TRIPLE STREAM
ARE
RELIGION AND PSYCHO-THERAPY ON THE
SAME
WAVE LENGTH?
I. V. Chalapati Rao
Sri Aurobindo says “Yoga is nothing but practical
psychology”. Yoga is both science and art. It is a science because it knows by
experience what man is inwardly beneath the surface. It is an art because it
can apply that knowledge to change man’s nature and his inner being. Yoga
discovers the nature of our real self as consciousness. It is here that Yoga
and Psychology meet. Many people are under the mistaken impression that
religion/spirituality and psychotherapy are mutually exclusive. We find that
the fundamental questions and issues of metaphysics and meta-psychology are
similar. Today we cannot dismiss mystical or spiritual experience as an
illusion or figment of fevered imagination. There is ample evidence to support
the view that it can be the brain’s perception of an actual reality.
Psychotherapy and religion are deeply concerned with the underlying realities
and experiences of life. Both are to some extent engaged in the service of
suffering humanity.
There is a fear that Psychotherapy will dissect and
analyse all our human ideals and values, dubbing them as ‘complexes’ and ‘phobias’.
The truth is that Psychotherapy will only try to remove the superstitions and
the infantile aspects of such beliefs and superstitions. Just as we are not
justified in condemning all religion, because of a few ritualists, fanatics and
‘Jihadis’, we cannot find fault with psychiatry because of the imposters and
charlatans who practise in its name. Dynamic psychology called psycho-synthesis
has great possibilities for bringing about a satisfactory solution to the
crisis in which humanity often finds itself. This is done by its ‘Conquest of
the inner space’. The crisis is often caused by lack of balance between
abilities and aspirations, realities and high pitched ambitions. Today modern
hygiene and disinfection have saved many lives but exposure to psychological
toxins has been causing colossal damage. Religion should be judged in terms of
its ethical principles and practices which stand the test of reason and human
welfare. Psychiatry should not be regarded as its rival. Its rationality and
objectivity will help in removing emotional upsets, guilt complexes, depression
and self-disapproval. This applies more to western religion which says that man
is born in sin. But Hinduism says that human beings are the children of
immortality. Vivekananda says that the purpose of religion is to manifest the
divinity which is already within man and to make patent and potent what is
latent.
Obviously psychiatry has no answer to the eternal
questions that arise in the mind of man - Who am I! What is the meaning of
life? Has it any justifiable purpose? What happens after death? Is there
reincarnation? What is the secret of happiness and peace? Religion and religion
alone can soothe the mind and bring peace and serenity through Yoga and
meditation. Pleasure is a sensation or sensory feeling. Happiness is a
condition of the mind. Peace is an experience of the soul. That is why we say
at the end of every meeting ‘Santhi,
Santhi, Santhi’. Today Psychology does not sufficiently investigate the
field of spiritual realities and the foundation of creativity, inspiration,
imagination and the products of genius, under the misconception that they are
outside scientific research.
Psychology and religion are similar though not synonymous
or identical. Psychology and its branches are admittedly concerned with the
limited and finite aspects of human existence while religion strikes the
universal note, probes the eternal and can give awareness and a glimpse into
the rich significance of life. However, the insights and lab techniques of
psychology can give to modern religion a new wisdom about the laws of individual
well – being and social health in ways that the common man can understand.
Particularly its discoveries in the areas of human resource development,
communication (communicology) and interpersonal relations will be very useful.
The brains of mystics like Ramakrishna and Sai Baba of
Shiridi are not the brains of those who are mentally deranged. When a person
remembers the incidents of the previous birth or when he sees in a dream what
is going to happen in the future, we cannot dismiss it as mere coincidence or
freak. Pythagorus, Plato, Goethe, Emerson Plotinus, Giardono Bruno, Shopenheur,
Walt Whitman and Vivekananda supported the concept of reincarnation. To know
more about the subject we should read ‘Many Mansions’, ‘Many Lives and Many
Loves’ and ‘The World Within’ by Gina Cerminara with an introduction by H. L. Cayce,
one of the greatest hypnotic healers of the time. Originally Cayce was shocked
by his first vision of previous birth and rejected it at first. But when again
and again ‘readings’ of subjects uncovered past lives (which presented the cues
for the present experiences), he finally accepted the concept of reincarnation
on the strength of the available evidence. 2,500 cases of Cayce’s Psychic
readings are the basis for the book. Ian Stevenson’s essay ‘Twenty cases
suggestive of Reincarnation’ is another investigative report. In our own
country, there is the case of Shanti Devi, a girl born in Delhi remembering her
past life with minute details. This sensational case was reported world wide in
print and electronic media. A committee of 15 members appointed by Mahatma
Gandhi, Lonnestrand (a skeptical critic from Sweden) and even Dr. Ian
Stevenson, the leading authority on reincarnation admitted the genuineness of
the case! It is necessary to integrate experiential wisdom with psycho-therapic
wisdom. True, there is spirituality in psychology and psychology in
spirituality. The purpose of Yoga or religion is not to escape from life but to
live life fully and intelligently. Eastern and Western Psychologies can be
integrated using spiritual meta-psychology. This view is supported by Sri. Aurobindo’s
Integral Yoga.
Researches are being made to explore the interface
between meditation, yoga and psychotherapy. Freud, Jung, Rolland and others
have recognised the relationship between mysticism and psycho-analysis on the
basis of their investigations. Freud felt that the so-called illusion (Maya) of
religion can be reinterpreted as a developmentally necessary need for humans to
find meaning and creative connections among them.
Dynamic faith dissolves ‘ego’. Positive thinking is the
key to God – realisation (self-realisation?). Let us switch off our red lights
(negative qualities) and turn on our green lights (positive thinking). This is
where religion and psychology meet.
One question will arise: Can human beings acquire the
power of looking into their past lives and foresee the future? With the power
of his billion-celled brain man has controlled nature, conquered space and
vanquished matter. Is it impossible for man to expand his sense perception,
experience awareness beyond the normal range of his faculties and attain super
consciousness by practicing Yoga?
Here is the meeting ground between the East and West modern
psychology and ancient spirituality - leading to the emergence of a new art of
living.
The
editor’s desire to write on this subject was triggered by his study of Dr.
Michael Miovic’s well-written and fascinating paper. ‘Towards a Spiritual
Psychology Bridging Psycho-dynamic Psycho-therapy with Integral Yoga’
If
you sow a thought, you will reap an action
If
you sow an action, you will reap a habit
If
you sow a habit, you will reap a character,
If
you sow a character, you will reap a destiny
The
whole thing starts with a thought
“Yad bhavam tad
bhavathi”