ध्यान योग The Yoga of Meditation, Now in Harvard Business Review

October 14, 2012

I can't recall the number of times when people have looked at me oddly when I say that I study the Geeta. I simply point out that if Arjuna needed Śrī Kṛṣṇa's teaching at the beginning of the Kurukshetra war, there isn't much doubt that I need it. My life is certainly much less stressed than the indications given by Arjuna in Chapter 1. Besides this, there are numerous ways of addressing this and today I have one more answer. The authority of a Harvard Business Review (HBR) blogger! I first saw the reference to this post in this Hindu Press International post. According to Bregman:
Peter Bregman in a post titled, "If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This", holds forth on the benefits of meditation.

Meditation brings many benefits: It refreshes us, helps us settle into what's happening now, makes us wiser and gentler, helps us cope in a world that overloads us with information and communication, and more. But if you're still looking for a business case to justify spending time meditating, try this one: Meditation makes you more productive.

How? By increasing your capacity to resist distracting urges.

The technique that Bregman discusses is addressed in Geeta 6-25:
शनैः शनैरुपरमेद् बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया |
आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ||६-२५||
shanaiH shanairuparamed.h bud.hdhyaa dhR^itigR^ihiitayaa .
aatmasa.nsthaM manaH kR^itvaa na ki~nchidapi chintayet.h .. 6\-25..
Little by little, let him attain quietude with his intellect, held firm; having established the mind in the Self, let him not think of anything.

Previously, I have discussed this verse in a somewhat different context.

PS: I find it ironic that I feel the need to quote Bregman in the HBR whereas he feels no need to relate meditation to ancient practices in Hinduism or Buddhism. In any case, hope you don't wait too long to open the Bhagavad Geeta. For more info, click here.

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

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