Assignment in IPLE

Understanding the ideal of ‘Utsav Bhava’

Anupam Kumar, B09011

 Assignment in IPLE 2010

C ONTEXT

Vedas are feted to be the oldest known scriptures of Hinduism and also perhaps, the oldest layer of
Sanskrit literature. They are considered to be ‘revealed knowledge’ as in something that came to
humanity directly and not because of human efforts and experience. As such, the word ‘sacred’ is
then very meaningfully attached to these scriptures. Word by word, wisdom has been extracted
from them and laid out before anyone and everyone who cares to reap the benefits.

Of the many lessons and teachings that have been extracted from the Vedas, we will concentrate
upon the ‘Utsava Bhava’ and its applicability (or indispensability) to business management and
organizations in particular.

U NDERSTANDING U TSAVA B HAVA

Literally, ‘Utsava Bhava’ translates to ‘the spirit of celebration and/or festivity’. The simplicity of the
concept is striking. Everything in life, it says, has to be accompanied with a process or manner
which incorporates happiness and celebration. Simple. One has to be careful though. Technically,
‘Celebration’ is a process while ‘Festival’ is an event. Which one are we talking about here?

Ancient times had a very strict societal structure which ‘imposed’ a particular life and occupation
upon everyone on the basis of his birth. So much so that until and unless one was completely
extraordinary, there could be no deviation from a life society had already planned for him. The
success and advancement of a society/civilization usually depends on its adaptability to changing
contexts of existence. It’s like you have to be ready for any trick the nature might play on you. Also,
if I may say so, the ‘objective’ of a civilization/society cannot be merely ‘existence’. I understand it
in my simple words to be ‘Maximization of wealth and knowledge’.1

Now, there could be two different ways of achieving the said objective for a society. One is closely
related to ‘Capitalism’. Let individuals discover for themselves this world and what suits them best.
Let them fend for themselves in pursuit of a goal for their life. It ‘trusts’ the human ability to find a
path for itself and also assumes that given such freedom and choice and a ‘survival of the fittest’
environment, individuals will end up aligning themselves to what they do best. This in turn, they
hope, will result in the best possible ‘occupational structure’ for a society.

The Indian way was different from Capitalism but it was nowhere near Socialism. And this ‘Utsava
Bhava’ was what made it completely unique from both these well-identified ways of running a
society. Every duty, every occupation, every act was to be understood as not an obligation but as a
reason to be happy. Happiness was to be ‘derived’ from work and then was to be applied to work.
Work was not to be ‘completed’ and ‘done away with’. It was to be loved and cared for. We will
discuss later how this state of occupation is different from being a ‘workaholic’.

1
Let us not get into the definition of social ‘Wealth’ and ‘Knowledge’ here.

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 Assignment in IPLE 2010

Can we include the sattvic and tamasic interpretations as understood from The Holy Geeta? Loosely
speaking, Utsava Bhava stops our occupation, our duty from moving towards a tamasic mode. It is
that thread which if held onto, can ensure that the essential sattvic nature of one’s duty comes forth
and forces him to excel. This is totally different from ‘compulsion’. Maybe, until one starts loving
one’s work, one does not know the heights to which it can be taken. Maybe, work as defined to one
worker by his superiors has definite boundaries. Vedas ask us in a veiled way to go beyond those
boundaries and discover for ourselves what limits can we push. And they tell us that the only way
this can be done is by being happy. By being contented. By being merrily involved.

If understood and imbibed in the correct manner, it was a concept which could lead to both the
objectives of material human existence:

 An individual’s ultimate gratification and

 Society’s endeavor for maximizing knowledge and wealth.

Please notice the emphasis on the ‘material’ aspect here. The spiritual aspect of human existence
cannot be brought into discussion here. It is more closely related to ‘bliss’ than it is to ‘celebration’.

Armed with a vague idea and definition of Utsava Bhava, we move on to understanding its
contemporary and practical implications.

L IMITED P ERSPECTIVE OR U NIVERSAL A PPLICATION ?

One has to be probably illogical to question the completeness of Vedas and the applicability of its
concepts. But, let us do so.

The spirit of ‘Utsav Bhava’ seems to be limited by the definition of work and worker. Agreed, that it
is prescribed and feted as a way of life. Nonetheless, its applicability to competitive situations
stands suspect. I am talking of a state where concentration is required, where utter seriousness is
necessary.2 A situation so common to modern business world that one executive may wonder at the
word ‘celebration’ being associated with work. For work is to be ‘done’, not ‘lived’.

But then when I delve deeper, I realize that probably ‘passion’ is more accurate a word for today’s
world. Maybe that is where Vedas want to take us with this concept. A person deeply in love with
his occupation can be understood to be ‘passionate’ which is not what blatant celebration is.
Passion is a silent, implied and often misunderstood form of love for one’s work. But passion has its
limitations. Passion is very individualistic. Organizations are not passionate. They may be a
collection of driven, passionate individuals. But per se, they are still structures. A means to an end.

And therein lies the fallacy that Vedas want us to seek and remove. Structures rub on to individuals
who work within them. They all become a means to an end while they are not initially supposed to
be so. But an individual’s passion, his inner drive; it’s very rare that it can affect an organization
totally and for long until and unless he is a leader. And remember that we are talking or workmen

2
Has been discussed in a following section.

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 Assignment in IPLE 2010

here, of individuals who run an organization at its basic levels. What about them? I have tried to
represent it the way I understand it.

Individuals  Passionate

External Insane Competition

One way effect
Environment

Organizations  Structures; Means to an end.

The question in today’s business context is: Can Utsava Bhava correct this? Can it help the original
roles of an organization and its component individual remain where they are?

I doubt the effect its understanding can have. Also, we must realize that in big, huge organizations,
it is difficult to inculcate this spirit even if it is found useful.

D O WE HAVE CONTEMPORA RY EXAMPLES ?

We all have contemporary and celebrated examples of illustrious companies championing the cause
of employees and ideas such as ‘fun at workplace’. Employee Motivation studies have understood
these deeply and helped implement them to a good amount of success. But they are very ‘forced’ in
nature. Organizational culture as it is today, it’s very rare to find an organization which honestly
believes in the Vedic ideal of ‘Utsav’ as it actually was. Google comes very close to achieving that.
Also, it is a commonly observed that organizations which have ‘creativity’ as their core competence
or some which claim ‘innovation’ to be the key to success have realized the importance of
‘employee freedom’, ‘passion’ and celebration. Advertising industry and the conduct of companies
therein is a prime example. Their culture itself is totally different from other industries and is the
closest one sees ‘Utsav Bhava’ in application today.

But generally speaking, until and unless absolutely necessary to their trade, organizations have not
understood ‘Utsav Bhava’ in its actual meaning.

In an effort to understand the implications of Utsav Bhava, another thought baffles me. What about
some very different organizations?

Think of Military. A very unique organization. Think of Nation States3 for that matter. Are they not
organizations in themselves? A huge amalgamation of individuals. An organization of societies.
Don’t these structures face some very unique challenges? Think of their leaders and the hugely
dynamic situation they always find themselves in.

3
I am not talking of “Government’ as an organization here. It is a ‘Nation’, a ‘Country’ which is being
discussed.

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 Assignment in IPLE 2010

Now, can we talk about ‘Utsav Bhava’ to an Army General, even in the times of peace? Can we ask a
soldier, a jawan to celebrate his work, to love his doings? Obviously not.

What then is the meaning of ‘Utsav’ in their work life? I believe that we have to return back to our
interpretation of ‘Utsav Bhava’ as passion in such cases. That is the only meaning which can fit such
organizations in the spirit of the Vedas. Focused action, rule of command, hierarchy: such inevitable
organizational properties allow only for passion and duty. Their celebration is their drive, their
satisfaction of completing a critical task at hand. Their rejoice lies in that moment but not in the
process itself.

Nation States.

What about them? They evolve, through the passage of history. After numerous wars, conquests,
drawing and redrawing of borders. They have a heritage, a culture, a reference. And somehow they
learn to celebrate. They celebrate their victories in wars, their victory in world cups, their medals in
Olympics, the achievements of their citizens. For a nation is an organization but not with a mission
and a vision. Its path is charted by its leaders, time and again. There is not a singular goal but
always the betterment of its citizens in sight. But there is a lot to learn.

Consider the case of Bhutan.

Bhutan's former King Jigme Sigmye Wangchuck, who opened up Bhutan to the age of
modernization, coined the term Gross National Happiness (GNH). He used the phrase to signal his
commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist
spiritual values. The Bhutanese grounding in Buddhist ideals suggests that beneficial development
of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to
complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of sustainable
development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural
environment, and establishment of good governance. Elaborate surveys have been developed to
capture the same.

We must note in this context though that Happiness is an end result of a process of celebration. The
latter is the Vedic Utsava Bhava. But nonetheless, this unique way of understanding a nation’s
condition suggests that we are way off mark when we use economic and material measures of
happiness of a nation. There is a lot more to be incorporated if we decide to move towards
development in the right sense.

C ONCLUSION

I have tried to capture my understanding of the Vedic ideal of ‘Utsav Bhava’ in the preceding
passages. Its basic meaning, its meaning at an individual level and its meaning as to organizational
well-being were discussed. Some thoughts about the uniqueness of either purpose (military) or
structure (a nation) of an organization were also expressed. In general, understanding an ancient
Vedic ideal, interpreting it for today and applying it to business scenarios requires a greater degree
of deliberation than has been exercised in this work. But ‘Utsav Bhava’ stands as an almost
indispensable tool for organizational growth today.

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 Assignment in IPLE 2010

A PPENDIX :

I had written the following poem a few months back. In light of my understanding of Utsav Bhava, I
now revise it and notice that I myself was talking about the absence of a ‘process of celebration’ in
our growing up and our education system in particular.

Auctions. Of My Ignorance.

One of those days… Was another one born.

The last cord severed and the tears rolling down;

Sought a reprieve and wished for mighty long,

That he be un’earth’ed and that his soul not be torn.

Then came the human, the one he was to be

The one who claimed the wit and all the known soiree;

And the Baptists rode along for the omen was clear

‘ He shalt be professed till his soul’s doom be near’.

The fire was set and his name out loud

In the curse of knowledge, was he to do himself proud.

Springs and Winters passed by; he learnt them counting

And soon the civilization was upon him, unmasked and daunting.

Ignorance was sought for it could be moulded and cast

Wisdom was bought for Curiosity was an inglorious past

The currency was time and it dawned on him late

What was by design, a blatant Auction of his breath and fate.

Love came by from the greens of existence

The deserts of logic and wisdom in utter resistance

All in grave pursuit, the well of her charm and emotional diction

He realised late that She was just another human.

One of those days… Was another one born..

Then came the human, the one he was to be..

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