Epic as a dynamic living library: an extrapolative study of the Mahabharata

Abstract

It is the explicit/tacit bifurcation of knowledge that serves as the basis of Knowledge Management (KM) practices today. Considering how such a bifurcation theory came to develop in KM, we come across the knowledge conversion theory developed by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi towards the end of 20th century. The knowledge conversion theory which was claimed to be based on Michael Polanyi's epistemological ideals gained wide acceptance and soon became the basis of KM practices. However, the theory had actually relied unduly on Polanyi's conception of knowing and restricts knowledge to the bifurcation of explicit and tacit; thereby ignoring the proper implications of his ideals envisaged in the notion of 'indwelled knowledge'. Consequently, all subsequent KM theories have come to rely on the explicit and tacit bifurcation of knowledge. In the theory, since knowledge is approached only from the explicit/tacit bifurcation point of view, it has become a static entity in KM practices. Knowledge is thus processed in a linear fashion in existing KM models as a commodity and confined within the structure of corporate governance in an organization. As recent epistemological developments are mooving against the bifurcation of knowledge, we have to confront the question of how healthy are KM practices that approach knowledge as a static and authoritarian entity based on this bifurcated conception. In fact, knowledge never culminates anywhere just as an artistic expression never comes to perfection. And it undergoes constant spontaneous improvisation like an art form. Thus, like the arts, knowledge formation is an ongoing process. If so, in KM, we are not dealing with any static and authoritarian entities. Rather, we are dealing with open ended, dynamic and evolving entities. Though knowledge formation is a time bound process marked by the spatio-temporal peculiarities of its genesis and makeup, its refinement over time never stops, and in that respect its growth remains timeless. It is clear, therefore, that the current KM approach is not the right approach and we need to develop an alternative approach that takes into account the dynamic nature of knowledge. We can see such an approach in the Mahābhārata, the great epic of India, which remains an epitome of the Indian epistemological tradition, but at the same time, continues to evolve on many levels even today. The earliest forms of the Mahābhārata are found in the oral narratives like nāraśaṃsis and gādhas. These narratives were preserved and disseminated and to some extent composed by the sūtas, commonly known as bards. The Mahābhārata is basically a verbatim form of art as the origin and growth of the Mahābhārata can be traced in these ballads of the bards. Despite its later transformation into textual form, the Mahābhārata has continued to evolve on many levels, in different languages because the basic artistic nature and dynamic character of the oral form were never disturbed. Therefore, even though Mahābhārata could be considered as a piece of literature available in textual form today, we ought to treat it as an ever evolving form of art. It is owing to this parallel between an art form and the epic thanks to its liberal development and dynamic growth akin to the growth of an art form, that it stands apart as a model to bring about essential structural changes in present day KM practices. The epic could thus be seen to be a pre-eminent resource to edify the art of KM and an exemplar of the fundamental form of the KM systems.xiii Therefore, the researcher analyzes the narrative techniques of the epic from the point of view of an Information Scientist in the context of present day KM practices. Hence, the research approaches the Mahābhārata as a 'dynamic living library' and KM system conceived in the ancient times which has evolved ever since and is still evolving. In that sense, the researcher wishes to shed light on the foundational role that the epic has played right from the ancient times in setting an ideal paradigm for Information Science and KM, which fact has not yet been brought out. As a result, the analyst has been able to develop a new approach to KM practices by developing a theory that emphasizes the tacit and personal components of cognition. Accordingly, as an alternative to the bifurcated KM system, the proposed theory derived from the narrative techniques of the Mahābhārata, an exemplar of the Stalagmite Architecture of KM, envisions a process-oriented KM system relying on 'indwelled knowledge' based on Polanyian ideals. Indwelling refers to the act of integrating something into our embodied self. Therefore, for Polanyi, the ultimate instrument of any of our external knowledge is our body, whether intellectual or practical. Consequently, the problem of the subject-object dichotomy that has maintained the epistemic gap between the knower and the known is resolved and the explicit-tacit distinction of knowledge that has served as the basis of existing KM practices for so long becomes irrelevant. Nonaka and Takeuchi's theory is thereby called into question in the thesis as it lays a false foundation and direction for understanding and applying Polanyi's epistemology in KM. Furthermore, by creating an alternative to the corporatization of knowledge and the metric culture, the thesis creates a consistently liberal and dynamic free sphere in KM processes, thereby bringing KM practices outside the structure of corporate organization. A free and open knowledge architecture and management theory is thus formed in a way that can be applied in any field, not only in the premises of Information Science.