DVR Seshadri is one of the most respected Professors of business, with a teaching career of 20 years across premier b-schools of India including ISB and various IIMs. His areas of interest among others include: B2B Marketing, Innovation and Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship.
While thousands of country’s brightest young students have taken his courses on marketing and gained from his immense technical knowledge, yet the subtle intangible lessons from the encounters have lasted much longer. Lessons of integrity, humility and kindness. Lessons which were not really spoken in as much words, but yet, received deeply.
His courses on leadership have had a transformative effect on many senior professionals and corporate leaders. Some would write back saying how it helped them find strength to quit their job to serve the under-privileged, while some would say how it helped them make peace with traumatic experiences, let go and move on with positivity. Leadership is more about SQ -- Spiritual Quotient, than it is about IQ and EQ, he underscores.
While many have been touched by his deep understanding and appreciation of life, not many know much about his life journey -- which has been replete with extreme ups and downs.
Having studied from world-class institutions -- IIT Madras, University of California and IIM Ahmedabad, DVRS went on to work in a variety of companies (public sector, family business and entrepreneurial start-ups for 15 years, last 10 as CEO).
Holding firm ground on integrity at workplace, unforeseen events one after another, put a harsh end to his corporate career, threw his personal life in shambles, and left him in significant financial difficulties.
Just when one would think that one has fallen to the point of no return, the unplanned sufferings in DVR’s life made way for uninvited grace, leading him to embark on a deeper spiritual journey. A journey of letting go, of understanding himself, of understanding life, and the cycles of pain and pleasure it keeps delivering us to. Thus began his deep internal and external research in the eternal question of “happiness”, which still continues till date. At the same time, DVR through his hard work and grace of the almighty, and his Guru, and kindness of many others has been able to reinvent himself professionally, as a highly respected and loved professor.
Deeply committed to service as a way of being, he is also actively involved with several NGO’s such as Aravind Eye Care Systems, Madurai and DHAN Foundation. And most recently also with Equitable Healthcare Access Consortium.
Join us this weekend for a heartful conversation with DVR, moderated by one of his students and our volunteer, Rohit Rajgarhia, as they talk about business, ethics and life. :)
Also see, 5 questions we asked Professor.
When I can make a difference in people's lives, help them to reach their full potential and grow in life beyond their wildest imagination.
I had a very tumultuous life, both professional and personal, due to events beyond my control (call it fate or karma or whatever).
It was through a series of coincidences and spooky events that threw me at the feet of my Guru Pujya Swami Virajeshwara near Hosur (Bengaluru). My ship that was fast sinking slowly got steadied. I was assisted in this journey by many other Mahatmas.
When my corporate life was in tatters, in the year 2000, having been forced to vacate my position as Managing Director of a company in Gujarat overnight due to head-on collision with the Chairman on reasons of unethical transactions the Chairman wanted me to execute, my friend for many years and fellow student at IIM Ahmedabad during 1981-1985 (in the Doctoral program), Prof. Mithileshwar Jha, went out of the way, believed in me, used his clout being a seniour professor at that institute, and convinced IIM Bangalore's Director to hire me as a Program Manager (an administrative position) in that institute. That was the beginning of my professional resurrection and opened doors for a new lease of life as a faculty.
At a societal level, to throw myself more intensely in the service of all living beings and things in the world.
At a personal level, to realise the divinity that underlies and connects all that is in the cosmos, and live in that realisation every second of my residual journey on earth.
Having been through the furnace of life and come out reasonably unscathed while imbibing life lessons, my message to the world is:
-Hakuna Matata ("no worries" i.e. nothing in the world is worth worrying about)
-Be a Jolly (i.e. "Be happy and make others happy")
-Have a vision for your life
-Learn to channelise your mind and not waste it on infructous thoughts, and finally
-Rise to your fullest potential