Anshu Jain, the designated head of Deutsche Bank, is a Jnani
London / Frankfurt – To find the compressed explanation of a path of Yoga in the first paragraph of the lead article of the business part of a national daily newspaper1 is quite extraordinary. But after this there will probably be reports on Jnana-Yoga more frequently, because on July 27th 2011 Anshuman (“Anshu”) Jain has been elected to one of the two heads of Deutsche Bank. Jain is an avowed Jnani, an aspirant for wisdom. The way of Jnani is the way of complete self-surrender and has only one goal – unity with the ONE, with the “ONE” is not meant an anthropomorphic God, but an all-pervading divine principle.
Jainism and guru banking in a small Hessian town affiliate? (*)
The mindset of a Jnani is very similar to that of the Buddhists. No wonder, with his reformation doctrine of the Four Noble Truths, Buddha Shakyamuni encounters about 600 BCE in India a multi-religious civilization. Even then, Jainism was seen as a kind of ascetic “elite religion”. Is the new motto of Deutsche Bank now: With ‘Guru-banking “, despite the financial crisis to success?
Arjuna, Krishna and the battlefield of Kurukshetra
For anyone who wants to understand Jainism to studying the Bhagavad Gita is a must. According to Western way of thinking Bhagavad Gita can be understood as the “Holy Scriptures”. Unlike in western culture – where habitually one tries to interpret sacred texts literally and as a historical fact – the majority of the Hindus consider the Bhagavad-Gita story of Arjuna, Krishna and the battlefield of Kurukshetra as a symbolic allegory, but more as one with a significantly transformational effect. Who orientates his inner life – and thus his outer life – according to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, embarks on a journey of overcoming his lower nature, and finally – in a future incarnation – to leave as a winner of the holy “battle field Kurukshetra” then become one with Krishna, the divine soul.
The epistemological bases of the multi-religious universe of Hinduism are built by three classics: the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad-Gita. All together form the Vedanta, the early Indian text tradition (veda = knowledge) understood as revelations. The stated aim of Vedanta is the conscious attainment of union with THE DIVINE ONE – Krishna. Krishna is equivalent to the divine soul or higher self or Atman. But before you can, so to say, turn on the “home stretch” to salvation, a way of purification of undetermined length of time is required. These paths are called yoga. Depending on the inclination of the individual, there are different paths of yoga, yoga of action for example, karma yoga (Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 3) or the yoga of the burgeoning knowledge, Jnani Yoga (Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 4). The latter is the way by Anshu Jain, the chief investment banker and German bank chief nominee.
Affiliate of Deutsche Bank (*) (*)
Like any Jnani Anshu Jain and his family maintains an abstinent lifestyle, with vegetarian diet and avoiding alcohol. A Jnani are said to see through the illusory of the dialectical world of opposites. This way lush 12 million years’ salary may be “put away” loosely without needing to give up his ascetic attitude. Moreover a Jnani also sees with his mind’s eye nothing but THE ONE. This ability Anshu Jain might need urgently when he soon tries to harmonize “the new Bank of Jainism” with Hessian lifestyle in the headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.
(*) Text / Photo: Heinz Knotek (); translation into English by Christina Graf
“Der Guru mit dem Rucksack”, Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 26th 2011 ↩
Jainism and guru banking in a small Hessian town affiliate? (*)
Affiliate of Deutsche Bank (*) (*)
); translation into English by Christina Graf
