A bustling media house. Vikram, a seasoned editor and mentor, sits with Veda, a young journalist eager to learn about leadership and governance. Sowndarawali, an enthusiastic intern, occasionally chimes in with practical insights. The trio discusses wisdom, self-reflection, and their application to corporate governance, weaving in a significant verse from the Bhagavad Gita.
Veda: Vikram sir, I’ve been reading about how self-awareness and continuous learning are key to leadership. I came across this idea in the Bhagavad Gita too. Can you share a verse that captures this and explain how it applies to our media house’s governance?
Vikram: Absolutely, Veda. One of the most profound verses in the Bhagavad Gita that speaks to knowledge and self-reflection is from Chapter 4, Verse 38:
Original (Sanskrit):
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते।
तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति।।
Transliteration:
Na hi jñānena sadr̥śaṁ pavitramiha vidyate,
Tatsvayaṁ yogasaṁsiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati.
Translation:
“There is nothing as purifying as knowledge in this world. One who is perfected through the practice of yoga discovers this knowledge within themselves over time.”
Krishna is telling Arjuna that true knowledge, gained through self-awareness and disciplined practice, purifies the mind and leads to wisdom. It’s not just bookish learning but an inner realization that comes from reflecting on your actions and experiences.
Veda: That’s great, but what does this all mean for our work here? I mean, we are a media house, not a yoga school!
Vikram: (laughs) Fair enough! According to the Gita, Krishna says that the point of knowledge is not just knowledge in terms of information, it is knowledge of yourself, your purpose, and your action in the world. So then for our board, and think of our editorial team and management team as a whole–it is about creating an organizational culture of learning, reflection, and improvement. To use Krishna’s analogy with Arjuna to reflect inward, our board needs to regularly take a look at their effectiveness, their choices, and re-evaluate in order to make better choices.
Sowndarawali ( intern, raising her hand): Sorry to jump in, but this made me think of something. Last week, our team missed a big story because we did not validate our sources. Had we taken a moment to reflect on our process, we could have prevented that. Is that not what Krishna said? We need to take a moment to learn from our mistakes?
Vikram: Exactly, Sowndarawali! That is a great example. Self-awareness in governance means asking yourself: Are we doing the right things? Are we learning from our mistakes? In a media organization, our board does this. If they do not look at their effectiveness, do not have feedback, we will keep making the same mistakes – ignoring stories or assessing public sentiment wrongly.
Veda: Great, but how often do we need to take stock of our effectiveness? I have heard of some organizations only taking stock once a year, is that enough?
Vikram: That’s a great question. The Gita has this expression, “kālenātmani vindati” – ‘find knowledge over time’. Self-reflection should be a process, not an annual event for a board. An annual review could be good as somekind of a launch pad – reviewing indicators like how we meet our deadlines, audience engagement, and standards of ethics. In a fast-paced media landscape, hence the capabilities of the board may necessitate quarterly reflections or even informal debriefs after major projects. It is like yoga, we don’t just do yoga once a year and call ourselves flexible!
Sowndarawali: (grinning) Like my gym trainer keeps saying, I should check my form weekly, and not only when I’m sore! For us, maybe the board could meet quickly after a major campaign, to determine, what worked and what didn’t. For example, did we just genuinely reach an audience with this last investigative piece?
Vikram: Absolutely! That’s responsible self-reflection and evaluation. A board should be concerned that if it doesn’t pause and consider the options, it becomes unwieldy, where it becomes inapt at chasing trends or reader’s needs. And Krishna’s jyotir which is translatable as teaching, reminds us wisdom is born from practice and telling ourselves the truth.
Veda: That resonates. But can we be vulnerable with external feedback? Le’ts face it, sometimes I feel our senior editors – and I mean no disrespect – can very defensive to feedback from junior/journalists.
Vikram: (smiling) No offense taken. However, part of Krishna’s teaching, is jñāna (knowledge); that is the familiarity of understanding we don’t know everything about everything. For the board, this means drawing other viewpoints: from junior journalists, readers or industry experts. External feedback gives a clear picture, including what we can’t see. For example, it would have been helpful to hear from our social media team last month, or we might have picked up on that viral trend a lot sooner.
Sowndarawali: Yes, just like when a friend suggested we cover a local artist and the editor said it wasn’t “big enough”. Then the artist went viral and we lost the scoop! We could have been ahead of everyone else if we had listened to someone outside the normal box.
Vikram: Yes. If you are a board that opines on social issues but ignores other voices, you limit your wisdom. And remember, Krishna told Arjuna to act with _________ as opposed to ego. In governance this means creating something where people can provide and receive feedback. You could have anonymous surveys, or public forums, and then you encourage people to report that feedback.
Veda: I love that. So, let us not forget about learning. How does our board create an opportunity for us to keep building knowledge so we stay relevant?
Vikram: Krishna’s idea of yogasaṁsiddhaḥ basically means perfected through practice, so for our board everything I just said could include training on media technologies, studying industry trends, or learning audience analytics. Think how cool it would be if our editors went to a workshop on AI-driven journalism, or learned about global media regulation? We need to be open, curious, and flexible in our practice, as Krishna tells Arjuna to rise above ignorance through effort!
Veda: I love that. So what about learning? How can our board continue growing knowledge so that we remain relevant?
Vikram: Krishna is suggesting a yogasaṁsiddhaḥ (perfected through practice) approach to learning that is never really done. For our board, it could look like training on new media technologies, analysis of industry trends or understanding audience analytics. Think about our editors attending an AI-driven journalism workshop or learning world media regulations. It’s about staying curious, and flexible, just as Krishan asks Arjuna to understand the light through a disciplined effort rather than ignorance.
Sowndarawali: That’s so cool! Like, I saw this online course on data journalism, it could help us explore reader patterns. Or maybe the board invites a guest from a digital-first outlet, has a speaker share how they stay ahead? It’s like a phone upgrade, you don’t just stick with the first one!
Vikram: (laughing) I like the analogy! And it is true, thinking about learning in ways like hiring consultants, or attending workshops, industry conferences or brainstorming with other departments all can lead to a more sharpened governance. A board that doesn’t learn or evolve will invariably have its relevance diminish like a newspaper that doesn’t embrace digital.
Veda: It definitely connects back to the Gita verse, doesn’t it? It doesn’t matter how much knowledge we have if we are not reflecting, listening, and learning then we are no better than a monkey throwing it.
Vikram: Exactly, that is the point. Krishna’s advice is not just philosophical—there is a practical side to this. A board that promotes self-awareness, seeks feedback and invests in learning is more likely to create a culture of excellence. For the media house, this means stories that resonate, decisions that endure and a team that builds together.
Sowndarawali: (pensively) You know, I find it interesting. A media house is like telling a bigger story. If we don’t reflect, listen to our story, or learn new ways to tell it, that story will be boring and flat. Krishna is kind of saying: be a learner, reflect and you will tell your story better.
Vikram: That is a great way to put it; Sowndarawali. You summarized what Krishna is teaching so well in a way that connects to our work.
Veda: I feel inspired to bring this to our next editorial meeting. Perhaps we could start with a small step, like a monthly “reflection session” for the team.
Vikram: That’s the spirit, Veda. Start small, but be steady. That is how wisdom develops—on the board and otherwise.
Sowndarawali: (with a wise smile) You know, Krishna did not give Arjuna a lecture, he provided him with a growth roadmap. As my grand-mother says, “A good leader does not just know the way, they create it by learning every day.”
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