It may sound like a truism. But, for Aditi, it struck home when she heard her professor tell her that happiness cannot be an object of attainment. “There is this thinking that one day in the future when I get what I want most, I will be happy. But if we think like that, we will never be happy,” she says without a trace of philosophical resignation. “If I am grumpy, and if I am mindful enough of my body and mind, I can figure out how to overcome my grumpiness and make myself happy,” she says.
This learning didn’t come from grandmother’s wisdom, nor does she source it to any new age precept or spirituality. For Aditi Singh Thakur, a fourth year Integrated Programme in Management student at IIM Ranchi, it came from a half credit course on happiness.
The pursuit of happiness may be the pursuit of every human being but it didn’t feature in mainstream academia until recently. Today, happiness is the object of much scientific research across the world, going beyond the realm of mental health treatment where it was focused in the past. Neuroscientists, for instance, use instruments to understand what happens in the brain during states of happiness.
At IIM Ranchi, the study of happiness, backed by science, entered management education in 2022. For MBA students there, happiness is a compulsory three-credit course while for PhD students, it is an elective three-credit course. The courses are facilitated by a Mind Lab on campus.
Science, not art
Aditi says her course involved ten lectures and an assignment. Her biggest takeaway for her career from the course was that it was productive to create a fun workspace.
Prof Tanusree Dutta, Dean Academics, IIM Ranchi, says happiness is usually explored only as an art through gratitude, kindness, meditation and mindfulness. “But here at IIM Ranchi, we also talk about the science of happiness and explain through proven research how happiness affects neural functioning,” she adds.
The 30 hours of sessions done over two years for MBA students start with bursting a few myths regarding happiness, according to Prof Dutta whose research interests include Experimental Neuropsychology. “When they get here, the students often think that since they have cracked CAT, that’s it. They will be happy. We show that happiness is a process, not a destination,” she adds.
Prof Deepak Kumar Srivastava, Director, IIM Ranchi identifies four key priorities for the institution as Vision @2030: Education, impactful research, social impact, and international collaboration. One of the institute’s initiatives in line with this vision is the Science of Happiness.
Prof. Tanusree Dutta at the Mind Lab in IIM Ranchi | Photo by Special Arrangement
When approaching any discipline as a science, objectivity is paramount, says Prof Dutta. A Mind Lab has been established on campus equipped with infrastructure and technology to facilitate research in the Science of Happiness and related fields. The Happiness Course initiative as well as the Mind Lab is supported by Dr. Satinder Singh Rekhi, founder of Rekhi Foundation, says Prof Dutta who heads the centre.
The Mind Lab includes advanced instruments such as Virtual Reality sets, EEG headset, and eye trackers that bring the rigour of research into happiness especially for PhD students. MBA students use the instruments for their happiness projects. An example would be designing a happy workplace by using Virtual Reality and checking its impact on well-being. An eye tracker helps to determine how visual stimuli affect emotions. EEG measures the changes in brain activation pattern during decision-making in the presence of sensory stimulus.
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Sustainable and long-term
Allen Joshua George, Assistant Professor at IIM Ranchi who teaches the course, differentiates between various types of happiness. Hedonic happiness comes from pleasures whereas eudaimonic happiness comes from the pursuit of meaning in life. Forming positive relationships can provide sustainable happiness whereas pleasures give short-term happiness. “A balance between pleasures and the pursuit of meaning in life can provide a flourishing and fulfilling happy life,” says Dr George.
Happiness in different contexts is included in the sessions such as happiness at personal, organizational, and social levels. “I also teach how happiness can be enhanced through mindfulness, with empirical evidence for the same,” he says, citing research papers in peer reviewed journals that are discussed in the sessions.
Happiness Course participants learn key concepts such as stress, depression, mindfulness, gratitude, self-compassion, self-efficacy, meaning in life, compassion for others, as well as appreciation for the present moment. “We want graduates of our programmes to be able to apply different strategies to enhance happiness throughout their life,” says Dr George, adding that business organisations will benefit from having dedicated Chief Happiness Officers (CHO).
The sole objective of CHOs would be to promote happiness in the organisation. “Happiness is a culture that can be propagated. For instance, when employees get their paycheck, they can learn to be grateful. This boosts their happiness and, eventually, their productivity,” he adds.
Published - September 12, 2024 08:59 am IST
