Emergence of Psychology New Topic NTA NET Psychology 2019

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Psychological thought in some major Eastern Systems: Bhagavad Gita, Buddhism, Sufism, and Integral Yoga.

  • Bhagavd Gita is the communication between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. The warrior Arjuna seeks wisdom and Krishna gives advice to him.
    • According to Bhagavd Gita human, face problems because of the lack in integration of full integration of life. Bhagavd Gita explains about the concept of consciousness, which is one of the important subject matter of psychology.
    • It is related to the concepts explained by Sigmund Freud. The story and characters in the Bhagavd Gita clearly depicts how id, ego, and super ego works. Bhagavd Gita states that to understand about consciousness knowledge about experiences and intellectual ability is necessary.
    • It also explain about the state of enlightenment. It also states that people have acquire the ability to interact with his environment by one՚s intellect (Buddhi) .
    • It is the intellectual ability that helps an individual to behave in appropriate manner according to the situation.
  • Buddhism is the religion which emphasis on human mind and analyzes emotion, cognition, behavior, and motivation. It also deals with psychological therapeutic methods. The aims of Buddhist psychology in therapy are:
    • The house holder must lead a healthy and virtuous life.
    • Nirvana is the aim of the life, which means complete cessation of dissatisfaction and sufferings.
    • Erich Fromm is the psychotherapist who explains about Buddhist enlightenment experiences.
    • Sutta peetika, one of the writings of Buddhism which is a part of Tripitaka consists of psychological materials.
    • Buddhism also explains about theories of perception and cognition. And also psychological cravings, manas (conceit) and ditthi (dogmas) are explained in Buddhism.
    • The three basic drive in Buddhism namely, Kama tanha craving for pleasure satisfaction0, bava tanha craving for existence and vibhava tanha craving for annihilation are compared to Freud՚s drive theory.
    • Buddhism explains about consciousness, self-development, and cognition. It also deals with mental illness.
  • Sufism consists of psychological concepts. The basic three concepts include Nafs, which means self, ego, or psyche, the qalb which means heart and the ruh meaning spirit.
    • Nafs is the self or ego. According to Sufism, nafs at the lowest level is the negative trait of human and related to negative tendencies, which are controlled by emotions and desires. Sufic psychology explains about seven types of self. They are tyrannical self, regretful self, inspired self, serene self, and pleased self, pleasing self and the pure self.
    • Qalb is the spiritual heart. It includes the deeper intelligence and wisdom. According to Sufic psychology, qalb is the mediator between nafs and spirit. The self is controlled by qalb.
    • Ruh is related with divinity. It is the whole some of the soul, mind and the body. Ruh is the concept related to ego psychology, cognitive psychology, behavioral psychology, and transpersonal psychology.
  • Integral yoga is also called as Supramental yoga. It is developed on the basis of philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo. It finds all life conscious or subconscious. It is also a methodized effort towards highest condition of victory.Integral yoga suggests that spirit manifests itself in a process of involution. According to Sri Aurobindo, there are two extreme views of life. They are as follows:
    • The materialists: Sri Aurobindo argues that materialists believe only in matter or force. They deny anything else and consider them as inert, illusion or hallucination.
    • The ascetics: they accept the belief in spirit. It is termed as the mechanical unintelligent substance or energy, leading to believing the reality to be an illusion of senses.
    • Sri Aurobindo considers whole life as yoga which helps to aware of divine. According to him, there are three types of being. They are:
    • Outer being which means that being physical and aware about everyday consciousness and experience.
    • The inner or subliminal being means the inner aspects of mental being. They have larger and freer level of consciousness.
    • The psychic being is the personal evolving soul. It is the innermost being, which supports the physical and mental principles.