Understanding Avnivesh for Karmic Model of Leadership Development

Abstract

This paper discusses the relevance of avinivesh which literally means the “fear of death” and the doctrine of karma in the context of developing leaders for the 21st century. It argues that avinivesh is the root cause of many decision-failures of leaders which have been attributed reasons like narcissism, hubris, greed, etc in prior leadership research. It also tries to present the “doctrine of Karma” in a more universal sense towards explaining how avinivesh leads to a leadership vision infested with fear, anxiety and insecurity which ultimately manifests as business and economic uncertainty threatening the perpetual existence of the organization or institution in particular.