And till date, the major chunk of the charitable work being conducted by the Bhilwara group is through the Ramakrishna Mission. Explains Jhunjhunwala: ``We channelise our charitable funds through the Ramakrishna Mission because it is able to get the best results from our contributions.''

Mysticism, according to Jhunjhunwala, is the total compass of human values. And social development, he says, is part of that mysticism. This realisation came to Jhunjhunwala when Chakravarty experimented with the Bhilwara group and the experiment showed positive results. Heexplained to the owners, managers and other employees of the company the concept of mysticism, which is based on intuition.

What was started by the Bhilwara group became a trend in a few years' time. Chakravarty and his idea of mysticism began making waves at the various Tata companies. Big corporates were gradually coming to terms with the idea that social good was contained in mysticism, and that therein lay the good of the company.

Charavarty, the inspiration behind all this, is on the IIM Calcutta faculty. He heads a unique division at the IIM--Management of Human Values. That over Rs 3 crore was spent towards setting up this division shows that it is an esteemed division. Also, that it is important for the corporates.

Elaborating on how the inspiration has been translated into action at the Bhilwara group, Jhunjhunwala says that five trusts are behind all the social development activity in the company. The activities are more or less handled by the income garnered by the trusts.

Out of thetrusts' total income of Rs 20-25 lakh per annum, 70-80 per cent is routed through the Ramakrishna Mission for various charitable purposes, says Jhunjhunwala. The remaining 20-30 per cent is spent on three schools. These schools are at Gulabpura in Rajasthan, Maral Sarovar near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, and at Mandideep, again in Madhya Pradesh.

But the group does much more than just set up schools and hospitals. The Bhilwara group has been actively involved in promoting sports, too. Chess being its major forte, the group identified grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand. Even now it's sponsoring upcoming chess players such as Abhijit Gupta and Dibyendu Baruah.

So, while the objective of the Bhilwara group remains self-growth through the upliftment of the society, it sees mysticism as its primary guiding force.