Four years ago, Business Week magazine ran a story about how Hindu thinking was influencing business in the United States. It stated, “Academics and consultants such as C. K. Prahalad, Ram Charan, and Vijay Govindrajan are among the world's hottest business gurus.” It turned out that over 10% of the professors at the best business schools were of Indian descent.
“When senior executives come to Kellogg, Wharton, or Harvard, they are exposed to Indian values" says Dipak C. Jain, dean of the Kellogg School.”
Vijay Govindarajan, a professor at Dartmouth's School of Business, linked his theories directly to Hindu philosophy. He helps companies stop reacting to the past and start creating their futures. Govindarajan says his work is inspired by the Hindu concept that future lives are partly determined by current actions, "Innovation is about creating change, not reacting to change."
You will probably not be surprised to learn the idea of creating change rather than reacting to it originated in Genesis.
Before God told Noah of His unhappiness with human behavior and instructed him to build the ark, we’d already received clues that Noah was a pretty special guy.
And he (Noah’s father) called his name Noah saying,
‘He shall redirect us from our actions and from the sadness…’
(Genesis 5:29)
And Noah found grace in God’s eyes. Noah was a righteous man,
perfect in his generation; Noah walked with God.
(Genesis 6:8-9)
Thus it comes as no surprise when we read that of all other humans, God spoke to Noah.
Ten generations later we read that of all other humans, God spoke to Abraham.
And God said to Abram, ‘Go for yourself from your land,from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you…’
(Genesis 12:1-2)
Yet, when we attempt to discover similar clues as to why God selected Abraham, the text is conspicuously silent. All we know from the closing verses of Genesis chapter eleven are his relatives’ names and that his wife had difficulty conceiving. This is hardly comparable to the wonderful things we heard about Noah and which explained why God selected him.
Ancient Jewish wisdom reveals many hidden details of Abram’s early life, but the basic question remains: Why did the Torah explain why God selected Noah but remain silent on why God selected Abraham?
The answer possesses the power to transform us from tennis balls floating down the gutter of life into sculptors of our destiny:
God didn’t select Abraham. Abraham selected God.
God’s directive found at the beginning of Genesis chapter twelve was not only for Abraham. It is beamed out loud and clear in every generation to every single human being. It summons each of us, for our own good, to step out of our familiar comfort zone and loosen the shackles which can bind us to the unproductive past. Once we start the journey, God shows the way and He will bless us. God calls us all to escape our confining cocoons and discover our destiny. Most do not heed the call. Abraham did and so can we.
And how did Hinduism discover the importance of creating change? From Abraham’s sons of course.
And to the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts and … he sent them … eastwards to the land of the east.
(Genesis 25:6)
Ancient Jewish wisdom informs us they went to India and with all Abraham had taught them, established Hinduism., To this very day their descendants, the priestly caste in Hinduism, are still called Brahmins, or descendants of “Abraham.”
