“Any business or management school should emphasize on teaching about belief systems. Eventually, behaviour and business both are dependent on personal beliefs,” said Devdutt Patnaik, Mythologist and Author, while speaking at a session on ‘Business Sutra - A Very Indian Approach to Management’ held at Suresh Bhatt Auditorium recently. The programme was organised by SGR Knowledge Foundation in association with G H Raisoni University.

Patnaik explained many stories from Mahabharat and Puranas to elaborate Indian business sutras. He said that nobody is perfectly correct nor they are perfectly wrong. “Everyone goes through their perception and thought process. Pluralism and multiplicity of views already existed in Indian culture and Jainism. If we could understand the nature of the variety of thoughts we can do sophisticated business,” he added.

Customers, manufactures, suppliers, and markets have their belief systems and perceptions. If you want to be a good businessman you can’t be rigid in your thoughts but you need to co-relate with others’ beliefs as well, Patnaik added.

Patnaik further said that the market is not the battleground but a platform to understand each other’s belief systems and perceptions.