The Talent Sutra: An Indian Approach to Learning

by Devdutt Pattanaik

Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge in Hinduism, as well as in Buddhism and Jainism. Her name is derived from the fluidity (saras) of the imagination. Human imagination enables us to invent and innovate, visualize, plan and de-risk. Yet imagination is a bad word in the world of business and management. It strips us of certainty. We want to control the imagination of those who work for us, prevent their minds from wandering from work. Yet every human being lives in an imagined reality. Recognizing this enables us to work with talent, build strong relationships and nurture people to face any situation with faith and patience. Failure to recognize imagination is why family-owned businesses are unable to manage professionals and how professionally- run companies end up creating ineffective, mechanistic talent management systems. Training, learning and development, are not just about skills and knowledge and competencies, they are about appreciating the human-animal, recognizing that neither we nor those around us are programmable machines that we can plug and play. Managing people, hence relationships, is key to the survival of an organization.

Derived from Devdutt Pattanaik’s influential bestseller Business Sutra, this book explores concepts like creativity in the workplace, nurturing talent, and the importance of teamwork. It will help employers and managers become more inclusive leaders who are able to carry their team along with them.

Genres: Self Help, Mythology, India, Management, Leadership, Nonfiction, Business

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2016

About the author

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik (born December 11, 1970) is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist and author whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, mythology, and also management. He has written a number of books related to Hindu mythology, including Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, a novel, The Pregnant King, and Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata (2010).
He is the Chief Belief Officer of Future Group, one of India’s largest retailers, bringing the wisdom of Indian mythology into Indian business, especifically in human resource management. He also writes a column for the newspaper MID DAY.
He has also written a novel based on a tale from the Mahabharata titled 'The Pregnant King' published by Penguin Books India

Reviews

[Anil Swarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are gems from the master story teller. It is indeed remarkable how Devdutt draws from Hindu mythology to drive home and illustrate points relating to management. The narration is simple and intelligible even to the uninitiated. How true is he when he says that "what really matters in life is Narayan, not Narayani, what a person is, not what a person has". He explains in very simple language the difference between Smriti and Shruti : "Smriti means the external voice through which information can be exchanged during yagna" and "Shruti means the inner voice of our thoughts that cannot be exchanged"

[Aayushi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book teaches how one should learn, in order to achieve success in life. The author explains various techniques for transfer of knowledge with real life examples and mythological notations. This kind of concept relates the mythological stance along with the modern world's mindset. There should be a gradual want of learning at every step in life and when time comes one should be able to share the knowledge with their subordinates. The exchange of ideas on a selfless or selfish note, doing it for the sake of others, the difference between varna and karma, job and passion and a lot more similar thoughts which we all have - the author has tried to bring them all together in the book. This book needs to be read again and again to get the complete gist, I believe.

[S.Ach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corporate HR can take some hints from Hindu mythology to devise a successful learning program for the employees.

Our mythology is a treasure house of wisdom for all occasions.

[Abhilash Ruhela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devdutt Pattanaik is a legend. Period! I have read many books on mythology and several other books based on how the incidents mentioned in mythology can be referred for the challenges we face in modern times- either at personal front or professional life. But the kind of explanation that Pattanaik provides in simple words with the right incidents is unbelievable. The pictorial representation or summation of the whole chapter is so particularly designed that after seeing it, you won't ever forget what you read in that piece. I am just done reading his latest release "The Talent Sutra: An Indian Approach to Learning" and it is as perfect as his other books.

The book basically tells us about how we run behind Lakshmi forgetting that Saraswati is more important if we want Lakshmi to come itself towards our destiny. The book tells about how by self-realization, analysis and imagination, we can go on to build our talent, nurture relationships, run an organization by keeping everyone happy. Several exampls are given how a person thinks only about himself at a managerial post and faces chaos. But as soon as he starts giving important to his colleagues, sub-ordinates and employees, he starts getting the result that he always aimed for. The author also focuses on the power of being patient and understanding the human emotions even in a corporate world as a company/organization falls when the resources are considered just as machine and only work is expected out of them.

The book is definitely full of sutras and the 120 pages is full of such knowledge along with an example of the modern times that it makes it more relevant. In the end of the book, the words used in the book is explained which are of Sanskrit source so that the user can understand the purpose of usage of these words. The book is divided in 4 parts and each of them is treated very well and you can explain how each step of the process can be executed in our work life. Overall, this book will surely stand on top as one of the best books by the author. I rate it 4.75* out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

[Nehal Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice book. Understanding our culture and learning from our Shastra.

Expanding our gaze n focus on Saraswati n Sharda then eventually Laxmi will come.
V nice book with case studies

[Rimi Parashar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sutras are worth relating to but fail conviction each time. A lot of content is based on assumption that reader has the knowledge of Hindu mythology, understandably it isn't a book about Hinduism.
D. Pattanaik innocently does state that the book doesn't portray 'the truth' but 'his truth'. There are many passages in the book that'll make you smile and feel driven to go out and take pride in helping others. However, some excerpts and analogies seem dragged and unreasonable. Even if you do not love the book (I didn't) , it does have quotes worth highlighting and referring to time and again. 😊

[Abhinay Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and good read. We all know that from epics of Ramayan and Mahabarat one can learn how to lead the life. Mostly not knowing how to learn those things from the great epics. Devdutt beautifully conveyed the message from very minute parts and imposed such behavior to current corporate society. I believe if all the corporate employees/employers read this book and understand there will be less frustration and irritation from the work environment and more growth in the individuals life as well as Organizations.

[Gunjan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is apt for people having hard time in their corporate world no matter if they are a fresher employee or an experienced Manager. The author has used various anecdotes from Mahabharata to explain various scenarios in our working environment and how to best deal with them.

The language is simple and the short stories make this book more intriguing.

[Aniket Patil · Rating 1 out of 5]

I used to like his shows on Epic Tv. So, picked almost every book penned by him. I felt, utterly nonsense after reading this one. "Logic along with knowledge is a good content". This is universal truth,however, trying to fit everything into logical context is not good. It does show good imagination but nothing more than that.

[Pooja Banga · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am just giving up his books !

Everytime I read his books I feel like smashing his face (pls forgive my language )

His books are totally opposite of what the Indian mythology is !

The facts should be clear and should be clarified!

Please just don't make your versions of our traditions ! Stop making mockery of the great epics!

[Amit Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, gives another perspective on Hindu mythology.

Gives perspective and purpose on Hindu mythology.
Supports his analysis with real life examples it's sometimes hard to understand.
Over all a good reference book on life's dilemma.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book

Lot of great insights from this book. Well written, well explained. When I used to hear stories of God's it used to amuse me. But after reading this my gaze just widened. Great book.

[Deepak Palani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It as some awesome stories on Hindu religion, Mahabharata and Ramayana. Where you can't find anywhere else. It tell you how to approach the learning phase and why is it important and to be narayan instead of narayani. I liked reading the book.

[Ram M Srinivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explained in a different way comparing a learning module with past epic characters or incidents. One among the liked modules was how Duryodhana was shown in a positive way in learning. Each module hardly covers two pages with illustrations which are easy and simple to learn.

[Pooja Prabhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sutra series are a good listen, and with the Talent Sutra, the author goes about giving us good relative examples on Indian popular puranas and the lessons one can learn from them and implement them in our real lives. A good one time listen

[SANKET MAKHIJA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every word/chapter has lot to offer.

[Theerthagiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book to connect Vedic illustrations to current talent management scenarios, well illustrated and written in simple vocabulary.

[Shyam Sai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lot more interesting 😁😁

[Sahil Tanwar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very much exciting but some concepts were very amazing. Would have wanted to get some insights and more explanations in the book.

[Junaid Sheikh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to know how to understand hindu mythology.

[ashish jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome reading short and sweet with examples

Excellent story telling technique.Read it almost in one go. Recommend it to all especially young generation who area on threshold

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea is kind of same put in the different perspective

[Niket Sheth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre and repetitive writing. There's nothing new in the book. There seems to be no goal in mind or a fixed message to be given through the book. Ignore the book

[Virendra Harmalkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicely written... Good book.. Must read

[Namrata Tanna]

Awesome

[Lakshminarayanan]

Good analogy drawn from Indian religion and brought down from the Business Sutra which was also written by Devdutt.
I have started reading the Business Sutra now. May be I should have done that first to appreciate the talent Sutra.
It was at places not convincing, the analogy drawn and the story told from the current scenarios.
I may re-read this once i complete Business Sutra .... to see if it can give a different perspective. Until then I hold my stars...

[Shilpam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a good book with very short chapters. The best part is the illustration plus a practical real life case analogy with the chapter context. Recommend for people who really want to understand the answers to certain mythological actions and want a correlation in our day to day life. Regarding grammar & vocab, it is perfect just that a few words are little tough to comprehend, but thanks to guided help in kindle that makes it much easier to understand the relevance of those words in the context. Overall, a very nice book and makes me much more a fan of Devdutt Pattanaik Devdutt Pattanaik (PS: I already love his series on EPIC channel, Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik).