In plain words
This is inert matter. We think of it as the dealings of the world. However small a task a man does, there are in it certain principles that are like life-breaths. Though outwardly man appears as a form, five precious life-breaths in him keep protecting him. The life-breaths called prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna: without these, if even one of them weakens, a man's health breaks down. In just the same way there are five life-breaths in business too. If any one of these life-breaths weakens, business is crippled.
The very first thing in this business is production. The production of goods. But we must not simply leave what has been produced lying neglected. We must gather together these goods that have been produced. The goods we have collected we must go on keeping safe. We must give what has been safeguarded some tie, some connection, with some market or some agents. We must develop things so as to be fit to supply them this way. In this way, if these five are not there in it, business simply declines. It runs at a loss. So what are the five life-breaths of business? The very first is Production. Protection is the second. Collection is the third. The fourth is connection. The fifth is direction. These five are the life-breaths of business. Even if any one of them is missing, we suffer loss in the business. But if you take only production, there will be no collection of any kind. If there is no collection of any kind, there will be no protection of any kind. So every one of them is essential at its own time. We have produced the goods, collected them, protected them and kept them. If there is no connection for it with a market or with some agent, these goods simply go to waste. On a train the engine is in front and the guard at the back. So production is the engine. Direction is the guard. Between this production and direction the three, collection, protection, connection, stand together. If we keep these five in view, we can recognise how we ought to handle management.
But these five life-breaths must belong to the nature of nation. This business must be shaped by the influence of each country's conditions and must follow each country's discipline. Today's businesses do not belong to one nation alone. All this business now is international. We are bringing in many machines from foreign countries.