Dharma in the 21st Century

Few people would look for solutions to the principle challenges of our times in an epic almost three millennia old. Gurcharan Das does, and after reading his work and listening to him speak, it is easy to see why. Das views these challenges�from the financial meltdown in the west, to governance failures in much of the third world�as primarily originating from the absence of a strong ethical compass in society. In his latest work, The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma, he searches for this compass in the text of the Mahabharata. According to him, the manner in which all the main protagonists of the Sanskrit epic grapple with the issue of dharma provides valuable lessons to those in positions of power and authority today. Using the examples of characters such as Karna, Arjuna, Yudishtira, Vidura and Bhisma, Das argues that there is no one conception of what is right, no list of commandments that can guide us to spiritual and material well being. Instead, each individual must actively search for the his own dharma, seek to judge for himself what is right and what is not and strive to fulfill his ethical responsibilities.

Das graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Philosophy and went on to work for the multinational giant, Proctor and Gamble (P&G). He reached the pinnacle of his career when he was appointed CEO of P&G India and later Managing Director, P&G Worldwide (Strategic Planning). However Das took early retirement in 1995 in order to devote time to his true passion�writing. He says that when he graduated from Harvard, he knew he wanted to be a writer someday. In fact he wrote his first work, A Fine Family when he was still working at P&G. Yet Das jokes that being a writer hardly allows one to live a ‘retired’ life. He wakes up before dawn every morning to write, and continues writing till midday. When he is not working on his next novel, he is writing columns for newspapers around the world, ranging from the Times of India to The Wall Street Journal. He is also often asked to review books, glance through manuscripts and comment on papers.

The Difficulty of Being Good is already a best-seller in India, having sold close on 50 000 copies in the last year alone. This ensures that Das is following a trend he set himself�his previous work, India Unbound has been translated into 17 languages and filmed by the BBC. Both these novels are written with direct reference to Indian political and economic realities, and offer constructive criticisms of shortcomings in these spheres. When asked about his obvious popularity, Das is modest. He talks about writing in a style of English that common middle class people can understand and relate to. He insists that he is no academic, and while his work does have sound scholarly credentials, it does not pose as an intellectual text meant for a select group of readers. Rather, Das believes that it is important that he raise issues of corruption, inefficiency and bad governance through his books and columns in such a way that public anger and thus pressure builds against those occupying the seats of authority, forcing them to change their ways. Indeed, Das very much visualizes himself as an observer of public policy, watching every action, scrutinizing every decision, with an eagle eye. It is for this reason that he does not want to enter mainstream political life�he feels that he is more effective on the outside.

When asked about perceptions of widespread corruption in Indian public life, Das mentions that not only does he share these perceptions but that this was the only thing holding India back. He points to the cover of the latest issue of The Economist, which has an image of a tiger running free. Inside its pages are articles talking about India’s remarkable economic growth and its potential to overtake China as the world’s fastest growing market. He talks about an issue of the same magazine released some years ago which had on its cover a caged tiger, with the caption ‘What’s Holding India Back?’. �We’ve come a long way since then�, says Das, �but the question asked then is still relevant today, and the answer is governance. Today, anywhere between a quarter and half of our school teachers don’t even show up to class.� He then starts to talk of the Commonwealth Games, and the masses of public money that seem to have disappeared. The mood turns sombre, and for a moment it seems that in Das’ eyes, India’s future looks grim.

But Das does not lose hope. He talks about success stories in India. Small businesses, the Delhi metro and India’s IT sector are all examples of Indian administrators and entrepreneurs doing well despite the government. The ability of these sectors to surmount the seemingly insurmountable is a positive sign for the Indian economy. He feels that once Indian leaders imbibe traditions that are natural to all of Indians, that are rooted in India’s ancient culture, that are epitomized in the characters of the Mahabharata, there can be no stopping the tiger. Do your duty, is what Das seems to be telling those in power. If they listen to him as Arjuna listend to Krishna, the world’s largest democracy would be well served.