The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow has recently restructured an elective course on ‘The Wisdom of Indian Philosophy’. The course is taught in English and has some traces of modern theories. It primarily relies on tenets of Indian philosophy derived in Sanskrit from Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Samkhya Karika, Upanishads with references from the Bhagavad Gita.

The course is 15 hours long and is currently running in its fourth year. It is being taught both in the Lucknow as well as Noida campuses. The course has been created by Dr Anadi Saran Pande, professor of Strategic Management at IIM Lucknow. The course has been introduced to help students manage themselves better, reduce stress and anxiety, enhance focus and improve quality of mind.

The course incorporates numerous fields such as metaphysics, aesthetics, epistemology, sociology, psychology, ethics, life sciences and dynamics of interpersonal relationships and an individual’s interactions with the outside world.

The course brings together old adages and contemporary research and medical evidence on theories of consciousness for students to see the real-life implications of such teachings.

The curriculum aims to sensitise students to the ideas of ethical action. The primary objective of the programme is to equip students with skills and ethics that promote organisational well-being and ideal corporate citizenship. Theory of Karma is an important part of this course.

The course targets Indian philosophy and its three dominant systems, namely— Samkhya, Yoga, and Vedanta. It focuses on concepts and theories around ethics which may serve as inspiration for students. Various Sanskrit sutras are also recited and discussed in the classroom to help students to feel more connected with Indian philosophy. It was awarded the ‘Best Non-Conventional Course’ Award by MBA students of IIM Lucknow in 2022-23.