Mantra and meanings

Abstract

The word “mantra” is being used increasingly both in general discourse and in business and management literature. As the practice of mantra is an integral part of yoga, starts by briefly discussing the nature of yoga, describing one well known system of yoga, Patanjali’s Astanga or eightfold path. Discusses classical use of mantra in the yoga tradition and compares this to present day usage. Raises the question as to why this word has passed into general usage and is prevalent in management and business and discusses possible reasons. It is hypothesized that this phenomenon could be viewed primarily as a linguistic development, or alternatively as indicative of a move towards spiritual values lacking in modern organizations.