For the two decades as a management educator, I have emphasised to my MBA students that in the East spiritualism is a way of life, differentiating human values from animal existence. While we do have our material needs for the self and family, our ultimate goal is spiritual enlightenment. We, therefore need to blend our material and spiritual needs for a holistic view of sejahtera and happy living.
I do not believe that the search of material prosperity alone can lead to a balanced & satisfying life. My belief is that prayers in search of a quality mind helps me to understand myself to a better synchronisation between my physical needs & mind towards a richer life.
In my MBA class debate, we also believe that having met the basic material requirement of life, spiritual pursuit is the main motivator helping human beings to achieve great heights. Instead of pursuing external stimuli in search of excellence, we should be guided by internal inspiration. So, we resolved on the need to rise above our selfish interests and supplement it with enlightened self-interest. Prior to serving as management educator, I spend three decades as a corporate HRD practitioner of which management education has the rare distinction of being called the noble sector of public service as the primary mission for the cultivation of mind, heart & hands. I learned each human being has a soul. In business school at most universities, management education has evolved primarily from the point of professional management in business organisations, hence the degree is titled as Master of Business Administration (MBA).
I am of the opinion, while we should learn from the West the techniques of developing efficient organisations, we should temper such knowledge with a holistic view on the progress of the organisation in ensuring a better quality of life for the society, country blending with humanity at large, nature, green eco-friendly environment towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
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