Positive psychology, positivism and Indian heritage

Pages:60-64
Madhurima Pradhan (Department of Psychology, Lucknow University, Lucknow)

Psychologists are trying to help people to actualize their potentialities of becoming happy and satisfied within the range of possibilities available in their respective cultures. Positive Psychologists have proposed the revolutionary ideas of focusing on human strengths and virtues in place of emotional problems and mental illnesses to improve well being of people. But when we look at the objectives of Positive Psychology in the context of our Indian heritage, certain questions arise in our minds and we find some important things missing. Investigations from a culturally rooted perspective tend to show that many Western concepts lack experiential validity in other cultures. This implies that the search for universal and identical psychological phenomena or processes (e.g. self, happiness, mortality, well-being etc.) is not viable. Instead we have to consider the varying socio-cultural contexts determining the construal of self which provides an interpretative framework shaping the way a given sociocultural group engages in thinking, feeling and acting. Positivism which is a positive orientation towards life goes beyond the premise of Positive Psychology incorporating different perspectives based on Indian heritage. Useful insights from Indian scriptures may help in accepting and understanding all hurdles, disappointments and worries of daily living. In place of relying on false smiles and pleasures, they guide us towards the ways to achieve equanimity of mind, upliftment of consciousness, spirituality, righteousness and control over senses and intellect. Therefore, Positivism is a path to eradicate negativity with full awareness and understanding making the dream of authentic happiness come true.