We came across an interesting editorial in The Indian Journal of Psychiatry by Matcheri S Keshavan from Harvard Medical School, which considers how the Bhagavad Gita contains a wealth of insights that can help build psychological resilience against the mental health impact of the pandemic for individuals at risk, those affected, and caregivers. Focusing upon three paths of yoga, the editorial author, explains how “The path of knowledge (Jnana yoga) promotes accurate awareness of nature of the self, and can help reframe our thinking from an “I” to a “we mode,” much needed for collectively mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. The path of action (Karma yoga) teaches the art of selfless action, providing caregivers and frontline health-care providers a framework to continue efforts in the face of uncertain consequences. Finally, the path of meditation (Raja yoga) offers a multipronged approach to healthy lifestyle and mindful meditation, which may improve resilience to the illness and its severe consequences”
Its an approach that students of yoga may have instinctively been relating to through their practice, but its particularly interesting to see it set out in this way, in a psychiatric journal. While more work is clearly needed to empirically examine the potential value of each of these approaches, and this is not a peer reviewed study, it may be useful to students and teachers of yoga in relating their studies of the Bhagavad Gita to the current situation, with relevance to modern approaches to reliance-focused psychotherapy.
For anyone new to the Bhagavad Gita, it represents a dialogue “between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna in the epic Mahabharata, the great tale of the Bharata Dynasty, authored by Sage Vyasa (c. 4–5 B.C.E.). The dialog occurs in the 6th chapter of the epic and has over 700 verses. In this epic story, Arjuna, the hero, was faced with the dilemma of waging a war against his cousins. Arjuna is confused and has no will to initiate the war. In this context, Krishna, his charioteer and spiritual mentor, counsels him. The key principles of this spiritual discourse in the Gita are embodied in the broad concept of yoga, which literally means “Yog” or “to unite.”… A fourth path, Bhakti yoga, is a spiritual approach in the Gita which emphasizes loving devotion toward a higher power or principle, which may or may not involve a personal god”
The editorial explains how the first concept in the Gita is the path of knowledge Jnana Yoga. “The fundamental goal of Jnana yoga is to liberate oneself from the limited view of the individual ego, and to develop the awareness of one’s self as part of a larger, universal self. Hindu philosophers were among the earliest to ask the question of “who am I” and concluded that the self is not what it seems.”. As Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita points out, the person who sees oneself in others, and others in oneself, really “sees.”
It is argued that this awareness, which guides action in service of self as well as others, is critically important in our goals of collectively preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Consider the use of face masks. Wearing a mask is as much about protecting oneself from the virus as well as protecting others. The author gives the example that many have argued against wearing a mask for “purely selfish reasons” or issues of vanity” and says “the simple lesson here is that it is important to first flatten the ego if one wants to flatten the pandemic curve!”
This outlook certainly overlaps with the next yoga concept, the path of action – Karma yoga. Karma yoga is all about taking action without thinking, “what’s in it for me.” As such, it seeks to mainly let go of one’s ego. “In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is ambivalent about fighting because of the conflict regarding the outcome brought on by waging the war, i.e., having to kill some of his own kith and kin. Krishna reminds him that he should not hesitate, because it is his nature and duty (or Dharma), as a warrior, to protect the larger good, though it will have some downside consequences”
For the editorial author, the frontline health-care worker caring for severely ill patients with COVID-19 “is likely to have a similar emotional reaction as Arjuna, facing a lack of adequate treatments, high risk of mortality and of unpredictable negative outcomes, and risk to him/herself. Compounding this, especially when resources such as ventilators are limited, the doctor may have to make tough decisions of whose life to save and not”
According the author, “Krishna’s counsel would be that the doctor should continue to perform his/her own dharma, but do so without desire or attachment, thereby performing action in the spirit of Karma yoga. Such action would be with detachment, without a desire for personal gain and being unperturbed by success or failure…Krishna points out that training one’s mind to engage in selfless action is not easy but requires practice (Abhyasa). Krishna is also emphatic about the need to protect oneself, in order to be able to effectively carry out one’s duties”
The third core concept in the Gita is the path of meditation and self-reflection: Raja yoga, or Dhyana yoga. This path is often considered the 8-fold path of yoga (Ashtanga yoga) designed to discipline lifestyle, the body and mind toward realizing mindfulness and self-reflection. These techniques, which originated in India, have evolved over recent decades and anticipate several approaches to contemplative psychotherapy, including dialectical behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness-based stress reduction. These approaches are of particular relevance for stress reduction and resilience building in individuals faced by COVID-19-related emotional difficulties as well as health-care providers. The author goes on to list several of the numerous scientific studies that support the claim that these practices can be extremely beneficial in treating for numerous physical and mental health related issues.
There are some useful links in the editorial to some extensive research on the relevance of the Bhagavad Gita in modern psychotherapy, but also highlights the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic may provide the opportunity for conducting further empirical research into how these practices and teachings may be applied or adapted for use in the general population or by modern or western healthcare providers.
You can access the editorial in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry here
