“Contentment, and not just happiness, is the key”: Prof. B Mahadevan
Prof. Mahadevan speaks on ‘In pursuit of happiness: Professional and personal dimensions’ during a special lecture at his farewell after 31 years of service at IIMB
4 September, 2024, Bengaluru: Prof. B Mahadevan of the Production & Operations Management area of IIM Bangalore, who has taken voluntary retirement after a service of over 31 years at IIMB, delivered a special lecture on, ‘In pursuit of happiness: Professional and personal dimensions’, on 3 September 2024.
Reflecting on his professional and personal journey, Prof. Mahadevan shared that the basis of his talk was his decision to take voluntary retirement and the diverse reactions associated with the same.
Pointing out that the only goal for all living beings was to be happy, he added that, “The most important thing is understanding the context of happiness, which keeps changing from time to time, while the goal remains the same.”
He touched upon the happiness trails of people in different stages of their lives and added that as students and budding or mid-career professionals, what mattered most were success, asset accumulation, material things, and the like. “It is the late career stage which shows deep realities and facilitates a renewed understanding of the notion of happiness. If a person goes through this, then it is the right direction.”
“One has to realize that happiness is fleeting, it cannot be equivalent to contentment. Such a journey (focusing on happiness only) is self-defeating. The ultimate goal should be contentment. And therein lies the need for reflection. We can ignore the warning lights and live in the familiar world without worrying about the future, while the other way is to pause and reflect, contemplate and reinvent oneself.”
He went on to discuss the basic premises of happiness and different schools of thought surrounding the same. “The important thing is to know how to handle suffering. Harmony, and not mastery, is essential.” He explained that the source of happiness lies beyond objects, economic status or the world of dualities. “It comprises inner peace, staying healthy and developing a deep sense of contentment. Understand the key connection between the professional and personal dimensions since focusing on just one is not the right way. Try to wake up the spirit of spirituality early in life. We need to develop a larger picture of happiness.”
Prof. B Mahadevan has years of wide-ranging experience in teaching, research, consulting and academic administration at IIM Bangalore and other reputed institutions. He was earlier Chief Editor of the IIMB Management Review and Dean (Administration) at IIM Bangalore. His research interests include the possibility of using ancient Indian wisdom to address contemporary concerns, spirituality at workplace, and management paradigms from Bhagavad Gita. In the traditional areas of management, the research interests include design of service systems in customer co-creation of value and order allocation issues in electronic markets. He was the Founder Vice-chancellor of Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, a university for applied Sanskrit and Indian Wisdom. His accomplishments include being conferred with the Vishista Samskrita Sevavrati Samman 2016, a national award given by the Rashtriya Samskrit Samsthan, the apex body for Sanskrit Matters in India under MHRD, in August 2016.
At the end of the Special Lecture, Prof. Mahadevan was given a warm farewell by the IIMB community with several faculty/staff members joining by recalling his many contributions and sharing their memories about him.
“Contentment, and not just happiness, is the key”: Prof. B Mahadevan
Prof. Mahadevan speaks on ‘In pursuit of happiness: Professional and personal dimensions’ during a special lecture at his farewell after 31 years of service at IIMB
4 September, 2024, Bengaluru: Prof. B Mahadevan of the Production & Operations Management area of IIM Bangalore, who has taken voluntary retirement after a service of over 31 years at IIMB, delivered a special lecture on, ‘In pursuit of happiness: Professional and personal dimensions’, on 3 September 2024.
Reflecting on his professional and personal journey, Prof. Mahadevan shared that the basis of his talk was his decision to take voluntary retirement and the diverse reactions associated with the same.
Pointing out that the only goal for all living beings was to be happy, he added that, “The most important thing is understanding the context of happiness, which keeps changing from time to time, while the goal remains the same.”
He touched upon the happiness trails of people in different stages of their lives and added that as students and budding or mid-career professionals, what mattered most were success, asset accumulation, material things, and the like. “It is the late career stage which shows deep realities and facilitates a renewed understanding of the notion of happiness. If a person goes through this, then it is the right direction.”
“One has to realize that happiness is fleeting, it cannot be equivalent to contentment. Such a journey (focusing on happiness only) is self-defeating. The ultimate goal should be contentment. And therein lies the need for reflection. We can ignore the warning lights and live in the familiar world without worrying about the future, while the other way is to pause and reflect, contemplate and reinvent oneself.”
He went on to discuss the basic premises of happiness and different schools of thought surrounding the same. “The important thing is to know how to handle suffering. Harmony, and not mastery, is essential.” He explained that the source of happiness lies beyond objects, economic status or the world of dualities. “It comprises inner peace, staying healthy and developing a deep sense of contentment. Understand the key connection between the professional and personal dimensions since focusing on just one is not the right way. Try to wake up the spirit of spirituality early in life. We need to develop a larger picture of happiness.”
Prof. B Mahadevan has years of wide-ranging experience in teaching, research, consulting and academic administration at IIM Bangalore and other reputed institutions. He was earlier Chief Editor of the IIMB Management Review and Dean (Administration) at IIM Bangalore. His research interests include the possibility of using ancient Indian wisdom to address contemporary concerns, spirituality at workplace, and management paradigms from Bhagavad Gita. In the traditional areas of management, the research interests include design of service systems in customer co-creation of value and order allocation issues in electronic markets. He was the Founder Vice-chancellor of Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, a university for applied Sanskrit and Indian Wisdom. His accomplishments include being conferred with the Vishista Samskrita Sevavrati Samman 2016, a national award given by the Rashtriya Samskrit Samsthan, the apex body for Sanskrit Matters in India under MHRD, in August 2016.
At the end of the Special Lecture, Prof. Mahadevan was given a warm farewell by the IIMB community with several faculty/staff members joining by recalling his many contributions and sharing their memories about him.