CASIRJ Volume 7 Issue 4 [Year - 2016] ISSN 2319 – 9202

TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE BHAGAVAD-GITA: REFLECTION

ON CONSCIOUSNESS, MEDITATION, WORK AND LOVE

Akta Tripathi
akta.tripathi23@gmail.com

Dr. Laxmi Vajpeyi

Assoc. Prof. & Head, Department of Humanities

Babu Banarasi Das National Institute of Technology & Management

Lucknow

Abstract

The bhagavad gita is a major Indian text originally apart of the Mahabharata .The Gita
presents an elaborate analysis of the human mind from the context of active living. The Gita
narrative is not a telltale story of Arjuna‟s depression and his predicament so the bhagavad
Gita. Focus is a healthy mind in temporary crisis, which if not solved may deteriorate in to
mental, physical and social illness. The transpersonal psychology of the Gita is meant for the
humankind of all times. The Gita conceive bhakti, jnana and dhyan as the means to yoga and the
fruit of the yoga. The means and goal are envisioned from the point of view of the psychology
and temperament of the individual. The sthitapragya is a person of non demanding deviation,
who abides in the self. What the Gita envisions is an awareness that is centred around and
focused on the self. The technique of karma yoga enunciated by the Gita is such a manner that it
will help the cultivation of positive emotions by reducing negative emotions. The negative
tendencies of the mind such as frustration, anxiety etc.

Keyword-Bhagavad Gita, physiognomy as depression, consciousness and new identity, self

knowledge, conflict and wisdom, karma sanyas, work, mental purity and integrity of mind, love
and surrender, work is meditation, yoga and happiness.

INTRODUCTION: - The Bhagavad-Gita is a major Indian text, originally a part of the

Mahabharata, and included in the prasthantreya, the three foundations of classical Indian
thought. The Gita present an elaborate analysis of the human mind from the context of a
foundational philosophy of active living. The context in which an integral philosophy of life and
transformation is told in the Bhagavad-Gita is the battlefield of Kuruksetra. The scene present a
division of the kith and kin, friends and well-wishers of one great family dynasty arrayed in
opposite sides to fight.

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The narrative of the gita is of signification as the figurative and metaphorical meaning of the
physical war-field lead us to the mental war-field fuelled by conflicting emotions, unexpressed
fears and the lack of a stable sense of identity. The mental conflict that humans face since
ancient times, between „what is right „ (dharma, dharmaksetra ) and‟ what is duty‟ (kartavya,
kuruksetra) is poignantly presented in the opening lines of gita. The representation of Arjuna
carries a globle flag of mental crisis that is pan-cultural. The narrative is not a telltale story of
Arjuna‟s depression and predicament. What makes the gita narrative a transpersonal process
and psychology is the continuity given with the intervention of friend-relative and teacher-god
Sri Krishna. The teases, consolations, questioning, theats, love and relelations that Krishna
showers on Arjuna are not limited to any particular mode of psychological counselling.

Idea of consciousness, meditation, work and love in the gita cannot be categorized exclusively as
psychology, existential, or even pragmatic. With its penetrating style of dialogue and teaching
the gita gives a wholesome account of spiritual living.

PHYSIOGNOMY OF DEPRESSION

In the first and chapter we see an Arjun, overwhelmed by a mix of emotion, burst in to a
soliloquy of depression statement. His visada (sadness and dejection) was sudden and
unbecoming of the time and place. He was in the battlefield to fight, and a juncture that was
much debated and awaited for.

The view of the armies result in a huge physical and psychological impact on Arjun.The
placement of Arjun in the middle of the aemies is also a suggestive symbol for being in a
conflicting situation, like in a twilight or wedge. He might have experienced a sudden and acute
state of aloneess and isolation in the midst of the army, ”untouched” by both armies. Being
„placed in between‟, symbolically nowhere, in no man‟s land, Arjun faces an identity crisis. As
we see in the first and second chapter (1:27-46, 2:4-8), Arjuna affected by the impact of visada
makes an attempt to create a protective cocoon around him. Arjuna feels extremely sad and
dejected. He weaves an intellectual defence, consisting go moral pertaining to women, family,
castes and the need for peace, etc., He feels helpness and confused about which is going to
happen in the future, lower his defence, exposing a bruised mind Krishna in an attempt to get his
sympathy and approval.Arjuna feels guilty. Overcome by self-destructive thoughts Arjuna talks
about giving away all his wealth, land and precious belonging, and killing himself as a better
option. Arjuna‟s sorrow has a mix of components such as anxiety, fear, sense of loss and
meaninglessness, coupled with a lack of futuristic goals. The basic anxieties of Arjuna were (1)
about the degradation of his personal, family and social values, (2) about what will happen to
him, his family and society in the future times. What overcomes Arjuna is the fear of mortality
and fragility of human lives including his own.

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Krishna pitches on the cataclysmic void in Arjuna and begins his dialogue focusing on the issues
of death, deathlessness, and on a lasting spiritual identity. Such a dialogue paves the way for the
transformation from visada to yoga, depression to self-realization.

CONSCIOUSNESS AND A NEW IDENTITY

The second chapter of the Gita present the mystery of existence by the statement that the wise do
not grieve. “For those who deserve no grief thou hast grieved, and words of wisdom thou
speakest. For the living and for the dead the wise grieve not” (2:11). Samkaracharya and other
notes commentators on the gita, like Anandgiri, translates pandah as self- knowledge. Those
have self-knowledge are the panditah or the wise. Those who know the real nature of the self
(atmajnana) do not grieve. Since the self as consciousness is known to be eternal, there is no
place for grief over death.

Consciousness is that which is always is. Non-existence cannot be attributed to consciousness in

terms of the past or the future. Krishna says to Arjuna “Never did i not exist, nor these rulers of
men and none of us will ever hereafter cease to exist” (2:12). “One is eternally present as
identical with the self” (samkarabhasya 2:12). The birth and death of the body is not to be taken
as the birth and death of the self. The self will always exist. According to the gita the nature of
the self is pure consciousness, a wholesome and multidimensional picture of existence. The
concept of consciousness is given an integral nature by presenting it as an ontological truth
rather than a psychological function. It is related with the core identity.

The first lesson to Arjuna is about the immutable self, the nature of which is consciousness. Such
an approach to depression is different is different from a regular psychological approach to the
same condition. The focus in Krishna‟s dialogue with Arjuna is to deepen his sense of
awareness, and make him feel assured about his identity. The root of depression is not analysed
but the person is showm another dimension of his that is inclusive and deathless. The depressed
self is a deluded self, according to the gita the only way to rescue the person from the caverns of
depression is not by analyzing the psychological conditions of depression but presenting him a
new and integral identity

SELF – KNOWLEDGE

Self-knowledge is the one and only means to remove self-ignorance and superimpositions
thereof. Throughout the gita Krishna lauds the inevitability of self-knowledge. In chapter
fourteen it is described as “the highest and best knowledge”, (14:1). Self –knowledge is
therefore the supreme gain (paramasiddhi). “There is no purifier equal to self –knowledge
“(4:38), says Krishna in the fourth chapter.

Psychologists like Abraham H. Maslow also recognize the importance of self-knowledge. He

writes: “The questions that people ask in the search for identity, real self, etc., are very largely

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„ought‟ questions. What ought I to do? What ought I to be? ..... What we have learned is that
ultimately the best way for a person to discover what he ought to do finf out who and what he is
because the path to ethical and value decisions to wiser choice, to oughtness , is via isness ,via
the discovery of facts ,truth, reality.

According to the gita, to be conscious is not merely to feel or imagine because , even while
different feeling and imaginations come and go, consciousness remains as the perpetual and
immutable witness of all feeling and imaginations. The „I‟ continues to exist as the witness of all
and any thought modulations and acts.

CONFLICT AND WISDOM

Wisdom according to the gita is not a product of structure thinking. Wisdom is the end of
structure thinking. Krishna says, “Know this: by long prostration, by enquiry, by service, those
men of wisdom who have realized the truth will teach thee wisdom” (4:34). What is meant by
non-structural thinking is the sensitive of the whole being. Such sensitive marks the openness of
mind. Only an open mind can make effective enquiry in to the problematic. Wisdom is not, again,
a conclusive answer got for the questioning mind. What the Gita attempts is not to give a
conclusive solution for the conflict, but the dissolution of the conflict itself.”The perception of the
whole is always sudden, not split up in succession.” For the dissolution of the conflict the mind
must be open to all possible question and answer.

Defining the nature of the mind and intellect, sankaracharya notes that mind is that which
conceives or imagines (samkalaha-adhyatmakam manah ), and intellect is that which decides
(buddhih adhyavasayalaksana) (13:5) Consciousness is that which illumines all imaginations
and decisions and hence cannot be conceptualized in relative terms of mental or cognitive
function.”The body, the forms of sense with which we identity the subject belong to the object
side. The ego is an artificial construction obtained by abstraction from conscious experience.
The witnessing consciousness is the same whether it lights up the blue sky or a red flower.
Though the fields which are lit up may be different, the light which illumines them is the same (
radhakrishnan 1977, p.303).

KARMA AND SANYASA

The first question pertaining to the nature of work is: who does the work, who is the agent-
prakriti or purusa? All forms of action, secular and scriptural are done by the prakriti, using its
effects, sense objects, and instruments- sense organs and organs of action, according to the
Gita.”Actions are wrought in all cases by the energies of nature” (3:27).”it is nature that
acts”(svabhavastu pravartate,5:14). It is one‟s nature or prakriti that operates both as the direct
causative agent.

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According to the psychology of the gita, action and renunciation are not two antithetical
processes. By action it is not meant the mere movement of the body. Neither renunciation is the
abstention from action. In the gita, Krishna enables the vision of action from a wider and deeper
consciousness. Action is not solely an ethical concept but has a profound psychological
significance.

WORK, MENTAL PURITY AND INTEGRITY OF MIND

Work according to Krishna can bind a person or can be a means to liberation. When the
ignorant work, being deluded by indiscrimination, he superimposes the agency of action and the
enjoyer ship of results upon his self. His mind is constantly swayed either by attachment (raga)
or aversion (dvesa) to the results of work. To him the discrimination between the self and the
not-self is difficult; where as the wise with the evenness of mind becomes fit for the
discriminative knowledge.

Therefore Krishna gives two-fold discipline for the two classes of people-“the discipline of
knowledge for the samkhyas and that of work for the yogins” (3:3). For an aruruksu- one who
wishes to mount yoga, conscientious performance of duty without attachment to the resuls is the
means (karmakarana) to be equipped with an even mind. And to a yogarudah-one who had
mounted yoga and whose mind is purified- that peace of mind (Sama) is the means for
meditation.

The given nature of mind is to initiate action motivated by a desire, and to be perturbed
by the consequent results. The root of desire is self – ignorance and the consequent attachment
of mind to object, in the form of expectation for happiness or contentment. Attachment to objects
marks a chain of psychological mishaps. The gita caution, “when a man thinks of objects
attachment for them baries. From attachment arises desire; from desire arises wrath. From
wrath arises delusion. From delusion arises failure of memory; from failure of memory loss of
judgment; from loss of judgment he utterly ruined” (2:62-63). Attachment to objects ts the
product of the ignorance of the nature of self as pure consciousness. One who is ignorant of the
true nature of his self. Work either to win something (pravrtti) or to discard something (nivrtti).
“From the delusion caused by attraction and aversion...all beings are subject to illusion”(7:27).

Work prompted by desire for happiness obscures the self that is pure consciousness, just as “fire
is obscured by smoke, as a metal mirror by rust, as the foetus is enclosed in the womb...”(3:38).
To such a person the required mental quality of quiescence can be gotten only by performing
work without attachment to the result. Action is the only means to restore mental purity. A pure
mind is an alert mind. Peace and subtle sensitivity is the nature of an alert mind. Alertnwss of
mind can be gained by abhyasa (practise) and vairagya (detachment). Abhayasa implies the
practing of evenness of mind and vairagya denotes” freedom from desire for covetable
experiences in the plane of the seen and unseen”(samkarabhasya, 6:35), through discrimination.
“Freedom from desire which is otherwise difficult is won by self- knowledge” (samkarabhasya,
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3:43). Desire is the urge to be happy or fulfilled. It can be destroyed only by the knowledge of
one‟s being as happiness or fulfilment. Desire is therefore an estrangement from one‟s original
nature.

LOVE AND SURRENDER

Another significant idea that is discussed in the Krishna –Arjuna dialogue is about divine love
and nature of a surrendered mind. Bhakti is explained as seeing the belov ed as everything and in
everything. A mind that is able to surrender or dedicate towards a higher consciousness is a free
mind. Only a free mind can transform work in to a creative expression. Therefore Krishna
advises, “What ever thou doest, whatever thou eatest , what thou sacrifices, whatever thou
givest, in whatever activity thou engages, do it as an offering to me. Thus shalt thou be liberated
from the bonds of action which are productive of good and evil results” (9:27). The gita concept
of bhakti brings forth a divine altar that is pure consciousness, where all imaginations and
premonitions of the mind can be dedicated. According to the gita a free and creative mind is a
mind a mind that does everything as a dedication. Through surrendered work one gains “clear
freedom from every disguise of the insistent ego “(Aurobindo, 1970, p.443).

Bhakti and jnana are another set of concepts, for which the gita given an integral meaning. In
Krishna‟s opinion a jnani is a bhakti and a bhakta is a jnani. Only one who has surrendered his
thoughts and actions can be a jnani. Only one who knows abides in the intimate relationship of
his self and supreme consciousness is a bhakta. Krishna says...” the wise man, ever steadfast and
devoted to the one, excels; for exclusively dear am I to the wise and he is dear to me” (7:17). The
gita recognizes devotion as the realization of one‟s self as pure consciousness. Devotion is the
renunciation of all identifications. In the words of Sri Aurobindo,” The spiritual transference of
all our works to the master and his Sakti is the ral Sanyasa in the teaching of the gita
(Aurobindo, 1970 p. 478).

WORK IS MEDITATION

A major idea that is introduced by Krishna is that work and meditation are complementary to
each other. True work can be executed only by a meditative mind. One can meditate only if he
has gained the evenness of mind through non-reactive performance of work. Hence in order to
work one has to meditate and in order to meditate one has to work.

What the gita indicates by its theory of meditation is “a deepening and broadening of
consciousness beholding all being in consciousness and consciousness in all being”. The self
abiding in all being and all being (abiding) in the self ....”(6:29). is the vision revealed by the
gita. To one who has not inculcated the inclusive nature of work, renunciation and meditation,
Krishna gives a hierarchical account for better understanding. Hence to Arjuna‟s question on

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the superiority of the yogas Krishna replies, “Renunciation and yoga through action both lead to
the highest bliss: but of the two yoga through action is esteemed more than renunciation of
action” (5:2). Renunciation of desire and agency imposed on the self is possible only for a mind
that can endure the dualities with equanimity. Renunciation is the nature state of a karma yogi. A
yogi who neither takes up any undertakings (saravarambha parityagi) (12:16) - nor abstains
from any work is a perpetual renouncer (nitya sanyasi) (5:3) – abiding all the time in the self.
The meditative nature of his mind is not affected no matter he is engaged in work or not. ”He is
not moved even by a great pain “(6:22), having gained the supreme.

In the analysis given by the gita the vision of inaction in action is the vision of the self that is not
caught up in the agency and the fruits of action even while he is engaged in action. When he
sees, hears, touches, smalls, eats, sleeps, breathes, talks, etc., He knows the truth that he works
not at all ( aham na karmakarami). He understands that it is the operation of senses with their
objects (indriyani indriyarthesu vartanta) (5:9). Action pertains to the operation of sense organs
on their respective objects 9guna-gunesu vartante) (3:28). A yogi acts from the discriminative
knowledge that “neither agency nor objects does Krishna creates for the world, nor union with
the fruits of actions. But it is the nature that acts” (5:14).

YOGA AND HAPPINESS

As mentioned the Bhagavad – Gita being its discourse in the context of Arjuna placed between
the armies in the battlefield. To Arjuna who was anguished by indecisiveness either to fight or to
quit the warfront Krishna‟s first advice was not to grieve. Asimilar advice is reiterated in the last
chapter when Krishna says don‟t worry (ma suca) (18:66).

In the gita a distinction is made between happiness and pleasure. What is meant by happiness is
not the transient pleasure got from an object of experience. happiness is the endless and
perpetual joy (aksayasukham ) (5:21). The self – knower who knows his true identity, does not
procrastinate being happy. His joy has no reason but is spontaneous and continuous. He does
not make happiness an object to be attained , but constantly revels in happiness. Pleasure has a
beginning and an end. The contact of a sense organ with its object marks the beginning of
pleasure, and their separation its end. this contact that brings about pleasure is mediated by
emotions. Distinct to emotional joy, happiness does not conceal or reduce of consciousness.
Happiness does not have a beginning or an end because it is the very nature of the self.

“True happiness of human being lies not in the possession of outward things but in the fulfilment
of higher mind and spirit, in the development of what is most inward in us “( RadhaKrishnan,
1977, p. 363). Happiness that is one‟s real nature is obscured by a craving and reacting mind.
Association of mind with a desirable object undergoes a mental modification called sukha or
pleasure. Dukha or pain is the modification undergone by the mind when it associates with an
undesirable object. When these modifications are absent the mind is transparent to the self, its
real nature ( svarupa ) being happiness. The Gita describes:” He who is able...to withstand... the
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impulse of desire and anger, he is a yogin , he a happy man” (5:23). A happy man is ever-
contented (nityatrpta) (4:20), and is free (nirasraya) (4:20), being ever abiding in pure
consciousness (satatayukti)(12:1). The Gita is emphatic in that happiness is not an object to be
sought. The more happiness is sought, identifying it with desirable objects, the more emus

CONCLUSION

The Gita start with the distress of Arjuna.”Distress was due to the stake involved and the
immediacy of the crisis and conflict because of lack of acceptable choices. So the Bhagavad-
Gita‟s focus is a healthy mind in temporary crisis, which if not solved may deteriorate in to
mental, physical and social illness. Arjuna‟s problem is not due to sexual suppressions, past
traumas, hormonal imbalance or due to brain damage. It is a thinking man‟s problem (dharma
sammudha ceta). Bhagavad-Gita beging with the exposition of the immortality of the self and an
exhortation not to grieve.

The Arjuna who is depressed and indecisive in battlefield is transformed to a royal sage (
rajarsi) who recognizes his duty as a warrior prince. Having gained a new identity and having
got the knowledge from Krishna that his peace of mind and happiness will not ensue from his
making any particular choice, Arjuna finally enters in to a mode of trust and dedication, saying
“the words will be done.”

The philosophy of the gita is not meant for a particular sect of peple nor is outdated in to a
historical time. The transpersonal psychology of the gita is meant for the humankind of all time.
In the words of Sarvepalli RadhaKrishna (1977, P.7). “The gita is specially suited for the
purpose, as it attempts to reconcile varied and apparently antithetical forms of the religious
consciousness and emphasizes the root conceptions of religion which are neither ancient nor
Morden but eternal and belong to the very flesh of humanity, past, present and future.”

The ideal of gita is a spiritually enlightened person. The sthitaprajna is a person of non-
demanding devotion, who abides in the self.

REFERENCES

All verses from the Bhagavad-Gita and prose from sankarabhasya are taken from sastri, Alladi
Mahadeva.(1981)The Bhagavad-Gita with the commentary of Sri Samkaracharya (corrected
rpt). Madras : Samata books.

Aurobindo, Sri.(Essays on the Gita (8th edition ).Pondicherry:Sri Aurobino Ashram.

Bahm, A.J. (Trans). (1970). the Bhagavag –Gita. Bombay: Somaiya Publications.

Bodhananda, Sw. (2005). Psychology of the gita. New Delhi: Sambodh foundation.

www.sambodh.org/september2004/massages/gita-psychology.htm

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Evans, C.O.(1970). The Subject of Consciousness.London: George Allen and Unwin.

Davies, J. (1983). The Bhagavad-Gita New Delhi: Ess Ess Publications.

Heidegger, M.(1966).Discourses on Thinking (John M. Anderson and E.Hans Freund,

Trans.)New York: Harper and Row publishers.

Menon, S. (1998). The ontological Pragmaticity of Karma in the bhagavad – gita. Journal of
Indian psychogy, 16(1), 44-52.

Dalal, C.Paranjpe, Rao (2009). Indian Psychology.

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