Keywords

Introduction to Consciousness

For many decades, there has been research on the concept of consciousness. One of the problems faced by the researchers with the studies of consciousness is the lack of universal acceptance of its definition. It is considered that consciousness is ‘to experience the real truth’ or ‘the real knowledge’. That is the most important quality that a human being can attain. It is the feeling that a human being can experience, and it refers to an individual’s awareness of the unique thoughts, memories, and sensations about the environments around. In simple terms, it can be stated as a person having awareness of himself or herself and the world around him or her. It is a subjective experience that is unique to every individual. There are two prominent neuroscientific theories of consciousness: the ‘Integrated information theory’ and ‘Global workspace theory’. The integrated information theory (Tononi et al., 2016) focuses on the physical processes on the conscious experiences, while the global workspace theory (Baars, 1993) suggests that there is a memory bank from which the brain of an individual draws all the necessary information to form the experience of awareness. There is also the pan-psychic theory of consciousness as primary and preceding before anything else (Maheshwari, 2021).

Consciousness and Business

In today’s rapidly changing environment, consciousness is important for human beings and also to business leaders. It is important to a business environment because decision makers are the major resources that are involved in a business environment. If people are capable of making the right decisions then business will also be successful. Businesses need to move rapidly to enhance the consciousness to thrive in today’s ever-changing environment (Maheshwari, 2021). Every business has the necessity to adapt and transform to the current market conditions and expectations. Business should know what to offer to its customers; how they have to manufacture or produce such a product; how they have to operate in the current market situations; how they can sell the product that they have produced to the customers; how they have to cope up with their competitors and how well they engage their employees internally.

Consciousness and Leadership

In today’s competitive world, the success of a business or an organization depends on its leadership. A company that has a great leader can rule the market by achieving high customer satisfaction through competitive advantage. It is the leadership that functions with more emotions to deal with people from the heart. They would lead the organization with complete transparency and dedication. Higher consciousness leaders expand self-awareness and also their ability to serve people around them. The practice of consciousness-based leadership in an organization may lead to sustainable success for generations together (Maheshwari, 2021). Higher consciousness as a leadership quality can bring about a complete balance between the strategy and the soul; with clarity about a concept and creativity done on the concept; and with decisions taken with head and felt with heart. This leadership quality creates greater impact on the organizational culture and workplace environmental change that can be adapted in every organization.

Seven Levels of Consciousness

There are many models and factors to help improve leadership qualities. We chose Barrett’s (1998) seven-layer model of consciousness because of its simplicity to understand and utilize in organizational context. According to it, leaders grow and develop by learning to master the seven levels of personal and organizational consciousness. An authentic leader, demonstrating Consciousness must understand its concept and master their personal dynamics, as well as the dynamics of the organization or team that they lead.

Barrett (1998, 2015) developed seven levels of consciousness by bringing together the ideas of Vedic philosophy regarding the higher levels of consciousness and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. “The different graduations of higher levels of consciousness, as expressed in the Vedic tradition, corresponded to the varying degrees of self-actualization expressed by Maslow” (Barrett, 2015, p. 1). This model has been developed with two major aspects. First, there are the seven levels of consciousness that are mapped to seven stages in psychological and moral development. Second, in each level of consciousness, a business leader expresses different quality of leadership based on requirement in an organizational context. Barrett’s model is one of the easiest and simple models with seven levels of leadership consciousness that can be understood by the readers anywhere. The model and its tools have been applied to measure the consciousness of more than 5000 organizations, 4000 leaders, and 24 nations (Barrett, 2015). Figure 14.1 shows the seven levels of consciousness and the stages of leadership development:

Fig. 14.1
The sand clock model with seven layers. Consciousness includes survival, relationships, self-esteem, transformation, internal cohesion, making a difference, and service. Development includes surviving, conforming, differentiating, individuating, self-actualising, integrating, and serving.

Seven layers of consciousness and leadership development (from Barrett, 1998, 2015)

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  1. 1.

    Survival: In this low level of consciousness, leaders concentrate more on satisfying the physical or survival needs such as improving health and safety; having financial stability and self-defense. Here they try to eradicate poverty to increase the financial stability; avoid violence to spread peace of mind in the workspace and try to put an end to corruption to increase the social health for better survival.

  2. 2.

    Relationship: In this level of consciousness, leaders behave like an efficient social creature because they focus on building a strong and healthy relationship in a working environment. Leaders practice to be more friendly and reachable to their team members having a high feeling of wanting. They practice honesty and transparency in the work environment and try to communicate all the necessary information in an open and clear manner. In this stage, leaders avoid gossiping about others or making judgment on any relationships or conflicts in the working atmosphere.

  3. 3.

    Self-esteem: In this level of consciousness, leaders cultivate a habit of having good self-confidence and self-respect. Leaders are more cautious in being disciplined and portraying a positive self-image. In this stage the leader should be very cautious in characteristics like expressing arrogance or misusing the authority or power or being more rigid toward change in the work space.

  4. 4.

    Transformation: In this level, leaders make a critical shift in focus from self-interest to common interest. By learning how to take decisions by considering the common interest, the leader develops the art of looking at problems from others’ points of view and taking actions that benefit others. They learn to control their subconscious fears or insecurities while dealing with business problems and are more concerned with exhibiting courage, managerial skills, and being comfortable in adapting to the changing environment.

  5. 5.

    Internal Cohesion: In this level, the leader focuses on values and norms. They try to convert the organizational culture to a more positive, shared, creative one with a wider vision. Here the leader expresses their own personal characteristics like integrating with other employees; being creative in handling changes; being passionate in achieving the goals; practicing honesty and creating trust among the people in the working environment.

  6. 6.

    Making a difference: This level of consciousness makes the leader grow to a higher position of mentoring. The leader becomes like a guru or mentor to all the people who are related in an organizational context. Leaders necessarily concentrate on their own intuition and try to collaborate with other people having different skill sets. At this level, they focus more on the common interest and do not hesitate to get expertise from other skilled people in the organization.

  7. 7.

    Service: This is the ultimate level of consciousness where the leader is service minded and wants to serve the humanity and the planet as a whole. Here the leader has gained all the expertise and knowledge in the organization and leaves it behind to the next generations that can be utilized for the growth and development of the organization.

Thirukural, a Tamil Literature and Its Section on Consciousness

Thiruvalluvar was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher whose contribution to Tamil literature is the Thirukural, a work on ethics. (He lived between second century BC and eighth century AD). As per Vedic philosophy, human life is said to endeavor for the fulfillment of four goals of life—Dharma (Righteousness), Artha (Wealth or worldly comforts), Kaama (Desire-fulfillment), and Moksha (Liberation). Thiruvalluvar deals with the first three goals of human life and explains them in his great work Thirukural. He did not deal with the ‘liberation’ section because, in his opinion, if any man follows his instructions properly without a flaw, he will surely attain liberation without any special effort as such.

Thirukural is one of the most prominent literary works in Tamil, known for its excellent and timeless elucidation of ways and values of life. It is considered as one of the greatest works on ethics and morality and it is known for its universality and secular nature. ‘Kural’ means ‘two-line prosody’ and ‘Thiru’ means ‘most respectful’ and thus ‘Thirukural’ means ‘most valuable two-line prosody’. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to fifth century CE (Allen, 2002). The traditional accounts describe it as the last work of the third Sangam, but linguistic analysis suggests a later date of 450–500 CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period. Overall the literature of Thirukural consists of three major sections. These are further divided in to 133 subsections consisting of 1330 verses of Thirukural. The three major sections are as follows. The first section is on Dharma (1 to 380 verses), the second section is on Artha (381 to 1080 verses), and the third section is on Kaama (1081 to 1330 verses).

In the first section the poet speaks about ‘Dharma’ which means righteous action in performing the duties in each and every circumstance of life. Here he writes about the greatness of rain, what are the duties of householders, why is it necessary to give importance to life partner’s wellbeing, the wealth of love, significance of serving the guest, positive effect of pleasant speech, having gratitude, impartiality, wealth of modesty, wealth of discipline, wealth of forbearance, non-envious nature, absence of desire, not backbiting, not talking uselessly, fear of doing evil deeds, understanding the way of acting as a helpful member of the world, charity, fame, having compassion, refraining from eating meat, penance, wrong conduct, not stealing, truth, not getting angry, not causing harms to others, not killing, instability, renunciation, experience of real truth, curbing desire and results of deeds committed in the past lives.

In this first section the poet has also created a separate sub-section 36 called ‘Meyyunarthal’ which means ‘Consciousness’ or ‘Experience of truth (self-state)’ that consists of 10 verses from 351 to 360, which speaks totally about the significance of consciousness to a human being. From verses 351 to 360, the poet Thiruvalluvar speaks about the beauty of the experience of truth in human life. This concept can be related to a leader and leadership quality in an organizational context. A leader is a most inspiring version of a human being who dedicates his time and energy toward the betterment of others around him.

Mapping Thirukural to the Seven Levels of Consciousness

Each and every verse written by Thiruvalluvar under subsection number 36 having the heading Meyyunarthal, which means Consciousness, has been explained and linked with the appropriate levels of Consciousness. We chose the Seven-Layer Model because the latter is easily relatable to the concept of consciousness in the organizational context. Thus the following section explains the ten verses (351–360) from Thirukural written by Thiruvalluvar (Allen, 2002), from sub-section 36 on Consciousness, and maps them to the seven levels of consciousness for better understanding of the concepts.

Verse

Verse Verse 351: ‘porulalla varrai porulenru unarum          Marulaanaam maanaappirappu’

“Wretched state of birth is the result of the misconception of believing the unreal as the real”.

In Verse 351, the poet Thiruvalluvar speaks about the misconception of believing the unreal as the real. To display the wisdom in leadership, it is important to experience the truth and avoid misconception of believing the unreal as the real (Nagarajan, 2005). This state of mind is very important for a leader, because sometimes he may erroneously believe some facts to be the truth, and may make decisions based on those facts. But when a situation is observed deeply, it can be seen that the decisions based on unreal facts may not be ethical, and the leader may be responsible for facing the consequences. Thus, to avoid all the misconceptions of believing the unreal as the real, a leader must develop the habit of experiencing the truth in everything that he is practicing and should also stick on to it in all situations. This can be related with the seventh level of consciousness-based leadership dimension of service, where the leader focuses on ethics and displays wisdom. In an organizational context, a leader tries to serve people around him based on truth and tries to avoid any unreal facts that lead to wrong decisions. This quality of believing the truth is developed in a leader and it serves others on that basis.

Verse

Verse Verse 352: ‘irul neengi inbam payakkum marul neengi          Maasaru kaatsi yavarkku’

“The darkness of ignorance will vanish and true happiness will result for those who have realized the taintless Truth, being freed of delusion”.

In verse 352, it is stated that for those who have realized the truth, their ignorance will vanish and result in true happiness. The poet states that ignorance is the darkness of mind. To know the truth is the real happiness, says the poet. This is related with the fifth level of consciousness-based leadership, which is ‘Internal cohesion’, and where the leader focuses on the values and displays passion. When a leader experiences the truth, they get out from the darkness of ignorance and enter into the real space of happiness where they can focus on the true values and also displays passion toward their followers. This results in inspirational leadership which develops a strong cohesive culture in an organization that builds a capacity for collective action. The verse states that the darkness of ignorance will vanish, and true happiness will result for those who have realized the taintless Truth and are freed of delusion. The same concept can be related to the leadership quality. If a leader is based on the quality of consciousness, then he will be a person who is very transparent. This impacts him in taking right decisions without any dilemma. The real happiness and success of a great leader is on understanding the truth that is to differentiate the favorable and unfavorable situations that exist in an organization. Only if there is higher consciousness in a leader, can they make the most suitable decision in any situation.

Verse

Verse Verse 353: ‘aiyatthin neengkith thelinthaarkku vaiyatthin          Vaanam naniya thudaitthu’

“For those who are free of all doubts and are in true understanding, the higher world is nearer than the mortal world”.

Verse 353 means that when leaders take steps to clear all doubts on everything happening around them and develop a true understanding on that, then they are capable of tackling the unfavorable circumstances by achieving a very good relationship with the people around them. This ultimately results in transparency and supports the leader to practice effective conflict management in an organization. This is related with the second level of consciousness-based leadership of ‘Relationship’ where the leader has to practice an open communication and treats the people around him with dignity (Olanrewaju, 2019). To maintain a good relationship among people, a leader must have a good understanding on the truth.

Verse

Verse Verse 354: ‘aiyunarvu eythiyak kannum payaminre          Meyyunarvu illaa thavrkku’

“Even the complete control of the five senses is of no use, for those who have not attained the knowledge of the Truth”.

In this verse 354, the poet says that for those people who have not attained the knowledge of truth, even the complete control of their five senses is of no use. When an individual does not realize their own self, there is no use in having a control over their five senses. It is like mastering all the texts on medicine; but never entering the hospital to cure any patient. This can be related with the first level of consciousness or Survival, where a leader has to practice developing a sharp control over his five senses and try to identify the true facts happening in an organization. This practice supports a leader to go one step ahead to observe the true nature of a situation to increase the authenticity from just having a good control over his five senses.

Verse

Verse Verse 355: ‘epporul etthanmaiththaayinum apporul          Meypporul kaanpathu arivu’

“Whatever be the nature of the object that gets perceived, understanding its true nature is ‘Knowledge’”.

This verse is very famous and most frequently quoted in Tamil literature. It means that whatever be the nature of the object and however it may be perceived, it is the duty of the person to understand the true nature of that object. And this is termed as true knowledge. These lines are more appropriate especially for a leader who has to deal with different types of people and situations. When it comes to organizational context, leadership based on the fifth level of consciousness on internal cohesion speaks about the focus of leaders on values and authenticity. To become a leader giving more importance for authenticity, one should first understand the true nature of the problematic situations. Only then can they take a valuable decision. And this is possible only when the leaders analyze the problem by themselves and do not believe or consider the facts that are perceived by others. This is a very important quality of a leader because it differentiates them from common people. It increases the authenticity of the words of the leader in the minds of the people around them which is very essential for being an effective leader.

Verse

Verse Verse 356: ‘karreendu meiypporul kandaar thalaippaduvar          Marreendu vaaraa neri’

“Those who have attained the true knowledge in this world by the studies of scriptures and the company of the realized, will be in the state where there is no return to this world”.

In this verse 356, the poet says that those who have attained the true knowledge in this world by the study of scriptures, and from the company of the people who realized the real truth, will be in the state of mind where there is no return to this world again. Those who are in this realized state are called as Jeevan Muktas, which means liberated even while living. In this state, their delusion is completely gone and there is no return to the same problem for them. This is related with the fourth level of consciousness where the leader exhibits courage, responsibility, initiative, and accountability that focuses on their personal growth, teamwork, and innovation (Olanrewaju, 2019). In this level a leader always focuses on the receipt of true and validate data. This behavior results in the empowerment, adaptability, and continuous learning of a leader.

Verse

Verse Verse 357: ‘ortthullam ullathu unarin oruthalaiyaap          Pertthulla vendaa pirappu’

“If a person has the ascertained knowledge of the truth through proper analysis, do not ever think of that person as taking birth once again”.

This verse 357 is an ultimate state for any individual, to live life with a consciousness of self. When a person understands the knowledge of the truth through proper analysis then one will never think of rebirth but instead will live as the self in this birth itself. This can be related with the first level of consciousness Survival where a leader displays calmness in the face of chaos, and decisiveness in the midst of danger. In this level leaders should not have a tendency that they could correct any mistakes in future and proceed with the data currently available without even conforming the authenticity, reliability, and validity. They should do any activities which do not disturb the survival of themselves or others. Here a leader appears like any other ordinary person doing their work as usual. In this level they can live like a householder’s life like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa or renounce everything like Swami Vivekananda. They might sit silent like Ramana Maharishi or be teacher of the world like Shankaracharya or may sit and write poems like Mahakavi Subramaniya Bhaarathiyar. It may be in any form of an ordinary person who has a good knowledge of the truth on self.

Verse

Verse Verse 358: ‘pirappennum pethamai neengkachhirappennum          Semporul kaanpathu arivu’

“True Knowledge is the vision of the Supreme by which one attains the excellent state of liberation and is freed of the ignorance which causes recurrence of births”.

In verse 358 the poet says that any individual who experiences the true knowledge of the supreme will attain the excellent state of liberation and will be free from the ignorance which causes the recurrence of karma in the form of rebirth. This can be related with the characteristics of a leader who displays pride in performance. It is related with the third level of consciousness called Self-esteem. In this level, leaders focus more on strategy, performance, excellence, quality, productivity, and efficiency and show clarity on what is the ultimate requirement and continue to focus on it (Olanrewaju, 2019). This way the leaders will not experience all the pitfalls caused due to the ignorance of not knowing what is needed.

Verse

Verse Verse 359: ‘saarpunarnthu saarpu keda ozhagin marrazhitthuch          Saartharaa saartharu noy’

“If one realizes the Supreme which is the support of all, and stays unattached to everything (I and mine), the sufferings due to attachments will not come to him destroying his Self-state”.

In organizations, managers face difficulties due to attachments. Managers are the bridge between the top management and the workers. When it comes to practical situations, managers go with either the top management or with the workers based on the nature of the circumstances. There may situations arise where managers quit their job due to the difficulty in handling the situations as a consequence of attachments that they had to either the top management or with the workers when dealing a problematic situation.

In verse 359, the poet says that if one realizes the supreme which is the support of all and stays unattached to everything, then the sufferings due to attachments will not come to him destroying his self-state. This concept can be matched with the organizational context where the growth of the organization is supreme. If the manager understands and realizes this basic truth, then they will stay unattached to everything and do their duty effectively. There is no connection between the un-attachment and the work effectiveness of a manager. Only if the manager is attached toward any one of the sides in an organization, it results in suffering. Thus, to avoid the suffering, a leader should practice un-attachment in everything around them to safeguard their self-state and lessen the sufferings caused by attachment.

Verse

Verse Verse 360: ‘kaamam veguli mayakkam ivaimoonran          Naamam kedakkedum noy’

“If there is not even a trace of desire, anger and delusion, then there will never arise the pains caused by them”.

In an organization, it is seen among all the workers that they have a desire to achieve higher positions or monetary benefits. This desire naturally creates a competitive environment in the work space. Managers who deal with it, face lots of issues during performance assessment. During this situation a leader should completely drop their own desire, as when the desire is not fulfilled it leads to anger. For example, if the manager has some favorite employees and while doing performance evaluation, they may find that their favorite employees are not scoring high scores. When the desire is not fulfilled, a leader gets angry and behaves more arrogantly to them. Instead, the leader should suggest to the favorite employees to improve their performance and achieve more in the upcoming evaluation. In many situations a leader tends to get anger out of the behavior of others or due to misunderstandings and loses one’s sense of discrimination and acts without control over one’s mind. In such a situation, the leader must have the capacity to deal with the situation with calm mind without expressing the anger on anybody else because most of time this anger leads to a state of confusion of mind.

Apart from anger, in some situations a leader may be in the state of confusion of mind due to many factors in the working environments. When facing such a situation, the leader must take necessary actions to get rid of the confusions and get clarity of the fact. In such a state of mind one forges all that one has learned, and it results in dampening the intellect and finally ruins everything, including one’s character, fame, etc.

In verse 360, the poet says that an individual who destroys desire, anger, and confusion of mind will never experience the pain caused by these characters. This concept can be matched with a leader who has to get rid of a confused state of mind which is caused by anger that is evoked due to uncontrolled desire. When the leader attempts to destroy one’s desire on anything around oneself, then one can manage any circumstances with clear state of mind without any anger. Thus, this can be related with the seventh level of consciousness of the Barrett model which is ‘Making a difference’. In this level a leader displays empathy (Olanrewaju, 2019), and utilizes his intuition for making a decision. The leader is very specific in choosing the choices on the individual who deserves based on their actual performance but not on the leader’s own desire (Azizaha et al., 2020). In this level the leader uses a clear state of mind to analyze and evaluate others with no anger.

The ten Thirukural verses are mapped to their appropriate level of Consciousness in Table 14.1.

Table 14.1 Thirukural verses linked with the seven levels of consciousness
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Lessons from Thirukural for Business Leadership

Thirukural recommends that a leader should experience the truth and develop the following qualities.

Avoid Misconception of Believing the Unreal as the Real

The quality of a leader of believing only the truth and not believing the unreal facts is very important when dealing with people and taking relevant decisions. This is because the decision which is taken based on the actual facts will be authentic and will contribute to the growth of the organization in a long run. A leader who always believes in authentic information will never make mistakes in making right decisions.

Differentiate Between Favorable and Unfavorable Situations

The quality of differentiating the favorable and unfavorable information is a very important ability of a good leader. In real situations everything will be mixed up and sometimes it may confuse us to choose the best one for the betterment of the organization. During such situations, a leader must have a capacity to pick only the constructive factors and take necessary decisions (Surji, 2017). Otherwise it may lead to taking wrong decisions that affect the development of the organization.

Clear All Doubts on Everything Happening Around

A leader should also have the habit of clearing all the doubts that happen around them in every situation. They should not believe the delusion that happens around them. They should always go in search of the truth that is hidden in every circumstance. This is an important characteristic of leader because, it helps to avoid misconception on people working around them and also supports them in accessing the real facts (Surji, 2017). When a leader is free of all doubts about the factors that are involved in problematic situations then the decision taken based on this level of consciousness will also be of high quality that will end up in greater impact toward the growth of the business as a whole.

Understand the True Nature of the Problematic Situations for Authenticity

Often in an organizational context, it is difficult to understand the true nature of the problematic situation (Shahbazi, 2016). This is due to the different perceptions of different people around the leader. During this situation, a leader should search for the authenticity of the information which is closely related to the problem (Surji, 2017). And then they should access the problem to take relevant decision. If a leader does not check for the authenticity of information about the problem and takes hasty decision believing someone else’s opinion as true, then they have to face all the consequences all alone. This may also reduce their self-esteem among the people working around them, when the truth is revealed one day.

To Practice Un-Attachment in Everything Around Them

The quality of un-attachment is the most important quality of a great leader. This quality is lacking in most of the organizational leaders in situations where they have to consider certain things which they like or want the most. This quality of un-attachment helps a leader to take any right decision having considerations on only the growth of the organization and not anything else. If a leader is attached toward any person or anything that is favorite to themselves, then when a conflicting situation arises where they have to ignore preferential treatment, it will be very difficult for them to handle it emotionally.

Safeguard the Self-State and Lessen the Sufferings Caused by Attachment

A leader should always have in mind that they should safeguard their self-state. This is possible only if the leader follows un-attachment in the organizational environment. By practicing un-attachment, the leader can definitely go in search of real truth and increases one’s knowledge on the true facts to take authentic decisions. This practice will help in reducing the sufferings caused by attachment.

Discussion and Conclusion

The ancient Vedic sages called Truth the organizing intelligence at the basis of creation. They said that in the end in all situations, Truth Alone Triumphs, or Satyam Eva Jayate (Mundaka Upanishad, 3.1.6). This field of Truth structures the roots of the excellence with which all of creation is designed, manifested, and administered. Human awareness is rooted in this field of perfection, so human awareness and organizing intelligence grow up as twins nurturing one another out of the purest love for each other.

From a Vedic philosophical perspective, the manifest is unreal and the unmanifest Consciousness is the source of manifesting reality (Maheshwari, 2021). Truth in Vedic terms is organizing intelligence that is beyond the reach of intellect, and so the unification of heart and mind increases as our consciousness approaches the highest levels. Of all human qualities, discernment is the most important, for all of life is lived through discernment of real and unreal. Throughout life one needs to develop the quality of discernment as our mechanisms of discernment determine our reality. Our unconscious and conscious choices draw us closer to or push us farther away from knowing the holistic reality. This is true in every aspect and application of analysis and decision. This means that every conscious or unconscious decision draws us nearer to or pushes us farther from knowing Totality or knowing ourselves more fully as being Totality.

In Thirukural, more than 2000 years ago, the poet Thiruvalluvar has given the ways to handle all the issues that a human may face. Matching it with the organizational context, a leader can practice all these concepts in their daily work environment. Understanding these thoughts and ideas may support them in handling all the dilemmas easily and take appropriate decisions effectively. Consciousness is an important quality of leadership because it is the basic knowledge about the truth which a leader must possess. Consciousness-based leadership is an ideal choice to put into practice in today’s atmosphere because of the upcoming volatile and complex market conditions. To deal with all the problems related to leadership qualities, the concept of consciousness-based leadership can be learned and adapted in organizations. It will help develop leaders who can be successful in dealing with the challenging situations that emerge in the current market situations.

Yet we must remember that Love is guided by Truth and without the infusion of Truth into Love, love can even kill. Our prime responsibility as humans is to learn to love while immersed in Truth and thereby integrate heaven and earth.