Psychological Intervention, Education and training Models in Ancient Indian systems

Psychological Intervention, Education and Training Models in Ancient Indian systems

 

In India, from ancient times for almost all kinds of problems people use to take advice and counseling from spiritual masters. Spiritual masters have been playing the role of counselors and psychotherapists using philosophical principles to counsel the people. Hence most traditional and modern thinkers strongly suggest considering the Indian scriptures, such as Mahabharata, Ramayana, Yoga sutra, Bhagavatham, Panchatantra stories etc. as the resources which can be used as a source of knowledge as well as a model and in the psychological intervention process. Of all the scriptures available many great personalities and psychologists suggest Bhagavad-Gita as the scripture which is presented in a way which depicts a psychological intervention model and can be used as a counseling module as it is given in the form of interactive dialogues. The nature of interactions in Bhagwat gita is in the form of socratarian dialogues which depicts a cognitive restructuring approach adopted in the contemporary intervention models.    However, there are also some important differences between modern psychological and traditional philosophical/spiritual (Bhagavad-Gita) counseling as observed by some scholars.

The other important approach used in the ancient Indian system is that of yoga, especially Pathanjali’s ashtanga yoga. This form of yoga describes managing distress in individuals by adopting methods of intervention at various levels stage by stage. The eight levels which goes in a graded manner staring from developing social discipline, self-discipline followed by bettering the physical health by practicing asanas or balancing postures. The next stage is the one which involves relaxing and re-junivating oneself by practicing controlled breathing techniques, the pranayama. The four graded steps pratyahara,  Dharana, dhyana and samathi are intended to develop detachment from sensory distractions, developing concentration, focusing on inner self and attaining a state of bliss and permanent peace.

Panchatantra is storytelling model of intervention in which storytelling model is used in developing effective life skills, problem-solving and decision-making skills. The stories which are narrated with animals and birds as main characters, teach all the essential life skills in a simple and light-hearted manner. The core theme Panchatantra stories focus on the harmonious and methodical development of personality. It explains the process of building a lifestyle with security, prosperity, effective relationships, and learning which can help an individual to lead a life of contentment and happiness. It illustrates the need and methods by which ethical values, social order, and customary law can be upheld. At the same time, it also incorporates methods and medium through which dissent, protest, and reforms have to be articulated for intended results. The teachings of Panchatantra stories transcend time in its effectiveness in imparting life skills.

The other important model of intervention used in the ancient Indian system is the practice of meditation. Meditation is the process of concentering and exploring deeper into any issues to gain insight into the problems and also discover the ultimate truth. Meditation is also a process used to relax by detaching the mind from the problems which are the source of distress in people. Buddhist schools had propagated simpler methods of meditation which can provide immediate relief to emotional distress experienced. The two such effective models are Vipasana and Mindfulness. The mindfulness model is one of the most effective approaches used as a part of modern therapeutic interventions worldwide.

 

Vipasana

One of the oldest mediation model practiced by Buddhist school is Viapasana. Vipasana is a method of meditation propagated by the Buddhist school in which the practitioner train himself to develop an awareness of is happening around him as it happens. This approach involves passive unattached observation of the environment and events which is within his purview. From the unattached observation of what happens in the environment, the concentration is shifted inwards by which the person gets the awareness about his own thoughts and starts observing and feeling them in a neutral way. The state of maintaining focus is known as Samatha, a state in which the wandering mind is brought to a state of rest by which it develops focus on one particular point. This is a state in which the person who meditates focuses his mind upon some objects or chants or an image and excludes all other thoughts and perceptions from his consciousness When the mind reaches this state of Samatha a deep calmness is experienced in the mind and body. The result of practicing Samatha leads to a temporary state of ecstasy within oneself which is beautiful, delightful, meaningful, and alluring but lasts until the person ends the session.

 

 

This consistent practice of Vipasana leads to gaining insight into the illusion that disconnects him from reality and creates an ever-increasing awareness about the deeply hidden ways in which reality functions. The complete awareness about reality leads to liberation from worldly pleasures which is permanent even though it may take years of practice to attain the status.

Vipassana helps retraining the mind of a person by which he becomes totally aware of everything that is happening in his own perceptual universe, exactly the way it happens, exactly when it is happening by maintaining a total consistent awareness in the present time.

Vipassana is a method that helps developing mindfulness or awareness about the present. It is practiced systematically in a step-by-step manner over the years in which the person's attention is gradually directed towards an intense examination of some of the aspects associated with his own existence. The person is trained to observe his own life experience, which flows like a stream within himself more and moreover a period of time.

Vipassana is a gentle technique. It is an ancient methodological system of training the mind by using a set of exercises that are directed at becoming more and more aware of a person's own life experience. Vipassana involves attentive listening, mindful seeing, and careful testing. By practicing Vipassana a person learns to smell in an acute manner, to touch fully, and to really pay attention to the changes taking place in all his experiences. They also learn to listen to their own thoughts without being entangled in them. The objective of Vipassana practice is to understand the truth that nothing is permanent and the feelings of being dissatisfied or being selfless are in relation to occurrences.

Vipassana helps a person to experience the world in an entirely new way. Also, it helps the person to understand what is really happening to him, around you, and within him. It is a process of self-discovery in which a person does a participatory investigation by observing his own experiences while being a part of those experiences as they occur. Vipassana disowns the earlier learning, the existing knowledge, theories, and all prejudices and stereotypes. The focus is only trying to understand the true nature of life which includes experiencing the true status of being alive, apprehend the true and deepest qualities of life, by one’s own self rather than go by what other people say or teach about it. The success of Vipassana Practice is determined by how a person observes things objectively, as they are-flow and change moment to moment.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a state of being in the present. It involves getting fully engaged with whatever a person is doing or whatever happens at that moment, without any distraction or judgment. It is the state in which a person is aware of his thoughts and feelings without getting entangled in them. Mindfulness Training involves moment-to-moment awareness through meditation, which enables a person to build the skill of being mindful in every situation which he can then apply in his everyday life. By training in mindfulness, a person develops the tendency of not holding on to reactive thoughts and feelings, which is helpful especially in situations when the person faces challenging or difficult circumstances.

Mindfulness is the practice of maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and surrounding environment, in a gentle, nurturing manner. Mindfulness also involves acceptance. In mindfulness practice, a person practices himself to pay attention to his thoughts and feelings without judging them as being “right” or “wrong” in a given moment. Practicing mindfulness, help a person to focus his thoughts on what he is sensing at that moment rather than recalling the past or imagining the future.

The 3 major components of mindfulness

1.         Mindfulness involves the conscious and the deliberate direction of our attention.

2.         Mindful involves complete engagement with the present moment experience, the status of “here and now”.

3.         The main objective of Mindfulness is to pay attention to present experiences as they arise without judging or labeling them in any way.

Benefits of practicing mindfulness

1.         Improved Working Memory: Researches have shown that practicing mindfulness has been helpful in improving the working memory capacity primarily because the focus on the present leads to an increase in attention and concentration on the activities being done.

2.         Enhanced positive Emotions: Mindfulness has been found to be instrumental in lowering the negative emotions because it trains people to stop recalling failure and negative experiences of the past.

3.         Heightened Metacognitive Awareness: Mindfulness practice has been found to increase the Metacognitive awareness ie "cognition about cognition", "thinking about thinking", "knowing about knowing", becoming "aware of one's awareness" and higher-order thinking skills

4.         Lower Levels of Anxiety: Various researches associated with the use of mindfulness practices for Managing anxiety have shown that the practice of mindfulness helps in decreasing all the symptoms associated with all types of anxiety disorders including Generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder (SAD).

5.         Increased self-esteem: Mindfulness practices help a person to understand himself with more clarity and also plays an effective role in helping him manage difficult situations it which in turn leads to the improvement of his self-esteem

6.         Reduced Emotional ‘Reactivity’: People practicing mindfulness have been found to become emotionally immune or have lesser emotional reactivity in emotionally upsetting situations, as they show a greater focus on the task at hand when they encounter such situations.

7.         Enhanced Visual Attention Processing: Those who practiced mindfulness meditation have been found to show greater Visual attention and perform better on tests of concentration, selective attention and more Since the training stimulates improvements in attention, awareness, and emotional balance

8.         Reduced Stress: Mindfulness training has also been linked to lower stress levels since it results in displaying greater positive states of mind, fewer post-traumatic avoidance symptoms, and decreased loss of interest in activities.

9.         Managing Physical Pain: There is also research that suggests mindfulness may have a role in helping to manage subjective pain and help patients improve their quality of life