MENTAL HEALTH AND STRESS MANAGEMENT IN THE SHRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA: A PHILOSOPHICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND CONTEMPORARY ANALYSIS

Abstract

The Bhagavad Gita is an important philosophical text in the Indian knowledge tradition, presenting comprehensive ideas related to human life, mind, intellect, self-control, action, knowledge, devotion, meditation, and mental balance. In contemporary times, intense competition, changing lifestyles, family and societal expectations, work-related pressures, and uncertainty about the future are causing individuals to experience various forms of mental stress and internal conflict. In such circumstances, mental health is not merely a matter of the absence of disease, but also relates to a person's emotional stability, balance of thoughts, self-regulation, and a positive outlook on life. The Bhagavad Gita begins with Arjuna's profound mental and moral crisis. Arjuna's physical reactions, emotional disorientation, indecisiveness, and dilemmas about duty on the battlefield reveal various aspects of human mental conflict. The guidance provided by Lord Krishna not only provides a way out of external circumstances, but also attempts to restructure one's perspective, thoughts, actions, attachments, desires, and relationship to consequences. This article presents a philosophical and psychological analysis of the concepts of mental health and stress management based on selected verses from the Bhagavad Gita. Specifically, equanimity, selfless action, self-regulation, practice, detachment, meditation, sense control, balanced diet and behavior, and the relationship between desire and anger are discussed. The potential relevance of these concepts to contemporary psychology's concepts of mental well-being, emotional control, self-regulation, adaptation, and the meaning of life is considered. Existing research indicates considerable potential for dialogue between the Bhagavad Gita and modern psychology, but it is not appropriate to consider the Gita's philosophical concepts as direct synonyms for modern psychological or psychiatric concepts. Therefore, it is more appropriate to understand the Gita not as a substitute for mental health treatment, but as an important philosophical source of mental balance and stress management within the Indian cultural context.