UdyamGita

They think power comes from the accumulation of monetary wealth. They believe money can buy happiness and hence focus only on monetary accumulation and numbers. This can be very stressful and can push a person to take extreme steps in the process. Instead of healthy competition, they use dirty tricks to eliminate competitors and use their power to destroy them through illegal means and methods. When they see competitors getting crushed, they assume they are the most powerful in the business world and build networks with influential people to showcase their power, massage their egos, and throw tantrums around. They then do small good deeds here and there to feel good about themselves and to create a positive image, use that image to create even more power, and then return to their usual way of working.

Krishna now exposes the inner monologue of the demoniac mindset. These verses are striking because they are written almost like a private diary of arrogance—what such people repeatedly tell themselves.

“I gained this today. I will gain more tomorrow.”

“I destroyed my enemy. I will destroy others.”

“I am powerful. I am successful. I am superior.”

This is not confidence—it is delusion fed by ignorance. Wealth becomes proof of greatness, dominance becomes validation, and momentary wins are mistaken for invincibility.

Business Insight

Some entrepreneurs begin to believe that power flows solely from money. Numbers become identity. Net worth becomes self-worth. Growth becomes an addiction rather than a strategy.

Such founders:

• Chase accumulation relentlessly
• Equate money with happiness and security
• Measure success only in terms of domination and elimination

Competition, instead of sharpening excellence, turns toxic. Rather than outperforming rivals, they attempt to crush them using unfair, unethical, or illegal means. Short-term wins inflate their ego and distort reality.

Surrounded by wealth and influence, they build networks not for collaboration—but for ego reinforcement. They showcase power, throw tantrums, and expect obedience. Occasional charity or symbolic good deeds are performed—not from responsibility, but to cleanse guilt and polish image.

The cycle is dangerous:

1. Accumulate wealth
2. Display power
3. Perform selective “good deeds”
4. Return to exploitative behavior

This illusion may hold temporarily—but it is structurally unstable.

Leadership Lesson

True leadership is not about how many you can overpower, but how many you can elevate.

When leaders confuse dominance with strength:

• Fear replaces respect
• Compliance replaces commitment
• Image replaces integrity

Power built on money alone is fragile. The moment markets shift, allies disappear, or regulation intervenes, such leaders find themselves exposed—without trust, without loyalty, and without inner resilience.

Krishna’s insight is subtle yet devastating:

The more loudly a leader declares “I am powerful,” the more insecure his foundation usually is.

Key Takeaways

• Money amplifies character—it does not replace it
• Equating wealth with happiness creates endless stress and instability
• Unethical elimination of competitors weakens the entrepreneur more than the rival
• Ego-driven networks collapse the moment power declines
• Symbolic good deeds cannot compensate for exploitative leadership
• Dominance creates fear; purpose creates loyalty
• Power without wisdom eventually turns against the one who wields it