exchange came to be known as the asuras; while the children who appreciate its value came to be known as the devas.
    Every interaction in business is a yagna, be it between investor and entrepreneur, employer and employee, manager and executive, professional and vendor, seller and buyer. The yagna is the fundamental unit of business, where everything that can satisfy hunger is exchanged. He who oversees the yagna and makes up its rules is Daksha, or the chief prajapati.
    Animals cannot exchange (though some trading and accounting behaviours have been seen in a few species of bats). Exchange is a human innovation that reduces the effort of finding food. It increases the chances of getting fed. It improves the variety of food we get access to. Exchange creates the marketplace, the workplace, even the family. It is the cornerstone of society. He who oversees sanskriti and makes up its rules is called Manu, another prajapati.

    Svaha is food for the devata. Tathastu is food for the yajaman. Unless svaha is given, tathastu cannot be expected. As is svaha, so is tathastu.
    Ideally, the yajaman wants the devata to give tathastu voluntarily, joyfully, responsibly and unconditionally. When this happens, it is said Lakshmi walks his way. In the Purans, only Vishnu achieves this. He is identified as bhagavan, he who always feeds others even though he is never hungry.
Madhav has a pan shop near the railway station. He sells betel leaves, betel nuts, sweets and cigarettes. He even has a stash of condoms. He knows that as long as there is a crowd in the station, there will be