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The bhagavad gita as the epitome of indian psychology vis-a-vis modern psychology.

The Indian tradition has always revered the Bhagavad Gita as a text of marvelous universality with the ability to throw light on many aspects of an individual’s life journey. Further, its importance is underscored by its preeminence as a source book of Indian Psychology. Indian Psychology is a modern appellation given to the extraction, compilation and consolidation, from Indian sources, of the principles of psychology based on the framework of concepts and categorization of the western tradition of psychology.

This article examines the deep insights into the human psyche as presented and intuited from the Bhagavad Gita and tries to consolidate them into maxims (Gita Suktas). It also examines the psychology in Advaita Vedanta - which is one of the windows of interpreting  the Bhagavad Gita.

The generic principles and particular Advaitic principles of Indian Psychology as seen through the lens of the Bhagavad Gita are then studied in apposition with the principles of modern psychology. This study would yield an interesting set of observations about (1) the common ground between the two disciplines, (2) what Indian Psychology could learn from Modern Psychology and (3) the unique insights that Indian Psychology offers which could contribute to a better understanding and handling of human existential crisis and its resolution through better informed existential quest.

In an attempt to give a practical orientation, the article will examine briefly the principles of Indian psychology that influenced the life of three national leaders who have publicly acknowledged their debt to the Bhagavad Gita, having been life-long students of the text viz. BG Tilak, Sri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi. The uniqueness of their personality/leadership will be correlated to the Bhagavad Gita’s unique repository of the Principles of Indian Psychology.

The Bhagavad Gita as the epitome of Indian Psychology vis-a-vis Modern Psycholog y

The traditional view of the Bhagavad Gita regards it as one of the PrasthanaTrayi - the three-fold scriptures of Hinduism, the other two being the Upanishads and the BrahmaSutra . [1] Of these the Bhagavad Gita is most widely read and translated. It has been translated into Indian languages (1412 translations), into English (273 translations) and other languages (191) translations. [2] Radhakrishnan regards the Bhagavad Gita as “a religious classic than a philosophical treatise ….. And that it is a powerful shaping factor in the renewal of spiritual life and has secured an assured place among the world’s greatest scriptures.” [3]

Psychology was born as a separate discipline in the late 19 th century. The early 20 th century commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita by Besant & Das (1905), Aurobindo (1928) and Tilak (1935, English translation) contained no references to psychology at all.  The credit for the first exposition (in 1928) of the Bhagavad Gita on the basis of “psycho-philosophy & psychoanalysis” goes to Dr. V G Rele, a doctor-surgeon by training and a keen researcher of Indian Scriptures. [4] Professor Jadunath Sinha has many references from the Bhagavad Gita, amongst others, in his three volume comprehensive survey on Indian Psychology published in 1933. And thereafter, there has been a steady stream of research articles and books based on the psychology in the Bhagavad Gita until this day. Professor R. Ramakrishna Rao, the doyen of Indian Psychologists, recently published (in 2019) his psychology-based rendering of the Gita with a focus on its implications for counseling.

Before examining the psychological insights from the Bhagavad Gita, a quick look at Indian Psychology and how it differs from Western Psychology is useful. The following table [5] summarises the differences:

So what are the psychological insights (through the viewpoint of Advaita Vedanta) that the Bhagavad Gita has to offer about human nature that have obviously stood the test of time and continue to be significant? I present below the meta-theory of Indian Psychology and I acknowledge with humble gratitude the pioneering work of Rao & Paranjpe in distilling these features. I have also attempted to correlate these features with appropriate verses of the Bhagavad Gita.

• Psychology is the study of the person ( jiva ). (BG-15.7)
• The person is a composite of consciousness, mind and body. (BG 3.42)
• Consciousness, as such, is irreducibly different from material objects, including the brain and the mind. (BG-2.23-24-25)
• Unlike consciousness, mind is physical, though subtle, and is subject to physical laws. (BG 7.4)
• Mind does not generate consciousness, it reflects consciousness. (BG 7.12)
• The mind-body complex is the instrument of one’s thought, passion and action. (BG 3.40)
• The mind is different from the brain. Unlike the brain, the mind is subtle in form and composition; and as such, it is non-local in the sense that it is capable of functioning without the normal space-time constraints. (BG 13.1)
• The mind in association with the brain and body becomes conditioned and is consequently constrained and driven by bodily factors. (BG 15.8-9)
• The prime manifestation of the conditioned mind is the ego ( ahamkara ). (BG 7.4,13.4-5, 15.10)
• The conditioned mind is so biased that the truth it seeks gets clouded and even distorted; knowing in human condition becomes fallible and behavior of the person becomes imperfect. Mind itself becomes an obstacle, if the human quest is for truth and self realisation. (BG 6.18)
• Mind holding the reins, the person becomes the knower ( jnata ), the doer ( karta ) and the enjoyer of the fruits of her actions ( bhokta ). The mind in its agentic function acts as the self. It is behind the empirical self as distinguished from the self, atman or purusha , which is consciousness as such. (BG 18.18)
• The person in search of identity misconstrues the mind as her true self and hypostatises the ego function as the enduring self. Consequently self-gratification replaces self-realization as the goal of one’s endeavour. (BG 16.12)
• The mind may be functionally distinguished into three components buddhi, ahamkara and manas (BG 3.42), ( BG 7.4, 13.5-6, 15.10)
• Buddhi which is commonly translated as the intellect, is an essential and core component of the mind. It is sattva at its best in the human condition. Uncorrupted it is almost like consciousness. It has the ability to reflect consciousness in its purity. Buddhi is the seat of discrimination and creative action. It is also a seat of memory (sometimes separately called chitta/smriti ) and a depository of karma and storehouse of samskaras and vasanas , unconscious complexes and instinctual tendencies. (BG 18.31-32-33)
• Ahamkara creates the ego sense. It manifests as the ‘me’ in each person. Identity is its defining characteristic. It is a source of distinction between the self and the other. (BG 3.27)
• The manas is like a central processor. Attention is its defining characteristic, filtering and analysing its other functions. It also acts as an internal sense organ.(BG 6.12,15.7)
• The mind in its totality (Buddhi+Ahamkara+Manas+Chitta) is the interfacing instrumentality that is connected at one end with the brain and bodily processes of the person with which it is associated. At the other end, the mind is poised to receive the light of consciousness.
• Thus, the mind is (a) the surface that reflects consciousness, (b) the ground from which the contents of one’s cognition spring, (c) the seat of egoism and (d) the storehouse of past actions and their effects. Because of such complexity the reflections of consciousness in the mind are subjected to bias, distortion and misinterpretation.
• The entangled mind becomes unsteady and distracted. Exposed to the incoming stimuli in the form of sensory inputs , excited by internally generated imagery, and conditioned by samskaras and vasanas, the mind is constantly in a state of flux and is unsteady and prone to turbulence and tension. (BG 6.33-34)
• In one’s quest for truth and perfection in being, there is therefore the basic need to make the mind steady and turbulence-free. This can be done by disentangling the mind by systematic deconstruction of the ego. (BG 6.35-36)
• There are several ways of doing this. One way is practice of yogic meditation which results in focussed attention which inhibits distractions. Practice of meditation ( abhyasa ) needs to be accompanied by an attitude of dispassionateness ( vairagya ). The practice of concentration ( abhyasa ) and the cultivation of vairagya (dispassionateness) are the twin principles guiding the practices of yoga to tame the mind and make it steady. Other ways of deconstructing the ego include self-surrender by practicing of divine love and devotion ( bhakti ) and action without attachment to results ( nishkama karma ). (BG 13.24-25)
• When the mind becomes steady and the ego is under control, the person tends to be less biased and be in a position (a) to come closer to truth, (b) experience consciousness as such, (c) narrow the gap between knowing and being, and (d) have access to a variety of hidden human potentials.(BG 15.5)
• The mind in the Indian tradition is the vehicle of one’s journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary states of experience, from rational thinking to creative excellence in knowing to transcendental realisation of being, from mundane to moral and from samsara to spirituality. (BG 6.5-6)
• The senses in the Indian tradition are considered more than the physical instruments or the physiological organs. The senses register the energy patterns emanating from the world of objects and reflect them on to the manas. However, it is manas that triggers the cognitive process. (BG 6.24)
• Manas has dual functions- (a) it processes sensory inputs and (b) acts as the sixth sense and receives inputs from internal states. (BG 15.7)
• Understanding the nature and function of the indriyas is necessary for gaining control over them. Appropriate control of the functioning of the indriyas is helpful (a) to achieve excellence and (b) to reach transcognitive states. (BG 2.67-68)
• Meditation in its various forms is helpful to gain control over the sensory processes. (BG 6.12)
• Just as the mind is a source of human suffering and also a resource for achieving bliss, so too are the senses. In their proper utilisation lies human happiness. (BG 3.34,17.16)

We see that the Bhagavad Gita delivers with surprising modernity and universality, a comprehensive picture of the human personality along with minute  guidance for enabling a person to overcome existential crisis & anguish with the time- tested certitude of success.

Common ground between Indian Psychology and Western Psychology

The prima facie objectives are similar i.e. to study the human mind, psyche, human behaviour. However, the supererogatory objective of Indian Psychology (as intuited and understood from the Bhagavad Gita) is perfection of existence and moksha; while similarly though less grandly for Western Psychology, it is mental health and solutions to practical human problems.

What Indian Psychology can incorporate from Western Psychology

Some areas of Indian psychology are eminently suitable for experimental research. Meditation research is a case in point. There is voluminous experimental data collected under controlled conditions which include investigation of neurophysical correlates of meditative states, influence of meditation on cognitive and other kinds of skills and benefits of meditation on human health and wellness.

There are also other methods of modern psychologists that have relevance to Indian psychology. These include field studies and observations of naturally occurring events. The techniques include surveys, questionnaires, interviews, rating scales, participant observation and content analysis. Another method that has been successfully put into practice is the single-case study. We will use this method to study the impact of the principles of Indian Psychology in the lives of BG Tilak, Sri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi later in this article.

What Indian Psychology offers

Consciousness is the key concept that distinguishes Indian Psychology from all other psychologies. The key to understanding a person is consciousness. (BG 10.20). Unfortunately, consciousness as conceived by Indian Psychology has no room in psychology as studied today or is considered beyond the scope of the subject. Accepting this concept would enhance the scope of current psychology.

A very brief exposition is presented below about the impact of Indian Psychology as epitomised in the Bhagavad Gita in the lives of Lokamnaya Tilak, Sri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Tilak was one of the great leaders of India in the struggle for independence. He was a public intellectual, journalist and scholar. It is during his imprisonment in Burma (Myanmar) that he wrote Gita Rahasya a scholarly commentary on the Bhagavad Gita aimed at explaining its secret ( rahasya ). It is in this work that he interprets the basic principles of Karma Yoga.

Tilak strongly believed in the Karma-Yoga-Sthithprajna [7] model from the Gita as relevant in practical life with a spiritual focus. The following sentence from Gita Rahasya says it all:

“Ideally a person should attain inner calm by purging the mind of all desires through the realisation of the identity between the self and Brahman. One should thereby attain equanimity, and malice towards none. Upon attainment of such a state one should set an example for others through one’s own behaviour, and help everyone around oneself in attaining spiritual progress.”

This is what Tilak preached and practiced throughout his life. Two incidents exemplify his character. When he was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment in 1908 and when a friend remarked that he would soon be taken to jail, Tilak is reported to have casually remarked, “What difference would that make? The British have already turned the whole nation into a prison. All they will do is to send me to a different cell in the same prison.”

When his eldest college-going son succumbed to plague, Tilak remained unmoved and remarked to his son-in-law: “Is it not natural, after all, that we would lose some firewood when the whole town is up in flames.”

Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo’s life and philosophy have many facets - militant, terrorist, extremist, revolutionary, and spiritual. His association with revolutionaries who plotted a bomb blast led to his imprisonment in Alipore in 1908. While in jail he had a series of deep spiritual experiences about which he spoke in the famous Uttarpara Speech where he said: “Then He placed the Gita in my hands. His strength entered into me …..I was not only to understand intellectually but to realise what Sri Krishna demanded on Arjuna and what He demands of those who aspire to do His work, to be free from repulsion and desire, to renounce self-will and become a passive and faithful instrument in His hands…..” [8]

One result of the realisation was the centrality of the Bhagavad Gita in all of Aurobindo’s writings. [9] Sri Aurobindo called the yoga of Gita by various terms purna yoga (complete yoga), integral yoga. In his view the yoga of Gita was an integral combination of different paths -jnana, karma, bhakti and self-perfection. The Yoga of the Gita is meant for experiencing, practicing and living it, rather than merely arriving at an intellectual understanding. [10]

As a consequence of this inspiration, Sri Aurobindo has to his credit a very remarkable record as a great scholar and man of letters. He has written voluminously (30) volumes) and on a variety of subjects. The psychological principles in Sri Aurobindo’s writing have served as the inspiration for the renaissance of Indian psychology.

Mahatma Gandhi

While deeply absorbed in public and political life from 1893 to 1948, Mahatma Gandhi had lived with Bhagavad Gita as his primary source of ethical, moral and spiritual inspiration. The Bhagavad Gita was a life-time companion to Gandhi. It was his spiritual reference book. He first read the Bhagavad Gita through its English translation by Edwin Arnold and later on went to reading the Sanskrit original. He subsequently translated the Gita himself into Gujarati under the title of Anasakti Yoga. Gandhi spoke and wrote about the Gita very extensively [11] and his conception of human nature was derived from the Gita. His life was a continuous and constant attempt to live upto the ideal of the Gita.

If one would give an appellation to Gandhi’s interpretation of the Gita it would be Anasakti Yoga-Sthithaprajna. “True individuality is reducing oneself to zero.” -this is the central thesis of interpreting the Gita as Anasakti Yoga. Anasakti is non-attachment. Non attached action is self-action and delinked from the ego. Delinking the ego from action and deliberate refraining from enjoying the fruit of action lead one to reduce oneself to zero or nothingness.

The description of sthithaprajna, a self realised person, in the last 19 verses of the second chapter of the Gita, was very special to Gandhi. As is well known for nearly 60 years until his death, he recited them daily during prayers. These verses contained the quintessence of human nature that Gandhi incorporated in his world view.

Concluding remarks

Indian psychology becomes a living tradition through the Gita and stands on the shoulders of eminent practitioners and scholars leading to a better understanding and handling of human existential crisis and its resolution through better informed existential quest.

[1] Osborne, A & Kulkarni, GV. ( 2016). The Bhagavad GIta. Tiruvannamalai, Sri Ramanasramam.

[2] Yardi, M.R.(2002).Bhagavad Gita. Pune, Bharatiya VIdya Bhavan.

[3] Radhakrishnan( 1958). The Bhagavad Gita.London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

[4] Rele, V.G.(1928). Bhagavad Gita- An exposition on the basis of psycho-philosophy & psychoanalysis.Bombay, D B Taraporevala Sons & Co.

[5] Rao, KR & Paranjpe,A.(2017) Psychology in the Indian Tradition. New Delhi, DK Printworld.

[6] Akhilananda, Swami.( 1948). Hindu Psychology-Its meaning for the West.London, Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.

[7] Gowda, Nagappa K. (2011).The Bhagavad Gita in the Nationalist Discourse. New Delhi, Oxford University Press.

[8] Aurobindo, Sri.(1973) Uttarpara Speech. Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Ashram

[9] Minor, Robert.(1991). Sri Aurobindo as a Gita-Yogin in Modern Interpreters of Bhagavad Gira

[10] Nadkarni,MV.(2017)The Bhagavad Gita for the Modern Reader.Oxford, Routledge India

[11] Anand YP.(2009).Mahatma Gandhi’s works and interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita. Delhi, Radha Publications.

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• Conference on Hinduism and Modern Psychology

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This article examines the deep insights into the human psyche as presented and intuited from the Bhagavad Gita and tries to consolidate them into maxims (Gita Suktas). It also examines the psychology in Advaita Vedanta – which is one of the windows of interpreting  the Bhagavad Gita.

The traditional view of the Bhagavad Gita regards it as one of the PrasthanaTrayi – the three-fold scriptures of Hinduism, the other two being the Upanishads and the BrahmaSutra . [1] Of these the Bhagavad Gita is most widely read and translated. It has been translated into Indian languages (1412 translations), into English (273 translations) and other languages (191) translations. [2] Radhakrishnan regards the Bhagavad Gita as “a religious classic than a philosophical treatise ….. And that it is a powerful shaping factor in the renewal of spiritual life and has secured an assured place among the world’s greatest scriptures.” [3]

Sri Aurobindo’s life and philosophy have many facets – militant, terrorist, extremist, revolutionary, and spiritual. His association with revolutionaries who plotted a bomb blast led to his imprisonment in Alipore in 1908. While in jail he had a series of deep spiritual experiences about which he spoke in the famous Uttarpara Speech where he said: “Then He placed the Gita in my hands. His strength entered into me …..I was not only to understand intellectually but to realise what Sri Krishna demanded on Arjuna and what He demands of those who aspire to do His work, to be free from repulsion and desire, to renounce self-will and become a passive and faithful instrument in His hands…..” [8]

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article belong to the author. Indic Today is neither responsible nor liable for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in the article.

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Dr. Rajshekar Krishnan, is a seasoned corporate leader, results-driven executive coach and versatile workshop facilitator with a proven track record possessing 35 years of experience Read more

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Introduction to Foundations and Applications of Indian psychology

R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen, Girishwar Misra, Suneet Varma

What do we mean by Indian psychology?

By Indian psychology we mean an approach to psychology that is based on ideas and practices that developed over thousands of years within the Indian sub-continent. In other words, we use the word 'Indian' to indicate and honour the origin of this approach to psychology—the origin of the underlying philosophy, the conceptual framework, the methods of enquiry, and the technology of consciousness that it uses to bring about psychological change and transformation. It may be useful to make explicit that we do not use the word 'Indian' to localize or limit the scope of this approach to psychology; we do not mean, for example, 'the psychology of the Indian people', or 'psychology as taught at Indian universities'. We hold that Indian psychology as a meta-theory and as an extensive body of related theories and practices has something essential and unique to contribute to the global civilization as a whole.

It may also be useful to make explicit that this volume is not about the past, but about the present and the future. You will look in vain for chapters about the history of Indian philosophy or religion as they developed over the ages. Many such texts are already available, but this is not one of them. This volume has contributions that demonstrate how ideas and practices from the Indian tradition can be used to tackle issues in contemporary psychology and constructively inform its disciplinary practice by helping theory building and application.

Psychology as taught at present, all over the world, is still amazingly unicultural. This is rather remarkable if we consider the intensity and ease of international communications, and the fact that it is almost half a century since the political decolonization of Asia and Africa was completed. Though the large component of European and American thought in psychology is understandable historically, it is not any longer excusable. For it is not that the rest of the world has not thought about human nature, and it is definitely not that contemporary psychology has found the one and only correct way of doing so. In this context, one could argue that Indian psychology will be relevant particularly to Asian, African, or Latin-American countries which share alternative non-Western world views about mind, psyche and various psychological phenomena such as healing, health, self, or personality; but we strongly believe that in spite of all cultural differences, there is a large common core to human nature, and that, to the extent that Indian psychology deals with that common core, it should be of interest to all members of the human family.

In short, we do not look at Indian psychology as something that belongs only to India or the past, but as a rich source of psychological insight and know-how that can be utilised to create a better future for the whole of humanity.

What the Indian civilization can contribute to psychology

The unique contribution which the Indian civilization can make to modern psychology can be looked at as consisting of three distinct elements—a sophisticated and well-worked out, psychology-based meta-theoretical frame­work, a wide repertoire of psychological practices, and a rich treasury of psychological theories. These three are, obviously, closely interconnected, and it may be clear that none of them can be fully understood without a fairly complete understanding of the other two. Yet, as language is inevitably linear, we will give here a separate short introduction to each of them.

A psychology-friendly meta-theoretical framework

The first major contribution the Indian civilization can make to psychology is a psychology-friendly meta-theoretical framework. To delineate the underlying theory, the basic 'paradigm' of the Indian tradition is, of course, a pretentious undertaking fraught with possibilities of error. The Indian civilization is immensely complex, and, given the abundance of different—often contrary—voices it harbours within itself, it is hard to state anything about it that cannot be contradicted with a striking counter-example. And yet, it is useful to give it a try, for the simple reason that without this background it is impossible to fully understand its psychological practices and its theories.

When one looks at the Indian civilization as it developed over the ages, it becomes quickly clear that within it there exists such a huge variety of distinct cultural traditions, that one may doubt whether it actually makes sense to speak of a single Indian tradition and whether it would not be more accurate to speak of Indian traditions in the plural. The doubt is understandable, but we would contend that in case of the Indian tradition, singularity and multiformity are not necessarily mutually exclusive. A rich variety of expressions does not preclude the possibility of a common thread, a single foundation supporting the variety, and we are inclined to think that especially in India such a common core indeed does exist. In fact, the idea of a single truth supporting a variety of manifestations is itself one of the core-characteristics of the deep view of reality that underlies the whole wide gamut of Indian traditions. One of the most-often-quoted aphorisms expressing this acknowledgment of divergent views in spite of a single underlying reality is probably: ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti , which means, 'the truth is One, but the wise call it by different names'. An interesting aspect of this saying is that the differences are not described as errors: it is the wise that give different names to the one truth. Moreover, one would miss the point if one were to take this saying as no more than a polite exhortation for religious tolerance. It rests on a deep, psychological understanding of the human condition, which says that reality as it really is, will always remain beyond our limited mental capacity to grasp, and that each individual can perceive of that reality only as much as their individual capacity and inclination will allow.

There is another ancient saying which goes a step further. It deals with the different perceptions that arise from affirmative and agnostic approaches to reality. It says—and one can immediately see how close some ancient Indian thinkers came to postmodern constructivism—that not only the name we give to an experience, but even the experience itself is determined by our 'set'. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.6.1), for instance, says, asann eva sa bhavati, asad brahmeti veda cet, asti brahmeti ced veda, santam enaṁ tato viduḥ , meaning, 'whoever envisages it as existence becomes (or realizes) it as existence, and whoever envisages it as non-being becomes (or realizes) that non-existence'. It may be noted that in the Indian tradition such differences are not attributed only to the different cultural priming; they are attributed primarily to the different type, level and quality of the internal state of the observer. And this brings us to what might well be described as the most important difference between the Indian and the Western paradigm.

The differences. Western psychology is largely confined to two dimensions which are both fully accessible to the ordinary waking consciousness—the physical and the social. Genetics, neurophysiology and the cognitive sciences are typical for sub-disciplines with a focus on the physical dimension, and the various offshoots of psychoanalysis, social constructivism and cross-cultural psychology could be considered typical for those who focus on social factors. Between the two, there is still, in spite of many attempts at 'softening' psychology, a widespread tendency to take the physical dimension more seriously than the social. Even in the field of consciousness studies, the existence of physical reality tends to be taken for granted, while the ontological 'reality' of consciousness and subjective experience is open for discussion. Their apparent existence needs some kind of justification, and both are commonly considered epiphenomenal products of material processes. Related to this, in terms of epistemology, the ordinary waking consciousness is considered the only acceptable state for the researcher to be in, and a clear rational mind is taken as the ultimate arbiter of truth. In fact, non-ordinary states of awareness are primarily associated with drugs and somewhat frivolous new-age activities. Finally, in terms of practical methodology, objectivity is taken as the ultimate ideal, and first-person, subjective observations are taken seriously only if they are embedded in statistics and third-person objective measures to counteract their inherent weaknesses. Obviously all this is a simplification and there are exceptions to this pattern—one could, for example, think of phenomenology—but still, a strong physicalist bias, an absolute faith in the ordinary waking consciousness and a total reliance on objective methods are so much part of mainstream psychology that amongst psychologists, they are commonly considered indispensable elements of the scientific method.

The intellectual tradition of India starts from radically different assumptions. Ontologically, the most fundamental reality is not matter, but spirit; or more precisely, the indivisible unity of saccidānanda , of absolute existence, consciousness and delight. In other words, the Indian tradition includes psychological phenomena like consciousness and joy as core-elements of reality, and in fact it takes not physics, but 'knowledge of the self' ( adhyātma-vidyā ) as the fundamental science. Accordingly, the possibility and cosmic importance of an absolutely silent, transcendent consciousness are hardly ever doubted, while there are major schools of thought that do doubt the importance and even the reality of the material pole of existence. While Western science has come to terms with the fact that there are many different types of physical energies and substances, of which some are not directly perceptible by the human senses, the Indian tradition takes it for granted that there are also various types and levels of non-physical existence—entire inner 'worlds' which are not directly perceptible to the ordinary waking consciousness, but that are ontologically as real, or even more real than the ordinary physical world. These non-physical realities are considered to be intermediate planes of conscious existence between the absolute, silent consciousness of the transcendent and the apparent unconsciousness of matter. As a result, physical and social factors are accepted as part of causal networks, but not as the full story—events are thought to be influenced by a wide variety of forces that include factors belonging to non-physical realities. Similarly, epistemologically, a rational mind is appreciated and cultivated, but it is understood that there are higher sources of knowledge and the possibility of a direct, intuitive apprehension of truth. Finally, objective, sense-based knowledge is considered a minor form of knowledge (or even ignorance, avidyā ) and an immense collective effort has gone into the development of processes that can make us more open to the subtle worlds, and especially to the pre-existing inner knowledge, vidyā .

It may be clear that these two basic views of reality lead to a very different sense of what psychology is about, how it is to be conducted, and what can be expected from it. For those under the influence of the physicalist worldview, psychology deals either with outer behaviour or with mental processes that happen within the neuro-physiological apparatus of individual human beings; even those who stress social influences, tacitly assume that such influences are transferred by physical means. It is taken for granted that consciousness, whether individually or socially determined, depends on working neural systems. Non-physical realities are illusionary and parapsychological phenomena are 'anomalous'. For an eternal soul there is no place (except as a belief of others, not as an 'objective' reality that exists in itself). Methodologically, one has to rely on statistics and sophisticated third-person methods of research. In terms of application, one aims at (behaviourally verifiable) changes in others.

For those under the influence of the Indian system, consciousness is primary. It is taken to be all-pervasive, and as existing within space and time, as well as beyond both. The borders of the individual are porous, and the individual consciousness is found to extend through space and time, to others, to all kinds of inner worlds, and even to what is beyond all manifestation. As a result, non-physical realities and parapsychological phenomena fit perfectly within this explanatory framework, and there is no difficulty accepting an eternal soul as our real self. For research in Indian psychology, sophisticated first person methods are the natural first choice. In terms of application, Indian psychology aims primarily at the mastery and transformation of oneself.

When one lists these differences in this manner, the two systems seem to belong to different worlds, and not only serious misunderstandings, but even a certain mutual distrust appears almost inevitable. Historically this has indeed been the case. In the Indian tradition, right from the Upaniṣads and the stories of the Purāṇas , the basic ontological and epistemological assumptions of modern psychology are looked at as beginners' errors, remnants of an ordinary, naive way of looking at the world that stand in the way of a deeper understanding of how the human mind, consciousness in general, and even the physical reality actually work. Seen from the other side, from the perspective of mainstream psychology, giving up its positivist, constructivist, or agnostic assumptions looks like a return to a superstitious past, a giving up of the most valuable accomplishments of the European Enlightenment, a recipe for disaster.

Roads to reconciliation. There are several factors that may, however, help to overcome these difficulties. The first is that the inability of modern science to deal effectively with non-physical realities and 'the divine', may not be intrinsic to science as such. Future generations, who are likely to have a more globally informed cultural background, may ascribe this inability largely to the vagaries of European history. It might well be found that in the early years of modern science, Europe left these inner realms aside, not because it is intrinsically too difficult to research them in an intelligent and open-minded manner, but simply because they were too encrusted in the religious environment of the time. It is true that neither alchemy, nor the later efforts of parapsychology have led to sufficiently concrete results to convince the sceptics; but that might well be because their studies were hampered on the one side by the lack of a sufficiently supportive philosophical framework, and on the other by their failure to develop effective powers within the inner realms they purported to study.

As we will try to present in this volume, the Indian tradition might be able to provide both. Though the Indian civilization has had its own difficulties—800 years of foreign interference not the least of them—such a dramatic split between the physical and the inner domains is not part of the Indian story. In fact, the social structures and mental attitudes supporting spiritual pursuits in India are much closer to those of European science than to those of European religion. Even Śaṅkara—who arguably comes closest to what in the Christian tradition would have been called a church-father, given his role in founding centres of religious authority and power—in the end puts personal experience ( anubhava ) above tradition. In his Bhagavad Gītā Bhāṣya he says, for example (18, 66), 'Even a hundred scriptural passages will not become authoritative when they, for instance, announce that fire is cool or dark' (Rao, 1979, p. 65). The methods of yoga and meditation are nowadays primarily looked at soteriologically, that is, as a means for salvation, as a means to arrive at samādhi or nirvāṇa —at least if they are not seen as a means to arrive at physical health and the survival of a corporate lifestyle. In the culture of origin, however, they are part of a coherent knowledge system and they are clearly looked at as a way to arrive at reliable knowledge. This is most clear in the case of jñānayoga (the yoga of knowledge); but one can easily discern elements of the pursuit of truth even in karma- and bhaktiyoga (the paths of works and devotion), which also, in their own way, have methods to reduce the distortions of perception and affect that are part of the ordinary human consciousness.

The good news then is that modern scientific and ancient Indian approaches to psychology may not be so much contradictory as complementary. It is true that they are based on different ontological and epistemological assumptions, that they use different methods, and to some extent, that they look at different sides of the human enterprise, but in the end, they are based on the same human urge for true knowledge, pure love, effective power and happiness. It may not be easy to come to mutual respect and understanding, but the effort will be worth it, for our preoccupation with knowledge and power in the physical domain has not solved humanity's problems. On a global scale, suffering due to poverty, violence and disease is still rampant, and we have added a considerable risk of sudden environmental self-destruction. One could well argue that the one thing we need most at present is a more comprehensive understanding of our own nature. As editors of this volume, we would like to argue that Indian psychology can make a valuable contribution to that endeavour.

Psychological practices

According to a survey commissioned by the Yoga Journal , there were in February 2008, some 15.8 million practitioners of ( haṭha ) yoga in the USA alone, and amongst the rest of the adult population, another 8 per cent, or eighteen million people, were 'very or extremely interested in yoga'. Over the years, thousands of researches on yoga and meditation have been conducted (Murphy & Donovan, 1997; Walsh & Shapiro, 2006), but according to the latter, this research is as yet rather imbalanced. Most research is conducted with beginning practitioners, and the vast majority of researches have been carried out with not more than three ­basic techniques— haṭhayoga, vipassana and Transcendental Meditation (TM). Almost all research is, moreover, in a mode that cultural anthropologists would call etic, rather than emic . In other words, the research is done from an outsider's, rather than from an insider's perspective; the techniques are decontextualized, and their effectiveness is measured in terms that belong to the theoretical framework of mainstream psychology. This is in itself not surprising, for measurement involves the use of standards, and in science these standards have to come from previously conducted research. But the result is that the effects of yoga and meditation have been measured almost exclusively on variables like blood pressure, anxiety, depression and extroversion, which have little to do with what would have been considered relevant in the culture of origin, such as equanimity, compassion, wisdom and detachment.

While reflecting on the scope of existing research on yoga and meditation, there is another issue that warrants careful consideration. It is true that India has developed an astounding variety of structured methods to 'do' yoga and meditation. There can also be no doubt that it is worth studying these techniques, and that one should not do this only by etic, but also, or even especially, by emic approaches. The methods of yoga should be understood on their own terms, and ideally not only in their gross 'effectiveness' but in terms of the underlying spiritual and psychological processes. But even a sympathetic, insider's look at these techniques will not give us the whole story. Amongst the Indian psychological practices that could benefit humanity, there are not only such formalised methods and techniques, but there is also an implicit, informal know-how that is orally transmitted from teacher to student within the guru–śiṣya paramparā (the ­master–disciple relationship) , or passed down from generation to generation in the form of social institutions, customs, and culturally prescribed—but individually adopted and adapted—attitudes and inner gestures. When we look at yoga not only as a way to find the Divine but also as a way to bring our entire life more in harmony with the highest we can conceive and experientially 'realize', then it becomes clear why these informal, implicit aspects of yoga play such a big role in the Indian civilization, and why they are so interesting for modern psychology. An anecdote from E. Richard Sorenson (2008) may illustrate the point. Sorensen relates an experience he had in a Tibetan monastery where most of the monks were young, and where he had noticed earlier that the novices were always 'eagerly rushing to share whatever special tidbit [ sic ] might have come their way (whether material or ideational)' (p. 46). As he relates:

One day, while having lunch with a group of novices, a burst of mirth snared my attention. An adolescent novice had just selected, as if solely for himself, the largest apple off a plate. Bursts of laughter from the others, no verbal comment, just hilarity, as several then did much the same, usually with some special fillip or perspective of their own. There was no obligation to be either different or the same ... they were just nuzzling at a trait all had seen outside.

The interesting part is that amongst these youngsters, there were no pejorative remarks or outbursts of self-righteous indignation. Egoism was for them not something natural and tempting, yet socially unacceptable, but an utterly hilarious trait they had so far noticed only in the behaviour of people outside their own community. Presuming there is no major genetic difference in such matters, it is clearly worthwhile to study what it is exactly that made sharing the natural baseline for these children. It seems extremely unlikely that such a fundamental difference can be brought about by formal exercises or explicit instructions.

Regarding the spiritual core of the Indian psychological tradition, there is amongst professional psychologists a similar tendency to focus on formal practices and specialised techniques. Yet, in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, the undisputed authority on rājayoga , only one of its many ślokas deals with āsanas ( yogic postures), and the Bhagavad Gītā hardly mentions strongly structured practices at all. Even in our times, some of the greatest sages of modern India, like Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Sai Baba of Shirdi, Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo, did not advocate the use of highly structured and formalized techniques at all. They worked instead through a focussed, specialized application of—in itself quite simple—psychological processes and powers. There is an enormous variety of those, and even though all the great gurus had their own favourites—for example, Ramakrishna's absolute devotion to the Divine Mother, or Ramana's sustained and unremitting focus on the question, 'Who am I?'—they typically adjusted their method of teaching to the needs of each disciple at any given moment.

The literature contains many different lists of desirable inner attitudes and gestures. Typical examples might be: a silent, non-judgemental self-observation; a growing surrender to the highest one can conceive; a sustained aspiration towards the Divine (whether in terms of knowledge, work, love, or oneness); a systematic development of traits like equanimity, calm, patience, vigilance, kindness, compassion, love, joy, harmony, oneness, wideness; small inner gestures of self-giving, consecration, openness, silence, surrender; the relocation of the centre of one's consciousness inwards and upwards. As yet, it is hard to say with certainty, whether such non-sectarian, informal 'paths' will dominate the future of Indian psychology, or the more formalized 'techniques' that have played such a big role in the preservation of the tradition into the present. What seems clear to us is that there is an urgent need for research in both.

Psychological theories

Indian psychology has dealt with most areas in which mainstream psychology is interested, and in many of them it has something unique to add. As we will see, there is a special, common quality to the contributions it can make to all these different fields. If we start with the structure of the personality then we find that the Indian tradition has developed the concept of ahaṁkāra , which stands somewhere in between the Western concepts of ego and self-concept. But besides this egoic centre, which belongs to the ordinary waking consciousness, the Indian tradition has also developed a detailed nomenclature for many other, more subtle and non-egoic centres of consciousness; and it has even worked out, especially in certain Buddhist schools, how a consciousness can exist without any centre whatsoever. Similarly, the Indian tradition has found below the surface of our waking consciousness not only the dark 'unconscious' that depth psychology has explored, but a whole range of subtle kośas or layers of consciousness, that each have their own characteristic nature. It has even worked out many different ways of 'realizing' in one's experience (or perhaps one should rather say, in one's being) a Transcendent beyond all nature. It has found that all these inner layers, types, and centres of conscious existence have their specific influences on the surface personality, and that a direct access to them can, with sufficient training, enable levels of freedom, peace, joy, compassion, and understanding much beyond what is possible in the ordinary waking state.

In the field of cognition, we see a similar pattern. On the one hand, there is a detailed theoretical understanding of ordinary, sense-based cognition, mostly described as a system of pramāṇa , or knowledge-producing events. Different schools developed somewhat different theories about these matters—and they made much of their differences—but there is actually quite a large common base. It is noteworthy that the philosophical school of the Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, which specialised in issues of epistemology and methodology, came to conclusions that are similar to modern thought in many respects. However, just as we saw in the field of Self and Personality, the ordinary sense-based cognition was not enough for the Indian tradition, and it developed besides a detailed understanding of intuition, inspiration, revelation, and various other types of 'intuitive knowledge' for which there are not always equivalent terms in English. The sheer complexity of the terminology, the subtle but significant differences between the various terms, and the stress on concrete methods to develop and refine these various forms of intuitive knowledge may give an idea not only of the enthusiasm and energy with which these possibilities have been explored, but also of the rigour, precision and attention for detail with which this work was undertaken. The study, cultivation and perfection of these subtle, not sense-based forms of cognition, might well deserve to become one of the major thrust areas of Indian psychology, as their development may lead to the creation of appropriate research methodologies for a whole new field of psychology.

Another major area of interest in psychology is that of emotion and motivation. To fully understand the various Indian theories of emotion, one has to go back to what should perhaps count as one of the greatest discoveries of the Indian tradition—the idea that the nature of ultimate reality can be described as an indivisible unity of Sat, Cit and Ānanda , or Existence, Consciousness, and Delight. While in mainstream psychology, it is generally presumed that happiness is dependent on the satisfaction of individual needs and desires, this theory asserts that delight is inherent in existence, even though it can be clouded in humans by their 'ignorance' ( avidyā ). In other words, suffering is attributed to ego-bound deformations and limitations of the over-individualized human consciousness. Seen from this angle, the satisfaction of desires may give temporary relief, but the road to lasting and unconditional happiness and wisdom runs through detachment from the ego, and a rediscovery of one's knowledge of, love for, and oneness with the ultimate reality. With the ideal of perfect detachment and complete equanimity, a series of intriguing questions arises, which have occupied some of the best minds in Indian history, regarding the possibility of action for someone who has completely overcome all desire, preference and attachment. If such 'unmotivated' action is possible—and most schools of Indian thought agree that it is—then what kind of action can that be?

In the field of emotion, a special place deserves to be given to the ideas of Bharata (400–200 BCE) on aesthetic enjoyment. Bharata starts with the fascinating question, why people enjoy watching tragic plays in spite of the fact that they already know beforehand that watching such plays will make them cry. Considering the emotions that spectators and actors suffer and savour, he arrives at the subtle theory of rasa , the basic 'taste', which triggers the original delight hidden in all things.

It is commonly held, especially amongst American authors (for example, Walsh & Shapiro, 2006) that there are several areas of psychology where the Indian tradition has little to contribute. Though this is in itself perfectly plausible, it does not hold for the most commonly quoted examples. In all four areas where Walsh and Shapiro, for example, think that 'the meditative traditions' have little to contribute—child-development, psychodynamics, psychopathology and psycho-pharmacology—there is in fact detailed theoretical knowledge available within Āyurvedic and Siddha literature. In all four fields, the Indian tradition has paid attention to very similar social and physical factors as are taken into account in Western psychology; but there is, besides, an additional interest in influences on more subtle planes. In child-development, for example, influences from previous lives and the unique 'soul-quality' of the child, the svabhāva , are acknowledged as major contributors to the child's character and development . A similar multilevel understanding is part of the Indian way of looking at psychopathology, and the developmental stages later in life—the four āśramas. The misconception that there is no Indian contribution to any of these fields, is in all likelihood due to the same peculiar way in which Western psychology has studied the Indian tradition that we mentioned earlier. Mainstream academics have either looked at the decontextualized techniques of yoga and meditation, or at the other extreme, at equally decontextualized philosophical systems. The surrounding culture, as actually practiced, and the mediating theories—which are both very well developed in India—have so far not received the attention they deserve.

Indian psychology applied

Psychology is very much an applied science; and fields like pedagogy, education, social work, human resource development, organisational behaviour and therapy can all be looked at as specialized fields of applied psychology. At present, practitioners in these fields often experience a certain tension between the official theory, which prescribes well-defined, explicit methods and procedures, and experience, which tells them that a more personalized, eclectic and intuitive approach works better. The informal experience seems to come closer to reality than the formal theory. Interestingly, there is substantial statistical evidence to support this view. Bruce Wampold (2001), for example, has collected massive meta-analytical data to show that hardly any of the efficacy in psychotherapy can be ascribed to specific methods and theories. According to his findings, the efficacy in therapy is almost entirely determined by factors that either belong to the environment in which the therapy takes place or that are internal to the therapist and the client. While this is hard to understand from within the medical model that is used in most mainstream therapy research, it is in full harmony with Indian psychology, where the focus is on the work people have to do on themselves. The guide—whether he plays the role of pedagogue, teacher, human resource professional or therapist—guides by example, and perhaps even by direct influence. He shows that growing up is both worthwhile and feasible; that difficult material can be learned; that it is possible to master complex social situations in a constructive manner; and that life's problems can be solved. In a very deep sense, the guide guides mainly by sharing who he is in the essence of his being and what matters is how he expresses that essence in his life. In many forms of therapy-training this is recognized, and undergoing therapy oneself is then an essential part of the training-process. But in Indian psychology, which is built on self-knowledge rather than on knowledge of statistically generalized others, the demand for self-work, for understanding and mastering one's own self, goes further—both in breadth and in depth. In breadth, because it extends to all fields of applied psychology, and in depth because a good guide is supposed to show that it is possible, in the words of Sri Aurobindo, to 'transcend and integrate': A good guide should be able to show that it is possible to go beyond one's limitations; to live from a higher consciousness; to act from less selfish motives; to work more in harmony with the whole.

The practical application of Indian psychology differs from present-day mainstream psychology in a manner that parallels the differences we found in the various areas of theory formation. There is on the one hand the same constant attention to the multidimensional nature of the personality—a multidimensionality that is not limited to the physical and the social, but that extends to, or rather starts with, the spiritual. And there is on the other hand, a constant awareness that each individual is ultimately unique. Both attention points come together in the important concepts of svabhāva and svadharma —the recognition that individuals have not only their own true nature, their own unique set of qualities, but also their own truth of action, their own rules of conduct. Both concepts are based on the underlying sense that the individual is not just a cluster of self-concepts and tendencies to behave according to pre-established patterns, but a spiritual being, a soul who has taken birth for a definite purpose, a purpose which it has to find and fulfil.

Concluding remarks

Indian psychology as such is as old as history; and in a technical sense, even older than written history, given that there are indications of a long oral tradition before the first texts were ever written down. But Indian psychology as a branch of modern science is a new field, which is as yet truly in its infancy. Our attempt to use the treasures of the Indian tradition for contemporary problems is relatively new and in that sense we are pioneering a new effort. The editors and contributors to this book make no claims on being accomplished yogis ; they are ordinary scholars and professionals who have tried to see what various ideas and practices from the Indian tradition can contribute to some major issues in contemporary psychology. The different chapters are records of such attempts; most are exploratory in nature and not the outcome of a long, well-established tradition of research. What is more, this book looks at the Indian tradition as a knowledge system in its own right, and tries to see whether its ideas and its practices have the potential to complement and enrich modern science not only in terms of content, theory-construction and practical application, but even in basic research methodology. As said in the beginning of this introduction, this book would like to open up issues like these to a wider discussion.

The lay of the book

The first edition of Foundations and Applications of Indian Psychology, was published in two volumes under the title Foundations of Indian Psychology . The first of these volumes had as subtitle Theories and concepts and contained 22 chapters. The second volume had as subtitle, Practical applications , and contained 17 chapters.

The present, second edition comes out as a single volume under the title, Foundations and Applications of Indian Psychology . It includes 24 chapters from the first edition, and two new ones, the first by Anand Paranjpe, the second by Ashish Pandey and Rajen K. Gupta. The first 13 chapters of Foundations and Applications of Indian Psychology are about the basic theories and concepts of Indian psychology. The remaining 13 deal with its application in the fields of health, education and society.

A short guide to the individual chapters

The first chapter, ' Indian psychology: Implications and applications ', gives an overview of what Indian psychology is and what it can contribute. K. Ramakrishna Rao argues that unlike Western psychology which does not have an overarching theory encompassing the entire discipline, Indian psychology's approach is synthetic and holistic, so that it becomes possible to overcome dichotomies such as science and spirituality, the sacred and the secular, theory and practice, individual and society. At the same time, Indian psychology, broadly speaking, has applications ranging from individual transformation to conflict resolution at the societal level. Rao takes centrality of consciousness as the defining characteristic of Indian psychology, and goes on to delineate twelve principles which provide the outline for a model of Indian psychology. The realm of extra-ordinary human experience (including telepathy and the direct action of mind over matter), Rao elucidates, can be researched most thoroughly using the concepts, methods and models of Indian spiritual psychology.

Ajit K. Dalal's chapter deals with the development of academic psychology in India. The title, ' A journey back to the roots: Psychology in India ', alludes to the recent and renewed interest in models of psychology that have originated and developed in India over millennia. Dalal's chapter offers a comprehensive history of academic psychology in India, from its inception in 1905 at Calcutta University as part of the Philosophy Department, to the contemporary emergence of the Indian psychology movement. The chapter is accurate and informative in that it provides details of academic psychology in India, in terms of the number of psychologists, universities and colleges offering psychology, details of associations formed by psychologists over the years, and a chronology of events of direct significance to academic psychology. But more than that, Dalal has been able to pin-point that the main reason why psychology has failed to develop as a discipline of national importance is that it is largely a Western import. Right from the beginning, psychologists have led a double life, in the sense that they subscribe to one kind of psychology in their professional lives (Western), but to another when it comes to their personal lives—for which they lean on the Indian textual tradition, and the psychology contained therein (for example, the Bhagavad Gītā) . As Dalal points out, academic psychology in India became more useful and relevant from the 1970s onwards, with a shift in focus to social problems, and more so in the 1980s when it was acknowledged that culture played a dominant role in the shaping of the psyche. Academic psychology in India is becoming increasingly more culture-sensitive and culturally rooted; and at the same time, the emergence of the Indian psychology movement, with its emphasis on the global relevance of systems such as Vedānta, Buddhism, Yoga and the more recent Integral Psychology of Sri Aurobindo, is also witnessed.

In ' Beyond mind: The future of psychology as a science ', Kundan Singh places Indian Psychology in the wider, global context of ­an increasingly post-modern understanding of reality. He argues that true knowledge is attainable only by a shift in consciousness from a lower to a higher level, and not by clever manipulations of concepts located in the mind. Kundan begins by exposing the limits of induction, the mainstay of the scientific method, and challenges the possibility of any true 'objectivity', largely on the ground that our most basic tool of research, language, not only describes events, but also creates a cosmology, a worldview that influences the thought, behaviour and perception of the user. Leaning towards Eastern wisdom traditions, and basing his arguments largely on Mādhyamika, Advaita Vedānta and Integral Yoga, Kundan then offers the view that mind is not the knower of things, but an object of knowledge. He holds that the truth of one's existence can only be found by identifying oneself with a higher consciousness beyond the mind.

The next four chapters deal with epistemology, methodology, and cognition from different angles.

In ' Indian psychology and the scientific method ', Peter Sedlmeier explores how the Indian tradition can be used as a source for specific psychological hypotheses that can be tested within the formal parameters of mainstream science. Sedlmeier first outlines the standards of the scientific method and then introduces his own conception of what genuine Indian psychology is all about, including a 'metatheory' of Indian psychology. From this metatheory (and to a certain extent also from theories that are included in the metatheory), he derives several classes of testable hypotheses and exemplifies these with the help of some specific hypotheses or questions. Subsequently, Sedlmeier comes back to the topic of methods with an emphasis on the special methods needed to examine some of the hypotheses that deal with different aspects of consciousness. The chapter ends with an exploration of possible 'interfaces' between Indian and Western academic psychology.

In the next chapter, William Braud makes an attempt at ' Integrating yoga epistemology and ontology into an expanded integral approach to research' , on the basis of his work on 'Integral Inquiry' at what at the time was called the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Braud is of the view that Indian psychology and yogic epistemology and ontology can contribute much to enrich research aimed at bridging the gap between science and the spiritual/wisdom traditions. He describes ways in which yogic principles, and processes closely related to these, already have been usefully introduced into research praxis, and suggests additional ways in which aspects of yoga might be integrated into research in the future and how this might enliven and transform the research enterprise.

Matthijs Cornelissen makes in ' What is knowledge? A reflection based on the work of Sri Aurobindo ' a case for the existence of essentially different modes of knowing. Cornelissen notes that Aurobindo identified four forms of knowing—knowledge by identity, knowledge by intimate direct contact, knowledge by separative direct contact and wholly separative knowledge by indirect contact. Cornelissen goes on to elaborate these four types of knowledge as follows: (1) knowledge by indirect separative contact includes scientific knowledge of the outer reality; (2) knowledge by direct separative contact is the semi-objective introspection of inner processes; (3) knowledge by direct intimate contact is the experiential knowledge of inner processes; and (4) knowledge by identity is the Vedic knowledge in which knower, knowledge and known are one. In Aurobindo's view, direct, intuitive knowledge by identity forms the essential core of all our knowledge. The author offers some arguments why such unconstructed, intuitive knowledge might actually exist, and then outlines some of the ways by which the Indian tradition has tried to make self-observation and intuition more accurate and reliable.

In ' Knowing in the Indian tradition ', Girishwar Misra gives an account of Indian theories of cognition. Indian theories of cognition emphasize universal concepts, and view reality as a unified whole. The process of knowing begins with doubt, and the desire to know. In general, Misra points out, two domains of knowledge are differentiated in the Indian view—the transcendental ( pāramārthika ) and the empirical ( vyāvahārika ). Transcendental reality is considered as non-changing and universal. The major issues that have been discussed are mind, consciousness, and reality. Misra notes that there is a certain degree of similarity between the Indian and the Western mode of intellectual inquiry. In the Indian view, mind is conceptualized as an internal sense organ. Misra concludes that the Indian perspective on knowing holds contemporary relevance and has practical utility.

The next five chapters offer perspectives on the self, the structure of the personality, the human condition and the aim of life according to five quite different traditions .

Vladimir Yatsenko opens the series with a short treatise ' On the Vedic Symbolism in the light of Sri Aurobindo '. He attempts to recover as the true meaning of the Veda the possibility of realising heaven on earth, that is, to possess and live in the highest Divine consciousness here on earth. He stresses that the Vedic view was one of transformation—invoking the higher powers by aspiration, surrendering to them, inviting them to come down and bring about transformation. This was the Vedic Sacrifice: its aim was transformation of terrestrial existence.

Priya Ananda and Ajith Prasad point out that Buddhist psychology has formulated various ways of analysing personality which may be termed as ' The models of personality in Buddhist psychology '. These psychological models are valuable in studying a variety of experiences—of the conventional involvement of ordinary beings, of those in the stages of the path to awakening, and the qualities of the fully awakened state. The authors indicate that these models are useful in analysing experiences related to sleep, dream, death, after-death state, etc. In this chapter, various models of personality available in Buddhist psychology are explored. The application of these models in understanding various psychological states and afflictions are also briefly touched upon.

The chapter by Kiran Kumar K. Salagame, ' Ego and ahaṁkāra : Self and identity in modern psychology and Indian thought ', examines the concepts of 'ego' and ' ahaṁkāra '. These terms have been used synonymously, and ego has been used as a translation of ahaṁkāra. Kiran Kumar points to the conceptual similarities and dissimilarities between the two terms, and outlines their implications for human development and well-being. The author carried out a series of empirical studies at the University of Mysore to study the concept of ahaṁkāra. The findings suggest that ahaṁkāra can serve as a meta-construct which can embrace many of the modern psychological concepts related to self and identity.

In the next chapter, Bahman Shirazi provides an outline of ' The Sufi path of self-transformation '. Beginning with a brief introduction to Islam (which means 'peaceful surrender' to the Divine Will), Shirazi notes that the process of spiritual transformation involves seven classical stages—awakening, abstinence, non-attachment, spiritual poverty, patience, God-reliance, and joyous certitude. The spiritual journey in Sufism begins with the sharia which is a collection of principles and practices that govern the day-to-day life of Muslims. The next level involves tarigha , which literally means a path which requires the expert knowledge of a guide ( sheikh ) to traverse. The third level of the spiritual journey brings the aspirant to a higher spiritual consciousness called haghighat (Truth-consciousness). The fourth and final level of Sufism is known as ma'rifa (Gnosis), which refers to direct knowledge and love of the Divine. The author points out that only persistence, patience and absolute purity of the heart and soul and total sincerity can bring the seeker into direct union with God consciousness.

Suneet Varma's chapter, 'Integral psychology: A new science of self, personality, and psychology ', outlines a theory of personality based on Sri Aurobindo's conceptualization of the human being. Starting with the basic notion of self and personhood in various schools of contemporary academic psychology that are largely located in the lower levels of psychological functioning, the field of Transpersonal Psychology is used as a stepping stone to access the higher reaches of humanity. A brief outline of the Advaita Vedāntic perspectives on personality then paves the way for Sri Aurobindo's neo-Vedāntic depiction of the person. Varma then indicates the potential of Integral Psychology in bringing about human unity. In the last section, the author outlines an approach to the transformation of emotions, and its role in psychotherapy.

In the last chapter with a primarily theoretical focus, ' Psychology of emotions: Some cultural perspectives ', Girishwar Misra begins with a summary of findings on the study of emotions in mainstream psychology. Whereas early studies on emotions searched for universals, the author notes that studies across cultures do indicate differences in the experience of emotions, in their recognition, and variations in their intensity. Misra builds on this and concludes that emotions are culturally shaped. The Indian contribution of rasa theory is then outlined. Misra is of the view that the concept of rasa as meta-emotion and bhāva as emotion, present a new dimension of aesthetic creativity that goes beyond the established views on emotion and widens their scope. The Indian idea of rasa draws our attention to a refined subjective mental state, and in relation to aesthetic experience, the person as dancer/poet and spectator/audience gets transported to an altered state, which may not be in congruence with mundane experience. Misra holds that in the Indian view, emotion can be a transcendental cognition, and rasa involves experiencing the universal self.

The second half of Foundations and Applications of Indian Psychology has five chapters on health, counselling and therapy, five on education and three on social and organisational issues .

' Philosophy of healing in Indian medicine ', is a theoretical overview of Āyurveda, in which Kapil Kapoor first points out that in the Indian intellectual traditions, knowledge is an integrated whole, and Āyurveda is a good example of this. The aims of Āyurveda are two-fold—( i ) freedom from illness, and ( ii ) protection of good health through prevention. Kapoor then notes that this science of medicine recognizes that there is a deep connection between the body and the mind, and that for good health, the mind must be at peace with itself. This peace of mind is born of moral cognition and conduct.

In the next chapter, ' Healing and counselling in a traditional spiritual setting ', Anand Paranjpe describes a typical "neighbourhood guru": not very well-known, living an utterly simple, non-ostentatious life, but highly regarded, deeply respected and much loved by the small circle of people who visit him for guidance and solace. Paranjpe gives his lineage and belief-system, but in many ways more importantly, focuses on the pragmatics: what questions people come with, the type of advice he gives, and the rational behind his responses. It is a type of study we hope to see many more of, as they could provide us with invaluable guidance for the development of more integral, inclusive methods of therapy.

In ' Concept and scope of pratyāhāra in the management of mental health ', K. M. Tripathi describes how yoga can be conceptualized as a system of self-healing. Tripathi notes that following the technical definition of yoga , derived from Patañjali's Yoga-Sūtras , one could consider vipāssanā , Transcendental Meditation, and śavāsana as techniques of pratyāhāra , the control of the senses. The author further points out that through pratyāhāra , one can attain complete isolation from internal as well as external stimuli. Thus, the practice of pratyāhāra can help in managing the stresses of personal life and in regaining composure. Tripathi holds that pratyāhāra is sense-control, leading to self-control. It is one's sensations, perceptions, notions, imagination, and other mental activities that become the subject matter of study when the mind turns inwards for introspection. Introspection helps in regulating and modulating these mental activities by understanding their nature and field of operation, and is a means of redirecting their energy. Thus, perfection in pratyāhāra brings about a deep mental relaxation.

In his chapter on ' Psychotherapy and Indian thought ', Alok Pandey provides a broad overview of the many ways in which Indian psychological concepts and practices can be used in all aspects of counselling and psychiatric care. In general, the Indian view of existence is that of the journey of the divine in a person. All struggles and suffering represent a movement from an infra-rational (animal) existence to a more rational (human) existence, and further towards an even greater supra-rational (divine) existence and an end-state of Truth, Bliss, Peace and Beatitude. This is the human journey: from obscure beginnings in a half-lit animal-human consciousness to an increasingly divine humanity. The counsellor or therapist who can assist us in this journey is but a fellow traveller who has walked ahead of us from a life of relative darkness to a life of increasing Light. Only one who has mastered swimming to a high degree can save the one who is drowning; so is the case with therapy.

In ' Psychotherapy and Integral Yoga Psychology ', Michael Miovic explores some of the concerns of clinical psychology with special reference to the areas of overlap between psychotherapy and Sri Aurobindo's model of Integral Yoga Psychology. Miovic utilizes Integral Yoga Psychology as an organizing framework because Sri Aurobindo interpreted yoga as being primarily a psychological process of self-cultivation and ego-transformation, and expressed his insights in modern English. Like psychotherapists, Sri Aurobindo was deeply interested in the problem of how to change character structure and behaviour, the only difference being that he felt the key to this change was ultimately spiritual. Miovic notes that Sri Aurobindo developed a complex understanding of human psychology, including concepts of the ego, the importance of childhood development, defence mechanisms, the unconscious, the significance of dreams, resistance, and the importance of biology. However, where Sri Aurobindo diverges from Western psychology and psychiatry is in his spiritual realism. The practical consequence of this is that he recommends that people find their souls before trying to work through the unconscious, because the psychic being is a more powerful agent of knowledge and action than the observing ego.

In ' Integral education: An application of Indian psychology ', Neeltje Huppes explores how the basic understanding of life and its purpose which one finds in ancient Indian texts, could revolutionize modern education. In the Indian view, some aspect of the supreme consciousness, though often concealed, pervades each and everything. In our daily consciousness, this supreme consciousness is mostly covered up, yet each of us carries a spark of the Supreme deep within, called the caitya puruṣa or soul. Huppes emphasizes that if the soul is allowed to come to the foreground, it can influence the mental, affective, volitional and physical surface consciousness to act more in harmony with this universal consciousness. The psychological process of human development is thus seen as a progressive development: a development balanced between the innermost part of the being—the soul—and the outer life. Huppes notes that the ideal of integral education combines two lines of development: the revealing and unfolding of the soul, and the development of the mental, affective and physical domains as instruments for expressing that soul in daily life.

In ' The blending of healing and pedagogy in Āyurveda ', P. Ram Manohar highlights how the medical tradition of Āyurveda has preserved a rather unique concept of education that blends principles of healing with those of pedagogy. With its intense focus on the promotion of positive health and well-being, Āyurveda has discovered that elevated levels of health can be achieved only by a subtle transformation of the inner personality. While diseases can be cured, managed or prevented by medical intervention and other physical means, higher states of health can be achieved only through self-awakening. Manohar thus emphasizes that the process of self-education is essentially an educative development, a psycho-spiritual transformation that enables the individual to not only live with awareness, but also with health. The meeting point of the most refined methods of pedagogy and healing result in the notion of the physician par excellence as the vaidya , the one who knows the essentials and helps the individual through education to reach a state of heightened awareness, a state most conducive to the acquisition of both knowledge and health.

In ' Situating teacher education in the Indian context: A paradigm shift ', Bharati Baveja indicates how teacher training could be made more responsive to the actual needs of children using theories derived from the Indian tradition. Baveja points out that discourse in education, particularly teacher education, has its origins in pragmatic concerns overridden by social pressures in the late nineteenth century, concerns that are largely, if not entirely, irrelevant today. At the same time, educators in India have consistently failed to acknowledge the richer and more convincing concepts that exist in the Indian traditions since time immemorial. Basing herself on ideas given in the Bhagavad Gītā, Baveja notes that teaching is not a collection of skills but an ongoing process of contemplation; a continuous search for truth; an ongoing quest to understand the learner, the processes of learning, the ways of providing learning experiences and inspiration to help students embark on their inner journey. Thus, a teacher has to be a true karma yogī who engages in enjoined actions in the pursuit of knowledge, and is committed to the development of her self and her students.

In ' Education for life: The Mirambika experience ', Anjum Sibia utilizes the ethnographic method to examine the teaching-learning process in Mirambika, a centre of learning based on Free Progress Education, as outlined by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Sibia explicates the pedagogic processes occurring in the classroom in order to understand the relationship between the school philosophy, activities and student outcomes. Sri Aurobindo emphasizes that, 'The chief aim of education should be to help the growing soul to draw out that in itself which is best and make it perfect for a noble cause'. Sibia notes that Free Progress Education is based on the assumption that a person is good in him/herself, and that positive freedom is a pre-requisite to help children by allowing them space to experiment, and by providing them with opportunities for growth.

In ' Krishnamurti and value education ' , Vinita Kaushik Kapoor notes that the aim of education must be to awaken an intelligence through which thought and knowledge find their right place. Such a perception may be seen as a religious perception. Kapoor further emphasizes that it is only when the truly religious mind informs the values on which we build our daily existence that there is a possibility of a sane and orderly world, free from conflict and sorrow. Krishnamurti emphasizes the importance of understanding oneself first, and the role of the educator here is to help the child observe the ways in which thought creates its own prison. Krishnamurti also stresses the relationship of the child with nature as an essential part of education. Finally, Kapoor notes that Krishnamurti initiates a strong and consistent thrust towards establishing values rooted in the sacred, the truly religious.

' Broadening of consciousness: A healing process among the survivors of the Kachchh earthquake ' is an ethnographic study carried out by Kumar Ravi Priya. The study utilizes a cultural psychological perspective on health and illness to understand the phenomena of suffering and healing which took place in the crisis faced by Kachchh during the post-earthquake period. In the chapter, Priya illustrates how the villagers' belief in karma (taken here as an internalized notion of duty towards family, community and nature) facilitated the healing process, as it allowed them to transcend the notion of a limited 'I' or ego and broaden their consciousness to experience themselves as part of a pure and absolute consciousness, as one with the Eternal. Priya also provides a poignant account of how the research process contributed to his own growth as a person.

In ' Resolution of social conflicts: An Indian model ', R.S. Pirta explores the features, dynamics and outcome of the Chipko (hug-the-tree) movement, a people's non-violent struggle for justice and sustainability in the Garhwal Himalayas. Pirta notes that Chipko had its origins in the environmental desecration of the Garhwal Himalayas, characterized by large-scale logging operations managed by private contractors. The villagers revolted against the logging policies of the forest department as it made their lives much more difficult and complicated. A hawk and dove conflict ensued, in which the doves (native Garhwalis) won. This later transformed into a broad-based Himalaya Bachao Andolan (Save the Himalayas Movement). Pirta provides a unique social-psychological analysis of the movement, while exploring the role played by the local deities and their relation to the mental health of the people.

In the last chapter, ' Spiritual Climate of business organizations and its impact on customers' experience ', Ashish Pandey and Rajen K. Gupta come down from the Himalayan villages to the corporate world and offer a good example of what a well-worked-out quantitative study in Indian psychology can offer. After noting how according to the ­Indian tradition, every aspect of society should be permeated with spirituality, the authors look at various concepts used for the study of spirituality in the corporate domain. They then settle on the following main thesis for their study: "spirituality of employees is reflected in the work climate. This may in turn affect the employees' service to the customers." The study confirms the main thesis, though the effect found is not very large, and apparently just one amongst several others.

With this, we have reached the end of our introduction to Foundations and Applications of Indian Psychology. We hope—and actually expect—that Foundations will provide an inspiring read. Each chapter has something unique and valuable to contribute and together, its 26 chapters form a harmonious and representative whole.

Obviously, a book of this size cannot be complete. For every issue we have touched upon, and for many that we haven't even mentioned, there exists somewhere a treasury of more detailed knowledge. Unfortunately most of this knowledge and psychological know-how is at present only available outside the borders of academic science. We hope that this book will encourage an increasing stream of rigorous work bringing the two worlds of outer, scientific, and inner spiritual knowledge closer together. Humanity needs both.

Foundations and Applications of Indian Psychology

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Handbook of Indian Psychology

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• Edited by K. Ramakrishna Rao , Chairman, Indian Council for Philosophical Research (ICPR) , Anand Paranjpe , Chairman, Indian Council for Philosophical Research (ICPR) , Ajit K. Dalal , Chairman, Indian Council for Philosophical Research (ICPR)

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Indian psychology is a distinct psychological tradition rooted in the native Indian ethos. It manifests in the multitude of practices prevailing in the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Unlike the mainstream psychology, Indian psychology is not overwhelmingly materialist-reductionist in character. It goes beyond the conventional third-person forms of observation to include the study of first-person phenomena such as subjective experience in its various manifestations and associated cognitive phenomena. It does not exclude the investigation of extraordinary states of consciousness and exceptional human abilities. The quintessence of Indian nature is its synthetic stance that results in a magical bridging of dichotomies such as natural and supernatural, secular and sacred, and transactional and transcendental. The result is a psychology that is practical, positive, holistic and inclusive.

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Frontmatter pp i-iv

Contents pp v-viii, contributing authors pp ix-xvi, preface pp xvii-xx.

• By K. R. Rao , A. C. Paranjpe , A. K. Dalai

01 - Prologue: Introducing Indian Psychology pp 1-18

• By K. Ramakrishna Rao , Andhra University

02 - Indian Thought and Tradition: A Psychohistorical Perspective pp 19-52

• By S. K. Kiran Kumar , University of Allahabad and Montfort College

PART I - SYSTEMS AND SCHOOLS pp 53-54

03 - jaina psychology pp 55-72.

• By Jagdish Prasad Jain , Jawaharlal Nehru University

04 - The Foundations of Early Buddhist Psychology pp 73-84

• By David J. Kalupahana , University of Ceylon

05 - Varieties of Cognition in Early Buddhism pp 85-104

• By P. D. Premasiri , University of Peradeniya

06 - A Buddhist Theory of Unconscious Mind ( Ālaya-Vijñāna ) pp 105-128

• By William Waldron , University of Wisconsin

07 - Indian Buddhist Theories of Persons pp 129-141

• By James Duerlinger , University of Iowa

08 - Buddhist Psychology: A Western Interpretation pp 142-162

• By William L. Mikulas , University of Michigan

09 - Transpersonal Psychology in the Bhagavad-Gītā : Reflections on Consciousness, Meditation, Work and Love pp 163-185

• By Sangeetha Menon , National Institute of Advanced Studies in the Culture, Cognition and Consciousness Unit

10 - Yoga Psychology: Theory and Application pp 186-216

• By K. Ramakrishna Rao , Andhra University, Anand C. Paranjpe , Simon Fraser University in Canada

11 - Patañjali Yoga and Siddhis : Their Relevance to Parapsychological Theory and Research pp 217-243

• By William G. Braud , University of Iowa

12 - Yoga Psychology and the, Sāṃkhyā Metaphysic pp 244-252

• By Eugene Taylor , Princeton University Press, Judith G. Sugg , paraakaa

13 - Psychology in the Advaita Vedānta pp 253-285

• By Anand C. Paranjpe , Simon Fraser University in Canada, K. Ramakrishna Rao , Andhra University

14 - The Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika Theory of Perceiving the World of our Experience pp 286-298

• By V. N. Jha , University of Pune

15 - Psychological Theories and Practices in Āyurveda pp 299-310

• By Malavika Kapur , National Institute of Advanced Studies

PART II - TOPICS AND THEMES pp 311-312

16 - indian theories of perception: an inter-school dialogue from buddhist perspective pp 313-335.

• By S. R. Bhatt , University of Delhi

17 - Indian Psychology of Motivation pp 336-347

• By Adhikari Srikanta Dash , Utkal University

18 - Personality in Indian Psychology pp 348-360

• By Arbind Kumar Jha , University of Delhi

19 - “Giving” as a Theme in the Indian Psychology of Values pp 361-382

• By Lilavati Krishnan , Indian Institute of Technology, V. R. Manoj , Centre of Sanskrit and Vedic Studies

20 - The Making of a Creative Poet: Insights from Indian Aestheticians pp 383-389

• By C. Panduranga Bhatta , Indian Institute of Management

21 - Anchoring Cognition, Emotion and Behaviour in Desire: A Model from the Bhagavad-Gītā pp 390-413

• By Dharm P. S. Bhawuk , University of Hawaii at Manoa

22 - Consciousness pp 414-428

• By Matthijs Cornelissen , Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education in Pondicherry

23 - J. Krishnamurti: Freedom from Knowledge pp 429-446

• By G. Aruna Mohan , St. Joseph's College of Education for Women

PART III - APPLICATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS pp 447-448

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Marjorie Taylor Greene rips Laura Loomer over 'extremely racist' anti-Harris post

by RAY LEWIS | The National Desk

WASHINGTON (TND) — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Wednesday urged an activist traveling with former President Donald Trump’s campaign to delete a social media post making fun of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Indian ancestry.

Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump social media personality, wrote on X this past weekend that the White House would smell like curry if Harris wins, adding that presidential speeches would “be facilitated via a call center.”

"The American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand,” Loomer’s post reads.

Rep. Greene called her comments “appalling” and “extremely racist.”

“It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA. This does not represent President Trump,” the congresswoman said. “This type of behavior should not be tolerated ever. @LauraLoomer should take this down.”

Loomer on Wednesday attended Trump’s commemoration of United Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She also flew on the plane the former president took to Tuesday night’s debate.

Rep. Greene said that the activist’s post reflects poorly on Trump, a viewpoint reportedly shared by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

The senator argued that Trump would “serve himself well” to make sure Loomer’s association with him “doesn’t become a bigger story,” according to the Huffington Post .

“Marjorie Taylor Greene is right. I don’t say that a lot,” Sen. Graham noted.

“I think what [Loomer] said about Kamala Harris and the White House is abhorrent, but it’s deeper than that,” he reportedly added.

Loomer wrote in a separate X post that the lawmakers’ criticisms were “petty bulls**t.”

“Republicans attacking me are simply jealous that they were not on the plane with President Trump. That’s what it all boils down to. MTG ... and ... Lindsey Graham are jealous,” she posted.

The White House called comments like those by Loomer “un-American.”

“It doesn’t matter what your political views are. You should stand and condemn these types of just repugnant words,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “No leader should ever associate with someone who spreads this kind of ugliness, this kind of racist poison. That’s what this is.”

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at [email protected] .

Positive Psychology and Hinduism

• Open Access
• First Online: 18 November 2022

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• Kamlesh Singh 4 ,
• Mahima Raina 5 &
• Doug Oman 6  

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Hinduism encompasses considerable heterogeneity within its many schools of thoughts and practice. However, the common thread that binds these multiple perspectives is this handbook’s main topic of inquiry—human well-being and happiness. Hindu thought has always deliberated on the process, nature, conditions, and practices that lead to a fulfilled life. In this chapter, we begin by explaining Hinduism’s core beliefs and tenets that guide daily living. Many extant psychological publications on Hinduism explicate psychological ideas embedded in tradition. We draw comparisons between the Hindu worldview and broadly Western-based positive psychology concepts like well-being and the self. The chapter also expands on select Hindu models of human flourishing. The chapter further explains the recent empirical evidence on Hindu constructs, including well-being enhancing strategies, in relation to several positive psychology constructs such as well-being and flourishing. Finally, in the light of the reviewed empirical evidence, we discuss some directions and recommendations for future research at the intersections of Hindu religious literature and positive psychology.

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REBT and Positive Psychology

Introduction: Positive Psychology of Religion Across Traditions and Beliefs

Virtues that transcend: positive psychology in jewish texts and tradition.

• Positive psychology
• Bhagavad Gītā

Hindus represent 15% of the global population, with 99% of Hindus concentrated in the Asia Pacific region, especially in India, Nepal, and Mauritius. The remaining 1% of Hindus are scattered across Europe, Latin America, North America, the Middle East, and Africa. Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam (Oman & Paranjpe, 2020 ). It encompasses a very broad and diverse array of traditions, rituals, practices, beliefs, and philosophies that originated in South Asia. Hinduism regards the four Vedas as the fountainhead of its wisdom, but it also reveres several other important texts such as the Purāṇas, Laws of Manu, Bhagavad Gītā, Rāmāyaṇa, and Mahābhārata. Collectively, these texts inform, direct, and provide insights on morals, ethics, human functioning, well-being practices, and proper conduct. Specific practices, rituals, and beliefs vary across different states in India, but the overarching aim of these practices and rituals is more or less uniform.

Indian psychology, as derived mainly from classical Hindu thoughts and practices, has global relevance and significant implications for human functioning, suffering, health, and well-being (Oman & Paranjpe, 2020 ). Mainstream psychology’s overall shift towards studying well-being has intensified interest in Hindu practices as well, as is evident in the growing body of research on Hindu practices such as meditation and yoga. This empirical scrutiny has corroborated the potential of Hindu thought and practice to both explain and enhance well-being.

Yet intersections between Hinduism and positive psychology still lack adequate visibility in academic discourse. Rao and Paranjpe ( 2016 ) have noted two contributing factors: (a) Indian psychology or Hindu sources emphasize theory and concepts, rather than the prototypical forms of evidence recognized by modern science; and (b) psychology, as practiced in academic and professional spaces in modern India, replicates and imitates the Western models that proliferated as Western-trained scholars began working in universities across India. The latter may be called mainstream psychology, which is contrasted with an Indian psychology that is based on native ideas and practices that developed over millennia in the Indian subcontinent. In recent decades, psychology researchers in India have undertaken systematic scholarship to restore balance and recover access to insights transmitted by Hinduism and other Indian traditions, an effort often called the “Indian Psychology Movement” (Oman & Paranjpe, 2020 , p. 178; see also Cornelissen, 2002 ). Contributors to this movement report that underlying different indigenous Indian or “Dharmic” traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, there is a “unifying thread that runs across these different systems binding them together in significant ways [and giving] Indian thought its identity,” thereby warranting “Indian psychology” as a broad term that encompasses psychologies embedded in multiple faith traditions (Rao & Paranjpe, 2016 , p. 9).

The present chapter focuses on Hinduism, offering an overview of intersections between Hinduism and positive psychology. We first compare and contrast modes of inquiry used within Indian and mainstream psychology. Second, we explain two influential conceptualizations of flourishing that are derived from traditional Hindu thought. Third, we review empirical studies on selected Hindu concepts and practices, describing their relationship with various well-being indicators. After sketching dissemination efforts by a variety of nonacademic institutions in India and abroad, we conclude by discussing implications and suggestions for broadening scholarship on the intersections of Hinduism and positive psychology.

Hindu View of the World and Human Nature

Meaning of well-being: hindu (indian) psychology vs. mainstream positive psychology.

Hindu spiritual thought has the aim of elevating human functioning, which resonates with positive psychology’s aim of promoting human flourishing. Positive psychology has been responsible for expanding the meaning of human well-being beyond the absence of illness to include physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. However, the meaning and experience of every psychological attribute of human existence is moderated by sociocultural factors. For example, in Western culture and extant positive psychology scholarship, well-being is usually defined in terms of hedonia (pleasure) and eudaimonia (personal fulfilment; Ryan & Deci, 2001 ). Under this broad umbrella of hedonia and eudaimonia, several models of well-being have been postulated, including psychological and social well-being (Ryff, 1989 ; Keyes, 1998 , 2005 ), as well as the PERMA model of well-being that reflects an amalgamation of p ositive emotion, e ngagement, positive r elationships, m eaning, and a ccomplishment (Seligman, 2011 ). Overall, two noteworthy features of Western concepts of well-being are (a) an emphasis on the biopsychosocial viewpoint of well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2001 ) and (b) a focus on the external conditions of well-being, such as interpersonal relationships and social engagement. In addition to these, the Hindu (Indian) conception of well-being directly emphasizes the influence of consciousness, viewed as transcendental in nature and often called sat-chit-ananda (defined in Hindu thought as the inner state of truthfulness, bliss, and consciousness; Srivastava & Misra, 2011 ). Hindu philosophers have avidly discussed the nature and conditions of happiness, satisfaction, and fulfilment, including how to attain and sustain this state (Srivastava & Misra, 2011 ).

In contrast to the mainstream psychological emphasis on identifying contingent well-being predictors such as relationships, traditional Hindu thought affirms that well-being is ultimately not contingent on any objective, tangible conditions (Salagame, 2013 ). Instead, experiential knowledge of the self is regarded as pivotal, with self-inquiry viewed as one important facilitator of self-knowledge. The Hindu view parallels some concepts of humanistic psychology, such as self-actualization and the fully functioning individual, that recognize the quest to achieve full human potential as an inherent individual motivation (D’Souza & Gurin, 2016 ). Consistent with these humanistic views, positive psychology also recognizes the importance of human existence as multilayered, and it recognizes the importance of emotions, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments in healthy and optimal human functioning (Seligman, 2011 ; Singh & Raina, 2020 ). In Hindu thought, attaining the state of sat-chit-ananda results in harmony in life (a sense of balance, flexibility, and meaningful mutual relations) and peace of mind (affective well-being and an experience of serenity and calmness; Singh et al., 2016 ). In sum, whereas Hindu thought posits self-inquiry and self-management as precursors to well-being, Western thought, spurred by a materialist worldview, has considered meaningful relationships and positive external experiences as precursors to well-being (Salagame, 2013 ).

The Meaning of Self in Hinduism vs. Mainstream Positive Psychology

Consistent with the Hindu emphasis on spiritual as opposed to material dimensions of human existence (Salagame, 2013 ), Hinduism also emphasizes a spiritual understanding of the self. The Western worldview uses notions such as self-concept and self-identity to explain the meaning of the self, which generally is viewed as a social-cognitive construction (Oyserman et al., 2012 ). In contrast, the Hindu notion of self clearly distinguishes the materially experienced human body ( deha ) from the spiritual existence of human life ( jiva ). One clarifying example is Hindu rituals of death: Rituals for the dead body before cremation are distinguished from rituals for the spiritual self ( jiva ), which are performed to facilitate the soul’s journey (Salagame, 2013 ).

Similarly, although Hindu concepts of well-being center on holistic individual emancipation (which involves expansion or elevation of mind–body–consciousness as a whole), mainstream psychology has emphasized therapeutic adjustment as a practical goal and the creation of universally generalizable knowledge as its methodological ideal (Rao & Paranjpe, 2016 ). Although positive psychology and Hindu thought converge regarding well-being and optimal human functioning, their uses of concepts diverge, with the former relying heavily on scientific, reductionistic methodologies. More broadly, Hindu concepts of human nature and the sources of well-being are rooted in Sanskrit and related Indic languages, and many terms are “‘Sanskrit [or other Indic language] non-translatables’ [that] cannot be translated by a corresponding English word without reducing their original purport” (Choudry, 2017 , p. 443; see also Choudry & Vinayachandra, 2015 ; Malhotra & Babaji, 2020 ). Bearing in mind such limitations, the next sections discuss some common Hindu models of well-being and how their constituent concepts are problematized and studied in Hinduism versus positive psychology.

Hindu Models of Human Well-Being

Bhawuk ( 2011 ) presented models of human flourishing and happiness drawn from Hindu texts. Here we discuss some key concepts and their intersections with positive psychology.

Anāsakti : The Root of Developing the Virtue of Temperance

Perhaps the most influential Hindu model of flourishing is presented in the Bhagavad Gītā , a sacred text dating in its present form from approximately the second century BCE. The Bhagavad Gītā stresses the attainment of sthitaprajña , which refers to being established in a state of wise equanimity or temperance. This state is attained when thoughts, emotions, and desires are managed effectively through niṣkāma karma or dispassionate action (Singh & Raina, 2015 ). Using this basic tenet of Bhagavad Gītā , Bhawuk ( 2011 ) explains how thoughts, cognition, and behavior are intricately woven and how their interactions can affect human well-being and flourishing. He explains that when an embodied individual becomes attached to a goal, a strong desire to achieve the goal erupts. At this stage, the individual engages in action to achieve the goal, which can result in a plethora of emotional outcomes. For example, if the individual is successful in achieving the goal, it can result in the person experiencing greed to achieve more, and failure can result in anger. These emotional reactions serve as reinforcers that influence future decisions. An individual continues to be mired and burdened with emotions and thoughts, as desires are understood to be “fire that is never satiated” ( Bhagavad Gītā , Verse 3.39). Desires have the capability to overpower an individual’s intellect and mind , and the fulfilment of one desire leads to the birth of another. Thus, according to the Bhagavad Gītā , the only way to lead a happy and purposeful life is by managing our desires. To achieve this, individuals must pursue all their worldly duties and desires dispassionately ( niṣkāma karma ). This essentially means pursuing every task and desire wholeheartedly but without personal expectation or embroilment. It is the shedding of attachment to the results, and maintaining a state of non-attachment ( anāsakti ). This can be achieved through meditation and contemplation, as we critically examine and question our desires and how they affect us. As we wean ourselves from attachment to results, the vices of human nature (namely, greed, anger, lust, pride, and attachment/ego) vanish, and we become established in a steady state of temperance. When we pursue our life dispassionately, we lead ourselves towards the habitual experience of temperance. In terms of positive psychology, the concept of non-attachment ( a n ā s akt i ) has some resonance with Peterson and Seligman’s ( 2004 ) model of character strengths and virtues—specifically the virtue of temperance, which encompasses the strengths of humility, forgiveness, and self-regulation (e.g., of emotional reactions to disappointments and insecurities).

Yoga: The Path of Achieving Inner Balance

Western popular culture recognizes a set of practices called “yoga,” which are often presented as a psycho-physical therapy aiming to integrate the mind, body, and spirit. However, this Western yoga, which scholars have called “transnational anglophone yoga,” is most often restricted only to āsanas or physical postures to gain body flexibility and strength (see Oman & Paranjpe, 2020 , pp. 191–192; Raina & Singh, 2018 ). Although terms like jīvanmukti and kuṇḍalinī yoga are very popular in the West, the meanings of these terms have been lost in translation and are mostly restricted to body postures. Even with the often very limited modern understanding of yoga as involving primarily postures ( āsanas ), a plethora of research studies support the efficacy of yoga practice for human health and well-being (Ross et al., 2013 ; Ross & Thomas, 2010 ; Sengupta, 2012 ; Simard & Henry, 2009 ). However, the word yoga traditionally means a state of union achieved through various paths of unification. The Sanskrit word yoga is derived from the root “yuj,” which means to bind together. The union here refers to the union of an individual soul with the absolute, often translated as God (De Michelis, 2004 ).

Due to our socialization, we are reinforced positively or negatively to respond to our environment in a conditioned manner. An individual responds to these desires in different ways, often leading to an experience of an ever-oscillating mind. The aṣṭāṅga yoga (literally, eight-limbed yoga), taught in the Patañjali Yogas ūtras , emphasizes cultivating mental focus through concentrative meditation and other practices. This practice leads to freedom from many common manifestations of mental instability, which itself is understood to be a root cause of unhappiness.

Many people within and outside contemporary India have come to regard Indian wisdom traditions as a fountainhead of immense knowledge on the meaning of self and on understanding the antecedents of human well-being and flourishing. However, given its complex nature, Hinduism’s deeper concepts have sometimes been misunderstood as relevant only to mystics or sages who are committed to a spiritual path. Furthermore, mainstream Western psychology has long focused on pathology and has only recently begun to emphasize well-being (mostly since the emergence of positive psychology). For this reason, scientific understanding of many positive psychology constructs is still relatively nascent. Furthermore, perhaps due in part to the methodological differences noted earlier, there has been minimal exploration and assimilation of Indian psychological constructs into mainstream positive psychology until just recently.

Self-Observation/Introspection: Different Methods Based on Different Philosophies

Because the idea of the holistic self is embedded in the ethos of Hindu (Indian) thought, Hinduism uses first-person approaches to self-observation/introspection as its main tools for studying human functioning. Whereas mainstream psychology understands and uses observation to systematically record manifested behavior, within Indian thought, observation includes both internal/experiential self-observations and external/manifested observations. According to tradition, the complex theories of human cognition, flourishing, and well-being presented in classic Hindu texts were generated after careful self-observation of human processes on body–mind–consciousness levels (Cornelissen, 2011 ; Rao & Paranjpe, 2016 ). Within Hinduism, consistent with the aims of knowing the self, the internal observations of the human mind and consciousness play a centrally important role in the process of human unfolding towards flourishing. Fortunately, psychologists have begun considering cultural nuances in understanding and explaining human functioning and have started to integrate the scientific methodologies and basic tenets of Hindu thought to advance understanding and enhancement of human flourishing (Salagame, 2013 ).

Using Scales to Assess Key Indian Constructs: Strengths and Weaknesses

To bridge the methodological disconnect between Hindu wisdom (Indian psychology) and mainstream positive psychology, recent studies have focused on quantifying a variety of key Indian constructs. The scales have enabled researchers to identify meaningful correlations between some of these Indian constructs and other well-being indicators, and more importantly, they have allowed researchers to explore the culturally situated meaning of happiness and well-being among Hindus. In the next paragraphs, we discuss select Hindu measures that have been developed and describe their scores’ correlations with existing positive psychology concepts.

In some studies, overall well-being has been operationalized as sat-cit-ānanda , which is traditionally understood as a natural state of every human being that involves inner happiness, bliss, and well-being—an emancipated state that every human strives to achieve (see Rao & Paranjpe, 2016 ; Singh et al., 2014b ). In developing a 17-item Sat-Cit-Ānanda Scale, Singh et al. ( 2014b ) found evidence that sat-cit-ānanda is comprised of cit (or chit , consciousness) , antaḥśakti (or antahshakti, inner strength), sat (truthfulness), and ānanda (bliss). These revealed factors indicated that cit or consciousness relates to taking responsibility for one’s thoughts, emotions, speech, feelings, and actions. Sat or truthfulness is seeing positivity and good qualities of others, having the sense of belongingness with one another, seeing goodness in nature, and loving (all) people. Ānanda or bliss refers to the state of mind when an individual ceases to be afflicted by reactivity to the thoughts, behaviors, and actions of others. Ananda is the ability to see events happening around us without getting swayed by them. Apart from the theoretically defined sat-cit-ānanda (the three expected factors), another supporting factor emerged in the statistical analysis—antaḥśakti, or inner strength, which was highly correlated with the other three factors. That factor encompassed items assessing energy, initiative, standing up for oneself, challenges in dealing with difficult people, and ways to achieve what you want to achieve. Sat-Chit-Ananda Scale scores have shown positive correlations with satisfaction with life, subjective happiness and flourishing, peace of mind, harmony in life, and experiences of positive emotions, and they have shown inverse correlations with experiences of negative emotions (Singh et al., 2014b , 2018 ).

Assessing a Pathway to Well-Being

A similar concept of well-being is offered in the Patañjali Yogas ūtras ’ presentation of aṣṭāṅga yoga (eight-limbed yoga) as a pathway to a state of ultimate well-being and bliss. Scores on the newly developed Ashtanga Yoga Hindi Scale have shown correlations between aṣṭāṅga yoga practices and higher flourishing, greater positive emotions, and lower negative emotions (Raina & Singh, 2018 ).

Furthermore, concepts such as anāsakti (detachment) have been conceptualized as a stress-coping mechanism wherein dispassionate action is thought to be associated with well-being (Singh & Raina, 2015 ). Anāsakti refers to the ability to take motivated action without the expectation of rewards or punishment. It is characterized by faith in God, outcome vulnerability, empathy, persistence and fortitude, frustration tolerance, and emotional equipoise. Using the newly developed Anāsakti Scale, several researchers have found evidence that anāsakti is linked to the experience of lower stress–strain (Banth & Talwar, 2012 ; Jha, 2002 ; Pande & Naidu, 1992 ) and higher well-being (e.g., flourishing and positive emotions; Singh & Raina, 2015 ).

Similarly, in Hindu thought, the absence of anāsakti and the presence of vikāras (affliction of mind) constrain one’s ability to experience a state of bliss. Paralleling positive psychology’s efforts to undo the ill effects of negative emotions, Hindu thought has identified five traditional vikāras or vices/internal enemies (Sharma & Singh, 2016 ): lust ( kama : intense desire or obsessive need for sensual gratification), anger ( krodha : strong feelings of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility), attachment ( moha : obsessive attachment to objects or people), greed ( lobha : intense desire for material possessions), and pride/ego ( ahamkara : vanity or grandiosity). Many empirical studies have found correlations between vikāras and negative psychosocial outcomes. For example, anger is positively related to depression, pride is associated with narcissism, and gratitude is inversely related to greed (Peterson & Seligman, 2004 ; Sharma & Singh, 2016 ). Sharma and Singh ( 2016 ) reported that the vikāras were related to the concurrent experience of higher negative emotions and lower positive emotions.

Hindu Practices for Enhancing Well-Being

In this section, while not losing sight of relevant concepts of health and well-being, we give primary attention to the practices for enhancing health that are recommended in Hindu thought. Along the way, we draw parallels between several of these traditional practices and their modern-day manifestations, including “yoga,” mindfulness meditation, and others. We also briefly review empirical studies evaluating the efficacy of modern variants of these practices.

Mind–Body Unity

Hinduism encompasses multiple schools of thought that offer diverse perspectives and explanations of human functioning and flourishing. These perspectives are discussed as six systems of thought, often called philosophies or darśanas (views) in the Hindu tradition (Oman & Paranjpe, 2020 ). Both within and between schools of thought, Hinduism has consistently applied itself to intellectual debates involving philosophical introspection (Salagame, 2013 ).

In the traditional Hindu view, bodily health and well-being are closely tied to advancement in spiritual pursuit. For example, a healthy, light body with glowing skin, a sonorous voice, and fragrant smell are viewed as signs of spiritual progress (Oman & Paranjpe, 2020 ). This holistic approach to health and well-being is the central tenet of Āyurveda, a 5,000- year-old, comprehensive, traditional stream of medicine native to India. Āyurveda simultaneously considers both physical and psychological roots of an illness, and it emphasizes the unique physio-psychological constitution of an individual. Because the locus is the unique constitution of an individual, Āyurveda’s approach differs from that of modern biomedical sciences, which focus on categories (Andreason, 2007 ). Āyurvedic treatments hinge on diet changes, herbs, aroma therapy, color therapy, yoga, meditation, and various detoxification techniques (e.g., nasal cleansing, enema, and mind–body rejuvenation techniques like herbal massages and steam baths). Modern science is increasingly considering the mind–body connection (McEwen, 2017 ), especially when it comes to understanding and treating chronic pain (Leader & Corfield, 2008 ).

Hindu Practices to Enhance Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual Well-Being

Hinduism enlists several paths of self-growth and mastery by recommending practices that enhance positive human virtues. For example, practicing radical love and devotion towards the divine is encouraged. The spiritual practices associated with these values are bhajans, kīrtans , satsang (the practice of singing in the praise of the divine), and mantra japa (“short spiritual formula for calling up what is best and deepest in ourselves,” Easwaran, 2008 , p. 12).

Satsang , kīrtans , and bhajans are community practices (traditionally emerging from South Asia) that aim at personal and spiritual development but are practiced in a group setting. They are usually practiced as a group or community activity that also involves connecting with the community (through religious discourse) in the presence of an individual who has more advanced knowledge of these religious practices (e.g., a spiritual teacher or guru ; Rybak et al., 2015 ). Group practice is understood not just as a means for spiritual emancipation but also as a way to foster healthier interpersonal relations, through strengthening social and family support (Singh et al., 2014a ). Mantra japa (the practice of mantra repetition or chanting) has been understood as a psychological tool that enables an individual to overcome a stressful situation by calming and destressing the mind. When practiced regularly, it has the potential of fostering resilience, thereby contributing to overall improvement in dealing with stress (Bormann et al., 2020 ; Oman & Bormann, 2021 ). Mantra japa can be practiced at various times throughout the day, in between activities of daily living (Bormann et al., 2020 ), or it can be combined with meditation. Evidence indicates the practice fosters long-term psychological benefits such as the development of resilience, healthy coping, and lower depressive symptoms (Wolf & Abell, 2003 ), effective management of mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, and improvement in chronic illnesses such as AIDS and cancer (Oman et al., 2022 ). The practice also induces a deep relaxation state in the brain and body (Harne et al., 2019 ).

Hinduism also encourages self-inquiry, which involves learning about our true self and using the mind to study the very nature of the mind. Self-inquiry is also referred to as the intellectual path towards enlightenment. The practice is used to enhance the value of wisdom and knowledge by emphasizing the use of reasoning skills. These skills are used for critical self-introspection, involving studying oneself and diligently developing and choosing healthy coping mechanisms.

The practices associated with this school of self-inquiry are svādhyāya and meditation. Svādhyāya means study of scriptures and self-reflection (Raina & Singh, 2018 ). This self-reflection involves contemplation of one’s motives, behaviors, and circumstances. Indeed, scores on the newly developed Swadhyaya Scale have been linked to greater flourishing, higher positive emotions, and lower negative emotions (Singh & Sahni, 2016 ). In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that Spiritually Augmented Cognitive Restructuring—a psychotherapeutic intervention that incorporates the practice of svādhyāya —is effective in restructuring cancer patients’ negative core beliefs through the use of spiritual teaching and practices. More broadly, the integration of spirituality with traditional therapy can enhance religious individuals’ well-being (see Captari et al., Chap. 26 , this volume), partly by aiding the process of overcoming self-limiting beliefs and assumptions and allowing for an expansion of self-awareness (Cloninger, 2006 ). In Hinduism, this self-reflection or expansion of self-awareness is the basic tenet and nature of self-inquiry and svādhyāya .

Self-inquiry is also aided by meditation, which is an exercise that relies on two main classes of methods: (a) focused-attention meditation upon a single object, sound, concept, breath, or experience and (b) open-monitoring meditation, involving nonintrusive, nonjudgemental monitoring of the content of experience from moment to moment. Both techniques have documented effects on the regulation of emotions and attention (Lutz et al., 2008 ; Oman & Bormann, 2021 ), partly via the creation of a cognitive-control state that impacts how an individual allocates attention over time. Perhaps due to the efficacy of meditation for regulating attention and emotion, its practice is commonly employed across all major branches of traditional yoga.

Community-Level Spiritual Programs

From a health-promotion perspective, it is important to recognize that support for engaging in Hindu practices is widely available internationally and in India. Many social organizations headed by faith leaders strive to help people understand and experience the benefits of traditional Hindu practices. Organizations such as the Art of Living, Heartfulness, Isha Foundation, and many others (see Appendix 13.S1 ) have a global presence and many followers, and they all strive toward a vision of enhancing people’s health and well-being. They offer various in-person and sometimes online programs on yoga and meditation, and they facilitate access to health and well-being practices, especially among optimally functioning populations. Recent research has supported the effectiveness of such practices for enhancing a variety of well-being indicators, including mental health (e.g., reduced burnout) and physical health (e.g., increased heart rate variability; Arya et al., 2017 , 2018 ; Rangasamy et al., 2019 ; Waghorne, 2014 ). Other groups, such as Ramakrishna Mission, Vivekananda Mission, ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), and Sivananda yoga, are worldwide spiritual movements that propagate Hindu philosophy and ideals and facilitate health and well-being practices in the community (e.g., Chaurey, 2000 ; Seppälä et al., 2020 ).

Conclusion and Future Directions

In this chapter, we have examined various practices, rituals, belief systems, and paths of self-development prescribed in Hinduism. We have also summarized the theory and research on how all these are related to an individual’s physical–mental–social well-being, work, and overall community. In many of these, we have tied them to current positive psychology. Many of the practices have drawn interest across diverse cultures. It is noteworthy and not always understood that the meaning and spiritual relevance of many Hindu concepts and practices have often been lost in translation. Even so, growing empirical evidence supports the benefits of these practices for human well-being and for other outcomes of interest to positive psychology (e.g., virtues).

Hinduism and positive psychology intersect at several points and share the common goal of enhancing human well-being. Although positive psychologists or researchers in India are trained to seek this goal (especially through empirical research), faith leaders have been guided by accumulated traditional experience and wisdom based on what has been called “realization-derived knowledge” (Oman & Singh, 2018 , p. 172; see also discussion of parā vidyā in Oman & Paranjpe, 2020 ). Appropriately merging these approaches could yield beneficial synergies that foster improved understanding and practice. Large disconnects persist regarding the administration and implementation of these approaches, but progress is occurring. Further integration of these approaches on the practical or even epistemic levels might enhance motivation to engage more confidently in practices deemed effective (Ford, 1992 ; Oman & Singh, 2018 ). Similarly, research can support ongoing social uptake of these practices, ensuring that communities within and outside India continue to receive benefit from these time-tested, health-enhancing practices.

On the other hand, positive psychology practitioners in India need to be aware of the deeper effects of religion and culture that seep organically into the psyche. Instead of overemphasizing Western-based principles and implementing them as is with Indian locals, it would be more appropriate to make sustained efforts towards clinical integration—tailoring psychotherapy to a client’s religious/spiritual background and conducting research to explore the conditions under which spiritually integrated therapies can be more beneficial (e.g., Oman & Bormann, 2021 ). Referral networks between traditional and modern practitioners may also be useful (e.g., Shields et al., 2016 ). Practitioners should overcome any mental barriers, imbibed through the conditioning of an education disproportionately steeped in Western thinking, that may undermine their ability to approach the issues informed by an emic understanding.

We also encourage positive psychologists to conduct further research on traditional yet ongoing practices to better grasp their mental health effects and implications for conceptualizing and conducting group therapies. Methods inspired by such indigenous practices, if effective, may potentially be low cost, therapeutic, foster social relationships, encourage community participation, and be serviceable as a form of mental health support for many clients in need.

As we have discussed, Hinduism places much focus on the self and on finding one’s own unique identity and purpose. In addition, Hinduism offers many pathways to optimum human functioning and well-being; we have only discussed a few in this chapter. In the encounter between the very young field of positive psychology and the very old and deep tradition of Hinduism, we have identified many commonalities and overlaps as well as important differences. Research to date has only explored a small fraction of the important questions worth exploring. Further knowledge could foster helpful collaboration between Hinduism (Indian psychology) and positive psychology, for the public good. Together, positive psychology and Hindu traditional wisdom might foster a much-needed integration of empirical and experiential forms of learning, building on the best insights and strengths of each collaborative partner.

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Singh, K., Raina, M., Oman, D. (2023). Positive Psychology and Hinduism. In: Davis, E.B., Worthington Jr., E.L., Schnitker, S.A. (eds) Handbook of Positive Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10274-5_13

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