Partial preview of the text
Download Notes on Psychology in Ancient India and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!
Overview of Psychology in Ancient India: Psychology in ancient India was governed by various philosophies and religious thoughts. The Vedas (Sanskrit: knowledge) are the most sacred books of Hinduism and the oldest literature in India. The term Veda applies to four collections of hymns which have addressed various deities and are chanted during sacrifices. One of these hymns is the Rig Veda. The final portions of the Vedas are known as the Upanishads or Vedantas. The fundamental concern of the Upanishads is the nature of reality. They teach the identity of the individual soul (atman) with the universal essence soul (brahman). From the Rig Veda and the Upanishads, we get a discussion regarding the different aspects of personality — self (atman), mind (manas), senses (indriyas) and intelligence (budhi). The Upanishads further tell us that personality can be conceived as a synthesis of matter (anna), life (prana) and mind (manas). Psychology in these periods was a practical one dealing with various principles to discipline our minds and hearts. According to the Vedanta, the mind can be explained as an internal organ (antahkarana) and it emphasizes on the transformation and modification of the mind through Yoga. The Yoga System.can be understood as a system that helps to control the mind (manas) and senses (indriyas). It is also known as Abhidhamma in Pali and Abhidharma in Sanskrit. The two most famous schools of Yoga are known as Pantajali and Shankara. In Abhidhamma what appears to be the self is nothing but the sum total of thoughts, desires, memories, sensations etc. that have continuity through a common thread called bhava (feeling). It is this bhava which connects one moment of consciousness to the next. The Abhidhamma also makes a distinction between two types of mental factors: i) Kusula or pure and wholesome mental factors e.g insight (panna) ii) Akusula or impure, unwholesome and unhealthy mental factors e.g. delusions (moha) Besides the above, there are seven neutral mental factors present in every mental state: apperception (phassa), perception (Sanna), volition (centana), feeling (Vedanta), spontaneous attention (manasikara), one pointedness (ekaggata) and psychic energy (ivitindriya). . When the mind is controlled and it attains a sense of full consciousness through Yoga, it is called Atman. Atman is of two types/levels: i) Jivatman: the realization of self-consciousness and therefore it represents the initial stage of realization. (Jivatman is said to be equivalent to the modern term ‘personality’). ii) Paramatman: is when we go deeper and deeper and we develop a true sense of consciousness. Ancient Indian psychology also recognizes three types of gunas or material substances that make the different traits and temperament of personality. These gunas are of three types: i) Sattva Guna: covers traits like mental illumination, happiness, harmony, mental purity etc. A person high in this guna is characterized by clarity of vision and intelligence. Such a person is free from lust, anger, greed and is not controlled by personal gain at the cost of others but by lokasamgraha i.e. well-being of the entire society. He is gentle, silent, self-controlled, responsible and characterized by sadbhava -.a sense of reality and by sadhubhava - a sense of morality and goodness. ii) Tamas guna: covers emotional traits like mental disillumination, inactivity, dullness, depression, aggression etc. A person high in this trait is likely to develop a personality which is susceptible to delusion and confusion, further characterized by inattention, lack of understanding and indolence. Such a person has neither energy nor zest for life. iii) Rajas guna: covers traits like dynamism, activity, dominance etc. A person high in this trait - is full of unrest, attachment to objects of desire and greedy. He is guided by impulses and emotion and his actions lead to various kinds of grief and pain. This is because his innate abilities are not enough to help him achieve the things he wants and he therefore becomes hostile towards people he encounters at work and e lsewhere. All the three types of gunas are present in all individuals in different degrees. Dominance of any of these gunas produces a certain type of personality. 
