[INDOLOGY] "Psychological complexity" of Sanskrit language/literature

[Dean Michael Anderson]

 In a practical sense, the term self-actualization can be related to the goals of many schools of Indian philosophy.
I will mention just a few brief points on what is a very big topic.

The term "self-actualization" became popular through the work of the psychologist Abraham Maslow. He defined it as "the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming."
This has also been the motivation for many to get involved with yoga and vedanta even if it is also embedded in a worldview that is often interpreted as "becoming devoid of individuation". Furthermore, there are schools of Yoga-Vedanta that are not so nihilistic -- or have been interpreted in the past centuries to be so. Texts like the Mahabharata give many examples of such practitioners not to mention the work of scholars like David Gordon White.
In addition, extensive scientific studies on yoga practitioners and other meditators show dramatic growth in "self-actualization" using the standard tests for that concept.
Our understanding of Yoga/Vedanta/self-actualization has become quite fascinatingly rich and complex in the past few decades as the work of many scholars on this list demonstrates.
Best,
Dean

    On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 10:36:45 PM GMT+5:30, Alex Watson via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:  
 
 
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2020 11:01:01 +0530
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] "Psychological complexity" of Sanskrit language/literature

 
The term 'self-actualization' sounds very close to Aatmasaakshaatkaasra. 
There is the important difference, of course, that 'self-actualization' as it is used in western psychology tends to involve maximal individuation, whereas ātmasākṣātkāra or ātmībhāva involve the opposite: becoming devoid of individuation – devoid of both qualitative and numerical individuation for Advaitins; devoid of qualitative individuation for Naiyāyikas, Sāṅkhyas, etc.
-- 
Alex WatsonProfessor of Indian PhilosophyAshoka Universityhttps://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson
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