Conference on Spirituality and Management held in OP Jindal University

A two day-conference on “Spirituality and Management: From Model to Application” was inaugurated on Friday under the aegis of the Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences (JIBS), at O.P Jindal Global University. In a press release issued by the varsity, the conference aimed at the need for a dialogue to deliberate upon the integration of spirituality into the core of the professional, personal, social, political and economic lives of people.

“The essence of spirituality is achieved through the development of an all-encompassing self that transcends limitations of everyday reality, brings together individual and common human identity with the broader understanding of our thinking patterns and conflicts for the better coordination of common global well-being. This transformed and extended self is necessary to overcome challenges and apply wisdom to optimise technological advancements and their application. This conference aims to bring to light to the assimilation of spirituality and management in various ways of our lives, “ said Dr. Tithi Bhatnagar, Head Organizing Committee of the conference and Assistant Professor & Joint Director, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences,

Professor (Dr.) Sanjeev P. Sahni, Principal Director, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences while presenting the welcome remarks during the inaugural session emphasized on need to dissociate spirituality with mere religiousness and related activities. “ We have mistaken spirituality with religious practices, rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration of deities, doing yoga, and meditation when in reality it is more than that. Bringing core spiritual values such as integrity and honesty to our homes and workplaces can add boon to our lives,” he said.

18 scholars presented their work that focused on themes like Spirituality in business organizations, Spirituality Models of Management and Leadership, Impact of workplace spirituality upon employee performance, Sacred/Secular landscape and environmental management and Incorporating spirituality at the Level of Family, Society, Corporate and Nation etc.

The delegates discussed and addressed key issues in spirituality and management ranging from Spirituality and Health Management to understanding convergence of law and spirituality.

Dr. Madnesh Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary Department of Financial Services, Government of India presented the keynote address in which he elaborated on the importance of ancient Indian scriptures. “These texts give detailed insights into cognitive abilities of human kind but there is still a need to build sustainable models based on these texts,” he said.

During the introductory remarks, Dr. Pankaj Gupta, President IIHMR University emphasized on need to live a balanced life and channelizing the restless mind on the right track through spiritual means. “Most of the time we are driven by ‘I’ factor but we need to work on a collective level and that can be achieved by looking at spiritual connotations of our lives,” he said. He also thanked Dr. Sahni for encouraging the establishment of innovative courses such as ‘Self-Awareness and Mindful Leadership’ and ‘Happiness Course’ at O.P. Jindal Global University.