Swami Someshwarananda - the management guru and a monk!

In Nov 1999, SAMANVAYA organised a series of workshops lead by Swami Someshwarananda in Chennai. The key among them being a Trainer's Training Programme in ISM, the first of its kind in south India. Swami Someshwarananda's books can be bought from Ahmedabad Management Association.

Swami Someshwarananda, is the Chairman of Vivekananda Centre for Indian Management (VCIM), Indore. He teaches Indian System of Management (ISM) and criss crosses the country addressing managers, industrial leaders, labourers and students - shocking, mocking, questioning and provoking them from accepting and / or practicing mediocre work.

"Some one once asked Swamiji what he would do if another Swamiji who was more popular than him too to teaching management, Swami Someshwarananda replied instantly, "I will give up teaching management and look out to do some thing else...''.

It was in early 94, when a few of us met this unique monk in a youth convention. What strikes you immediately is his piercing eyes under thick lenses and a penchant for shocking people. Under the apparent smirk and near cynical demeanor is a monk with a new mission! A mission that destroys all the accepted notions of management from the listener's mind first and then like a much awaited sun in the rainy winter day, proceeds in simple language and lots of humor and compassion to take them step by stem towards a new understanding. A process as unique as the person.

Some of us, who latched on to him then, have survived periodic lack of contacts to sustain a relationship - always learning from his wisdom and benefiting from it. His style is not everyone's cup of tea though, one of my earlier colleagues got irritated with his repeated assault on the inability of the premium management institutions of the country to produce entrepreneur of any significance. She was from one.

As Chairman of VCIM, Swamiji has been instrumental in bringing together some of the stalwarts in the Indian management scene and the the quarterly news magazine published by VCIM, Vivek Management is one of the best sources of articles / interviews and news on ISM.