Knowledge Management in

Vedic Society
-
A few lessons for the present age

by
Prof. P.N. Murthy
 Knowledge Management –
Technological Change
• Knowledge Management has assumed the character of a
necessary condition for wealth creation.
• Further, this acceleration in life cycle of technological change is
necessitating continuous education and skill enhancement. The
accepted practices of apprenticeship to gain skills and knowledge
are becoming insufficient. Knowledge is being generated
incessantly by nuclear groups and corporate bodies. Computer
networks, and the internet have made the spread of this generated
knowledge imperative and easy. Simple ethos of competition is
engendering this. The problems are in the absorption and
utilization of this knowledge. The entire gamut of this
technological activity is covered by Knowledge Management.
Gods cited in the veda are powers
Outwardly of physical nature
Inwardly of psychic nature
• Example
a) Agni: Outwardly physical principle of fire.
Inwardly the god of psychic godward, flame,
force, will, tapas.
b) Surya: Outwardly the solar light. Inwardly the
god of illuminating revelatory knowledge.
c) Soma: Outwardly the moon, the soma wine.
Inwardly god of spiritual ecstasy, Ananda
 Trayoh artha sarvavedeshu
Three meanings of all Vedas
• Adhiyajna: ritualistic meaning generally
together
• Adhidaiva: relating to deities
• Adhibhoutika: gross external meaning
• Adhyatma: esoteric meaning
 Meaning of words
• Conventional (ruda)
(Superficial but symbolic)
• Real and intended meanings (yaugika)
etymologically valid
• Vedic commentaries by
Yaska, Saunaka Katyayana, Durgacharya Ananda Tirtha,
Bhaskara, Raghavendra Tirtha, Sri Aurobindo, Kapali
Sastry.
• The veda itself gives a key to veda.
(M P Pandit)
 Tacit and Explicit Knowledge
• In understanding KM, Nonaka and Konno, distinguish between
knowledge as tangible and intangible. Tangible knowledge is
‘explicit’ while intangible knowledge is ‘tacit’. Explicit
knowledge can be expressed in words and numbers shared in the
form of data, scientific formulae, specifications,manuals and the
like…. Tacit knowledge is highly personal and hard to formalize,
making it difficult to communicate and share with others.
Subjective insights, intuitions and hunches fall into this category
of knowledge. Tacit knowledge is deeply routed in an
individual’s actions and experience as well as in the ideals, values
or emotions he or she embraces’ This classification seems to be a
profound one in understanding the entire gamut of KM.
 Tacit and Explicit Knowledge
• Nonako and Konno elaborate on this model
• Tacit knowledge can only be shared, if the self is
freed to become larger self that includes tacit
knowledge of the other….In short self-transcendence
is a ‘key to group integration and conversion of tacit
knowledge into explicit knowledge’. Articulation of
tacit knowledge… involves techniques that help to
express one’s ideas or images as words, concepts,
figurative language and visuals’. Dialogue is
suggested as another important mode of articulation.
 Knowledge Management – Capture
of Knowledge
• Knowledge creation is through organized innovation. R&D
and also through process of interaction between tacit and
explicit knowledges.
• Knowledge creation is through organized innovation, R&D
and also through process of interaction between tacit and
explicit knowledges.
• In fact this model of KM suggested is similar to the one found
in Vedic society. This will be discussed in the next section.
• McAdam and Sandra say that ‘Knowledge is systematically
captured only at senior management level and to a lesser
degree at middle management level! And tacit knowledge is
addressed mainly through informal mechanisms’ .
 Knowledge Management – Earlier
Societies
• There were such societies earlier. One of the most prominent among
these is the Vedic Society of Indian Civilization. ‘Vid’ means to
know. An entire culture and civilization was driven by this thirst for
knowledge with one difference. The knowledge referred to in Vedic
society covers a whole gamut of science, philosophies, technologies
and all that man can inquire into and engage himself with. However,
the guiding factor was to understand the nature of human being in
relation to himself and also in relation to his natural context. For the
Vedic Rishi (Seer) all nature and all creation is one unified whole, a
complex system of which he is part. This theme was explored, and
experienced for centuries together. The emerging knowledge was
recorded, validated and revalidated through several methods of
inquiry. Such activity engaged the mind of Indian Society for
centuries together. Evidently there is much to learn from such a
vibrant society in terms of Knowledge Management.
Vedic Period
• Vedic period is approximately from 2500 BC – (circa) 700
BC. Vedic society had created formal and informal
institutions to sustain the concept. Even now, after 6000 years
these institutions are extant in some weak form.
• The present society is associating knowledge (almost
exclusively) with technology for creation of wealth, use of
wealth, generation of technology, and use of technology.
Knowledge (sharing technology) is organised around
industry, R&D and teaching institutions. The generated
wealth is managed in terms of distribution and performance
through financial institutions.
• Human being has become a resource. Evidently there is
difference in the understanding of the word ‘knowledge’.
Vedic Knowledge
• The vedic knowledge is ‘esoteric’. In the language of
technologists, it is essentailly ‘tacit’. It concerns everyone. It
refers to questions about existence which arise in everyone’s mind
sometime or the other during a person’s life.
• Everyone can obtain this knowledge provided he makes up his/her
mind and follows the paths of inquiry that have been identified by
earlier seekers. If someone is capable, he can devise his own path
for seeking.
• The instrument of inquiry is the inquirer himself. Whatever is
experienced has to be validated by very well-defined systems of
inquiry. Whatever some inquiry throws up can become valid to the
inquirer only if it is experienced. There is a constant interchange
between inquiry and experience – in the present day terminology,
constant inter-change between theory and practice.
Vedic Knowledge
• Thus there is continuous creation of knowledge, codification of
it and dissemination at various levels. Speed of knowledge
creation and the need for diffusion and adaptation was not the
one which guided the need for knowledge management
methods as in the case of the technological knowledge
management of the present. The basic character of knowledge
determined the management techniques.
• Knowledge of that kind was pursued by the people (may be a
few influential ones) or was allowed by the society for such a
long time as millennia. Each ‘Vidya’ or method of acquiring
knowledge was handed down and preserved for a period of
nearly 1500 to 3000 years by a line of teachers of 60 to 70
generations.
Knowledge Management – The ways to
influence the target groups
• The fact is that knowledge was ‘managed’ to create and retain this
profound influence at various levels.
• Creation of knowledge: This is done by Upasanas or Vidyas
techniques bys the seekers.
• Krishna Dwipayana Vyasa, the last Vyasa, is the manager of the
generated knowledge for the benefit of the society. He has done it ‘to
teach the race that cometh’. Vyasa means the compiler, the arranger.
He arranged the extant knowledge into four vedas, Bhagavad gita, the
Brahma sutras, 18 Puranas, Mahabharata and Bhagavata, to meet the
knowledge needs of various levels and groups of people. Here by
level we mean the level of desire for knowledge contained in the
Vedas. Most of the people would like very clear ‘explicit’
knowledge. The Puranas are intended for such people.
 Arrangement of Veda
• The arrangement of a veda is also interesting. ‘the principal
parts of each veda are known as the Samhitas and Brahmanas.
The samhitas are collection of manthras, the veda proper. The
Brahmanas are the commentaries interpretation of new
suggestions. Again the Brahmanas are divided into brahmanas
proper, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The Samhitas
comprise the general vedic experiences and the mantras
necessary for he propitiation and manifestation of the gods. And
the brahmanas provide all the details connected with the
ceremonies, sacrificial rites etc. The Upanishads are repository
of knowledge of the Supreme being divested of ceremonies and
allegories. The Samhitas have laid stress on the form of
religious culture while the Upanishads on the spirit of it’.
Recovery of Lost/working knowledge
• Shri Aurobindo says that the Rishis in the later vedantic
age sought to recover the lost waning knowledge by
meditation and spiritual experience and they used the text
of the ancient mantras as a prop or an authority for their
own intuitions and peceptions’.
• Similarly another statement
• Agnimile purohitam yanjasya devanmrityajam hotram ratnadhatmam
– Ritualistic translation
– I praise Agni, the Purohita of the sacrifice, the god, the Ritwik, the Hota, who
holds very much wealth.
– Psychological translation
– I seek the God will, the priest set in front of our sacrifice, the divine offerer
who sacrifices in the order of truth, who disposes utterly the delight.
– Literal English translation.
– Agni I adore who stands before the lord, the god who seeks truth, the Warrior,
the strong disposer of delight.
Tacit Knowledge to Explicit
Knowledge
• Bible and Quran are also such recordings of what Jesus and
Prophet Mohammed said during their lives.
• Examples of explicit knowledge are contained in Yajurveda and
Sutras. Here everything about the conduct of life and rituals are
spelled out in great detail-to the level of the length and breadth
and height of the ‘Yajna Kanda’ the place where the fire is to be
tended in a sacrifice and the size of the faggots to be fed to the
fire. The language adopted is not poetic. It is simple narration in
prose.
• ‘Mantra Pushpam’ is a case of converting tacit knowledge into
explicit mode and making it part of daily ritual to make ordinary
people, with little interest in things other than the routine
conscious of Truth and remind them of it constantly.
Lessons for the present Knowledge
Management.
• The above discussion of the ‘Vedic Societies’ Knowledge Management gives us a
few clues about the way we can manage KM in our technological activities.
• Tacit part knowledge should be conveyed essentially orally.
• This implies poetic and cryptic ways of expression. Aphorism-like statements,
crisp formulations, and slogans to be generated which should be discussed and
explained.
• Seniors should play a significant role in the KM
• Leader managers at every level should take the lead
• Every level should have differently designed knowledge packages (both tacit and
explicit)
• Higher level KM involves more of tacit knowledge management. Lower level is
more explicit knowledge.
• Historical documentation and life patterns of the people should be recorded and
distributed.
• All this is like a journey and not a single stop situation.