An Ancient Path to Modern Success

The story of Mahabharata has countless lessons for leadership, strategy, and human behavior. One of the most powerful comes from the fifteenth day of the Kurukshetra war. The battlefield was chaotic. The sun blazed overhead, the air was thick with dust, and arrows flew in every direction. The Kaurava army was led by the great teacher and warrior Dronacharya, whose skills made him almost unstoppable. Wherever he went, the Pandava army struggled. The Pandavas knew that as long as Dronacharya held his weapons, victory would be impossible. Observing this, Krishna devised a strategy. He knew that Dronacharya’s love for his son, Ashwatthama, was his greatest emotional vulnerability. The plan was simple but precise: create the illusion that Ashwatthama had been killed. Bhima killed a mighty elephant named Ashwatthama and loudly declared, “Ashwatthama is dead!” Dronacharya’s heart sank. Distraught but cautious, he turned to the one person who always spoke the truth Yudhishthira and asked for c...

Last year, I had the privilege of attending the Kumbh Mela. It was then that I truly understood that Kumbh is not merely a religious gathering, but a mirror of human emotion and intention. Whatever perspective and feeling a person carries within, that is the experience they receive there. Every twelve years, when cosmic alignments occur, the sacred Kumbh Mela brings millions to Prayagraj, with its spiritual core at the Triveni Sangam. Kumbh is not just a gathering. It is a mirror.  Those who go with faith find devotion. Those who go with curiosity discover wonder. The one who goes for ritual finds sacred waters.The one who goes for knowledge finds discourse.Those who go searching for disorder see only chaos. The river does not change. The experience changes because the mindset changes. Recently , I attended the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, and the experience felt remarkably similar to a Mahakumbh For four days, the artificial intelligence ecosystem of the universe came toge...

Banks operate on three parallel engines, Corporate Credit, Retail and MSME Credit, and Agricultural and Farm Credit, and each has its own rhythm, seasonality, and pressure points. Business in a bank does not move evenly through the year. It is shaped by financial-year timelines, festivals, monsoons, crop cycles, and customer behaviour. Yet, training programmes are often planned as if every month is the same. This gap between training calendars and business reality creates stress on staff, disrupts operations, and reduces the effectiveness of learning itself. The Reality at Branches and Field Offices When officers are deputed for long training programmes during peak business periods, the impact is immediate. Credit proposals get delayed, turnaround time increases, customer visits pile up, and the remaining staff struggle to cope with daily operations. Officers attending training are also under pressure. They are worried about pending files, farmer visits, and client meetings. In such...

The Trust Deficit and Initial Challenges A decade ago, India’s banking sector was navigating a profound trust deficit. Rising Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), weak balance sheets, lax monitoring, and a culture of “extend and pretend” had transformed banks from engines of economic growth into crisis-prone institutions. The problem was not merely bad loans; the deeper issue lay in the system’s delayed recognition of risk. Banks were often reactive rather than proactive, responding to risks only after they had manifested, and by then, remedial measures became difficult. A lack of transparency, accountability, and systematic risk assessment weakened financial stability and delayed policy interventions. It was in this environment that a transformative journey of reforms began — and it began in an extraordinary way. Leadership and the ‘Manthan’: The Starting Point of Reform In 2015 the Prime Minister convened a historic 3 day ls meeting at the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), Pune,...

Very little in our sacred scriptures is random or accidental. What may appear symbolic or mythological on the surface reveals, upon deeper reflection, a carefully planned, purpose-driven, and logically balanced system. This is why the Sanatan tradition is not merely a matter of faith, but a well-designed and structured framework that continues to remain relevant across time. In this context, the concept of the Tridev offers profound insight. Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahadev are regarded as supreme not simply because of their power, but because the three most critical functions of the universe are clearly divided among them. Brahma is responsible for creation, Vishnu for preservation and sustenance, and Mahadev for destruction, understood not as annihilation, but as transformation and renewal. Once these roles are understood, the significance of their consorts becomes equally clear. Creation cannot occur through force alone; it requires knowledge. Thought, imagination, and innovation are...

The Mahabharata war had entered its most decisive phase. It was the thirteenth day of the battle. After twelve days of intense fighting, the Kauravas realised that as long as Arjuna remained alongside the Pandavas, achieving a decisive advantage would be nearly impossible. With this understanding, Dronacharya devised the Chakravyuh, a highly complex and formidable battle formation that only a few warriors could penetrate, and even fewer could escape. The Kauravas’ strategy was precise and deliberate. Arjuna had to be separated from the rest of the Pandava forces. Susharma and the Trigartas were assigned the task of challenging Arjuna and drawing him toward the far end of the battlefield. Bound by his duty and warrior code, Arjuna pursued them. The plan succeeded. With Arjuna away, the Pandava army lost the only warrior who possessed complete knowledge of both entering and exiting the Chakravyuh. Seizing this opportunity, Dronacharya deployed the Chakravyuh. Confusion spread across th...