Management Gita: Breaking Under Sorrow

सञ्जय उवाच । एवमुक्त्वार्जुनः सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् । विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥ १-४७॥
sañjaya uvāca
evamuktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśat
visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śokasaṃvignamānasaḥ 1-47

Spiritual Context

Sanjaya narrates Arjuna sitting down, dropping his bow, overwhelmed by sorrow.

Management Context

This reflects emotional collapse, crisis response, and leadership vulnerability. Arjuna’s breakdown shows even strong leaders falter under pressure.

Insights

Emotional crises test resilience (Luthans et al., 2007). This aligns with studies on leader burnout (Maslach et al., 2001).

Applications

Organizations can offer mental health support or resilience training to aid leaders in crises (Cooper & Quick, 2003).

References

Cooper, C. L., & Quick, J. C. (2003). The stress check-up. Wiley.
Luthans, F., Youssef, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2007). Psychological capital. Oxford University Press.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422.

This excerpt is taken from Management Gita, authored by Sunil Khandbahale