ABSTRACT

The book intertwines several strands of scholarship in Indian Philosophy, contemporary psychology and the lived Indian psychological practice inclusive of Yoga, advaita, tantra and bhakti to engage in an exploration of consciousness, cognitive science and philosophy.

The book examines the characteristics of consciousness by situating it in the historical and cultural contexts of Euro-American as well as Asian, particularly Indian philosophical tradition specifically, the Bhakti tradition and creative living. The volume decolonizes the understanding of the ecology of consciousness while accounting for the diverse strands, which have given us a unique understanding of the mind, psychology, cognition and philosophy of the mind.

This book will be of interest to students, teachers, and scholars of psychology, consciousness studies, cognitive science, philosophy, social psychology, Yoga studies, and Yoga psychology. It will also be useful for Yoga professionals, social workers, therapists, and anyone who is interested to learn about consciousness.

chapter 1|8 pages

Decolonizing psychology

The ecology of consciousness in Indian psychology

chapter 2|23 pages

Consciousness

Sat-Cid-Ānanda

chapter 3|26 pages

Deha

Consciousness, embodiment and idli-sambhār

chapter 4|21 pages

Conceptualizing Bha¯vana¯

Emotions and well-being 1

chapter 5|27 pages

Prama¯

Consciousness and valid cognition

chapter 6|28 pages

Unmana-Manonmana

Psychology and the ‘no mind’

chapter 7|25 pages

Bhakti

Consciousness, social self and the aesthetic of transformation

chapter 8|20 pages

Purṇa

Creative living and transcendence here and now