Ram Raksha as a Coping Strategy in Times of Distress in Adults

Description

Gandhali Oze and Shruti Karlekar (Department of Psychology, Sir Parashurambhau College, Pune, Maharashtra)

India has a rich and ancient culture and history. Indian psychology has a base in Indian philosophy. Our Sants and Rishis have always spread awareness about psychology, mind-body connection, and the impact of hymns, stotra and mantras on human life. One such hymn is “Ram Raksha,” a stotra and a mantra composed by Bhudhakushik Rishi in the Vedic period, and is usually recited for protection against ailments of the body and the mind. A preliminary review of the existing literature on Ram Raksha revealed a striking absence of any in-depth research on this topic and hence a thorough exploratory investigation was a necessity. This study attempts to take a qualitative approach and tries to understand this topic using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology. In-depth semi-structured interviews of 15 participants who have been reciting Ram Raksha for a very long time. The study focused on religious coping, specifically how participants interpret the role of the Ram raksha stotra in their lived experiences of distress. Themes that emerged repeatedly in the study show that reciting Ram Raksha helps in dealing with distress, has positive impact on psychological well- being, helps reducing stress, cultivates positive mindset, increases pro- social behavior, conscientiousness, sense of safety, ability to cope up with distress, has positive impact on psychological well- being, cognition, physical illnesses, surrounding, and ability to manage emotions. As it is an exploratory research, it has a vast scope for more new findings, ideas, and promising directions for future research.