While most tests in the domain of Psychology assess only the mental and psyche aspects of a person, Indian psychological thought believes in understanding people from the physical-physiological, the psychological as well as ethical aspects of personality.
All of us are not just a mind to assess only the psychological aspect. We have a physical structure that is inseparable from the mind and an ethical/spiritual structure that when taken together forms a whole individual.
The sum of the parts can never be equal to the whole person that we are. Understanding each independent of the other too is a fallacy that most fail to realize.
Indian thought does not believe in piece-meal study of individuals—whether it is for medical, social, emotional, spiritual or any other purpose, person as a whole is what the philosophy is all about.
This triangulation of people’s behaviour –body, mind and ethic are tripartite, indivisible and necessary for insights into predicting behaviours, emotional states, health & wellbeing, career graphs, vocational successes and so on.
These principles are common to all branches of personality study in Indian thought. Be it the Vedic tradition, Vedantic thought, Samkhyan (which is atheistic in nature and upon which entire Ayurveda and Yoga traditions are based), Buddhist or Jaina psychology, all of them believe in a multi-layered and multi-level approach to understanding what motivates us and drives us to do the things we do.
Similarly, the 5-element theory too is common to Indian traditional thought and practices, with slight variations in the terminology used. In fact, this 5-element theory is common not only to Indian thought, but to most spiritual traditions across the world, where it is believed that we are born from dust and upon death, we go back to dust.
How can we use these principles of Nature (physical-physiological) and Attributes (psychological) and combine it with the ethical aspects of a person to know what they are capable of? Which means a person’s capability vis-à-vis their careers, kinds of work they are comfortable performing, what they are passionate about the they will go out of their way to perform them—both in a personal as well as professional capacity?
To know that, it is necessary to analyze which of the primordial elements are dominant in the person and their characteristics that will dictate what and who they will become; what and how they would respond to circumstances; and how they would apply themselves to overcome them.
While nature is one aspect of us that we are born with, the society and environment we live in is responsible for the other aspect of our behaviours’ and habits. When they combine with each other as happens, the multitude of ways of expression is exponential!
Fascinating, isn’t it? The study of human behaviour is so intriguing that it has been studied by our Rishis and Sages and Seers from times immemorial! The classical Indian knowledge systems deal with “Man” and how humans are to be understood pervasively.
The earliest references to human thought and behaviour have its beginnings in the Vedas and Puranas. The Upanishads are full of stories of human behaviour that have overcome limitations of space and time and thought!
More in coming blogs!
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AP State Police Housing Corporation Ltd.
Dishari
Digital Ripples
Essae Digitronics Pvt. Ltd.
Global-Pros
HOMAG India
KARAM
MagickWoods, Chennai
Police Public School, Bengaluru
Poten2Set
Universe Power Systems
WebEx Communications India Pvt Ltd
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