Indian Psychology - A Great Gift To Humanity

Indian psychology consists of the knowledge passed down to us from the Indian saints and gurus. A lot of the Vedas, Upanishads, and philosophies of Hinduism, touch upon on the subject of the mind, it’s nature, how it can be tamed and what is essential to realize our true nature and gain an understanding of reality in it’s true sense. Indian psychology differs from the modern western psychological perspective and accepts Consciousness/Brahman as the true nature of existence. Though this concept may be outside the scope of our regular conceptualization of life, I would urge you to give vent to some open-minded curiosity as you read further. According to the Taittiriya Upanishad, there are five koshas/sheaths in a human, that carefully conceal the Atman, our true nature . There are stories that talk about how God decided to hide the most valuable essence inside us. With some deeper thinking, it becomes clear that God has followed this technique even in other creations.Ex : The pulp of a fruit is hidden inside its peel, the pearl is hidden inside the oyster and the nectar inside a flower. Similarly the five koshas, namely the Annamaya kosha, Manonmaya kosha,Pranamaya kosha, Vignanamaya kosha and the Anandamaya kosha (outer to inner) cover the Atman. As it is made evident by the teachings of the great Ramana Maharshi, a Jivaatma continues to be shrouded by these five koshas even after death, unless one strives to realize that one’s true nature/identity is the indestructible Atman and not the body or the mind. Everything in this world has been created by God and hence is essentially of divine nature or the Brahman. Every Atman without the five sheaths is The Brahman itself. This metaphysical teaching is the crux of The Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of Jagadguru Sri Adi Sankaracharya. This comes into one’s knowing through experience. I bow down to the Jagadguru in sincere prayer, to let this clear understanding of metaphysical reality, be evident to each of us.

With this shift in perspective it becomes easier for one to handle the stressors in life. Be it choosing a college to study at, or applying for a highly competitive job role, or handling derogatory comments from friends and colleagues, the identification of oneself as the Atman makes it easier to let go, knowing that we would not take any of this with us when we die. In fact, holding on to emotions such as jealousy, anger, inferiority complex, superiority complex and hatred seems more intellectually unsound, if we would transmigrate with these tendencies of the mind.