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Karma Yog - Essay - Indian Philosophy - Zubin R. Mulla and Venkat R. Krishnan, Essays (high school) of Indian Philosophy

The doctrineo f KarmaY oga forms the core of the Indianp hilosophyo f work. By doing a contenta nalysiso f the Bhagavad-Gitaa nd studying commentarieos n the Gita,w e identifiedtw o dimensionso f KarmaV ogaduty orientation and absence of desire for rewards, and we prepireo scales for the measurement of core beliefs in lndian philosophy and Karma Yoga.

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Journal
of
lndian
Psychology
2006,
Vol.24,
Nos.
1
& 2
KARMA
YOGA:
A
CONCEPTUALIZATION
AND
VALIDATION
OF THE
INDIAN
PHILOSOPHY
OF
WORK
Zubin
R.
Mulla
and
Venkat
R.
Krishnan
Xavier
Labour
Relations
Institute
The
doctrine
of Karma
Yoga
forms
the
core
of the Indian philosophy
of
work.
By doing
a content
analysis
of the Bhagavad-Gita
and studying
commentaries
on the
Gita,
we
identified
two
dimensions
of Karma
Voga-
duty orientation
and absence
of desire
for rewards,
and we prepireo
scales
for the measurement
of core beliefs
in lndian philosophy
and
Karma Yoga.
These scales
were tested
on a set of 75 executives
anO
results
compared
with two facets
of the personality
trait
of conscien-
tiousness,
viz.
dutifulness
and achievement
striving,
using
hierarchical
regression
and a test for moderation.
We found
thlt a Oetiet
in Indian
philosophy
enhanced
duty orientation,
and absence
of desire
for re-
wards enhanced
life satisfaction.
There was moderate
support
for our
hypothesis
that dutifulness
was more
strongly
related
to karma yoga
when
achievement
striving
was
row
than
when
it
was
high.
For
enduring
and
sustainable progress
of
societies,
it
is
important
that
leaders
identify
and
build
on the
core
components
of the
cuttural
ethos
and
customize
some
of
the
cultural
artifacts
to suit
modern
times
(Krishnan,
2003).
The
relationship
between
humankind
and
work
has
been
elaborated
in India
through
the
Bhagavad-Gita.
The
Gita,
which
is
part
of
the
epic
Mahabharata,
explains
the
philosophy
of right
action
or
karma
yoga
using
the
situation
of
Arjuna,
a warrior
on
the
batilefield
who
finds
himself
helpless
when
he is
called
to action.
The
text
of the
Gita
is a
dialogue
between
Krishna
and
Arjuna
where
Krishna
explains
the
meaning
of life,
the
place
of work
within
iife,
and
the
right
way
in
which
to
work.
This paper
attempts
to develop
the karma yoga
construct
and then
empirically
validate
it by analyzing
its relationships
with
some
relevant
variables.
Before
we explore
the
concept
of karma yoga,
it is important
for
us
to
understand
some
of the
fundamentalbeliefs
of f
nOian
philosophy,
which
form
the
foundation
of karma
yoga.
Fundamental
Beliefs
of Indian
philosophy
Despite
the numerous
schools
of thought,
three
beliefs
are
fundamental
to Indian
philosophy
(Dasgupta,
1991
,
p.71).
First,
the
belief
in
the
karma
theory
i.e'
all
actions
that
are
done
have
the
power
to
ordain
for
the_ir
doers
joy
or sorrow
in
the
future
depending
if
the
action
is
good
or
bad.
Often,
individuals
may
be required
to
tate nirtn
in
another
Sody
to
experience
fully
the
joy or suffering
that
is
due
to them
because
of
their
past
actions.
The
second
belief
is
in
the
existence
of
a permanent
entity,
cafled
atmaorsoul,
which
is
ourtrue
unknown
nature, pure
and
untouched
by the
impurities
of
our
ordinary
life.
The
third
belief
is
about
the
doctrine
pf3
pf4
pf5
pf8
pf9
pfa
pfd
pfe
pff
pf12

Partial preview of the text

Download Karma Yog - Essay - Indian Philosophy - Zubin R. Mulla and Venkat R. Krishnan and more Essays (high school) Indian Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity!

Journalof

lndian Psychology

2006,Vol.24, Nos. 1 & 2

KARMAYOGA:

A CONCEPTUALIZATION

AND

VALIDATION

OFTHEINDIAN

PHILOSOPHY

OFWORK

ZubinR. Mullaand VenkatR. Krishnan

XavierLabour RelationsInstitute

The doctrineof Karma Yoga forms the core of the Indianphilosophy

of

work. By doing a contentanalysisof the Bhagavad-Gita

and studying

commentarieson the Gita,we identified two dimensions of KarmaVoga-

duty orientationand absenceof desire

for rewards,and we prepireo

scales for the measurementof core beliefs in lndian philosophyand

Karma Yoga. These scales were tested on a set of 75 executivesanO

results comparedwith two facets of the personalitytrait of conscien-

tiousness,viz. dutifulness

and achievement striving,using hierarchical

regression and a test for moderation. We found thlt a Oetietin Indian

philosophyenhanced

duty orientation,and absence of desire for re-

wards enhanced life satisfaction.There was moderate

support for our

hypothesisthat dutifulness was more stronglyrelatedto karma yoga

when achievement strivingwas row than when it was high.

For enduringand sustainable progress of societies, it is important

that leadersidentifyand build

on the core components

of the cuttural

ethos and customizesome of the culturalartifactsto suit moderntimes

(Krishnan, 2003).The relationshipbetween humankind andworkhas been

elaborated in Indiathroughthe Bhagavad-Gita.

The Gita,whichis partof

the epic Mahabharata,

explainsthe philosophy

of rightactionor karma

yoga usingthe situationof Arjuna,a warrioron the batilefield

who finds

himselfhelplesswhen he is calledto action.The text of the Gita is a

dialogue betweenKrishna andArjunawhereKrishna

explainsthe meaning

of life,the placeof work withiniife,and the rightway in which

to work.

This paper attemptsto developthe karma yoga constructand then

empirically validateit by analyzingits relationships

with some relevant

variables.Beforewe explorethe conceptof karma

yoga, it is important

for us to understandsomeof the fundamentalbeliefs

of fnOianphilosophy,

whichform the foundation of karmayoga.

FundamentalBeliefsof Indian philosophy

D e s p i t e t h e n u m e r o u ss c h o o l s

o f t h o u g h t ,t h r e e b e l i e f s

a r e

fundamental to Indian

philosophy (Dasgupta,

1991 , p.71).First,the belief

in the karmatheoryi.e' all

actionsthat are done havethe powerto ordain

for the_irdoersjoy or sorrowin the futuredepending if the actionis goodor

bad. Often, individuals may be requiredto tate nirtn

in anotherSodyto

experience fully the joy or sufferingthat is due to them becauseof their

past actions.The secondbeliefis in the existence

of a permanent entity,

cafledatmaorsoul, whichis ourtrueunknown nature,pureand

untouched

by the impurities of our ordinarylife.The third beliefis aboutthe doctrine

KARMAYOGA:CONCEPTUALIZATIONANDVALIDATION

27

of muktiorsalvation.

Sinceactionslead

us throughthis

endlesscycleof

birth and death,

if we could be free of all such emotionsor desiresthat

lead us to action,therewould

be no fuel

(in the form of

joys or sorrowsto

be experienced)

to propelus in.- *,rothelbirthand

we wouldbe free

of

this eternalcycle.The Gita

buildson thesethreebeliefs

and suggests

a

way out of the cycle of birth and death by selflesslyperformingone's

dut'ies

dependingon one'sposition

in society.

Anotheruniquefeatureof

Indianpfrilosophy

is that multiple

pathsare acceptedas leadingto the

same ultimatedestination,

and each individual

is giventhe freedomto

selectthe path most suitedto his or her temperament

(Vivekananda,

190711e99).

What is Karma Yoga?

The word karmacomes

fromthe Sanskritroolkri,whichmeansdoing,

affairs,or activityand

includes

all actionsthat a personperforms

whether

theyare

of body,speech,or mind.The

word yogacomesfrom

the Sanskrit

rootyuj,which me

ans,toiotn.

However,in the Mahabharata

it is used in

threeways:as a Special

skill,device,intelligent

method,or gracefulway

of performing

actions(Gitachapter2, verse

50); as equability

of mind

towardssuccessor failure(Gitachapter2, verse48);and

as the device

for eliminating

the naturaltendencyof karmato createbondage(Gita

chapter2, verse50).

Sincethe latertwo definitions

of yogaspeakof the

relaiionshipof yoga with action,the terms

"yoga"

and

"karma

yoga" are

usedinterchangeiOty

at

variousinstancesin

the Gita(Tilak,1915/2000).

Forthe purpose

of our

paper,we will usethe word

'Voga"

to mean

"device"

Or

"inteiligent

method"and henCe

the term

"karma

yoga" would be

"a

technique

for intelligently

performingactions."

Sincethe ultimate

goalof all beingsis

to freethe soulfromthe cycle

of birthand death,any methodthat

enablesrelease

from this

perpetual

cycle is preferableto any othermethodthat is likelyto bind

the human

soulto the cycle.Hence,whether

we definekarmayogaas

"a

technique

for intelligenlty

performing actions"

or"atechnique

for

performingactions

in a mannerthat the soul is not boundby the effectsof the action"we

meanthe samething(Tilak,

What Causes Bondage

of Actions?

Accordingto the Gita chapler2, verse

the sensesinteract

with

the materialobjectsof the wortdand

becauseof theseinteractions;

there

is perception

of happinessor painin

the mindof

the personexperiencing

the senseobjects.

The perception

of happiness

or pain leadsto desire,

whichis nothingbut

a wish

to experienceagainor avoidsomething

that

hasoncebeenexperienced

by the senses.Thisleadsto

further

interactions

of the senseswithmaterial

objects.

Thus,evenwhenthe objectof desire

is enjoyed,our desiresare not extinguished;

instead,the desiresgrow

likea fire

on whichoil has

beenpoured(Tilak,

KARMAYOGA:CONCEPTUALIZATIONANDVALIDATION

29

The essence

of karmayogais givenin the Gita

(Radhakrishnan,

1948 / 1993)chapter

2, verse47,whichsays,

'To

actionalonehastthou

a rightand neverat all to its fruits;let not

the fruitsof actionbe thy

motive:neitherletthere

be intheeanyattachmentto

inaction."Thisverse

of the Gitais alsomentioned

by Tilak(1915/

p 895)as givingthe

entireimportof karma

yogain a shortandbeautifulform.

LaterintheGita

(Radhakrishnan, 1948 / 1993,chapter3,verses

12,13,and16),Arjuna

is

toldthatpersons

whosurviveonthisearth

anduseitsresourceswithout

workingare

livingin sin,andhencemanis

obliged

to workselflessly

in

orderto fulfitl

hisdutytowardstheworld.Hence,

basedonthe resultsof

our contentanalysis

and the interpretationof the

Gitaverses,we take

karma

yogaas

madeupof twodimensions:a sense

of obligationor duty

towardsothers

andan absenceof desireforrewards.

Thethirdelementfoundin ourcontent

analysisaboutbeing

neutral

to opposites

wasnottakenupaSanessential

partof

karma

yogabecause

we werenotcertain

whetherthlswasa prerequisite

to anyspiritual

lifeon

anyof

the fourpathsor it wasa partof oneof

thefourpaths.

Senseof Obligation

or Duty towards Others

Thebodyhasa naturaltendency

to act;the Gitastates

thatactions

motivated

by a desirebindthe soul

intothe cycleof birthand

death.

Hence,

theonlywayonecaneffectively

functioninsociety

is bydeveloping

a senseof obligation

or dutytowards

others.In thismanner,

all actions

become

a repaymentof a debtandtheactoris

freeof anymotive

forthe

actions.

Thebelief

inthelawof causeandeffect

makesus realizethatweare

placed

in a particular

situationbecauseof unfulfilled

pastobligationson

ourpartandwe

developa senseof connectedness

withallbeings.

When

our beliefin

the lawof causeandeffect

is coupledwiththe beliefin the

doctrineof salvation,

it makesus striveto livea morallifeforthe

benefit

of society.Thesense

of connectednesscoupled

withourstrivingto

livea

morallife for the benefitof society,

createsin us a senseof duty

or

obligationtowards

others.

Absenceof a Desirefor Rewards

Whenan individualis ableto discriminate

between

whatis eternal

(soul)

andwhatis

transient

(thebody)andis ableto increasingly

identify

withthesoul,one'sactions

aremorespontaneous

andnotmotivated

by

any

material

gratification.Besides,reducedidentification

withthe body

createsresiliencetowards

physicalpleasures

and

pain.As a resultof

this,therearises

in theindividual,an absence

of desirefor rewards.

Inaddition,

sincetheoutcomes

of one'sactionsaredependant

onan

elaborate

chainof causeandeffect,allthatis

intheindividual's

controlis

performance

of that action.Hence,one ceasesto havea feelingOf

ownershiptowards

one'sactionsand believes

thatthe actionshappen

30 JOURNALOFINDIANPSYCHOLOGY

naturallyand the bodilyorgansare

just

an instrumentfor theirexecution.

This lackof ownershipfor actionscoupledwith the senseof obligationto

otherscreatesa completedisinterestin the mind of the seekerfor any

form of materialor socialrewards.

The Gita (chapter 3, verse3) explainsthatthereare two paths,which

leadto the goal of liberationand each is suitedfor a personof a particular

temperament(Radhakrishnan, 1993,p. 132).The pathof renunciation,

meditation,and intellectualinquiry is prescribedfor

persons whosenatural

tendencyis to explorethe innerlifeof the spiritwhilethe path of actionis

for personswho are involvedin the affairsof the world.For a personwho

does not renouncethe world and is a part of the society,karma yoga

naturallyevolvesfrom the fundamentalbeliefsof the Indianworldview

(referFigure1).

Figure 1

Beliefin IndianPhilosophy

leadsto KarmaYoga

Hence,we hypothesized

thatforindividualswhoarepartof society,

theextentof theirbeliefinthefundamental

tenetsof theIndianworldview

willbe

positively

relatedto theirkarmayogaorientation(Hypothesis

Sincethe practiceof karmayoga is definedas a lifestyle

or a

disposition,theclosestcorrelateto

an existingconstructin organizational

behavioris thataspectof personality

thatrelatesto the dispositionof a

person

towardswork.

Personality

The Big-Fivemodelof personality,a modelbasedon analyses

of

adjectivesand factoranalysesof variouspersonalitytestsis one of the

dominantmodelsof

personality

today(McCrae

& Costa,

McCrae&

Costa,1987).lt describesextroversion,

agreeableness,@nscientiousness,

Strivingto live a morallive

for the benefit to society

Senseof connectedners

with all beings

No hankering after

transient

jo)6 & material

Existence of a

perrnanent entity

atnE

32 JOURNALOFINDIANPSYCHOLOGY

at moreclosely.Achievementstrivingis descrlbedas havinghighaspiration

levels,and as suchthisseemsto be in conflictwithone of the

dimension

of karmayoga,whichtalksof an absenceof desirefor rewards.lt is likely

that our descriptionof karma yoga as high dutifulnessmay hold only

whenachievementstrivingis low.

Hence,we hypothesizedthat,individualshighon dutifulnesswill be

highon karmayoga,andthis relationshipwillbe moderatedby achievement

strivingin sucha way thatthe relationshipbetweendutifulnessand karma

yoga will be strongerin the presenceof low achievementstriving

(Hypothesis2).

Karma Yoga, Personality Disposition and Life Satisfaction

For a personwho is highon karmayoga,the Gita

(Radhakrishnan,

194811993)predictsa numberof positiveoutcomeslikethe end of sorrow

(chapter2, verse65);

peace(chapter 2, verses66, 70, & 71); happiness

(chapter2,verse66);bliss(chapter2,verse72);andsatisfaction

(chapter

3, verse 17). The state of a karma yogi is describedas one who is

completelysatisfiedwith his or her current state and is not hankering

afterany otherstateof existence.Sucha statecan be reachedonlywhen

one is completelysatisfiedwith ones life.

Our contentanalysisof MahatmaGandhi's

commentaryon the Gita

(Gandhi,194612001) showedthatthe

effectsof karmayogaweredescribed

as four outcomesviz. freedomfrom the karmic law of birth and death;

attainmentof onenesswith god; happiness;

and peace.Of these four

outcomes,the firsttwo describespiritualstates

whilehappinessand

peace

are psychologicalstates,which can be tested

empirically.The closest

variableto the states of happinessand peace

describedin the existing

literatureis life satisfactionor subjective

well being.

Life satisfaction

is definedas an evaluativesummaryof one's liking

or dislikingone's life (Heller,Watson,

& llies, 2OO4).Authors have

distinguishedbetweentwo perspectivesdetermining

lifesatisfaction.The

top-downor the dispositional

perspectlve emphasizesthe role of broad

individualdifferencesin personalityin satisfaction,whereasthe bottom-

up approachfocuses on the role of situations,events,and contextsin

overaflsatisfaction

(Heller,Watson,& llies, 2OO4). Significant

evidence

has been found tc supportthe claim that life-satisfaction

is significantly

caused by top-downfactors like genetics(Arvey,

Bouchard,Segal, &

Abraham,1989)or personalitydispositions

(McCrae & Costa, ; Heller,

Watson,& llies, 2OO4;Schimmack,Radhakrishnan,

Oishi, Dzokoto,&

Ahadi, 2OO2).

Dispositionalmeasuresaccountedfor the stabilityin job

attitudes(Staw, Bell, & Clausen,1986; Staw & Ross, 1985) and life-

attitudes(Costa,McCrae,& Zonderman,1987)over periodsof five and

ten years respectively.

An explanationfor the relativestabilityof life-satisfaction

has been

that individualsadaptto significantlifecircumstances

like health,wealth,

KARMAYOGA:CONCEPTUALIZATIONANDVALIDATION

33

marriage,residence,and privilege

therebymaintaininga relatively

stable

levelof life satisfaction

(Costa,McCrae,& Zonderman,1987).

Studiesby Costa,McCrae,

and Zonderman

(1987),and McCraeand

Costa(1991)havealready

show,,.,,atthe traitof conscientiousness

can

affectlifesatisfaction.

The facetof achievement

strivingis characterized

by ambition

and goalseekingbehavior.As predicted

by Brickman,Coates,

and Janoff-Bulman,

(1978),extrinsic rewards

triggera cycleof contrast

and habituation,whichhas a dualeffect.Firstly,

they do not significantly

increaselife satisfaction

over a periodand secondlythey reducethe

individual'sability

to derivesatisfactionfromcomparatively

lessermundane

joys. lndividuals

who are high on karmayogawill be low

in achievement

striving;hencethey are peoplewho are not likelyto be hankering

after

rewards.Evenif theseindividuals

receiverewards,

they are not likelyto

give them much significanceand henceare not likelyto fall victimsto

this cycle.

Hence,rivehypothesizedthat karmayogawill

be positively

relatedto

lifesatisfaction(Hypothesis3).

METHOD

Participants

Seventy-five

executivesfrom ages2l yearsto55 years(Median=

years), acrossmorethan

10 companiesin India

werestudied.The sample

included63 maleand 12femalerespondents,

55 of

the respondents

were

married,and 20 were single.The work experience

of the respondents

rangedfrom lessthan

a yearto 30 yearswitha medianof 10

years,and

28 weregraduates,

45 werepostgraduates,andtwo

werePh.D.s.

Measures

A scaleto measure

the beliefin Indian

philosophywas builtbasedon

the fundamentalbeliefsin Indianphilosophy.

The scalecontained

five

itemsof whichtwo itemschecked

the beliefin the lawof karma,one

item

checkedthe beliefin the presence

of a soul,one itemchecked

the belief

in liberation,and one itemcheckedthe beliefin spiritual

growththrough

work.

For conceptualizationof karmayoga,we usedthe contentanalysis

of Gandhi's

commentary

on the Gita.Fordevelopment

of the

karmayogascale,we drewfromthe

versesof the Gita,whichdescribed

the two element:,of duty orientation

and absenceof desirefrom

rewards.

We createda five-itemscale

describingduty orientation

and a seven-

itemscaledescribingabsenceof desirefrom

rewards.

The facets of the trait of conscientiousness,

viz. dutifulness

and

achievementstrivingwere measured

usinga 10 itemscalefor

eachfacet

basedon the RevisedNEO Personality

Inventory

(NEO-Pl-R)

prepared

by P.T. Costa,

Jr. and R. R. McCrae

(1992)and itemsforthescalewere

takenfroman internetwebsite,

InternationalPersonality

ltemPool(2001).

KARMAYOGA: CONCEPTUALIZATION

ANDVALIDATION 3s

we performed

the regressionfor eachdimension

separately.The

facetsof

conscientiousness

viz.dutifulnessandachievement

strivingwerecentered

(i.e.by subtractingthe meanfromeachscore),

and

the interactionterms

as well as the maineffectswere

haegslon

thesecentered

scores.Table

and Table 3 showthe resultsof regression

on karmayoga-sense

of duty

and karmayoga-absence

of desirefor rewardsrespectively.

The interaction

termwas moderatety

significant

(p<.1) for

karmayoga-sense

of dutyand

not significant

for karmayoga-absenceof desirefor rewards.

Table

Means, Standard Deviations,and Zero-OrderIntercorrelations

Variable

M SD 1

  1. Beliefin IndianPhilosophy
  2. Karma

Yoga-Senseof Obliga-

tion or duty towardsothers

  1. KarmaYoga-Absenceof a

desire for rewards

  1. Conscientiousness-Dutifulness
  2. Conscientiousness-Achieve-

ment Striving

  1. Life Satisfaction

3.7e .66 (.70)

.

"

.54 .24*

4.23 .41 .23'

  1. O 51. 7 7

. O 7 . 1 4 (. 6 4 )

.24* .45*. (.

. 3 1 * *. 2 8 *. 4 5 ". (. 7 6 )

.00 .43** .27" .39**

  1. 7 1

Note:Coefficients

alphasare in parenthesis

alongthe diagonalN varies

from

68 to 74.

" P

" * P

T a b r e 2

Resultsof Hegression Analysisto check the interactioneffect of facets

of conscientiousness

on Karma Yoga-sense

of obligationor duty

towardsothers

95%cl

Predictor

SE b LowerUPPer B

Constant

Dutifulnessx Achievement

Striving

Dutifulness

AchievementStriving

Note:

N varies from 68 to 74.

To investigatethe interactionfurther,we did a mediansplit

of the

sampleon achievement

striving.Dutifulness

was not relatedto karma

yoga-Senseof duty when achievementstrivin" was low and was

significantly

relatedto karmayoga-sense

of duty (F =.32,p<.05)when

achievement

strivingwas high (greaterthan the median).Although

dutifulness

was relatedto karmayoga-absence

of desirefor rewardsboth

36 JOURNALOFINDIANPSYCHOLOGY

whenachievementstrivingwas low (p

p<.05)andwhenachievement

strivingwas high1p

=.41,p<.01), the relationship becamemorepronounced

whenthe achievement strivingwas high.Theseresultsare exactlyopposite

to our hypothesizedrelationship betweenthe facetsof conscientiousness

and the dimensionsof karma yoga; thereforeHypothesis 2 was not

supported.

Table

Results of Regression Analysis to check the interaction effect of facets

of conscientiousnesson Karma Yoga-absence of desire for rewards

Predictor

95% Cl

b SE b Lower Upper p

t p

Constant

Dutifulnessx Achievement

Striving

Dutifulness

AchievementStriving

2.54 2.U

Note. N varies from 68 to 74.

Resultsof regressionanalysesto checkthe impactof beliefin Indian

philosophy, dutifulness,and achievementstrivingon karmayoga-sense

of dutyand karmayoga-absenceof desirefor rewardsare shownin Table

4 and Table5 respectively.Beliefin Indianphilosophywas significantly

relatedto karma

yoga-senseof duty but not to karmayoga-absence

of

desirefor rewardsand henceHypothesis1 was only partlysupported.

Table

Results of Regression Analysis to check the effect of facets of

conscientiousnesson Karma Yoga-sense of obligation

or duty towards others

95% Ct

Predictor

b SE b LowerUpper p

Constant

Beliefin Indian

Philosophy

Dutifulness

AchievementStriving

.08 .U

.o

Note. N varies from 68 to 74.

Iesfs of Hypothesis -Karma Yoga and Life Satisfaction

We performeda forwardregression to check the effectsof beliefin

Indianphilosophy,karmayoga-sense of duty,and karmayoga-absence

of desirefor rewardson life satisfactionand foundthat only karmayoga-

38 JOURNALOFINDIAN PSYCHOLOGY

positivecorrelation

with lifesatisfaction; thereforeHypothesis 3 was parly

suppofted.

Discussion

All our hypotheseswere partlysupported.

We found a relationship

between beliefs in Indian philosophyand karma yoga-senseof duty;

however,we did not see any relationship

between beliefs in Indian

philosophy

and karmayoga-absence of desirefor rewards.There

could

be two reasons for this.

Firstly, our conceptualization of karmayogaas two factorsmay need

some refinement. One of the dimensionsrevealed in the contentanalysis

was being neutralto oppositesor keepingsenses

under control.lt is

likelythatbeliefin Indian philosophy mayhavean impact on the dimensions

of karma yoga only in the presenceof this factor

i.e. being neutralto

opposites.Furtherstudiesmust includethis as one of the variables

in

orderto understand its rolefully.

Secondly,sincekarmayoga-absence

of desirefor rewardsdepends

on the extentto which

a personidentifies with the soul and not with the

body, it is not sufficientfor us to measurethe belief

in the existenceof

the soul. Perhapswe must introduceanothervariableto measurethe

extentto which the individual identifieshimselfor herselfwith beingthe

souland not the body.Thus havingbelieved in the existence of the ioul,

only to the extentthat a personidentifies

with the soul and not the body,

willthepersonbe highon karmayoga.

Our conceptualization

of karmayoga beingdescribed as the facetof

dutifulnesswas parily supportedsince dutifulness

showed a high

correlationwith at leastone of the factorsof karmayoga

i.e. an absence

of a desirefor rewards.Howeverour hypothesis

that high achievement

strivingwould weaken the relationship betweendutifulness and karma

yoga was not supported.Therecouldbe two reasonsfor this.

Firstly, the

facetof achievement

strivingdescribedin the RevisedNEO personality

Inventory(NEo-Pl-R)prepared

by

p.

T. costa,Jr. and R. R. Mccrae (1992j

includesan elementof hardwork

and an elementof pure achievement.

while these terms may be viewedas the same by a westernaudience,

our findingssuggestthat Indianexecutives

may view thesetwo termsas

different. Our factor analysis of the selected items of the facet of

achievement strivingsupports this argument. ltem numbers1, 6, and 7

which describe

1;he

iub-facet of pure

achievementreceiveda relativefy

low factor loading(.56, .s4, and .51 respectively) as comparedto ltem

numbers 2,4,5,3, and 10 (.7s,.69,.6s,.62,and

.61respectively) which

describethe sub-facetof hard

work in the facetachievement

stiving.

when we tested the rerationship

of the two sub-facets,hard work

(cronbach Alpha .58) and pure achievement (cronbachAlpha .69)with

each of the other variables,we found that the two sub-facetsshowed

significantly differentrelationships with life satisfaction, beliefsin Indian

KARMAYOGA:CONCEPTUALIZATIONANDVALIDATION

39

philosophy,and the dimensions

of karmayoga.Specifically

the sub-facet

of hard

work was more stronglyrelatedto life

satisfaction

(r=.41,p<'

for hardworkas

compared

to r=.25,p<.05for

pureachievement).Similarly,

hard work was significantly

relatedto karmayoga-senseof duty (r='34,

p<.01)and karmayoga-absence

of desirefor

rewards

(r=.35,p<.01),while

pure achievementwas not relatedto eitherof the dimensionsof karma

yoga.

When we checkedfor the interaction

effectof dutifulness

with pure

achievement,we found that the interaction

term in a regression

was

moderatelysignificant

(p<.1)for the dependant

variablekarma

yoga-

absenceof desirefor rewardsand

not significant

for the dependant

variable

karmayoga-sense

of duty.Whenwe testedfor moderation,

we foundthat

dutifulnesswas more

strongtyrelatedto karmayoga-absence

of desire

for rewards(ft.48, p<.01)whenachievement

strivingwas

lowas compared

to the relationship

betweendutifulness

and karmayoga-absence

of desire

for rewards(B=.44,

p<.01)when achievement

striving

was high(greater

than the median).These numberssupportthe hypothesis

that the

moderatingeffectof pure

achievementacts

on the relationship

between

dutifulness

and karma

yoga-absence

of desirefor rewardsin a manner

thatthestrengthof

the relationshipreduces

as pureachievement

increases.

The results also indicatethat there is a case for splittingthe facet of

achievementstrivingintothe

sub-facets

of hardworkand

pureachievement

in the Indiancontext.Hence,in furtherstudieswe mustensurethat

we

measurepure achievement

independent

of the sub-facet

of hardwork.

Anotherreasonfor

the

weaksupportfor Hypothesis

2 couldbe social

desirability,

whichwas neithermeasured

norcontrolled.Persons

who are

highon socialdesirability

liketo be seen as beingpersistent

and hence

are lit

ety to rate higher

on achievement

strivingthan they actuallyare

(Moon,dOOt

). Hence,it is possible

a numberof persons

whilenot

actually

highon achievement

striving,

scoredhighon

thisfacetbecause

of socially

dJsifable responses.

Future studies must either control for social

desirability

orfind moreingenious

methods

of measuringthe truelevelof

achievement

striving.

Our third hypothesis

studyingthe relationship

betweenkarmayoga

and life satisfaction

was partlysupportedwith one dimensionof karma

yoga showinga positiverelationship

with lifesatisfaction.

Individuals

who '

icoreO high on karma

yoga-absenceof desirefor rewardsalso scored

highon lif6satisfaction

wniletherewds no

significant

relationshipbetween

karmayoga-sense

of duty and

lifesatisfaction.Therecouldbe

two reasons

for this.

Firstly, our sample was biased towards persons involved in

manufacturing

and operations.Hough(1992)foundopposingrelationships

between duty, achievementstriving

and performancefor managers-

executivesas comparedto health

care workers.

lt is likely that in our

sample,personsdid not see any association

betweenduty orientation

KARMAYOGA

: CONCEPTUALIZATION

ANDVALIDATION

41

Managersin Indianbusinesses

are facingthe onslaught

of

muttinationalsand

with it, the impactof foreign

cultures.

At a timelike

this,thereis likelyto be a tendency

to secu-larizethe workplace

and' ,'

makeit freeof all

cultural

artifactsin tne mistaken

betief

thatthese3re:

barriers

to progress.

Insteadof ,,,,rdlyrelyingi

onlyon alientechniqueS,.

managersmuslleverage

conceptslikekarma

yoga,whicharepartof

our'

culturil

heritageto adaptand modify

globalpractices

to bestsuitthe'

needsof their

peoPle.

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APPENDIX

Scale for Belief in Indian Philosophy

  1. lf I do good deeds,I will

get good resultseitherin this lifeor in the

next.

  1. Joys and sorrowsexperienced by me are a resultof my actions

in this life or earlierlives.

  1. There existsa permanententitycalled

"sout"

withinme.

  1. The goal of life is to be liberatedfrom the cycle of birth and

death.

  1. lt is possibleto grow spiritually by performingone's worldlydu-

ties selflessly.