Well-being of adolescents: Reflections from Bhagavad Gita

Pages: 538-543
Surbhi Kumar (Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, Delhi )

The focus of the present study is to look at alternative paradigms to understand development of adolescents. Although adolescents make up about 20 per cent of the world’s population, they have traditionally been neglected as a distinct target group. In the western framework, adolescence has been described as a period of “storm and stress” fraught by conflicts with parents, mood disruption including extreme emotions, increased substance abuse, heavy reliance on peers and vulnerability to peer pressure and risky behaviour and therefore adolescents as problems. Indian Psychology has grown as discipline offering the approach to growth of self and others and a refreshing change of ideology from focussing on the problem to focussing on the possible alternatives. Through analysis of 9 verses of Bhagavad Gita or the “Song of the Divine One”, a guide for adolescents has been formulated to fill in the lacunae that western psychology has failed to address. This study attempts to move in the direction of guidance that is from “this is wrong” to “this is right” such it helps them have a better understanding of their being and facilitate well-being in this difficult age.