Business lessons from Sant Kabir

Sant Kabir is one of the most revolutionery and misunderstood saints in India till today. He was not the one who left the household and went in the forests for meditation. Instead, he was in the business of making clothes (Julaha) and highlighted the weakness in different sections of the society and guided people on the correct way of living.

So, what can we learn about business from Sant Kabir? Let’s go through some of his sholkas to get some nuggets of wisdom:

How much to earn in life? — “Sai itna dijiye, ja mein kutumb samaye; mein bhi bhukha na rahoon, sadhu na bhuka jaye”

It means one should earn that much amount which is sufficient to feed one’s own family, and also to take care of any guests who come to visit the home. In other words, we should accumulate the wealth that is necessary and not the wealth that is not required. Otherwise, it may ruin our lifestyle and habits.

On Communication Skills — “Vani aisi boliye, man ka aapa khoye; auran ko seetal kare, apahoon seetal hoye”

It means that we should communicate in such a manner, that the other person is also calmed and we ourselves are calm at the end of the conversation. If we apply this with our staff and customers, it will result in better staff productivity and more satisfied customers. Warren Buffett once said that improving your communication skills can increase your value by more than 50%.

On time management and work efficiency — “Kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab; pal mein parley hoyegi, bahuri karega kab”

It means whatever work you have to do tomorrow, try to finish it today; and whatever work needs to be done today, try to finish it now. This highlights the importance of being proactive and action oriented rather than being lazy. Also, late Sh. Dhirubhai Ambani, one of the greatest industrialists in India in the 20th century, believed in the above principle. He believed in beating deadlines and not just meeting deadlines.