Anand C. Paranjpe

Theories of Self and Cognition

In this article, select theories of self and cognition from the Indian tradition are examined and interpreted in light of contemporary psychology. The affirmation and denial of the self in respectively the Upaniṣadic and Buddhist traditions of India are explained and are critically compared with their counterparts in the works of Erik Erikson and B.F. Skinner. It is argued that, to properly understand the differing theories, it is necessary to carefully examine what is it that they affirm or deny in the name of self, on what grounds, and to what consequences. A theory of cognition from the Advaita school of Indian thought is outlined and explained to indicate how it enriches the view of transcendental self in the Upaniṣadic tradition. This theory is shown to be constructivist in a way similar to Piaget’s theory. A meditative technique based on the Advaita theory of cognition is briefly described, and it is pointed out how its successful practice leads to a deconstruction of the ego and also to important existential benefits. It is shown how the technique also provides a means to validate the theory. A brief account of a modern sage who successfully followed the Advaita approach to self-realisation is given by way of a case study to illustrate how it plays out in real life. The article is concluded with a discussion on Indian and Western psychologies and implications for future research.

Some Basic Psychological Concepts from the Intellectual Tradition of India

The intellectual tradition of India includes many psychological concepts, theories and techniques that parallel, contrast, contradict or complement Western ideas and theories. Using notions derived from the Upanishads and modern psychology, the paper discusses the nature and states of consciousness, Western metaphors and the Yogic techniques for the systematic control of mental processes to achieve altered states of consciousness. The nature of the self in Eastern and Western thought is presented. In Western conceptualisations, the self is viewed as an ever-changing object and the goal is self-actualisation. In Eastern thought, the self is viewed as an experiencing subject, and the corresponding goal is self-realisation. The nature of human suffering has been variously conceptualised as original sin, as arising from the repression of pleasure seeking tendencies, while the Sankhya system focuses on mental causes that arise from mistaken notions of the self. Maslows views on self-actualisation are contrasted with the Vedantic emphasis on self-realisation. While Maslow focuses on the process of Becoming, the theme of Being is predomi nant in the Vedanta. Karma and the cycle of action and its consequences are discussed and the correspondence between Patanjalis views and current theories of behaviour genetics are presented. The feasibility of examining traditional theories using research methodology and the possible integration of Indian and Western psychologies is discussed.

The Concept of Dharma: Classical Meaning, Common Misconceptions and Implications for Psychology

It is common in India as well as elsewhere today to use the word dharma as implied in the idea of the ‘Hindu dharma’, especially when it is understood as a ‘religion’ in the league of other ‘world religions’ such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. To help clarify the misunderstandings implicit in this usage, I shall first explain the classical definitions as well as relevant features of dharma in the Indian tradition, and then point out the differences between Indian dharmic traditions on the one hand, and features of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) on the other. Finally, I would point out important implications for psychology that follow from the concept of dharma understood in the Indian tradition.

Applied Indian Psychology

In this chapter we present an overview of a variety of applications in Indian psychology in the fields of mental health and psychological well-being. A most prominent application is found in the Yoga-Sūtras of Patanjali. Its aim is to provide a radical remedy for suffering (duḥkha) that pervades the human condition. Persistent effort (abhyāsa) in attaining control over the constant fluctuations of the mind, and cultivating the habit of non-attachment (vairāgya) are suggested its basic means along with physical postures and breathing exercises. According to Patanjali, suffering results primarily from misconstrued notions of the self, and when the fluctuations of the mind are completely controlled, the true self, which is blissful in nature, is revealed. There are several implications of this basic model, which are explained in subsequent sections of this chapter. The first implication is that the realization of the blissful true self, and the resulting cessation of suffering, suggests itself as a supreme goal for human development. A pedagogic implication which naturally follows from the above is that self-realization should be recognized as the highest good (niḥśreyasa) over and above self-actualization and resulting worldly success and prosperity (abhyudaya). Correspondingly, an implication for therapy is that it should aim at a complete transformation of the individual leading to the transcendence of the ego, rather than a mere adjustment of the ego. After a brief account of ways for preventing illness as presented in Patanjali’s Yoga and in the medical system of Āyurveda, we present a brief discussion of the potential relevance of Indian psychology to psychotherapeutic practices as explained particularly by Michael Miovic and Alok Pandey. The last section points out the convergence between Indian psychology and the newly emerging field of positive psychology.

Meditation and Applied Yoga

Various techniques of meditation of Indian and Tibetan origin are getting increasingly popular in the practice of clinical psychology in the past few decades. Also, there is burgeoning literature on clinical and neuropsychological research on the practice of meditation. Before examining the outcomes of this research we first examine what meditation means as described in basic texts of two traditions that are currently popular, namely concentrative methods based on Yoga and vipaśyanā, a Buddhist technique often known as mindful meditation. Of these, the technique of Transcendental Meditation (TM) developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a variation of the traditional yogic method is arguably the most popular. Since the start of research on TM the emphasis has been on neurophysiological concomitants of meditation. As this line of research continues, there is a parallel trend investigating the psychological aspects of meditation—cognition, attention, anxiety or lack of it. There is an emerging interest in the more positive effects such as kindness and compassion. Against this background we present a detailed discussion of the spiritual, psychic, conative, and emotional effects of meditation as revealed in a wide range of research reports. Then we discuss the various therapeutic applications of the practice of meditation for general health, anxiety disorders, hypertension, and so on. Finally we present an overview of what all this means.

Cultural Climate and Conceptual Roots of Indian Psychology

This chapter sketches the cultural background of Indian psychology going back to the earliest times. The ṚgVedic counterpart of the Biblical myth of genesis is briefly described, and its basically agnostic conclusions are noted. Its implications for psychology are pointed out against the backdrop of the history of Western psychology, where the debates between Biblical and Darwinian perspectives and the mind–body problem continue to be divisive. It is pointed out that since the time of the Upaniṣads the predominant view of the relationship between humans and nature is one of man-in-nature, as distinguished from the Biblical as scientific perspectives imply a man-over-nature attitude. The Doctrine of Karma, which presumes the ongoing and inevitable effect of willed action on experience and behavior of persons, is explained and its implications for positive as well as normative views of psychology are pointed out. The concept of dharma is briefly explained, and its main conceptualization as a society’s dominant ethos, rather than as a “religion” analogous to Abrahamic faiths, is pointed out. It is recognized that, insofar as social norms shape individual behaviors, dharma is a persistent factor influencing behavior. Hence, the concepts of dharma and karma form a foundational pair in Indian psychology. Finally, the concept of duḥkha as pervasive suffering in human life is explained, and the goal of its removal is recognized as the theme shaping the applied aspect of Indian psychology.

Mind–Body Complex

This chapter presents the various ways in which mind and body are conceptualized in the Indian traditions since the time of the Vedas. A wide range of schools of thought are covered: Sāṁkhya-Yoga, Advaita Vedānta, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Buddism, and Jainism. Since the Vedic times the mind is seen as clouding pure consciousness. The idea that the mind consists of cognitive, emotive, and volitional dimensions also goes back to ancient times. In Sāṁkhya-Yoga, the focus is on the continuous fluctuations of the processes of the mind (citta vṛttis), and ways for controlling the fluctuations are developed as a means to attain liberation (kailvalya). The Advaitic idea that perception involves the “going out” to the object via senses is briefly explained. The similarities between the Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika ideas of the nature of mind and other major systems of Indian thought are pointed out. In Buddhism mind is often viewed as “that which thinks of its object”, and a variety of aggregates of bodily and mental states are identified and clearly defined. After presenting an account of the ways in which the sense organs are viewed in Indian thought, we present an overview of a model of the mind-body complex. An important distinction made in Indian thought between two ways of knowing: knowing through the mediation of sensing, as opposed to an unmediated knowing or a direct realization of truth in pure consciousness. Finally, some important differences as well as complementary aspects of Indian and Western views of the mind are pointed out.

Scope, Substance, and Methods of Study

This chapter is devoted to explaining what Indian psychology is, and to clarify what it is not. It is not psychology as it is most commonly practiced in India, nor is it about people in India. Rather, it is a broad approach to psychology which is informed and shaped by the long and rich intellectual and spiritual traditions of India, and by the predominant ethos of the Indian cultural tradition. Although Indian psychology is influenced by its cultural origin just as “indigenous” psychology of India is, it is different from the latter in being potentially applicable across cultures, and not being restricted to people of India. Indian psychology involves the study of the person, and the person is conceived as a composite of body, mind and consciousness. Leaving a discussion of this basic theme to later chapters, we offer an overview of the sources of ideas in ancient texts as well as a brief discussion of more recent publications about historical contributions. We then turn to a discussion of methods of study appropriate for studies in Indian psychology. The applicability of various methods currently in vogue is examined along with the limited relevance of the grounding of many of them in the physicalist world view of logical positivism. Finally, we point out how Indian psychology is different from the currently prevailing Western approaches.

Centrality of Consciousness

This chapter involves an in-depth discussion of the nature of consciousness, which is arguably the central theme of psychology in the Indian tradition. Given the return of consciousness as a major topic of interest in a broad interdisciplinary setting, Ramakrishna Rao presents his taxonomic model that covers a broad spectrum of the varied states of consciousness. Against the backdrop of this wide canvas major perspectives on consciousness in a variety of schools of Indian thought are described. The first one covered in this context is the Advaita perspective, followed by its traditional rival in the Buddhist tradition. It is noted how the Advaita perspective originating in the Veda and the Upaniṣads is enriched mainly by Śaṅkara in his Brahma-Sūtra Bhāṣya. The Advaita view makes a clear distinction between the ordinary state of wakefulness on the one hand, and the extra-ordinary Fourth State (turiyā) characterized by existence (sat), knowledge (cit) and positive emotion (ānanda). The Buddhist approach presents a detailed phenomenological description of ordinary as well as extra-ordinary states of consciousness. It is pointed out that, regardless of the sharp contrasts between the Advaita and Buddhist perspectives in terms of their metaphysical assumptions, both systems accept the great value of the transcendental states in realizing the ideal states of variously described as mukti and nibbāna (nirvāṇa). The last section of the chapter is devoted to the discussion of psychology of consciousness in Sāṁkhya-Yoga.

Personal and Social Transformation: Gandhi’s Psychology of Nonviolence

The last chapter is devoted to an account of the life history of Mahatma Gandhi as an illustration of the personal and social transformation through the “yoga of nonviolence” which he developed, preached and practiced. After sketching Gandhi’s historical and personal background, we first discuss in some detail Gandhi’s views of human nature and human development. We note how Gandhi’s thinking was deeply influenced by spirituality of the Bhagavad-Gītā and its ideal of sthitha-prajnatā. Gandhi’s view of human development is explained as a form of dialectic between the divine and devil embedded in human nature. We note that, aside from the Gītā, Gandhi’s thinking was influenced by the Jaina philosophy of anekantawada, which emphasizes the idea of one truth construed differently by wise men, and thus lays the foundation from mutual understanding and dialogue among opponents. Then we present a detailed discussion of the two main principles of Gandhi’s philosophy: satya or Truth, and ahimsā or non-violence. The development of satyāgraha or nonviolent action to resolve social and political conflicts is Gandhi’s most important contribution to modern social psychology. Placing Gandhi’s work within the context of psychology, the concept of satyāgraha is examined in relation to psychoanalytic theory, reviewing in particular the work of Erik Erikson and Sudhir Kakar. The work of several other psychologists is also briefly reviewed along with a discussion of Gandhi’s style of leadership and organizational issues.