The Bhagavad Gītā offers profound philosophical and psychological insights into the nature of the human mind and the means of attaining mental stability. Among its essential teachings, Abhyāsa (consistent practice) and Vairāgya (detachment) occupy a central position in the discipline of mind control. This study examines the significance of these two complementary principles in mastering the...
Emerging adulthood is a developmental stage typically ranging from 18 to 29 years of age. It is characterized by significant changes in development, increase in responsibilities, and heightened exposure to stressors related to several factors like education, career, relationships, and identity formation. Effective management of stress during this period is important for maintaining...
Spiritual intelligence (SI) has been operationalised in several competing theoretical models, but no published instrument directly measures Robert Emmons' (2000) original five-component conceptualisation of transcendence, heightened states of consciousness, sanctification, spiritual problem-solving, and virtuous behaviour. The present study addressed this gap by developing and preliminarily...
This empirical study evaluates the psychological impact of a 20-day daily auditory listening intervention of the Bhagavad Gita on adult psychological well-being and emotion regulation. Positioned as a secular, text-based auditory contemplative practice, the intervention engaged N = 40 adults aged 25 to 60 years in Bengaluru, India. Participants listened to a 15-minute standardized audio track...
This study explores the link between women, goddess-centered spirituality, and the social and psychological elements of possession-like religious experiences via field visits to Varanasi. The study focuses on how women's religious expression is influenced by cultural norms, gender inequity, social marginalization, and emotional discomfort. The study investigates how women interact with...
The Baul community represents one of Bengal’s distinctive folk-cultural and spiritual traditions and has historically held a significant place in the social and cultural life of rural Bengal. Although Bauls are widely recognized for their music and mystical philosophy, their contribution extends beyond artistic expression to questions of social equality, human dignity, inter-religious...
The “Yogavijam” is a profound Sanskrit text that explores the intricate path to spiritual liberation, emphasizing the inseparable nature of knowledge and yogic practice. The work begins with a devotional invocation and then delves into the nature of existence, positing that the soul, originally pure and divine, becomes entangled in the cycle of birth and death due to ego and the influence of...
Bank employees work in an environment characterized by customer pressure, targets, extended working hours, and long-term digital engagement. These result in increased stress and emotional turbulence among employees, which, in turn, affects psychological well-being. Meditation, a practice that originated in ancient times, can be used as a workplace wellness strategy to combat stress and boost...
Religious Experience and Conceptual Expression Strategies in Tirucchathakam.This study aims to identify and examine the religious experiences expressed in Tirucchathakam by Māṇikkavācakar and the conceptual expression strategies employed to articulate those experiences. The primary data for this study consist of the poems of Tirucchathakam included in the Tiruvācakam collection. Secondary...
Human consciousness cannot simultaneously possess the same state of awareness of both the Reality of God and the existence of the Universe within the ordinary framework of space-time; as consciousness approaches a higher order, its relation to space-time approaches a limiting condition. Spiritual-Self (Spirit & Gnosis) and Natural-self (Body & Mind). The Dual nature of Human being, the self in...
In much popular writing, uposatha is glossed simply as "fasting day," collapsing it into upavāsa ("fasting"). This paper argues that the two words denote two distinct — though historically intertwined — practices. Etymologically, upavāsa (upa + √vas) lexicalizes the act of abstaining from food, a dietary discipline shared across Vedic, Ayurvedic and devotional traditions; upavasatha (Pāli...
Beliefs surrounding black magic, spirit influence, and ritual harm have long been interwoven into India's cultural and spiritual fabric, significantly shaping personal behavior, social relationships, and health-seeking pathways. Despite their prevalence, discourse in this domain remains sharply divided between traditional acceptance and empirical dismissal, leaving the subjective, lived reality...
Ayahuasca is traditionally prepared by aqueous extraction and concentration of Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis. The resulting beverage contains N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine (THH), additional alkaloids, polyphenolic constituents, carbohydrates, organic acids, suspended solids, and numerous other plant-derived compounds. The source plants are...
Structured practices in ritual and contemplative settings often claim reliable change through formal protocols, disciplined attention, prior alignment, and staged calibration. Debate commonly polarizes between extraordinary causation and generic expectancy accounts. This paper offers a third option: a methodological framework that treats such practices as informational interventions acting on...
This article presents a conceptual framework for Neural Consciousness Modeling, an author-developed approach exploring the relationship between internal mental representations, brain function, autonomic regulation, and subjective health. The paper discusses theoretical foundations, proposed neurobiological mechanisms, and directions for future empirical research.
Abstract Paulo Coelho's Hippie (2018) reimagines his own passage across the 1970s “Magic Bus” route from Amsterdam to Kathmandu as a hybrid of memoir and myth, folding autobiography into a narrative of spiritual seeking. This essay argues that the novel uses the physical itinerary of the historical Hippie Trail to stage an internal itinerary, in which the countercultural rejection of Western...
Set, setting, preparation, and integration are widely recognized as important dimensions of psychedelic experiences. However, these concepts often remain too general to specify how preparation, containment, and aftercare should differ across substances, routes of administration, acute duration, residual effects, bodily condition, and interaction exposure. This article proposes the...
Background: Sleep disturbance, stress, and anxiety are highly prevalent among older adults and adversely affect physical health, cognitive function, and quality of life. Meditation is a safe, low-cost, non-pharmacological intervention that may improve these interrelated outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the effect of an 8-week structured meditation program on perceived stress, anxiety, and sleep...
This is a multidisciplinary cultural analysis of the Blaan-T’boli Dream Weaving tradition in Mindanao, Philippines and compare the Filipino culture and ethics - such as Kapwa - shared identity and Loob – relational will (for which there are no equivalent words in English) - to Western sociological and anthropological theories: Geertz’s ideology as a cultural system and social mapping; Emile...
Human societies have long used stimulant plants, psychoactive preparations, prescription medicines, commercial products, and traditional botanical substances to support wakefulness, endurance, labor, ritual, social participation, attention, motivation, fatigue resistance, performance, and human optimization. Modern drug policy regulates this field unevenly. Coffee, tea, caffeine, nicotine,...
Yoga, an ancient practice originating in India, has evolved from a spiritual discipline into a globally recognized system for promoting physical, mental, and holistic well-being. This review paper studies yoga awareness, practice, and research in India, identifying key influencing factors, government initiatives, and existing challenges. Yoga awareness in India is remarkably high across diverse...
The National Education Policy 2020 has a strong focus on holistic, transdisciplinary and value-based learning in India’s teacher education reform. A major reform in this context is the Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) which aims to produce capable, reflective and socially aware teachers. The article deals with the Panchkosha philosophy, coming from the Taittiriya Upanishad, as a...
Vilbert Vallance observes, “Excellent, Excellent Article!” and “You bring clarity to those who grieve.. which brings comfort.” thank you chaplain Vilbert, India From the earliest history humans have had dreams of death and the deceased. The first recorded dream of the deceased dates from 2100 B.C. in Egypt: “Around 2100 B.C., an Egyptian man named Heni wrote a letter to his dead father, asking...
This article develops the concept of transformational information as a non-reductionist framework for analyzing how information mediates transformation, knowledge, and agency. Information is not treated merely as data, message, or representation, but as structured difference capable of producing durable and examinable change in orientation, coherence, trajectory, or practical capacity. The...
Background: Burnout syndrome has become endemic to healthcare professions and is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of accomplishment. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional burdens to pre-existing stressors and has left the global healthcare workforce, including those in India, with an ongoing psychological crisis. Objective: The aim of this...