Integration of the Self: A Jungian Study of Mystical Experiences in Herman Hesse's Siddhartha
Muhammad Imran, Adil Khan
Global Political Review March 30, 2019 DOI: 10.31703/gpr.2019(iv-i).08 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Key points | Argues that the Buddhist path of enlightenment and Jungian individuation run parallel: dissolving the ego resembles dismantling the persona, and approaching the subliminal consciousness resembles connecting with the self. Through an archetypal reading of Hesse's Siddhartha, the author contends the protagonist attains psychological wholeness, transcends archetypal existence, and becomes his own person, a striving for meaning that aligns with Jung's notion of individuation. |
Abstract
This paper aims at juxtaposing the Buddhist notion of enlightenment with the Jungian concept of individuation. It attempts to explore how the dissolving of ego and approaching the subliminal consciousness in the path of self-realization stand parallel to Jung's idea of dismantling one's persona and connecting with the self, respectively. Siddhartha's journey towards enlightenment offers a psychological reading through which an interplay between ego-consciousness and the collective unconscious could be studied. Archetypal method of analysis is applied to Herman Hesse's novel Siddhartha to analyze the protagonist's psychological journey with regard to different archetypes of individuation. The study draws on Carl Gustav Jung's theory of individuation which is employed as a theoretical framework to see how the protagonist makes his unconscious conscious. Study reveals that 'Siddhartha attains psychological wholeness, transcends beyond archetypal existence and becomes his own person. His striving for meaning is very much in line with the Jungian notion of individuation.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |