Fairway's perfect for spirit and biz talk

Call him the swinging guru or a business strategist, Jaggi Vasudev, or the Sadhguru as he is known, is always on top of his game. Especially so when playing golf.

His attire is no different from the usual – covered head to toe, even on the golf course. And that includes dark Armani sunglasses. He wears black sleeves to escape the excesses of the sun and more than a modest hat with its scarf-like back.

It’s the first time I am meeting him. I had imagined him in yogasanas or being the proverbial speaking tree to CEOs. But seeing him meditate on a fairway and become a disciple of golf... this came as a pleasant surprise. It tells you the game has the power to initiate and engage well-established thought leaders too. Especially so since the game is considered a meditation on sport.
This morning, he is playing all of 15 holes on a tournament with another 80-odd golfers. He spends time with each group as he tees off from one hole and putts another. It’s a walk broken by conversations, spiritual exchanges and, importantly, leadership thoughts. There are all kinds of questions. Have CEOs lost their way in a bid to keep bottomlines going? Do they need to reinvent themselves?

“Leaders need to realise that individually they can do no more than who they are. When you do not enhance yourself but try to enhance your work, you will end up doing only mediocre work. You can’t put a small car on an F1 track and not expect it to break up,” he enlightens. He insists leaders of tomorrow need to work upon themselves – on both body and soul.

As we discuss golf, the sport of leaders, he admits it’s a game that’s given him back much. He tore his ligament while playing soccer with kids and chose to pick up golf. “I had been playing different sports for several years but after this injury, I couldn’t run around. One day, when I was opening a centre in Delhi, a new set of clubs were handed to me to try out the game. That changed the story. Here I am playing without a single lesson.”

Vasudev may not need that training but I am keen to know more about his business lessons. Especially so since he is coming off a game with B Muthuraman of Tata Steel, Mihir Doshi of Credit Suisse, Sunil Kaushal of Standard Chartered and many others. Vasudev is conscious of the challenges faced by Indian firms. He says, “If we get it right, then our own billion-people opportunity can be tapped without the fear of the global unknown.”

The changing business environment has him just as worried as the CEOs. It’s hard to deal with economic headwinds. The Sadhguru blames the government. “Various rules and laws are so ambiguous that anyone can bend them to suit themselves. When you are in a game, the rules must be straight.”

So wouldn’t he blame those equally who are bending rules in the first place? He explains the problems are now very deep-rooted. “To do business in this country, we need to return to the basics and create laws that facilitate business. It would be my dream to wake up tomorrow morning and know there is absolutely no corruption. But if that were to happen, all work would come to cease as nobody would know how to operate, all because laws are so ambiguous.” 

Vasudev’s stayed curious about golf. “It’s the only sport where the ball isn’t coming at you. You need to hit, plan the shot. 70% of golf is just mind and I do that part very well.”

Shaili Chopra is an award-winning business journalist and founder of www.golfingindian.com