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Gita and Human Psychology
Gita and Human Psychology
Et ologi all , the o d ps holog , ith its o igi att i uted to the
Greek psyche, ea s stud of the soul . I the ode pa la e, it ea s
the science of mind and behaviour. Now, this inter-related triad of soul,
mind and behaviour also constitutes the central concern of the Bhagavad-
Gita, which ultimately charts the course of harmonising the self (soul) with
the absolute (Brahman), involving inter-alia an in-depth analysis of human
mind and behavioural types. The Freudian structural model of the psyche
comprises three parts: the id, the ego and the super-ego. The id represents
in- o te de ies, the i sti ti e d i es a d i pulses i he ited at i th
a d laid do i the o stitutio of a pe so alit ; it a ts o the pleasure
p i iple , seeki g satisfa tio of i sti tual eeds. The ego a ts o the
ealit p i iple , seeki g to ha el a d eet the id s d i es of passio i
realistic ways, factoring in the influence of the environment through reason
and common sense, constantly conflicted by and constantly seeking to
mediate among the id, the super-ego and the external world, with a latent
predisposition for the id. Originally Freud termed ego to mean a sense of
self, but later modified the meaning as a set of psychic functions, such as
judgement, tolerance, reality testing, control, planning, defence
mechanism, intellectual functioning and memory. Super-ego is the urge to
perfection and represents internalised societal and parental standards of
right and wrong behaviour – a type of conscience that punishes
misbehaviour with sense of guilt.
As e p essl stated i all these ps hologi al theo ies, these a e all odels
to understand and characterise human mind and behaviour. Now, as we
would try to explore here, Gita is also concerned with classifying
personalities based on models: of the good, passionate and dull modes of
mind; of the divine and demoniac endowments; of the devotee and non-
devotee; of the steady and non-steady. In science, the underlying
hypothesis in modeling is that a super-imposition of plural models may
provide a better understanding of the truth of nature. The same applies to
understanding the truth of the human nature and spirit and its causal and
driving principles. In science, Niels Bohr propounded the Complementarity
principle to get beyond the conundrum of duality: that some characteristics
of an electron are explicable by its particle nature (deterministic model)
while some others are explained by its wave nature (probabilistic model).
Similarly, Gita makes the case that the human mind can be best understood
as a super-imposition of the models of impressions (vāsanās), modes
(guṇas), endowments (sampadas), and faiths (śraddhās). In much the same
way, the theory of adhyāsa loosel alled the e o theo , p opou ded
by Adi Shankaracharya, the earliest and greatest commentator on Gita, is
but a model to describe how the non-self comprising the body, mind and
organs superimposes itself on the self (ātman), which in turn is a
superimposition on the absolute (Brahman) or pure consciousness
(caitanya). The essence of the Upanishads and Gita is to get beyond these
superimpositions of error (avidyā) to reach the knowledge (vidyā) of the
self and of its identity with the absolute or the end-reality. The means to
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GITA AND HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY
reach the end is to negotiate the bridge from the practical to the
transcendental, laid across the domains of philosophy, metaphysics, ethics
and psychology.
It is for this reason that through the ages Bhagavad-Gita with its lucidly
universal philosophy spanning the transcendental and practical realms has
fascinated readers – lay and scholar alike. In an exquisitely integrated
sequence of eighteen chapters, this incomparable gift to mankind lays out a
comprehensive blueprint for self-improvement and self-actualisation
leading toward the ultimate goal of spiritual liberation. In the words of Dr.
Radhakrishnan, the Bhagavad-Gita, as its chapter-ending colophons
i di ate, is oth etaph si s a d ethi s, brahmavidyā and yogaśāstra, the
s ie e of ealit a d the a t of u io ith ealit . As o e ould e pe t, a
work involving metaphysics and ethics must deal with the individual as well
as the group. In this study we are going to see how Gita does it, even
reaching up to the global level. Quite naturally, this marvel of synthesis, this
holistic integration of abstract ideas into an empirical blueprint, has been
the subject of deeply erudite commentaries by great sages and scholars.
16 (on the divine and demoniac endowments) and 17 (on the three kinds of
faith) of Bhagavad-Gita. As we shall see, the comprehensiveness and
subtlety of these analyses should tickle the intellect of any student of
psychology and of human behavioural patterns.
Krishna then agreed that indeed the mind is intractable and restless, but
advised that it can be controlled through practice and non-attachment
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GITA AND HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY
The three modes are present in all human beings, only the degrees differ. It
is really a matter of weighted balance of one against two, where one mode
prevails, subduing the other two. The mode that is prevalent determines
the attitudinal type in which a person may fall: sātvika, rājasika or
tāmasika, the first type being characterised by the radiance (prakāśa) of
pure consciousness, the second by the urge to crave and act (pravṛtti), and
the third type by inertia (apravṛtti) and error-prone negligence (pramāda).
Hardly can one find a more scientifically reasoned analysis of human
behavioural types – and this is just the beginning! The same train of
ratiocination then takes us to the next station of understanding by
answering the question, so what happens? The answer stares at us, stark
and clear:
These are the levels through which the soul evolves, rising from inert
subjection to ignorance, through the strife for material enjoyments to the
pursuit of knowledge and happiness. But even at the highest level of
goodness, we remain a prisoner of insecurity, bound by the variable
interplay of our modes, in which the sattva in us may be overcome by the
othe t o odes. “o A ju a s e t uestio is uite e pe ted f o a kee
student: How is a person who reaches the status of triguṇātita (or
jivanmukta in his present life) by rising beyond the three modes
characterised? What is his way of life? How does he get beyond the modes?
As e fi d f o the Lo d s a s e s, the ha a te isti s of su h a pe so a e
more or less similar to the ideals of the person of steady wisdom
(sthitaprajña in the second chapter), or of the yogī (in the sixth), or of the
devotee (bhaktimān in the twelfth), leading us to infer that the
characteristics of ideality are the same, whatever may be the path to it. And
we also find that these are all characteristics of the mind, rather than just
of the od o its dis ipli e. Thus i epl to A ju a s uestio s the Lo d
clarifies:
We now move to the Chapter-16 which deals with the divine and
demoniacal attributes of nature. As the build-up to this analysis we have,
apart from the modes of nature already discussed, one significant śloka
(15.2) from the chapter immediately preceding, relating to the secondary
roots of the inverted Cosmic Tree, spreading downwards as the impressions
(vāsanās or saṃskāras), which the soul carries as its baggage from past
deeds (incidentally, belief in rebirth is central to the philosophy of Gita).
And a preview of those vāsanās was even earlier given in the ninth chapter,
where these were classed as divine (daivīm), fiendish (rākṣasīm) and
demoniacal (āsurīm). However, the sixteenth chapter begins by showing
the distinctions between the good and the bad vāsanās by grouping them
under just two generic heads: the divine nature consisting of the good
sātvika vāsanā, prompting actions in a scripturally consistent manner; and
the demoniac nature, where the demoniacal and fiendish inclinations are
clubbed together, consisting of the impure rājasika and tāmasika vāsanās,
prompting scripturally inconsistent actions. This simplified two-tier
classification is intended to facilitate conscious adherence to divine and
rejection of demoniacal behaviour. This classification of human attributes is
so true to our all-too-familiar stereotypes that we can only marvel at the
analytical depth of universal human behaviour patterns that was explored
in the Bhagavad-Gita. The divine attributes are large in number, making
their total attainment a somewhat challenging proposition, but the degree
of difficulty or facility would depend on the in- o past aggage of
vāsanās that one may carry:
abhayaṃ sattvasaṃśuddhir-jñānayogavyavasthitiḥ /
dānaṃ damaśca yajñaśca svādhyāyastapa ārjavam //
ahiṃsā satyam-akrodhas-tyāgaḥ śāntir-apaiśunam /
dayā bhūteṣv-aloluptaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīr acāpalam /
tejaḥ kṣamāh dhṛtih śaucam-adroho nātimānitā /
bhavanti sampadaṃ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata //
Gita; 16.1-3
Fearlessness, purity of mind, persistence in knowledge and concentration,
charity, self-control, sacrifice, scriptural study, austerity and uprightness;
Non-injury, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility,
aversion to fault-finding, compassion to creatures, non-covetousness,
gentleness, modesty and freedom from restlessness;
After this listing of divine attributes as what should be acquired, the Lord
presently conveys in one brief verse the demoniac nature as what should
be eschewed:
Indeed, blessed is the society where people of such attributes are not too
many. But it is not just a distinction of white and black. There are shades of
grey as well, for the simple reason that the large majority of us are
endowed with a mix of the divine and the demoniac: nothing is wholly good
or wholly evil. As regards their respective results, the divine attributes are
said to make for deliverance and the demoniac for bondage. Then in a
longish sequence of fifteen couplets (16.6 to 16.20), the Lord describes the
nature of the demoniac and the dreadful consequences of that nature. This
elaboration is in place, because the demoniac negatives (flaws) that need
to be shunned but have so far been given only a short shrift (in 16.4) need
more detailed analysis vis-à-vis the divine positives (idealities) that have
been covered at length in terms of the qualities of the sthitaprajña, the
yogī, the bhaktimān, and just now the divine. The sequence on the nature
of the demoniac thus begins with a significant prefatory couplet which is
loaded with Upanishadic implications having a profound bearing on human
psychology:
Now, with the human and fiendish natures being included in the demoniac,
and with the divine type already dealt with at length, the second line marks
the beginning of the analysis of the avoidable demoniac aspects of nature.
The subsequent observations and conclusions are quite vivid, and are
meant to urge men to desist from demoniac tendencies. The following
summary would speak for itself:
Finally, the Lord tells us of the terrible fate that awaits these demoniacal
men who, given to conceit, power, arrogance, lust and anger, despise Him
who dwells in their own bodies and in others:
But such dire ends need not be construed as a note of despair. The advice
here is to shake off the demoniac proclivities. On the optimistic side, it is
open to all to try and achieve purity and perfection. So the transcendental
psychologist alerts us of the three evils that lead to hell, after averting
which man can reach the highest state by doing what is good for his soul.
The three evils of the mind are unequivocally identified as lust, anger and
g eed, thus o e full a s e i g A ju a s ea lie uestio – by what is man
impelled to commit sin:
Ne t, i Gita s Chapte -17, the aforesaid three modes of the mind are
shown as applicable mutatis mutandis to the religious attitudes of men. On
that basis, faith of the embodied is divided in three types, born of their
individual nature (svabhāva) based on past impressions, as good,
passionate and dull. The three types have their typical objects of worship:
Good men worship the gods, the passionate the demigods and ogres; and
the ignorant type worship the spirits and ghosts. Of the last two types the
Lord is highly critical: Those men, vain and conceited and impelled by lust
and passion, who perform violent austerities that are not ordained by
scriptures; being foolish torture all the organs in their body as also the in-
dwelling Me – know them to be of demoniacal resolve (17.2 – 17.6).
Foods that augment life, vitality, strength, health, happiness and delight,
hi h a e su ule t, soft, ou ishi g a d ag eea le a e dea to the good .
Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, very hot, pungent, harsh and burning,
producing pain, grief and disease are liked the passio ate .
That which is half-cooked, lacking in essence, putrid, stale, refuse and
u lea is the food dea to the dull .
Fittingly our last port of call in the psychological voyage through the
Bhagavad-Gita is the concluding Chapter-18 on soul s deli e a e. E e this
chapter, with its profound transcendental import, has much to offer on the
human mind and its strengths, foibles and follies. The three-fold method of
classification is applied here in respect of human attributes, agents and
actions, including the aspects of knowledge, work, its doer, intellect,
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GITA AND HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY
Here there are two schools of interpretation – one broadly catholic and the
other rigidly exclusive. The exclusivists interpret svadharma as the role
enjoined by the four-fold division of castes. This may have had been
appropriate in the ancient society, where strict division of labour on
hereditary family lines and skills would have been of use as a basic
organising principle. But now one could be more inclined to the liberal
view, which has illustrious modern proponents – Bankimchandra and
Radhakrishnan – to name just two of them. Dr Radhakrishnan, for example,
has given us these pearls of enlightened modern wisdom:
Having imparted His sublime wisdom, the Lord then leaves the decision to
A ju a s hoi e yathe’ chasi tathā kuru), because the Supreme does not
impose. It is for man to exercise his free will and make a conscious choice,
aided by knowledge and wisdom. After all Krishna is only the charioteer, he
is not one to constrain the warrior who has to win the battle in his mind
and come to his own considered decision. And the great warrior did reach
his firm and clear-cut decision, all his illusions removed and all doubts
finally resolved: