The Bhagavad-Gita. A Case Study in Vedic Psychology

The Bhagavad-Gita. A Case Study in Vedic Psychology

Michael C. Dillbeck

Maharishi International University Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A.

Abstract

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has described the many narrative accounts contained in the

Vedic literature as case studies in his Vedic Psychology. This article describes the purpose of the Vedic case studies and it analyzes the Bhagavad-Gita as a model case study from the Vedic literature. This case study provides knowledge of the full range of human development — from a state of complete ignorance characterized by mistakes and suffering to the state of complete enlightenment characterized by unrestricted success and fulfillment. The case study is expressed in the form of an interaction between Lord Krishna and the warrior Arjun who is seeking wisdom. The Bhagavad-Gita points out that all forms of problems and suffering are due to lack of full integration of life, which in turn is due to individual consciousness not being fully established in the field of pure consciousness, identified by Maharishi as the unified field of natural law. The importance of both direct experience and intellectual understanding of the field of pure consciousness is emphasized by the Bhagavad-Gita; the experience of pure consciousness is described as effortless and blissful. The Bhagavad-Gita describes the experience of higher states of consciousness — stages of enlightenment — and identifies the quality of experience of these states. A description of the self-interacting dynamics of consciousness, at the basis of the creative process in nature, is also found in the Bhagavad-Gita. The Bhagavad-Gita thus contains the essence of Maharishi Vedic Psychology, expressed in a form that can be appreciated and applied by people of all walks of life.

Note: This article is the seventh in a series on Maharishi Vedic Psychology. In his Vedic Psychology, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brings to light a complete understanding of individual and collective consciousness, its expression in mental processes and behavior, and its application for the enrichment of all aspects of human life. The foundation of this approach is the experience of the field of pure consciousness, which is the most fundamental level of consciousness, the basis of all mental activity. As Maharishi explains, this field is the unified source of subjective and objective existence, the unified field of natural law glimpsed by modern physics, which through its self-interacting dynamics gives rise to all the laws of nature. It is the field of cosmic intelligence in nature, referred to in Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology as the Veda and in Maharishi Vedic Psychology as the cosmic psyche. Through the Maharishi Transcendental Meditation technique, one systematically and repeatedly experiences transcendental or pure consciousness; on this basis, as pure consciousness becomes more and more established as the basis for all thinking and activity, the individual naturally and effortlessly develops higher states of consciousness. the Maharishi TM-Sidhi program accelerates this development by training the individual to think and act from the level of pure consciousness. With the complete development of human consciousness — unity consciousness — one becomes fully awake to the field of pure consciousness interacting within itself at the basis of the whole creative process in nature. The practical benefit of developing higher states of consciousness is that thought and action become spontaneously in accord with natural law, free from mistakes and suffering, so that one enjoys more and more success and fulfillment in life. The practical application of Maharishi Vedic Psychology to enrich all aspects of individual and collective life is the topic of subsequent articles on Maharishi Vedic Psychology.

Contents

          The Role of Case Studies in Maharishi Vedic Psychology

In twentieth-century psychology, the purpose of case studies has been to exemplify, through concrete instances of the treatment of individuals, the principles by which psychological problems may be solVeda. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1982) explains that the accounts of Vedic literature are the fulfillment of this concept, because they provide solutions to the enormous range of complex problems that may arise on the path to enlightenment, which extends from the most abject suffering to the complete fulfillment that comes from realizing the full development of human awareness in enlightenment.

Maharishi (1982) has pointed out that the essential principle for solving all problems, which is revealed in a great number of different ways in the Vedic case studies, is for the individual psyche to realize its ultimate nature as the field of pure consciousness, the unified field of natural law, and thereby cease to make mistakes and to create suffering. Maharishi explains that problems can always arise in the absence of complete connection between the individual psyche and the cosmic psyche, because the field of cosmic intelligence alone — the Ved — is able to simultaneously govern the evolutionary and

progressive development of all aspects of life on all levels of individual existence. Individual awareness must be fully open to the entire range of awareness, from the nonchanging unified field of natural law to the diversity of natural law in relative existence, for cosmic intelligence to be live in Veda in every boundary of individual life, and thus for all problems to be averted before they can arise. The Vedic literature, which expresses the fundamental transformations of natural law in the Veda, thus presents a vast range of case studies addressing the entire range of existence, from the most obvious manifest level to the most subtle level of existence, the field of pure consciousness.

Maharishi (1982) has noted that the Vedic case studies portray the interaction between the individual psyche and the cosmic psyche, revealing how cosmic intelligence itself functions in specific situations to resolve problems facing individual life (please refer to Figure 1). These case studies provide model solutions that can be 98

 

About the Author

Michael C. Dillbeck is Professor of Psychology and Dean of the Graduate School at Maharishi International University. He recei Veda his B.A. summa cum laude from Benedictine

College in 1972. He then went to Purdue University as a

University Fellow, where he recei Veda his M.S. in 1973 and his Ph.D. in 1976 in psychology. Dr. Dillbeck has published widely on the theoretical foundations of Maharishi Vedic Psychology and empirical research testing its predictions on such variables as EEG coherence, perceptual and cognitive flexibility, reduced anxiety, reduction of crime rate, and improve Veda quality of life in society. He is also co-editor of Scientific R e s e a r c h on M a h a r i s h i ' s T r a n s c e n d e n t a l

Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Collected Papers, Volume 5.

THE BHAGAVAD-GITA: A CASE STUDY

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In commenting upon this verse, Maharishi (1967) describes the enlightened man:

... his state is like that of an ever-full and steady ocean. This, being the state of absolute bliss, is the goal of all desires in life.

Desires arise from a particular want, from a lack of happiness; the mind is ever seeking a field of greater happiness. Thus desires are always flowing towards eternal bliss-consciousness, as rivers to the ocean.

Once bliss-consciousness is permanently attained, desires have serVeda their purpose and therefore cravings do not arise. This is a state of true contentment, a state of lasting peace.

... However, this does not mean that in order to attain peace in life a man should cease to desire and to aspire. It is the desires that lead a man to greater happiness and to fulfillment —  not the control and killing of desires, which has been widely advocated through the ages....

Thinking that to desire and to aspire will not lead to peace, people begin to abstain from enterprise and cease to open the gates of progress. This is simply a wrong understanding of the Lord's teaching.

The verse shows Arjun very clearly that the Self-awareness of the realized is like an ocean, which will accept any stream of desires and will satisfy it without being affected.

The ocean accepts the river as it comes and denies no stream rushing in, yet its status remains unaffected. Such is the state of established intellect, which cannot be affected by anything. It is a state of eternal peace. (pp. 170-171)

In summary, Maharishi's insight into Lord Krishna's analysis of suffering is that in a world of change and diversity, undue attachment to changing sources of pleasure gives rise to suffering through sorrow or conflict. He proposes that freedom from suffering is based on stable inner fulfillment and peace. This inner fullness is cultured through the experience of transcendental consciousness.

Unity Consciousness

The state of complete enlightenment identified by Maharishi Vedic Psychology as unity consciousness is also described in the Bhagavad-Gita. (Please refer to a previous article in this series on Maharishi Vedic Psychology, Alexander & Boyer, 1989, for a detailed description of the state of unity consciousness and the state of refined cosmic consciousness that precedes it.) In the state of unity consciousness, Maharishi

(1967) explains, the field of pure consciousness is realized to be not only the inner Self, as in cosmic consciousness, but also the deepest level of every object of perception and experience. In this state, the underlying unity of all of nature is a direct experience (p. 442).

Maharishi (1967, p. 316) explains that Lord Krishna describes each state of consciousness as having its own unique characteristics and its own integrity (e.g. p. 389). He describes unity consciousness as unique on the basis of the quality of perception. He says that the vision of such a person is " even, " in the sense that diversity of objects of perception have all come to be unified; all are experienced in terms of the ultimate nature of the perceiver, pure consciousness, the Self.

 

He whose self is established in Yoga, whose vision everywhere is even, sees the Self in all beings,

and all beings in the Self.

(VI. 29)

 

He who sees everything with an even vision by comparison with the Self, be it pleasure or pain, he is deemed the highest Yogi, О Arjun.

(VI. 32)

The state of unity consciousness is identified by Maharishi Vedic Psychology as the full awakening of the individual's awareness to the unified field of natural law, in which all specific aspects of natural law are directly experienced in terms of their underlying unity. In this state of full enlightenment, as Maharishi explains, one has the most accurate and full perception of reality, in which the unified field of natural law and all its expressions are experienced in one unified wholeness, and one enjoys mastery over natural law (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1985b). This unified understanding of natural law, directly experienced in the full development of unity consciousness, is also verified through the objective approach to knowledge of the laws of nature, as indicated by the deepest discoveries of quantum physics (Hagelin, 1987).

In summary, this section has briefly outlined how the Bhagavad-Gita describes the higher states of consciousness, or enlightenment, identified by Maharishi Vedic

Psychology. Attention was primarily given to the first of these higher states, cosmic consciousness. In cosmic consciousness, pure consciousness is permanently experienced as the silent and non-changing Self in the midst of activity. The state of unity consciousness was also briefly discussed in the context of the Bhagavad-Gita. Maharishi describes this state of consciousness as one in which every object is perceiVeda in terms of the transcendental unbounded nature of the Self, the unified field of natural law. In describing these higher states of consciousness, Lord Krishna provides Arjun with the knowledge and technology necessary to pass from his initial state of suffering to one in which he realizes his own full potential and rises above even the most challenging circumstances he faces, to enjoy freedom and fulfillment in the midst of the most demanding situation.

Richo akshare parame vyoman

Conclusion

        The Bhagavad-Gita is a complete and powerful case study of Maharishi Vedic

Psychology. In the context of a particular situation, the interaction of Lord Krishna and

Arjun, it describes the application of a principle for solving all problems, by enlivening the connection of the individual mind with the field of cosmic intelligence, the unified field of natural law. On the foundation of direct contact with the most fundamental level of nature's intelligence through his Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, as described by the Vedic case studies, Maharishi states that any individual can resolve any incipient problem. With this program for establishing the individual in the field of pure consciousness, Maharishi Vedic Psychology provides an applied psychology which is capable of freeing the individual from dependence on others and raising life beyond problems to a permanent state of inner fulfillment and self-sufficiency.

Table 2. The knowledge of the self-interacting dynamics of consciousness, expressed by the Richo Akshare verse of Rik Veda and elaborated in the whole Vedic literature, is found in a concentrated form in the Bhagavad-Gita.

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As a specific case study, the Bhagavad-Gita illustrates how the Vedic literature contains all aspects of Maharishi Vedic Psychology. The Bhagavad-Gita describes in rich and concrete detail the self-interacting dynamics of consciousness at the basis of the creative process in nature, the levels of the mind, and the mechanics of development of higher states of consciousness. It also describes the mechanics of the Maharishi Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, and the fundamental principle of collective consciousness by which Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology improves the life of the whole society. (Please refer to Orme-Johnson & Dillbeck, 1987 and a subsequent article in this series on Maharishi Vedic Psychology for a detailed discussion of collective consciousness.)

The Bhagavad-Gita portrays in a concrete situation the tremendous power and practicality of Maharishi Vedic Psychology. The ability of Maharishi Vedic Psychology to identify individual awareness with the totality of natural law in the field of pure consciousness is said by Maharishi to bestow on the individual the complete organizing power of natural law for the fulfillment of his or her own desires and for the benefit of all others. It is the remarkable fortune of this time in history that Maharishi has made the Vedic wisdom available to all in a systematic and accessible form, capable of both scientific evaluation and personal confirmation by each individual. This is the basis of the enlightenment of individual and collective life so that the world enjoys, in Maharishi's words, Heaven on Earth.

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[1] personal communication with Dr. Bevan Morris, July 11, 1991

The Bhagavad-Gita. A Case Study in Vedic Psychology

Michael C. Dillbeck

Maharishi International University Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A.

Abstract

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