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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6510(Online),

Volume 3, Issue 2, May-August (2012)

348

A KEY TO ALLEVIATE BUSINESS RELATED CHALLENGES:

CRUNCHING MEDITATION SCIENCE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON

BRAIN & PHYSIOLOGY

Shubhashish Banerjee*

HR - Dish TV India Ltd. Noida, India

ABSTRACT

1. Challenges / Description of problem:

India is being widely acknowledged as one of the most matured and exciting emerging economics in the

world. (India growth rate rises to 8.8% | 31 August 2010 Last updated at 11:31 GMT |

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11135197). More to the point of becoming a global focal point of

outsourcing, Indian firms are diffusing globally through international mergers and acquisitions (Indian

predators pursue M&A prizes | By James Lamont in New Delhi |Published: January 5 2011 17:26 | Last

updated: January 5 2011 17:26 | FT.Com Financial Times | http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/562a5072-18ef-

11e0-9c12-00144feab49a.html#axzz1XwOAEi7G). Various studies suggests that by the year 2020, India

is anticipated to add about 250 million to its labor pool at the rate of about 18 million a year (Tutorial-

Reports.com | Advantages of Off shoring to India | http://www.tutorial-

reports.com/business/outsourcing/india/advantages.php), which is more than the entire labor force of

Germany. Its always not about the quantity but also the quality of the mass which matters, in this context,

the world competitiveness report rated India’s human resource capabilities as being relatively weaker than

most of the other Asian nations (The Global competitiveness Report |

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GCR_Report_2011-12.pdf). Employee’s knowledge is

significantly weighed when it comes to employee performance, agility and their efficiency in performing

their tasks i.e. their professional skills. Based on this fact we can now consider training to be a vital factor

when it comes to competency, agility, performance and effectiveness of an employee towards his/her job.

(http://www.dartmouth.edu/~hrs/pdfs/discussion_worksheet05.pdf). Also, the business history have

shown us the decline of the original brilliance of family industries due to lack of proper management

training (Family businesses on the wane Research has proven that the third generation is the point when a

family begins to break (up) | Maulik Pathak | http://www.livemint.com/2011/05/24214906/Family-

businesses-on-the-wane.html | LiveMint.com | The Wall Street Journal ), which focuses basically on

economics, the temperament of managing intelligence i.e. the Creative Intelligence in any individual and

lack of full expression of the evolutionary quality of awareness (consciousness). Now, when we

acknowledged the importance of training various questions have started to preoccupy my mind, is to what

field or subject should one organization train their employees? What is the right amount of time for the

training? Which methodology to be used to train employees? how effective it would be to the employees?

All these questions are of paramount importance to any business firm and growing organizations. We

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know quite a many organizations keep various areas of training, such as communications, computer skills,

customer service, diversity, ethics, human relations, quality initiatives, safety, sexual harassment,

organizational behavior, time management training (Soft Skill Training as well as technical Trainings) as

their training module.

This Study contemplates about the possibilities of, What if we train our mind which directly controls all

the aspects mentioned above. This will not only increase our ability to learn the things but also suffice all

the benefits of training employee at a very low cost.

INTRODUCTION

If we see the routine work of managers, we will find that there is a lot of brain functioning every day to

meet organizational goals, be it any department or function (finance, marketing, human resource, IT,

sales, commercial, legal, technical or administration). Decision Making and Critical Thinking are the two

extremely significant elements in the business world where every single person in the organizational

hierarchy uses these abilities during their course of work. It’s not just we use it during our professional

work but quite frequently it helps us even in our personnel life as well, kind of a latent force (Foundation

for Critical Thinking | http://www.criticalthinking.org/print-page.cfm?pageID=430). Business Week

reported that 95% of Americans reject the idea that a corporation’s only purpose is to make money. 39%

of U.S. investors say they always or frequently check on business practices, values and ethics before

investing. The Trends Report found that 75% of consumers polled saying they are likely to switch to

brands associated with a good cause if price and quality are equal (Spirituality and Ethics in Business |

http://www.visionarylead.org/articles/spbus.htm ). In Indian context, Hindustan Times came up with

‘You Read, They Learn’ initiative, similarly companies like Tata Steel, ITC, Suzlon and the Mahindra

Group have shown various initiative to woe investors on similar lines. Organizations are also showing

their serious concerns over the various issues related to their employees, to name few - Stress-related

ailments, health care costs, productivity, absenteeism, team building, attention, focus, commitment,

compassion, healthy environment. These issues are of huge pain to deal with the high end existing

competition. Apart from this when we talk about a society, bullying, low pay, contracts , long hours work

, unfair dismissal , health & safety , holidays , racial harassment and discrimination , sexual harassment

and discrimination and age discrimination are few serious social concerns giving birth to low

productivity, low motivation, stress, depression, attrition, (Bullying: surveys, facts, figures and costs

| http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/costs.htm ).

MATERIAL AND METHOD

To study the possibilities here I have reviewed scientific researches, research papers, various blogs and

online text of meditation science, management concepts, business literatures and ancient

literatures/Online. This paper traces remarkable evidence for the need of managerial training and their

cognitive development using a fabulous cocktail of ancient Indian sources of meditational with

contemporary advance neuroscience, psychology and management for various organizations.

Employee’s knowledge and its application to what he/she does are significant. To learn this we need to

know how to train our mind. Training mind is a major aspect, when it comes to performance enhancement

and effectiveness and efficiency of the job in hand. It is totally the quantity and quality acquisition of

knowledge which improves the efficiency, effectiveness, efficiency of organization. It is in loop with

improving the existing skill sets and exploring the potential skills for the job of an individual i.e.

upgrading the employees’ skills and extending their knowledge database. Therefore, training mind is a

key to optimizing the utilization of human intellectual, technological and entrepreneurial skills. Training

and Development here is referred to the attainment and sharpening of employee’s capabilities to build



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themselves as a brand. Not only on the personal ground but that they are required to perform various

tasks, functions and obligations. Developing the employees quality output and discover their extreme

potential to make the most of their qualities to meet organizational development is the purpose, This will

also help us developing an organizational culture where superior- subordinate relationship, team work,

and collaboration among different sub units are strong and contribute to organizational wealth, dynamism

and pride to the employees (http://traininganddevelopment.naukrihub.com/training-development.html).

We discussed few question in the introductory part - what field or subject should you train your

employees? What’s the right amount of training? Which method of training works best for your

employees? And how effective was the training provided? Trying to find answers to the questions I came

to a simple conclusion to answer them. What if, we train our mind, which directly controls all the aspects

mentioned above, It is the genesis of all our thoughts which transforms to our action. This will suffice all

our needs, be it, employee welfare strategy, Employee Benefit Strategy or Employee Training and

Development, and that too, with almost no cost involved. The recent studies have shown meditation

Increases job satisfaction and morale among employees, Increased employee motivation, Increased

efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain, Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and

methods, Increased innovation in strategies and products, reduced employee turnover, enhanced company

image, risk management (e.g. training about sexual harassment), diversity training etc.

Many companies around the globe are attracted to different style of Meditation tuning to improve the

caliber of their managers, executives and staffs. Those employees who are much more creative,

intelligent, healthier, rational and energetic automatically will contribute more to the company.

Productivity increases, absenteeism decreases and teamwork improve these has been researched and has

been proved by various research institutions. In a study of “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction”

(MBSR), one of the most widely used mindfulness training programs is reported to produce positive

effects on psychological well-being and to ameliorate symptoms of a number of disorders (Mindfulness-

based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis | Paul Grossman Corresponding Author,

Ludger Niemannb, Stefan Schmidtc, Harald Walachc | a Freiburg Institute for Mindfulness Research,

Konradstr. 32, 79100, Freiburg, Germany | b Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg,

Freiburg, Germany | c Institute of Environmental Medicine, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg,

Germany | Samueli Institute, European Office, Freiburg, Germany | Received 5 March 2003; Accepted 8

July 2003 | Available online 20 July 2004). I have tried to take a step ahead to define how mediation

work out as part of training and development in our organization will considerably help making its

employees to take most compatible decisions for its business affairs and achieve the organizational targets

successfully. Hence, in my research I have stressed on training the mind with the help of meditation

science. Meditation will lead to an increase in the brain functioning (discussed further down the research

paper) and resulting a better position of mind during any decision making or critical thinking (Does

Buddhist Meditation Promote Rational Thinking? Written by- The Daily Heal on | August 11, 2011 |

http://dailyheal.com/meditation-news/does-buddhist-meditation-promote-rational-thinking/). At this

point of time it is critical to understand our brain functioning, so that we may then work on its application.

This research is a blend of multiple subject to draw out the best out of human resource and hence it

becomes a mandate to understand the thinking process of the resource functionary. Thinking Process is

the translations of the data captured by our sensations and then those data’s are transferred to the brain

through the biological cables i.e. nerves which then translates, decodes and encodes messages and sends

them out through the nervous system through the biological and psychological dimensions of the thinking

process of the perceptions and reactions into concepts, ideas, assumptions, suppositions, inferences,

hypotheses, questions, beliefs, premises, logical arguments, etc [Abelson, R.P. (1979). Imagining the

Purpose of Imagery. Behavioral & Brain Sciences (2) 548-549. • Ahsen, A. (1965). Eidetic

Psychotherapy: A Short Introduction. New York: Brandon House. • Ahsen, A. (1977). Eidetics: An

Overview. Journal of Mental Imagery (1) 5-38. • Ahsen A. (1984). ISM: The Triple Code Model for



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Imagery and Psychophysiology. Journal of Mental Imagery (8) 15-42. • Ahsen, A. (1985). Unvividness

Paradox. Journal of Mental Imagery (9) 1-18. • Ahsen, A. (1993). Imagery Paradigm: Imaginative

Consciousness in the Experimental and Clinical Setting. New York: Brandon House. • Ahsen, A. (1999).

Hot and Cold Mental Imagery: Mind over Body Encounters. New York: Brandon House. • Aleman, A.,

Van Lee, L., Mantione, M., Verkoijen, I. & De Haan, E. H. D. (2001). Visual Imagery Without Visual

Experience: Evidence from Congenitally Totally Blind People. NeuroReport (12) 2601-2604.

Evidence suggesting that the congenitally blind can have visual mental imagery; but see Kerr & Domhoff

(2004) for critique of such claims. • Amedi, A. Malach, R., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2005). Negative BOLD

Differentiates Visual Imagery and Perception. Neuron (48) 859-872.

Non-visual sensory brain areas show reduced activation during visual imagery (but not during visual

perception). • Amorim, M.-A., Isableu, B., & Jarraya, M. (2006). Embodied Spatial Transformations:

“Body Analogy” for the Mental Rotation of Objects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (135)

327-347. • Anderson, J.R. (1978). Arguments Concerning Representations for Mental Imagery.

Psychological Review (85) 249-77.

Argues that the analog vs.propositional (picture vs. description) question is ill posed. • Anderson, J.R.

(1979). Further Arguments Concerning Representations for Mental Imagery: A Response to Hayes-Roth

and Pylyshyn. Psychological Review (86) 395-406. • Anderson, J.R. (1983). The Architecture of

Cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. • Anderson, J.R. & Bower G.H. (1973). Human

Associative Memory. Washington D.C.: Winston/ New York: Wiley. ]. One may also refer to researches

of Philippe Goldin on Psychology, Cognitive neuroscience and Meditation.

BACKGROUND

Over centuries India has imbibed in itself the managerial thoughts and practices from the diversified

world. Early records of trade, from 4500 B.C. to 300 B.C. show the evolutionary pattern which not only

indicates international business and political links, but also, the ideas of various social & public

administrations and strategies to deal with foreign affairs. The world’s first management book, titled

‘Arlhãshastra’, was written three millennium before Christ and codified many aspects of human resource

practices in Ancient India (Conceptualistic Questions In Performance Evaluation | Jyotirmaya Satpathy |

Doctoral Candidate Dept of Management, F M University Odisha, India |

http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Conceptualistic-Questions-In-Performance-Evaluation/535149?topic).

This treatise unfolds the notions of the financial administration of the state, diverse guiding principles for

trade and commerce, as well as the management of people which shows the trait of human resource

management in that primitive period which was supposed to be significant. These ideas were to be

entrenched in organizational thinking for centuries (Rangarajan 1992, Sihag 2004). Increasing trade with

the rest of the world including engagement with the Romans, led to prevalent and systematic governance

methods by 250 A.D. Then after 300 years, the first Indian empire, the Gupta Dynasty, encouraged the

establishment of rules and regulations for managerial systems, and later from about 1000 A.D. Islam

influenced many areas of trade and commerce (Human Resource Management In India |

http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Human-Resource-Management-India/143090?read_essay). The

evolution of management did not end with this, but a significant impact of British system of corporate

organization for over 200 years had powerful effect on the managerial history of India. Clearly, the socio

cultural roots of Indian heritage are diverse and its gene has multiple sources including ideas brought

from other parts of the ancient world which were essentially secular even when they originated from

religious bases (Research and Practice in Human Resource Management | Dec, 2007 | Human

resource management in India: 'where from' and 'where to?' | by Samir R. Chatterjee |

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6769/is_2_15/ai_n28479859/).



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In the modern-day context, the Indian management dynamics continues to be opinionated by the

persistent traces of ancient acumen as it faces the complexities of global realities. One stream of holistic

wisdom, identified as the Vedantic philosophy, pervades managerial behavior at all levels of

organizational hierarchy. This philosophical tradition has its roots in sacred texts from 2000 B.C. and it

holds that human nature (human behavior) as a capacity for self transformation and attaining higest

spiritual ground while facing real time complexities of our day to day challenges [(Lannoy 1971) | ( Asian

Journal of management Research | Research Article ISSN 2229 – 3795 |ASIAN JOURNAL OF

MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 40 |Future of HR management in Indian scenario: Issues & Challenges|

Saleena Khan 1 , Bhawna Chahar 2, 1 Professor | Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur, India

2Sr.|Lecturer, Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun

|http://ipublishing.co.in/ajmrvol1no1/sped12011/AJMRSP1005.pdf)]. Such cultural based conventional

belief and legacy can have a substantial impact on current managerial mindsets in terms of diversified

cultural bonding, family bonding and mutuality of obligations in an organization. Exposed with the

confront of responding to the underlying principle of Western organizational ideas in the changing social

and economic state of affairs of Indian organizations and practitioners are increasingly taking a wider and

reflective perspective of human resource management (HRM) in India but on the same time we cannot

discount the rich quality in the history of Indian HRM.

It was Chanakya, (A professor in University of Taxila , A Writer, An Indian Politician and A Strategist,

350 BC-275 BC) quoted “Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I

doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find

satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.”

(http://thinkexist.com/quotation/before_you_start_some_work-always_ask_yourself/342039.html). In

another words he insisted to use the rational mind before practicing any business or making any decision

towards business. The managerial ideologies in Indian dates back at least four centuries. Arthãshastra

written by the celebrated Indian scholar-practitioner Chanakya had three key areas of exploration, 1)

public policy, 2) administration and utilization of people, and 3) taxation and accounting principles

(Chatterjee 2006). Parallel to such pragmatic formulations, a deep rooted value system, drawn from the

early Aryan thinking, called Vedanta, deeply influenced the societal and institutional values in India.

Overall, Indian collective culture had an interesting individualistic core while the civilization values of

duty to family, group and society was always very important while vedantic ideas nurtured an inner

private sphere of individualism ( The System of Vedanta by Paul Deussen. 1912. Reprint 2007. | The Eye

of Shiva. New York, William Morrow & Co. 1981. Amaury de Reincourt | Forgotten Truth: The

Primordial Tradition by Huston Smith | Theology After Vedanta by Francis X. Clooney | Sankara and

Indian Philosophy, by Natalia Isayeva | A History of Early Vedanta Philosophy by Hajime Nākāmura |

Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies and "Vedanta Sutras of Nārāyana Guru" by Karl Potter and

Sibajiban Bhattachārya | Isherwood, Bowles, Vedanta, Wicca, and Me by Lee Prosser. 2001. ISBN 0-

595-20284-5 | The Upanishads by Sri Aurobindo [2]. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. 1972. |

Vedanta Treatise- The Eternities by Swami Pārthasārathy [3] | Vedanta: A Simple Introduction by

Pravrajika Vrajaprana [4]).

There has been substantial interest in the view that managerial values are a function of the behaviors of

managers. England, Dhingra and Agarwal (1974) were early scholars who contended that managerial

values were critical people who all helped shape organizational architecture. The relevance of managerial

values in determining modern organizational lifestyle is reflected in scholarly literature connecting them

to corporate culture (Deal & Kennedy 1982), organizational commitment and job satisfaction (O’Reilly,

Chatham & Caldwell 1991), as well as institutional governance (Mowday, Porter & Steers 1982). Thus,

understanding the source of these values and in particular societal cohesiveness & societal work values

(which link the macro-micro relationships and in turn organizational practices) had become a popular line



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of enquiry, and a great deal of evidence that has been presented to support the importance of national

culture in shaping managerial values. (Chatterjee, S. R. - 2007. Human Resource Management in India:

‘Where From’ and ‘Where To?’ | Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 15(2), 92-103 |

http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2007/issue2/india.html). When we look at the broader side of the picture we see

how the human mind was carved, processed, designed, mechanized or say trained to meet goals of

organizations. They talked about critical thinking, values, ethics, habits and behaviors which governs the

strategies and decisions we make for any institutions. From where do all concepts come from? Who do

the brain storming part? Who thinks what is right and what is wrong? Who makes the decision? Who is

responsible for ups and down in the course of business? The answer lies inside the magnificent, beautiful

and masterly processed Human Mind ( Perception, Reason, Imagination, Memory, Emotion, Attention,

and a capacity for Communication, a rich set of Unconscious Processes all included in many modern

characterizations of mind). This is the single place where creation and destruction of thoughts occurs. The

controlling hub which is responsible of maintaining a proper balance of the two giving an end result of

fulfillment of desired result of growth and development. With this game begins, were scientific

meditation will show its role in training the mind by achieving goals through critical & rational thinking.

This innovative methodology will surely be the most reasonable and revolutionary area towards training

and development, which when practiced will not only show considerable increase in the employee’s

productivity but also help employees in making more rational decisions and bring in a new fold towards

practicing trade and business with the help of critical thinking.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS

In this piece of research work HRM is conceptualized as carefully designed combinations of ancient

practices to recent technological blend geared towards improving organizational effectiveness and hence

better performance outcomes. Wright and McMahan (1992: 298) define it as: “the planned HR

deployments and activities intended to enable [an organization] to achieve its goals” (Delery and Doty

1996: 805). HR deployments reflect the central assumptions behind the (positive) conceptualization of

what HRM is and does: namely, that it responds accurately and effectively to the organization’s

environment and complements other organizational systems and contingencies (Boselie, Dietz and Boon

2005).

This study posits that for firms facing the disordered environment in India that:

Hypothesis 1: In the context of Training and Development, Meditation as an innovation of HRM

practices (role of HRM, Increase Productivity, Reduced employee turnover, Enhanced company image,

Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training etc.) will be positively related

to organizational performance and decision making.


practices will be adopted in the recent global management system and would be significantly more

innovative than those followed in the preliberalization era or in the recent times.

These two hypotheses propose that in the context of Training and Development, Meditation as an

innovative HRM practices have a “positive effect” on organizational performance. Later on in the

discussion the study lists the various innovative HRM practice measures. Here it is important to mention

that although meditation in India started beyond the known history of mankind have shown positive

results in brain functioning and when compared to its roll in business its significance and potentials are

yet to be tested. According to archaeologists, a figure of a yogi found in the Indus Valley Civilization



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indicates that yoga practice could have existed in the first Indian civilization itself (Experiments in

Buddhist Meditation, by Shanta Ratnayaka | http://www.buddhanet.net/tr20.htm). Ever since then yoga

and other forms of meditation had been an essential practices in Hinduism. The Buddha's life story gives

detailed accounts on the advanced yogis from whom Siddhartha Gautama learned yoga practices. Some of

these pre-Buddhistic teachers had achieved eight dhyaanas as well as the magical skills based on their

trance states (Buddhist Tradition | http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/IIIB-12/chapter-5.htm). Meditation

is anticipated to be as a tool which will bring about a remarkable change in the industry, it was around the

second phase of 1997–1999 that organizations stared to restructure and take on innovative practices to

face competition. Thus, leading to various researches on the power of meditation out of which one reports

that Therapeutic interventions incorporate training in mindfulness meditation have become increasingly

popular, but to date little is known about neural mechanisms associated with these interventions.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), one of the most widely used mindfulness training

programs, has been reported to produce positive effects on psychological well-being and to ameliorate

symptoms of a number of disorders. The report to have controlled longitudinal study to investigate pre–

post changes in brain’s gray matter concentration attributable to participation in an MBSR program. The

research talks about the Anatomical Magnetic Resonance (MR) images which were sourced from 16

healthy, meditation-naïve participants before and after they underwent the 8-week meditation program.

The team found changes in gray matter concentration which were investigated using voxel-based

morphometry, and was compared with control group of 17 individuals (kept in waiting list). Analyses

confirmed increase in gray matter concentration within the left hippocampus. Whole brain analyses

identified increases in the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporo-parietal junction, and the cerebellum in

the MBSR group when compared with the controls. The results suggest that participation in MBSR is

associated with changes in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory

processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking (PubMed | TI |

Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density | AU

Hölzel BK, Carmody J, Vangel M, Congleton C, Yerramsetti SM, Gard T, Lazar SW | SO | Psychiatry

Res. 2011;191(1):36 | Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA |

[email protected]). Another study has shown neuro-imaging results that Buddhist meditators

engaged various dissimilar parts of the brain than expected. Mediators were able to disengage the

negative emotional response, most probably by attending to internal bodily states (interoception) reflected

by activity in the posterior insula." Similar researches talks about practitioners of Buddhism, who are well

known for their prolonged periods of mediation repetitive time on regular basis, were consistently shown

to make more rational decisions than any other group. Accordingly,


practices, would be positively related to organizational performance with the enhanced ability of mind.

METHOD

Data The unit of observation and data for this study was compiled from various academic journals and the

business press in India (Business India, Business Today, Business World, Economic Times, News

Abstract, Experimental neuroscience research papers, Psychological Articles).

In an appealing finding, a survey shows that yoga, Art of Living techniques and meditation are the most

popular precautionary forms of healthcare but are yet to be a magnet for corporate India for blending

them in their comprehensive employee healthcare benefit strategies. This lack of attraction is especially

so among the top 500 blue-chip companies in India, the survey by Towers Watson, 'Group Healthcare:

Healthcare Trends 2010', said. The Towers Watson survey, interestingly, observed a slow but gradual



355

shift from protective to preventive health measures with many employers now offering wellness-based

health programmers to their employees. "The shift will happen once employers drop their `one size fits

all' approach and start providing innovative and more segmented health benefits to improve the perceived

value of their current offerings," the survey said. Interestingly, providing incentive programmers’ to

improve employee health/wellness, increasing quality of healthcare and controlling cost of employee

health programmers are amongst the top priorities for employers, the survey said pointed out. But no

survey still has been made on the successful practice of mediation in corporate to improve their work

force when it comes to critical and rational thinking.( The Economic Times/Yoga, meditation yet to catch

up with India Inc./PTI Feb 13, 2011, 12.02pm IST)

Transcendental Meditation is widely practiced by the industrial and governmental leaders of India.

Recently Maharishi Corporate Development Programme has been introduced to the multinational giants

of India, Tata Tea Ltd. and Tata Chemicals. 20,000 managers and employees of Tata Tea and 6,000 of

Tata Chemicals have taken part in the programme. Other renowned companies enjoying the benefits of

this unique programme include: Associated Cement, Indian Aluminum, Reckitt & Colman, Oriental Bank

of Commerce, SRF, Eveready, Tata Unisys, BHEL, Jindal Polyester, Indian Petro Chemicals Ltd., Anand

Group, DCM Shriram, Finolex, Hewlett Packard India, DCM Financial Services, Indian Sugar and

General Engineering Corporation, SWIL, Williamson Magor and Co., and Kribhco shows the growing

interest of the organization towards utilizing meditation as a tool for training to not only increase the

productivity of the employees but also their wellbeing. Science is also relieving the power of meditation

in making rational decisions and high quality of critical thinking.



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EMPLOYEE RESPONSES TO THE COMPANY'S INTERNAL "FEEDBACK FORM" ABOUT THE

TRAINING AND THE PRACTICE OF MAHARISHI'S TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

1. How was the quality of training? 93% said "above

Average"

2. Is Transcendental Meditation beneficial to you? 97% said "Yes"

3. Did you practice Transcendental Meditation after training? 93% said "Yes"

4. Do you recommend your colleagues be trained? 100% said "Yes"

5. Do you suggest TM be included in work culture? 91% said "Yes"

(http://www.mcdpindia.com/mcdpindialink.jsp)

Over the past 30 years we have witnessed increasing number of published studies on mindfulness. The

current scientific literatures on the effects of mindfulness practices show immense potential despite the

presence of many methodological weaknesses. The current research suggest that mindfulness practices

are positive in the treatment of stress, anxiety, pain,

depressive relapse,

disordered eating and addiction but

this research focuses more on the transformation of mind towards critical and rational thinking where

very few or per say handful research has been performed. Meditation is time and again used

synonymously with the traditional Buddhist processes of cultivating awareness as described above, but

more recently studied it to be as a psychological tool capable enough of stress reduction and the elevation

of quite a lot of positive emotions or traits. In this comparatively new field of western psychological

Meditation, researchers all over world made appreciable attempt to define and measure the results of

meditation for the most part through controlled, randomized studies of meditations interference on various

dependent variables. I am trying to figure out along with few more scientists the measurable scales to map

and statistically prove the after math of meditation over decision making and critical thinking in a

business world. Research till date has shown substantial about of change before and after practicing

meditation of brain function to make a decision for same constraint. An increase in brain activity has been

recorder in taking a decision once meditation was practiced.

(Reference: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-09-brain-scan-emotions_N.htm)

International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976


(Ref: study at the University of Wisconsin

(fMRI)/http://kwokpuilan.blogspot.in/2011_02_01_archive.html and

http://neuroanthropology.net/category/brain

In a study, scientist Andrew B. Newberg studied the brain activities of

for a period of time i.e. before and during meditation.

activities in the meditators’ frontal lobe

Another study at the University of Wisconsin

technique (fMRI) showed that compassion

of the brain which is associated with compassion could be changed

meditation.

(http://kwokpuilan.blogspot.com/2011/02/what

http://mahavedanta.multiply.com/journal/item/79

With considerable advancement in functional magnetic

to dynamics of the human brain to

activity suggest that elements like moods and dispositions are

(For example, positive states of mind

states of mind : shown in the right frontal area

In a conference session which was

University of Wisconsin) comprehensively shared

Goleman's 2003 book Destructive Emotions

image the vital organ (brains) of six monks, including conference panelist Matthieu Ricard,

during and outside the state of meditation. When Davidson

a state of compassion in them through meditation practice, the result were exciting

greater swing toward left frontal brain activity than

meditation practices.

Of course, lifestyle practiced by the monks

meditation sessions as in corporate we run short of time for everything. In a

discussed about the effects of short meditation sessions with

greater significance to the rest of us.

Kabat-Zinn, a medical professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, conducted a small

controlled study of "mindfulness meditation" training for employees of a small biotech firm. Four months

International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976

August (2012)

357

(Ref: study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison using functional magnetic resonance imagining


http://neuroanthropology.net/category/brain-imaging/page/2/)

cientist Andrew B. Newberg studied the brain activities of few experienced Tibetan monks

before and during meditation. He put them under scan which

activities in the meditators’ frontal lobe (Frontal Lobe is responsible for focusing and concentration

Another study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by using functional magnetic resonance imagining

(fMRI) showed that compassion (disambiguation) could be learned. It has been seen t

associated with compassion could be changed through the simple practice of

http://kwokpuilan.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-neurotheology.html

http://mahavedanta.multiply.com/journal/item/79)

in functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) it have opened the

dynamics of the human brain to institutive study. From the recent imaging (fMRI

moods and dispositions are embedded in specific regions of the

For example, positive states of mind : marked by high activity in the left frontal area, while

of mind : shown in the right frontal area.)

which was talking about emotions, Richard Davidson (a neuroscientist

comprehensively shared some of his pilot research (described in Daniel

Destructive Emotions). Davidson used fMRI and electroencephalography (EEG) to

of six monks, including conference panelist Matthieu Ricard,

of meditation. When Davidson interacted with the monks and asked

them through meditation practice, the result were exciting - they showed a much

toward left frontal brain activity than the controlled subjects who all were

practiced by the monks isn't for everyone. So, we need to focus more on short

meditation sessions as in corporate we run short of time for everything. In a recently published study

the effects of short meditation sessions with newbie practitioners, and

to the rest of us. A report in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, Davidson and Jon

Zinn, a medical professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, conducted a small

dfulness meditation" training for employees of a small biotech firm. Four months

6502(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6510(Online),

Madison using functional magnetic resonance imagining


experienced Tibetan monks

He put them under scan which showed increased

for focusing and concentration).

using functional magnetic resonance imagining

It has been seen that parts

through the simple practice of

|

have opened the wat

fMRI) studies on brain

in specific regions of the brain.

marked by high activity in the left frontal area, while the negative

a neuroscientist from

described in Daniel

dson used fMRI and electroencephalography (EEG) to

of six monks, including conference panelist Matthieu Ricard, this was done

and asked to induce

hey showed a much

who all were untrained in

, we need to focus more on short

recently published study it

, and is perhaps of

, Davidson and Jon

Zinn, a medical professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, conducted a small

dfulness meditation" training for employees of a small biotech firm. Four months



358

after an eight-week meditation course, the researchers found that emotional and immune system benefits

persisted-with just 15-minute meditation sessions only two or three times a week (Business: Meditation

and the Brain: New imaging technology makes it possible for scientists to document the brain activity of

Buddhist monks/February 2004/By Curt Newton/technology Review India/ Published by MIT).

Another scientific study on Neuroelectric and imaging studies of meditation were reviewed.

Electroencephalographic measures indicate an overall slowing subsequent to meditation, with theta and

alpha activation related to proficiency of practice. Sensory evoked potential assessment of concentrative

meditation yields amplitude and latency changes for some components. Cognitive event-related potential

evaluation of meditation implies that practice changes attentional allocation. Neuroimaging studies

indicate increased regional cerebral blood flow measures during meditation. Taken together, meditation

appears to reflect changes in anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal areas.

Neurophysiological meditative state and trait effects are variable but are beginning to demonstrate

consistent outcomes for research and clinical applications. Psychological and clinical effects of

meditation are summarized, integrated, and discussed with respect to neuroimaging data.

Summary of Meditation Studies Using Neuroimaging Methods

Study Medita

tion

type

N

Experimental design Findings

Herzo

g et al.

(1990)

Yoga

meditat

ion,

eyes

open

8 Meditation vs. resting

thought, separate days

PET Increase: frontal-parietal and

frontaloccipital activation ratios,

lowresolution analysis Decrease: slight

for posterior-anterior ratios

Jevnin

g et al.

(1996)

TM 3

4

Meditators vs. controls,

rest 3 meditation

Rheoen

cephalo

graphy

Increase: frontal, occipital Decrease:

none, low-resolution analysis

Lou et

al.

(1999)

Yoga

nidra

(guide

d)

9 Rest 3 meditation Rest 3

meditati

on

Increase: anterior parietal (postcentral

gyrus), fusiform gyrus, occipital cortex

Decrease: dorsolateral orbital, cingulate,

temporal, caudate, thalamus, pons,

cerebellum

Lazar

et al.

(2000)

Kundal

ini

yoga

mantra

5 Meditation vs. control

periods silently generating

number lists

fMRI Increase: DLPFC, ACC,

parietal,hippocampus, temporal,

striatum,hypothalamus, pre-post central

gyri Decrease: 20% globally

Khush

u et al.

(2000)

Raja

yoga

1

1

Rest 3 meditation fMRI Increase: PFC Decrease: none, low-

resolution analysis

Baere

ntsen

(2001)

Mindfu

lness

5 Rest 3 meditation fMRI Increase: DLPFC, ACC Decrease:

occipital

Newb

erg et

al.

(2001)

Tibeta

n

Buddhi

st

imager

8 Meditators vs. controls,

rest 3 meditation (self-

reported peak)

SPECT Increase: cingulate, inferior-

orbital,DLPFC, bilateral

thalamus,midbrain, sensorimotor

Decrease: PSPL; increases in left DLPFC

correlated with decreases in left PSPL



359

y-

meditat

ion

Azari

et al.

(2001)

Psalm

23

recitati

on

1

2

Religious vs. nonreligious

participants, rest, reading,

and reciting Psalm 23 vs.

versus nursery rhyme vs.

phone book

PET Increase: right and left DLPFC, right

medial parietal dorsomedial prefrontal

(pre-supplemental motor area),

cerebellum Decrease: none reported

Kjaer

et al.

(2002)

Yoga

nidra

(guide

d)

5 Separate days for

meditation and baseline

PET-

11C-

raclopri

de

binding,

EEG

Increase: EEG theta Decrease: raclopride

binding in ventral striatum, indicating

increase dopamine binding

Ritske

s et al.

(2003)

Zen 1

1

Interleaved periods of

meditation and rest

fMRI Increase: DLPFC (R L), basal ganglia

Decrease: right anterior superior occipital

gyrus, ACC

Newb

erg et

al.

(2003)

Christi

an

prayer

3 Franciscan nuns, rest 3

prayer

SPECT Increase: PFC, inferior parietal lobes,

inferior frontal lobes Decrease: PSPL

Lazar

et al.

(2003)

Mindfu

lness

vs.

Kundal

ini

yoga

3

3

Mindfulness vs. Kundalini

yoga; meditators vs.

controls,; meditation vs.

random number generation

fMRI Increase: both showed cingulate

activation, right temporal lobe

(Vipassana only); Decrease: none

reported; different distribution of

activated networks in the two groups

Note. PET _ positron emission tomography; TM _ transcendental meditation; fMRI _ functional magnetic

imaging; DLPFC _ dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; ACC _ anterior cingulate cortex; PFC _ prefrontal

cortex; SPECT _ single photon emission computed tomography; PSPL _ posterior superior parietal lobe;

EEG _ electroencephalographic; R _ right; L _ left.

(Ref: http://cs.oswego.edu/~jferris/psy290/1MeditBrainWaves.PDF / from the research paper: Meditation

States and Traits: EEG, ERP, and Neuroimaging Studies by B. Rael Cahn, University of California, San

Diego, and University of Zurich, Hospital of Psychiatry, John Polich, The Scripps Research Institute)

The study based on this experiment and the data collected in the above table suggests Psychological and

Clinical Effects on the Brain:

A number of studies have been investigating for the psychological concomitants to meditation have

already been conducted and some steadiness of results has been obtained. There were few limitations

which were observed one of the important caveats while using the subjective reporting of psychological

functioning was that the impact of expectancy and the performance motivation which they were looking

within meditator participants was difficult to control (Shapiro & Walsh, 1984; West, 1987). Nevertheless,

number of the reports (both psychological and medical) are suggestive of important effects and, together

with the other psychological studies, provide interesting intriguing correlates of the meditation and brain

activity findings which was summarized previously. The single most psychological domain mediating and

affected by meditative practice is attention (R. J. Davidson & Goleman, 1977), but it has been found

relatively few empirical evaluations of meditation and attention that have been conducted. Studies of

breath-focused meditation in adults & children have been reported an improved performance on -



360

Embedded Figures Test, which have need of the individual to ignore distracting stimuli (Kubose, 1976;

Linden, 1973). A cross-sectional study of children practicing TM and a cohort of age- and sex-match

controls found that meditation practice led to improved measures of attention (Rani & Rao, 1996).

Mindfulness and concentrative practices were compared using an auditory counting task susceptible to

lapses in sustained attention (Valentine & Sweet, 1995; Wilkins, Shallice, & McCarthy, 1987). Superior

attentional performance was obtained for meditators compared with controls as well as long-term

compared with short-term meditator status. Further, mindfulness meditators demonstrated better

performance than concentrative meditators in a second task assessing sustained attention on unexpected

stimuli. In contrast to these trait effects on attentive capacity, short-term meditation effects on a focusing

task suggested that TM produced no improvement in concentrative functioning (Sabel, 1980), a finding

consistent with the explicit lack of emphasis on concentrative effort using the TM technique. The CNV

studies reviewed previously support the view that attentive capacities are increased in long-term TM

meditators relative to controls (Travis et al., 2000, 2002). Given that meditation is a form of attentional

training, the neurophysiological findings imply increased activity in the frontal attentional system;

additional studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis. A related clinical study assessed the impact of a

yogic concentrative meditative practice on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adolescents; findings

indicate a substantial improvement in symptoms al., 2000). The specific effects appear related to the

prevention of depression relapse in patients already experiencing three or more previous depressive

episodes (Teasdale et al., 2000). The psychological variable most associated with the increased resistance

to depression after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is metacognitive awareness, the shift toward

experiencing negative thoughts as observable mental contents rather than the self (Teasdale et al., 2002).

As with stress, depression is linked to increased cortisol and decreased hippocampal neurogenesis (E. S.

Brown, Rush, & McEwen, 1999; Gould, Tanapat, Rydel, & Hastings, 2000; B. L. Jacobs, 2002; Malberg

& Duman, 2003; Thomas & Peterson, 2003; Vollmayr, Simonis, Weber, Gass, & Henn, 2003),

implicating meditative training in eliciting a cascade of neuroprotective events that are possibly related to

the enhancement of the frontal attentional control system or the decreased arousal associated with alpha

increases. The increase in metacognitive awareness that seems associated with the efficacy of

mindfulness-based approaches to therapy is difficult to reconcile with current neuroimaging data but

appears related to the fundamental goals of meditative practice in producing lasting impact on the self–

nonself relationship (Austin, 2000; Levenson, Jennings, Aldwin, & Shiraishi, 2005; Walsh, 1982). The

development of a number of experimental paradigms aiming to assess the subtleties of selfreferential

processing in health and illness provides a means to quantify further psychometrically derived claims for

changes in self-experience with brain-based measures (Kircher & David,2003; Kircher et al., 2000; Lou et

al., 2004; Platek, Keenan,Gallup, & Mohamed, 2004).Understanding the state and trait

neurophysiological and psychological changes induced through meditative practices requires better

psychometric assessment of the elicited states and traits. Several investigators have produced such

measures for both state and trait changes (K. W. Brown & Ryan, 2003; Buchheld, Grossman, & Walach,

2001; Levenson et al., 2005; Ott, 2001; Piron, 2001). Such trait-based research suggests that the

psychological variable mindfulness, which has influenced theories of psychological intervention, is

increased after meditative training and associated with the experience of well-being (K. W. Brown &

Ryan, 2003). A proposal to pare down altered states of consciousness into a four-dimensional state space

consisting of activation, awareness span, self-awareness, and sensory dynamic constructs is an appealing

proposal for meditation research as well (Vaitl et al., 2005). This approach provides encompassing

signatures of experienced state that may map more easily than higher dimensional state spaces onto

neurophysiological differences, although this limited four-dimensional space may not adequately address

the full range of alterations induced by meditation (Travis et al., 2004; Walsh, 1982; Wilber, Engler, &

Brown, 1986). Given the wide range of possible meditation methods and resulting states, it seems likely

that different practices will produce different psychological effects and that different psychological types

will respond with different psychobiological alterations. Indeed, reports have shown that novices in Zen



361

meditation demonstrated low trait anxiety correlated with frontal alpha coherence effects (Murata et al.,

2004), whereas novelty seeking scores correlated with frontal alpha power increases and harm avoidance

scores correlated with frontal theta increases (Takahashi et al., 2005). These findings are preliminary in

nature but serve as a potentially important model for how psychological set may be related to meditation

state neurophysiology. Quantification of the trait changes elicited by given different mental sets may

foster insight into specific avenues of meditation’s psychobiological impact; rigorous comparison of

techniques is needed to identify specific psychological outcomes.

The study concluded with the magnificient use of technology using neuroelectric and other neuroimaging

methods we can explored the meditation states and various traits. The findings are becoming more unified

and directed day by day, even though comprehensive empirical and theoretical foundations are still on the

emerging side. By the above studies we can easily conclude CNS function gets affected by meditation,

but the specific neural changes (may be neural plasticity) and differences among various practices are not

yet clear. The researches have made an attempt to set the stage for this progress by providing an

organized and descriptive state-of-the-art summary explaining how meditation affects the brain.

(Ref: http://anneminard.com/wp/2009/03/09/day-45-this-is-your-brain-on-god/)

In the above image it has been showing the difference of how the brain behaving during meditation.

Compared with: the brain's normal state the left side image, brain scans by Andrew Newberg with the

right side of image of a Buddhist in meditation which clearly shows decreased activity in the parietal

lobes, parietal lobes is involved with our perception of our physical and temporal distinction.



362

(Reference: Day 45: This is your brain on God/ Date posted: March 9, 2009/ written by: Anne Minard /

http://anneminard.com/2009/03/09/day-45-this-is-your-brain-on-god/)

(Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_Shaivism )

All the above research stands for and confirms that If we train our employee’s brain with meditation they

will be more focused, attentive and composed which will give them an edge over any other employee who

have not been trained. He/She is expected to be using more of his/her brain while decision making which



363

may be critical and the decisions would be more rational with activation of the frontal and the left

hemisphere of the brain. (Meditation States and Traits: EEG, ERP, and Neuroimaging Studies/B. Rael

Cahn/University of California, San Diego, and University of Zurich/Hospital of Psychiatry/ Received

August 16, 2004 / Revision received July 15, 2005/Accepted August 2, 2005)

There are several ways by which we can do "mental exercise such as participation in a reading of a book,

article, journal, write, solve a puzzle or listening to music so relaxing and smooth election. But a short-

term meditation may have an edge; also it will improve communication between different parts of the

brain. It has been said that increase participation in such activities, including might prevent or delay

dementia. (By admin http://www.debbielewissings.com/meditation-mri-scan/)

A mind with cheerful attitude can take better decision, hence an employee practicing or is being trained

through meditation is better trained to handle any situation of business then a normal employee.

CONCLUSION

We talked about India’s human resource capabilities comparatively weaker and to contribute a strong

work force I conclude that Meditation not just as a part of T&D but part of employee growth, employee

productivity enhancement and healthy being will take charge. This will help us create a unique standard

in HRM which will play pivotal role in global success and Indian HRM cultural change in the years to

come. The nature of meditation should be part of every organizational training module to serve all

hierarchy, status, authority, responsibility and similar other concepts. Indeed, organizational performance

and personal success are critical in the new competitive era. The above study confirms that If we train our

employee’s brain by practicing meditation they will be more focused, attentive, composed, and focused

which will give them an edge over any other untrained employee. Employees would be using more of

their brain while decision making which may be critical and the decisions would be more rational with

activation of the frontal and the left hemisphere of the brain. In context to training and development,

Meditation as an innovation of HRM practices (role of HRM, Increase Productivity, Reduced employee

turnover, Enhanced company image, Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity

training etc.) will be positively related to organizational performance and decision making and will be

adopted in the recent global management system and would be significantly more innovative than those

followed in the preliberalization era or in the recent times. This will come positively and would be related

to organizational performance with more advance studies.

LIMITATION

There are some limitations in this research study. This study is based on secondary data which have been

collected over considerable period of time, but are still perceptive and can thrive on the result that are

interpreted. We can derive significant relationships between innovative HRM practices and meditation

which is a very new concept and not much of research has been done. Even not many organizations are



364

presumably willing to invest in training their employee in improving their brain strength through

meditation as they feel it’s a share waste of time. Second, the study is not in context with the business

decision making, as many of the western studies have used multiple criteria for performance. But they are

ignoring their own genesis to improve employee over their multiple performance creating further

limitation in the study. Third, the result interpreted is based on secondary research, the conclusion is

based on assumption and is not implemented in current / live scenario and hence is not conclusive.

However, the study presents significant data as to the overall affiliation between key factor of improving

performance with the help of meditation and also corroborates it with all round productivity. Fourth, the

results were not tested for support of the contingency perspective. Although we cannot fully rule out

contingency processes, as there was no evidence to support them.

I hope with the current research and advancement organizations will definitely look upon such

magnificent practice to build their work force. Human Resource Management will explore more on this

innovative concept to enrich the growth of the organization.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

More studies which can be referred which helped me to conclude that meditation as a training and

development is an integral part of today’s business world for better growth and excel in competition

Transcendental Meditation and Business

http://www.tmscotland.org/business.html

How to succeed in business: Meditate

With hellish hours and info overload now the norm, the C-Suite set is turning to extreme meditation to

cope, says Fortune's Oliver Ryan.

By Oliver Ryan, Fortune writer-reporter

July 20 2007: 9:05 AM EDT

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/07/23/100135590/index.htm

Employee welfare strategies employee healthcare benefit strategies

The Economic Times:

Yoga, meditation yet to catch up with India Inc, says survey

PTI Feb 13, 2011, 12.02pm IST

Meditation that works in real life

February 18, 2008 | K VIJAYARAGHAVAN , TNN

Meditation: Breathe it easy & balance out life

February 28, 2010 | Neha Dewan , ET Bureau

If you don’t mind, mind your mind

October 19, 2006 | Nithyananda Sri Paramahamsa , TNN

Software of our mind

December 28, 2006 | PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA , TNN

The New York Times

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had

measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self,

empathy and stress. The findings will appear in the Jan. 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.

Volume 191, Issue 1, Pages 36-43 (30 January 2011)

http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/S0925-4927%2810%2900288-X/abstract



365

Reference: Is Buddhism Good For Your Health?/ By Stephen S. Hall/ The New York Times/ September

14, 2003// http://www.anxietyandstress.com/meditationandmindfulness.html

http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/a-meditation-for-decisionmaking-

1957335.html#ixzz1X25E93iC

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives

REFERENCE

Keywords: decision-making, fMRI, mindfulness, posterior insula, anterior insula, social fairness, DLPFC,

striatum

Citation: Kirk U, Downar J, and Montague PR (2011) Interoception drives increased rational decision-

making in meditators playing the ultimatum game. Front. Neurosci. 5:49. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2011.00049

Received: 07 December 2010; Accepted: 24 March 2011;

Published online: 18 April 2011.

Edited by: Julia Trommershaeuser, New York University, USA

Reviewed by: Kerstin Preuschoff, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Jill X. O’Reilly, University of Oxford, UK

Daniel Campbell-Meiklejohn, Aarhus University, Denmark

Copyright: © 2011 Kirk, Downar and Montague. This is an open-access article subject to a non-exclusive

license between the authors and Frontiers Media SA, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in

other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and other Frontiers conditions are

complied with.

*Correspondence: P. Read Montague, Human Neuroimaging Laboratory, Virginia Tech Carilion

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