Lokasaṁgraha reminds us to see the self in others. The Corona crisis seen from the concept of Lokasaṁgraha proposes that we all become leaders and serve others.
The word Lokasaṁgraha appears in the Bhagavadgītā only twice in verses 3.20 and 3.25. Grammatically, Lokasaṁgraha is ṣaṣṭhī tatpuruṣa samāsa of lokānām and saṁgrahaḥ. In his commentary on the Bhagavadgītā, Ādi Śaṁkara interprets Lokasaṁgraham as lokasya unmārgapravr̥ttinivāraṇaṁ Lokasaṁgrahaḥ tam eva api prayojanam or correcting people’s propensity to pursue the opposite path is called Lokasaṁgraha. The concept of Lokasaṁgraha is briefly explained here (see Bhawuk, 2019 for a full discussion).
Lokasaṁgraha is about leadership. In leadership the common tendency of people to deviate from the spiritual course is to be corrected by the leader through his or her own example. Unlike traditional leadership, which focuses on the leader as a person, Lokasaṁgraha shifts the focus to the wellbeing of society. As a spiritual practice Lokasaṁgraha entails cultivating one’s outer senses to see the benefit of others in everything, all the time. This reduces selfishness or self-centeredness. A person pursuing Lokasaṁgraha is not reclusive but passionate about the welfare of all beings or is sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ (Gītā verse 12.4). When one works for the benefit of others following the credo of Lokasaṁgraha, a path or practice to break the bondage of karma or actions becomes available, which leads to the highest goal of life, the pursuit of mokṣa or brahman.
The material way of life, in which we constantly chase the fruits of our ventures, is inherently pitiable as it distracts from the higher goals of life. Lokasaṁgraha, by comparison, is the only outward focused approach that leads to higher goals, and therefore, is comparable to the inward focused spiritual practice. Thus, though buddhiyoga refers to inner directed buddhi (intellect), it applies equally to the practice of Lokasaṁgraha. Ādi Śaṁkara suggested that excellence is achieved when one performs his or her prescribed duties or work by surrendering the consciousness to brahman (see his commentary on Bhagavadgītā verses 2.48, 2.50, and 3.30), which leads to having a balance in success and failure. The same excellence is achieved when all actions performed are for Lokasaṁgraha or the common good.
The philosophy of karma is often viewed as the doctrine of niṣkāma karma, which can be stated in the following four statements: (i) work is to be done, and never to be avoided; (ii) work is to be done without seeking its outcomes; (iii) work is to be done without paying attention to success or failure; and (iv) when work is performed with a balanced mind, one achieves excellence in his or her performance, work does not cause bondage to life and death cycle, and one achieves the purpose of life – union with brahman. These four fundamentals are equally applicable to Lokasaṁgraha.
Niṣkāma karma and Lokasaṁgraha provide a theory of leadership that integrates spirituality and material living. Therefore, Lokasaṁgraha offers a novel space to study leadership where a noble person or a leader is not only focused on the common good, but is passionate about bringing people together for what is best for all — people, other elements, and contexts. It offers practitioners an opportunity to transform their daily actions into a spiritual practice. It offers researchers to integrate the material and the spiritual, which is often presented as exclusive domains in the leadership literature.
In India, leadership is, theoretically, about focusing on serving others, and in so doing a leader expands his or her individual self to encompass others creating a larger collective self (see Bhawuk, 2011 for the concept of expansion of self in the Indian worldview). Leaders and subordinates sacrifice for each other unconditionally, and such interactions transform the leader, the subordinates, and the organization (see cases presented in Bhawuk, Mrazek, & Munusamy, 2009). The spirit of Lokasaṁgraha diminishes the self-other dichotomy, allowing both the leader and the subordinates to realize limitless transformation. Success, achievement, and possession for the individual are replaced by those for the group.
In the times of paralyzing crises great leaders call out to people to serve others, for being a leader means dedicating one’s life to the service of all, or being sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” We often miss out that for the African-American population in the United States of America life was a living hell, a time of great daily existential crisis when King was starting a satyāgraha or a non-violent social revolution following Gandhiji’s example. In that context, he was challenging everybody to serve others.
Coronavirus is presenting the greatest crisis in decades and we do need to ask ourselves what we are doing for others. Lokasaṁgraha proposes that we all become leaders and serve others, for leadership is to guide each other in our spiritual journeys as we live in this world and interact with each other. In this time of extreme crisis, we need to do our best to guide ourselves (e.g., to maintain social distance) and serve others with all our spiritual and material resources not to lose our own soul, as the wise apostle said (Mark 8.36) — For what shall it profit a person, if he or she shall gain the whole world, and lose his or her own soul? Lokasaṁgraha constantly reminds us to see the self in others, and inspires us to rise above our material awareness, for what if we are spiritual beings having a material experience!
References
Bhawuk, D. P. S. (2019). Lokasaṁgraha: An indigenous construct of leadership and its measure. In S. Dhiman and A. D. Amar (Eds.), Managing by the Bhagavadgītā: Timeless Lessons for Today’s Managers (pp. 273-297). New York, NY: Springer.
Bhawuk, D. P. S. (2011). Spirituality and Indian Psychology: Lessons from the Bhagavadgītā. New York, NY: Springer.
Bhawuk, D. P. S., Mrazek, S., & Munusamy, V. P. (2009). From social engineering to community transformation: Amul, Grameen Bank, and Mondragon as exemplar organizations. Peace & Policy: Ethical Transformations for a Sustainable Future, vol.14, 36-63.
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