The School of Management Sciences (SMS), Varanasi is committed to offering holistic business education to its management students. Whether you are pursuing a BBA or MBA at SMS Varanasi, you can always benefit from its Centre for Spiritualism and Human Enrichment (C-SHE).

Let’s see how we do it:

What do we mean by holistic business education?

Holistic business education looks beyond just the professional development of students and the traditional focus of MBA programs on business knowledge and skills. It talks about the well-rounded development of management students, including topics like:

• Ethics,
• Social Responsibility,
• Sustainability, and
• Personal Well-Being.

So, while you learn about Accounting, Finance, and Marketing, you also attend courses on the above-mentioned topics, do internships, write case studies, and participate in related experiential learning activities (e.g. internships and service learning projects).

To help shape our management students into ethical and responsible leaders, we prepare them to succeed in any situation – be it their personal or professional lives. We also help students develop:

• leadership skills,
• communication skills,
• problem-solving skills,
• time management skills, and
• effective stress management skills.

What do we mean by spiritualism?

Varanasi is the centre of spiritualism in India – with its long and rich history dating back to ancient times. India, as a whole, has been the birthplace of many religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism – all of which have a strong emphasis on spirituality.

When we talk about spiritualism, we refer to the way of life that connects us to the divine energy – that guides us in living a more meaningful and fulfilling life. We believe that there can be different ways of practising spirituality, including meditation, yoga, and breathing techniques.

We have a special centre at SMS Varanasi, where we conduct courses, training courses, conferences, and workshops helping individuals to realize their true potential and find their paths.

What do we mean by human enrichment?

Steeped in spiritualism, human enrichment refers to a holistic approach to one’s personal development, addressing one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. The key aspects it covers include:

• Self-knowledge: Understanding oneself deeply, including strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears.
• Self-acceptance: Embracing oneself with all imperfections.
• Self-love: Cultivating unconditional love for oneself.
• Compassion: Developing a profound ability to empathize and connect with others.
• Service: Engaging in acts that benefit the community and the world at large.

We think that the process of human enrichment is perpetual – with no definitive endpoint. To promote consistent personal growth, we try to encourage our students to:

• do meditation and yoga regularly for their mental and physical wellness,
• study religious texts and sacred scriptures,
• seek spiritual guidance from accomplished teachers
• do community service with a zeal to give back to the society, and
• promote inclusivity in our student community.

Why learning values and ethics is important for management students?

Management students must imbibe ethics and learn values to be able to make sound decisions, especially in ambiguous situations. Good leaders are definitely ones who are able to build trust and credibility with their customers, employees, vendors, and other stakeholders.

Here are some good reasons why you must learn ethics and values while pursuing business education:

• Good decision-making: When someone values honesty, integrity, ethics and values, he/she is more likely to evaluate different options carefully. They avoid making unethical and fraudulent decisions – which is necessary to build a strong and long-term business.
• Build trustworthiness and credibility: Managers who have strong values and ethics are likely to breed more trust and respect from their customers and employees. Hence, the morale, productivity, and customer satisfaction of the organisation improve considerably.
• Build a strong corporate culture: If the corporate culture within your company is strong and positive, your company is more likely to attract and retain top talent – and hence be successful in the long term.

Some of the things we expect our management students to do as future managers and business leaders are:

• never engage in unethical business deals or practices,
• hire a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone feels welcome and respected,
• value sustainability and make environmentally friendly business decisions, and
• become more socially responsible leaders and make a positive impact on the world through their businesses.

Why SMS Varanasi has a Centre for Spiritualism and Human Enrichment (C-SHE)?

Established in 2003 by the School of Management Sciences, the Centre for Spiritualism and Human Enrichment (C-SHE) aims to intertwine spiritualism and modern management science to enrich human lives.

This Centre organizes conferences, seminars, workshops, research publications, lectures, and e-content on spiritualism, ancient Indian wisdom, business ethics, and human values. Its success is evident from the overwhelming response it gets from academia and the corporate world.

The C-SHE engages in:

• Impart spiritual training
• Equip individuals with inner wisdom
• Research innate human qualities for leadership transformation
• Delve into ancient Indian scriptures for modern management solutions
• Harmonize contemporary life with spiritual heritage

Some of the programs C-SHE organizes cover topics like:

• Organizational Karmic Status and Solutions: Uses the theory of Karma, numerology, and astrology to determine an organization’s Karmic status and suggest solutions.
• Spirituality in Practice: Distinguishes between religion and spirituality, drawing wisdom from ancient and contemporary sources to improve daily living.
• CSR through Sustainable Development: Focuses on ethics, empathy, entrepreneurship, and excellence for businesses to promote responsible practices and inclusive growth.
• Proactive Parenting Power: A guide for parents to improve parenting skills based on child psychology and spiritual teachings.
• The Inner Dialogue: Women Empowerment Program: Addresses challenges faced by working women in balancing personal and professional roles.
• Soulful Learnings from Ram Charit Manas: Focuses on life lessons from the epic, including relationship dynamics, the art of parenting, and more.
• Pransadhna: Discusses the connection between science, energy, matter, and prana (life force) with special yoga sessions.
• Individual/Family Karmic Status and Solutions: Similar to the organizational Karmic status program, but focused on families.
• Other Programs: Include topics like Karma, Bhakti & Gyan Yog, Solutions to Daily Life Problems, God & Social Media, and more.

The centre also publishes a Purushartha Journal – a bi-annual, peer-reviewed journal indexed in Scopus Elsevier, Google Scholar, and the UGC CARE List of Journals. The journal aims to blend ancient Indian management thoughts with modern practices while emphasizing business ethics, values, and spirituality.

The Centre for Spiritualism and Human Enrichment is a unique institution at SMS Varanasi – dedicated to bridging ancient spiritual wisdom and contemporary management practices, aiming to foster holistic human development.

Why do MBA students need C-SHE?

Management students at SMS Varanasi rely on the Centre for Spiritualism and Human Enrichment for:

1. Bridging Ancient Wisdom with Modern Management: In a world that’s ever-evolving with technology and rapid business changes, C-SHE at SMS Varanasi offers a unique opportunity to connect with ancient spiritual wisdom. The Centre’s deep dives into Indian scriptures offer invaluable insights into modern management solutions, equipping students to approach business challenges with a balanced perspective.

2. Holistic Personal Development: Beyond business and leadership, our business school also emphasizes holistic human development. By participating, students get to enrich their inner selves, foster personal growth, and cultivate emotional and spiritual intelligence – crucial elements for future leaders.

3. Enhancing Ethical Business Practices:

In order to train MBA students to be conscious leaders, our institute not only prepares our MBA students to ensure that businesses thrive but also that they contribute positively to the community and the environment.

4. Innovative Learning and Solutions: Traditional business curriculums do not cover solutions based on numerology and astrology. At C-SHE, MBA students can learn about these unique concepts, gain fresh perspectives, and come up with innovative solutions to complex business problems.

5. Preparing for Life Beyond Business: We understand that no manager can do a good job until he or she has a good personal life. Our programs like ‘Proactive Parenting Power’ and ‘The Inner Dialogue: Women Empowerment Program’ prepare MBA students for challenges beyond the corporate world.

6. Boosting Morale and Mental Well-being: The modern business environment is quite stressful. Spiritual training can help you combat this pressure and stress and boost your morale, mental well-being, and productivity significantly. The Centre for Spiritualism and Human Enrichment (C-SHE) at SMS Varanasi offers a groundbreaking approach to MBA education. By seamlessly merging spiritualism with contemporary management science, it ensures that students don’t just become business leaders, but well-rounded, ethically conscious, and spiritually enriched human beings ready to make a significant mark in the corporate world and beyond.