Insights from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam for mental wellbeing with special reference of Bhikṣu Gītā & Avadhūta Gītā
Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education June 1, 2026 Unmesh Devdatta Joshi
A qualitative, hermeneutic analysis of two philosophical discourses within the eleventh skandha of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam—the Bhikṣu Gītā and the Avadhūta Gītā—argues that the Indian Knowledge System offers a sophisticated psychological technology for mental health. The Bhikṣu Gītā describes a miserly Brahmin's cognitive shift from external blame to radical self-accountability, identifying suffering as stemming from an undisciplined mind and ego-driven constructs of 'I-ness' and 'My-ness.' The Avadhūta Gītā presents a universal learning model through observing twenty-four gurus in nature, advocating humility and wisdom assimilation. Synthesizing these with Aaron Beck's cognitive-behavioral theories on automatic thoughts, the paper concludes that integrating the Avadhūta's pedagogical lessons with the Bhikṣu's cognitive discipline provides a sustainable framework for psychological equilibrium.