INDIAN PSYCHOLOGY .

Indian Psychology follows the description of self and personality as mentioned in the various
Hindu religious texts. In Hinduism as per Taaittryopanishad, soul (atma or bliss) is wrapped
inside five layers (Pancha Kosha) of Arishadvarga.

The five layers which wrap the soul as per Hindu religious texts are

- Annamaya Kosha (food sheath)

- Pranamaya Kosha (vital air sheath or life force)

- Manomaya Kosha (mind as distinctly different from intelligence)

- Vigyanmaya Kosha (intellect sheath)

- Anandmaya Kosha (Bliss sheath-ceaseless joy not connected to body or mind)

Out of these five layers Annamaya Kosha is the outermost layer of Pancha Kosha and
Anandmaya Kosha is the most inner layer of Pancha Kosha.

There is essential continuity between the self and non-self. This implies that the line demarcating
self and non-self is not a fixed one. The self may be more or less inclusive on different
occasions.

It is naturally believed that psychology as a subject originated in western world. However, a deep
reading of Eastern text like Bhagwad Gita, ideas of Buddhism, Sufism and Integral Yoga gives
an insight into the importance of psychological thoughts in the Eastern system.

BHAGWAD GITA
Bhagwad Gita is a 700 verse Sanskrit scripture that is a part of Hindu Epic Mahabharata. The
Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjun and his guide
and charioteer Krishna. Gita is considered to be one of the best contributions to the world as it is
one of the first revelations from God. It’s a doctrine of universal truth. Gita needs no introduction
and is respected in both Eastern and Western culture. As Bhagwad Gita deals with human
day-to-day worries, anxieties and inhibitions which people face in their daily life. The
importance of Gita cannot be overlooked in any age. It is relevant for people of any culture,
gender, race or religion. Bhagvad Gita was not written at any temple or religious place but was
spoken by lord Krishna in the battle field of Mahabharata, to Arjuna who was facing a situation
of turmoil when Arjuna was supposed to fight against his respected elders, teachers and other
family members. This makes Gita an efficient text which can provide practical solutions to the
daily stress, anxieties, inhibitions and apprehensions that a person faces in his/her daily lives.
The nature of self, consciousness, the universe and the supreme which is described in Bhagwad
Gita has never been presented by any other philosophical or religious work.

There are 18 chapters in Gita each describing different aspect of the process of
self-transformation. He aim of the Gita is to teach a person how to establish composure in his
internal life and in his activities of the external world, to help a person develop tranquility within
and to explain the art and science of doing actions skillfully and selflessly.

The Bhagwad Gita consists of 18 chapters. Each chapter is called yoga. Yoga is the science of
the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness. So each
chapter is highly specialized revealing the path to attain realization of the ultimate truth.

Various Chapters Describing Process of self-consciousness.

KARMA YOGA: The first chapters are classified as the karma yoga as they mainly deal with
the science of individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness
through actions. These chapters are:

i. Visada Yoga: As the opposing armies stand poised for battle, Arjuna, the mighty
warrior, sees is intimate relatives, teachers and friends in both armies ready to figth and sacrifice
their lives. Struck by grief and pity, Arjuna fails in strength, his mind becomes confused and he
gives up his determination to fight.

ii. Sankhya Yoga: In this chapter, Krishna explains the fundamental distinction
between the temporary material body and the eternal spiritual soul. Krishna explains to Arjuna
the nature of selfless service to the supreme and the characteristics of a self-realized person.

iii. Karma Yoga: This chapter summarizes the role of action of ‘Karma’ in one’s life. It says
that by acting for the pleasure of the supreme, without selfish motives, one can liberate from the
law of Karma (action and reaction) and attain transcendental knowledge of the self and the
supreme.

iv. Jnana Yoga: In this chapter Krishna talks about the spiritual knowledge of the soul, of
God and of their relationship which is both purifying and liberating. He says that such
knowledge is the fruit of selfless devotional action (Karma Yoga).The lord explains the remote
history of the Gita, the purpose and significance of his periodic descents to the material world
and the necessity of approaching a a guru a realized teacher.

v. Karma-Sanyasa Yoga: This chapter talks about action or Karma. Lord says that by
outwardly performing all actions but inwardly renouncing their fruits, the wise man is purified
by the fine transcendental knowledge and attains peace, detachment, forbearance, spiritual vision
and bliss.

vi. Dhyana Yoga:Here the lord talks about the power of Ashtanga yoga, a mechanical
meditative practice, which controls the mind and senses and centres concentration on parmatma
(the super soul, the form of the lord situated in the heart). This practice culminates in samadhi,
full consciousness of the supreme.

BHAKTI YOGA: The middle six chapters have been designated as the Bhakti Yoga, as they
principally deal with the science of the individuals consciousness attaining communion with the
ultimate consciousness by the path of devotion. These chapters are

vii. Paramhans a Vijnana Yoga: this chapter talks about the knowledge of the absolute. Lord
Krishna tells Arjuna that he is the supreme truth, the supreme cause and sustaining force of
everything both material and spiritual. The advanced souls surrender to him in devotion,
whereas, impious souls divert their minds to other objects of worship.

viii. Akshara Parabrahma Yoga: This chapter talks about how by remembering Lord Krishna
in devotion throughout one’s life and especially at the time of death one can reach supreme
abode, beyond material world.

ix. Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga: This chapter talks about the power of bhakti and
devotional service in attaining the transcendental self.

x. Vibuti Vistara Yoga: It talks about that the wondrous phenomena showing power,
beauty, grandeur or sublimity either in the material world or in the spiritual, are nothing but
partial manifestations of Krishna’s divine energies and opulence. As the supreme cause of all
causes and the support and essence of everything, Krishna is the supreme object of worship for
all beings.

xi. Visvarupa Darsana Yoga: Lord Krishna grants Arjuna divine vision and reveals his
spectacular unlimited form as the cosmic universe. Krishna explains that his own beautiful
human like form is the original form of Godhead. One can perceive this form only by pure
devotional service.

xii. Bhakti Yoga: Bhakti Yoga, pure devotional service to Lord Krishna, is the highest and
most expedient means for attaining pure love for Krishna, which is the ultimate end of spiritual
existence.

JNANA YOGA: The final six chapters are regarded as the Jnana Yoga, as they are primarily
concerned with the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the
ultimate consciousness through intellect. These are
xiii. Kshetra Kshetrajana Vibhaga Yoga: This chapter talk about the individual who
understands the difference between the body, the soul and supersoul, attains liberation from this
material world.

xiv. Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga: It talks about the three modes or qualities of material nature i.e.
goodness passion and ignorance. Lord Krishna explains what these modes are, how they act upon
us, how one transcends them and the syptoms of one who has attained the transcendental self.

xv. Purushottam Yoga: The chapter talks aout the ultimate purpose of vedic knowledge which
is to detach oneself from the entanglement of the material world and to understand Lord Krishna
as the supreme personality of Godhead. One who understands Krishna’s supreme identity
surrenders to him and engages in his devotional service.

xvi. Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga: This chapter tells that those who possess demoniac
qualities and who lives playfully, without following the regulations of scripture, attain lower
births and further material bondage, but those who possess divine qualities and lines regulated
life gradually attain spiritual perfection.

xvii. Shraddha Traya Vibhaga Yoga: It talks about three types of faith and its outcomes Acts
performed by those whose faith is in passion and ignorance yield only impermanent material
results, whereas acts performed the goodness, in accord with scriptural injunctions, purify the
heart and lead to pure faith in Lord Krishna and devotion to him.

xviii. Moksha-Upadesha Yoga: Here Krishna explains the meaning of renunciation and effects
of the modes of nature on human consciousness and activity. He explains Brahman realization,
the gories of the Bhagwad Gita and the ultimate conclusion of the Gita.

He explains that the highest path of religion is absolute, unconditional and loving surrender to
lord Krishna. This frees one from all sins, brings one to complete enlightenment and enables one
to return to Krishna’s eternal spiritual abode.

Importance of Bhagwad Gita in Psychology

Bhagwad Gita is not just conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, but it’s a type of
psychiatric counseling between counselor (Krishna) and a patient (Arjuna). Arjuna, the greatest
hero, momentarily becomes so despondent that he wants to lay his ghandiva down and refuses to
fight. Krishna, his charioteer, makes a quick diagnosis of Arjuna’s mental state as classical
reactive depression coupled with severe anxiety neurosis and starts his psychotherapy session
effectively through this great classic, Shrimad Bhagwad Gita.
Arjuna had all the feature os anxiety, state-dry mouth, palpitation, sweating, trembling of legs,
fear clouded mind etc. Krishna’s diagnosis was dead right. The best treatment for that is good
psychotherapy and Lord Krishna did a good job. He reminded Arjuna that it was his duty to fight
as a warrior; he will let his brother down if he now declines to fight. Krishna tells him to have a
detached attachment in life. It also teaches us that life is a struggle with ups and downs like the
waves in the sea which one has to survive to live, but it says that if you want to realize God you
have to win over your ego. Krishna practiced futuristic medicine of making the irrational mind
see reason and work properly (psychotherapy). The Gita also gives us a living philosophy for
happiness of mind and peace. Detached attachment is a wonderful formula to avoid shoka
(sorrow) in life and to move on.

BUDDHISM
The life and the basic teachings of Lord Buddha is known to us, through stories we have been listening to
since childhood. Lord Buddha was born in a royal family in Kapilavastu in the 6th century BC and
renounced the world early in life seeing disease, old age, death and other miseries of life.

Throughout his life he endeavoured to seek solution to all miseries of life. He tried to sought answers to
his questions from numerous religious teachers of his time but nothing satisfied him. He practiced great
austerities, did intense meditation with his strong will and mind, free from all disturbing thoughts and
passions. His aim was to search for the causes of all sufferings in the world. Finally, he accomplished his
mission and prince Siddhartha became Buddha or ‘enlightened’. The message of his enlightenment laid
the foundation of both Buddhist religion and philosophy. Buddhist psychology is both a psychology of
transformation and theory of cognition. As a psychology of transformation, it aims to dvelop the innate
psychic potential of every being to its perfection.

The Ordinary state of being is ‘flawed’ or ‘pathological’ in the sense that one has a limited perception of
the world and undergoes innumerable cycles of suffering psychological tensions in attempts to respond
and cope with the world. These efforts do not provide everlasting happiness because the perceptions of
self and world are discordant with one’s true nature. Buddhist psychology aims to transcendthis
entrapment. It’s main endeavor is to analyse the root cause behind any suffering. Buddhism focuses on
personal spiritual development and strives for true nature of life.

Although there are many divisions or schools within Buddhism, there are two main branches which differ
in some areas of focus

- Theravada Buddhism: It focuses on individual enlightenment and experience as well as monastic life.

- Mahayana Buddhism: It focuses on collective freedom from suffering and teaching the ways to
enlightenment. Zen and Tibetan Buddhism are considered to be the off shoots of Mahayana Buddhism.

Key principles of Buddhism: Buddhism is more than a religion; it is a tradition that focuses on personal
spiritual development. For many, it is a philosophy and a humanistic way of life which can be summed
up as striving to lead a moral life; being aware of one’s thought and actions; and developing wisdom,
compassion and understanding. It is all about finding inner peace and controlling one’s self desires. The
principles of Buddhism are based on four noble truths and eightfold path.

Buddhism’s Four Noble Truth: When Siddhartha Gautama achieved his spiritual breakthrough beneath
the Bodhi tree, he came to an important realization concerning the plight of the world and our physical
existence within it. He realized particular truths about the world, these are called the four noble truths.
These are about the world, these are called the four noble truths. These are

- Existence of Suffering (Duhkha)

- Suffering has a cause namely craving and attachment (Duhkha-Samudaya)

- There is a cessation of suffering (Duhkha-Nirodha)

- There is a path to the cessation of suffering (Duhkha-Nirodha-Marga)

The Eight Fold Paths in Buddhism:

The path to cessation of suffering is an eight fold paths, which helps a person to attain the state of nirvana
by freeing him from attachments and delusions and helping him to understand the innate truth of all
things. This path is open to all monks as well as laymen. The first two segments of the path are referred to
as prajna meaning wisdom.

The eight folds in the path of overcoming stress and sufferings are as follows:

1. Right views: Understanding the nature of all things as imperfect, impermanent and
insubstantial and our self-inflicted suffering is result of clinging (attachment) hate and
ignorance
2. Right Resolve/Aspiration: it is to have determination to free one cell from attachment,
hatefulness and ignorance.
3. Right speech: abstaining from lying, gossiping and hurtful speech in which we can harm
others.
4. Right action or conduct: it includes Pancha Shila the five vows for desisting from
killing stealing sensuality lying and intoxication.
5. Right Livelihood: making one living in an honest non hurtful way. The last 3 segments
of the path are the one Buddhism is most famous for and is concerned with Samadhi or
meditation.
6. Right Effort: taking control of your mind and its content it requires a first to develop
good mental habits.
7. Right Mindfulness: mindfulness refers to a kind of meditation (vipassana) involving an
acceptance of thoughts and perception, bare attention to these even without attachment.
Mindfulness can be extended to daily life as well and it becomes a way of developing a
fuller and richer awareness of life.
8. Right Concentration: one who has guided his life in the last seven rules and freed
himself from all passions and evil thoughts is fit to enter into deeper stages of
 concentration that gradually takes him to goal of his long and arduous journey of
cessation of suffering.

Right concentration through four stages is the last step to attain Nirvana.

● The first stage of concentration is based on reasoning and investigation regarding the truth and
joys of pure thinking.
● The second stage is unruffled meditation free from reasoning, a joy of tranquility
● The third stage of concentration is detachment from even the joy of tranquility but a feeling of a
bodily case persits.
● The Fourth Stage and final one is detachment from the bodily case too. There is then perfect
equanimity and indifference. This is the state of Nirvana, the highest form of Buddhist.

Buddhism and western psychology

Many renowned teachers, clinicians and writers in the west such as Carl Jung, have attempted to bridge
and integrate psychology and Buddhism from time to time, in a manner that offers meaning, inspiration
and healing to the common man's suffering. Buddhism and Western psychology have a number of
commonalities in theory and in practice which has been mentioned by many experts in the field. These
commonalities can be seen in various branches of modern Western Psychology like

Buddhism and Phenomenological Psychology: primary concern of Abhidhamma Pitaka is to understand

the nature of experience and thus the reality on which it focuses is conscious reality. For this reason
abhidhamma shades into phenomenological psychology. Many modern psychologists have found the
discovery and explanations of the abhidhamma Pitaka coincide with their own discoveries and new ideas.
The four noble truths and 8-fold path of Buddhism provide a way to end suffering. Like Buddhism
psychoanalysis focuses on self exploration and self understanding and identifying the cause of. In the
psychoanalytic process the therapist asks the patient to give up conscious control over the presentation of
his or her inner world. Both are radically experiential rather than primarily philosophical or dogmatic.

Buddhism and Existential Psychology Buddha said that life is suffering at this suffering is due to
attachment but he believed that this suffering can be extinguished and one can attain the state of Nirvana.
Similar are the concept of existentialist who speak of ontological anxiety, angst, dread, and clinging on to
things with hope of certain benefit. Existentialist talks about freedom which is similar to Nirvana it
emphasizes that there is a way to extinguish suffering. For the existential psychologist the therapist must
take an assertive role in helping the client become aware of the reality of his or her suffering and its roots.

Buddhism and Cognitive behavioural therapy principles: psychotherapy dealing with cognitive
restructuring Share Core principles with ancient Buddhist antidotes to personal suffering. Fromm,
distinguishes two types of meditative techniques that have been used in psychotherapy. One is an auto
suggestion used to induce relaxation. Two is meditation to achieve higher degree of non attachment of
non greed and of non illusion briefly those that serve to reach a higher level of being from attributes
techniques associated with meditation to Buddhist mindfulness practice. Two other increasingly popular
therapeutic practices using Buddhist mindfulness techniques are mindfulness based stress reduction and
Marsha linehan's Dialectical Behavior Therapy. The noble 8 fold path of Buddhism has a great connection
with the school of behaviorism which describes human functions in relation to principles of behavior
which can be manipulated to create positive effects on the life of the clients. Its principles are in sync with
right to action, right speech and right livelihood. The training of human mind cognitive and cognitive
Behaviorists in order to remove phobias belief and fears by using techniques of visualization and positive
self talk are similar to Noble 8 fold path which focus on right thinking and right mindfulness.

To summarize Gestalt therapy by Fritz Perls, is heavily based on existential principles and significantly
Zen Buddhism. Gestalt therapy also works on the whole person and encourages right mindfulness,
similarly as Buddhism. Similarly Client Centered Therapy by Carl Rogers works on the principle that the
therapist does not direct the process of therapy, but the patient has the resources to deal with their own
cure and self growth, provided the environment is safe for them. Like the Buddha this non-authoritative
approach suggests that the patient can be a light to themselves. Thus we can say that Buddha was a unique
Psychotherapist and his teachings, writings and wisdom helped millions of people throughout the
centuries. Today even the Western world has realized the psychological essence of Buddhism. In short the
Psychotherapeutic models described by Buddhism are of great value and have all time applications.