Anasakti and health: A study of non-attachment - Indian Psychology ...

90This study embodies transition of thoughts across distinct theoreticalframeworks. Concepts belonging to the domains of philosophy,mysticism and psychology have all been invoked with the aim ofunderstanding the stress process. The seeming theoretical inconsistencymay be viewed as an initial step towards achieving adynamic synthesis of these different streams of knowledge.Although most indigenous systems are traditional, their interpretationin terms of contemporary language and vocabulary is adistinct possibility (Paranjpe, 1988). Since the process of indigenisationalso refers to indigenisation of research methodology,skepticism regarding the appropriateness of adopting empiricalmethods to understand indigenous concepts which may not lendthemselves to their operationalistic orientation, is not unwarranted.Nonetheless, the decision to studying indigenous concepts with thehelp of empirical methods can be taken. At astage where&dquo;...indigenisation has hardly passed beyond the embryonic stage ofdevelopment...&dquo; (Ho, 1988, p. 54), this decision may be less appropriatebut more strategic. It may encourage the advocates ofempiricism to look for concepts embedded in their own culturalheritage and in the process, it maysave those ancient texts frombeing subjected to the iconoclastic destruction by the present daynihilism, the &dquo;materialistic scientism&dquo; (Schumacher, 1977, p. 4).Before working out the implications of anasakti in the stressprocess, a brief description of the philosophical framework ofanasakti will be presented here.According to almost every system of Indian philosophy, whetherorthodox or heterodox, realistic or idealistic, the purpose ofhuman life is to achieve liberation from sufferings and realise theidentity of self with the Ultimate Reality. To be able to achieve thegoal of self-realisation, disengagement of consciousness fromdesires is necessary. Desires, which are directives of the senses,spring from the identification of self with the ego and its concernsof ambition, pride, attachment (asakti) and insistence on mineness(mamatva). For this study, description of anasakti given in theBhagvad Gitä was examined. The reason for selecting the BhagvadGitd over other sources was simple. The Bhagvad Gïtä describesanasakti in great thoroughness and works out the various conceivableramifications of the concept in all their details.In the Gita, the ideal of anasakti embodies the principles of spiritualismas well as exhortations to pragmatism and action orientation.Downloaded from pds.sagepub.com by Ajit Dalal on April 4, 2011