“Let us all connect to the Cosmic Internet with chanting as the start button,” was how Mr Hans Martin Heierling opened his speech at Peace on Snow.

It was an event held with the aim of breaking down barriers in communication to bring about positive change in the business world. Peace on Snow was held to inspire peace negotiations across sectors by having business leaders meet in an informal setting. Hans co-organized the event along with the Altru Institute and gave the opening address. With some chants and deep breaths, the audience was ready to listen to Hans’ message.

Mr Hans Martin Heierling is an entrepreneur, a board member of multiple companies including a panel of 70 companies working towards a sustainable economy and is in contact with various universities regarding sustainability and social responsibility. He has started numerous companies but felt that there was something missing despite having all the material comforts due to his career. He found SSRF through a Google Search on “Quantum physics and Spirituality” in 2018 and has found what he had been seeking for all those years. As a part of his spiritual quest, he visited the Spiritual Research Centre and Ashram in Goa, India twice. Due to his sincere desire to help others to grow spiritually, he not only took the opportunity to learn about spiritual practice himself, but he is also making wholehearted efforts to bring this spiritual Knowledge he gained to others in society. Hans finds deep fulfilment through his spiritual practice and taking time to spread Spirituality in his spare time.

Peace on Snow was held concurrently with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on 24 January, 2020. 60 people attending the World Economic Forum chose to attend Peace on Snow, including a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company, organisers of the World Economic Forum and others with positions in top management positions in the finance industry.

This was the first time Hans introduced the spiritual concepts and spoke about Sattva, Raja and Tama, which intrigued the audience. They listened attentively to Hans as he spoke about different aspects of the spiritual dimension and showed genuine openness and curiosity.

Sattva, Raja and Tama are three subtle basic components that make up the universe. Sattva is associated with purity and Knowledge, Raja with action and Tama with ignorance and inertia.

Hans shared how currently, business models are focused more on return on investment (ROI) and increasing shareholder value. As a result, business is conducted in a way that has less focus on the welfare of others. An example of this would be a company disregarding the consequences of pollution so as to maximise profits despite there being methods available to curb pollution. This is just a basic example of a business practice that is Raja–Tama predominant or spiritually impure. Instead, Hans proposed that if business models along with making profits, also make provisions for looking after the social and spiritual well-being of society at large, they can move towards becoming more Raja–Sattva predominant, or spiritually pure. This will also instil mutual respect and harmony, leading to a greater quality of life for everyone.

Interestingly, what Hans shared is along the same lines as what the Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay (also known as the Maharshi University of Spirituality or MAV) has previously written about. MAV has published a paper on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the importance of incorporating Spirituality into business to increase the Sattva component both in people doing business and in products to effect lasting positive change in the business world. An increase in the Sattva component instigates an inner change which would inspire one to make better business decisions which impact society at large and the environment positively.

At one point when Hans spoke, the audience gave a standing ovation when he mentioned how business models need to look beyond simply increasing shareholder value. This clearly shows that there is interest in driving real change in how business is conducted among key players in the business world. At the end of the 1.5-hour lecture, there was a palpable feeling of the seeds for positive change being sown. One of the attendees even shared later that this was the best event he attended during the World Economic Forum.

Here are some comments from the attendees :

• Thanks again for sharing your wisdom, values, and creativity with all ! – Ashok Patel, M.D., Mayo Clinic
• What a fantastic evening ! You are the best. I enjoyed it so much. – Former CEO of Ericsson International Sweden
• Congratulations on a successful event. Well done, and thanks for all your help. – Brett Johnson, Altru Institute
• Hi Hans, it was great to connect regarding social impacts. I look forward to hearing of your initiatives. – Attendee
• Dear Hans-Martin thank you for your invite on Friday. It was a great opportunity to meet you and learn more about your project : Peace on Snow ! Congratulations on your great presentation and kick off ! – Attendee

It is fitting that this conference was held alongside the World Economic Forum, which had the theme, “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World” this year. The selection of this theme itself shows that business leaders understand that sustainability and harmony are the need of the hour and that thought is being given into how to develop it. Hans’ experience shows that there is a genuine interest in incorporating spiritual principles in business. If business leaders were to incorporate spiritual principles into their business practices as outlined above, then it would bring about the vital changes the business world is currently in need of.