Preface
I am going to tell you a story of  a young boy who wanted to enter into the corporate world and come out  successful.

Born and educated in Mumbai he  had also completed his management studies in the western methods. After working  for a few years in various companies he finally decided to start on his own. After  all who wants to be bossed over by someone else?

His first business was in the  field of spiritual tourism. Being from a non-business family he had to learn  all this on his own by experimenting with several of his ideas. By the grace of  God and the support of his business partner the business did extremely well.  From being the manager of someone else’s company now he was a leader of his own  business.

But still he had to scale the  business to the next level to make it a well known corporate entity. He met  various people and discussed his ideas and plans with them. He learnt from each  and every person. He made notes of every meeting he attended. He read various books,  attended seminars and training programs.

Though he was a good learner  something in his pursuit for knowledge seemed to be missing. He had the best of  management education, was updated with the latest theories of management world,  had meet some of the biggest management gurus yet something was incomplete.  What was it? he could not figure out for a long time.

This boy had a very big  advantage. Since childhood he was connected with a spiritual organisation and  was guided and blessed with the company of many spiritual masters. During those  days in a spiritual discourse a Mahatma said, “India our mother land has a great  history and legacy. Our Rishis were no ordinary men - they have studied and  perfected every science in this world. Only if we were to look back into our  glorious past we will get the solutions to all our modern day problems”

This seemed like a divine message  to him. Management has been recognised as a science in our generation from the  1950s. One of the fathers of modern management is Peter Drucker. But did not  management exist in India  even before the 1950s and the Peter Druker era? As a nation we have over 5000 years  to our credit. Did we also not have management scientists in our country?

This question made him to go back  and search the Ancient Indian scriptures. He found a rich heritage on the  subject of management in his very own country. Ramayana, Mahabharata, the  various Upanishads all of them have management strategies. He suddenly realised  a bitter truth “We Indians always look at what is WRONG in India and never  appreciate what is GREAT about our country”. As a nation we survived the test  of time. Even though today we are still a growing economy we are not a failed  nation. Our country has been at the peak of success for thousands of years in  the past. How many nations can boast of this?    

He now realised that the missing  link for the growth of his business was. -To look ‘within’ rather than outside.  Western management is good no doubt, but he realised even his own ancestors  were extremely good at management.

Thus one day during his research  in an old book shop in Mumbai he hit upon this book called “Kautilya’s  Arthashastra”. This was written by the famous Indian Chanakya. Who has not  heard about this book? Even he had. But hardly anyone of his generation studied  it. So he brought a copy of the same.

But as he started reading it he  got upset! He could not understand anything. He read it over and over again but  the subject seemed to be very dry and boring. He blamed the author of the book  for making it complicated. He had every reason in this world to say ‘I do not  understand it’.

However this boy was determined  to ‘understand’ it. So he went to one of his mentors and said “I do not  understand anything about Arthashastra even though I am trying my best and  putting all the efforts” His mentor told him, “In India we consider scriptures  as mirrors. They reflect who you are. So if you do not understand Arthashastra  do not blame the mirror. As you grow with experience of life you will  understand it better”

That year business of spiritual  tourism took him to a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar, the holy abode of Lord  Shiva. The group of pilgrims was led by a very senior monk from the same  spiritual organisation.

One day in the evening as he was  taking a stroll in the divine place a thought hit him “Make Kautilya’s  Arthashastra your life long pursuit. Don’t just study it but apply it in your  life. Live the Arthashastra!” No way could he take this thought as an ordinary  one. It was divine intervention.

He approached an ashram in  Kerala, a South Indian state which was focused on the research of Ancient  Indian scriptures. He said to the Acharya (teacher) in charge of the ashram who  was also a monk. “I want to study Arthashastra”. The Acharya was happy to see  the young boy’s interest in study of an ancient Indian scripture but said, “You  will have to come here and learn the same under the Guru-Shishya Parampara”  Meaning he had to take a break from his business and stay in the ashram in  Kerala and study it under a Sanskrit Scholar.

It was not an easy decision for a  business man from Mumbai to do that. But with the help of his partner he took a  break from the business world to go back to study the wisdom of the Rishis of  the past. The time he spent in the ashram changed his life forever.   

Kautilya’s Arthashastra is a book  containing 6000 sutras or verses in Sanskrit. He realised that all the modern  techniques used in the modern corporate world had already been explored in the  Arthashastra.

He came back and now it was time  to convert the theory of Arthashastra in practice. He first applied the same  into his own business of spiritual tourism. He saw the success. The business  grew and people were impressed with the skills he had developed. When asked by  others what is the reason for his success he said, “Two things – The grace of  my Guru and knowledge of Kautilya’s Arthashastra”

Friends this young boy in the  story is me. This is no imaginary story. Every word is true to the core. The  story does not end here. Infact the story begins….

I went to Kerala to study the  Arthashastra to apply the principles in my own business of spiritual tourism  named Atma Darshan (www.atmadarshan.com).  Even though Atma Darshan made me successful in business something more  happened. Due to my study and research of Arthashastra my friends in the  corporate world wanted me to share the knowledge that I had got.

I started getting invitations to  speak at various seminars, conferences and training programs nationally and  internationally. Businessmen approached me and wanted me to be a consultant to  them. Well known publishing groups and newspapers approached me to write on  this subject. I was also asked to host a radio show.

This gave me exposure to large  groups of people who were interested in Indian management and Indian wisdom.  The participants and students were from various age groups, nationalities, positions  and industries from the corporate world. But the word ‘Chanakya’ struck them  instantly.      

This book is a documentation of all  my ideas that I have shared with millions of people across the globe in the  corporate world on how to apply Chanakya’s theories in practical day to day  situation.

Corporate Chanakya is not just  about me. It’s about you and everyone else who wants to practice Indian  Management in their work life and want to be successful.