Striving for Synthesis in General Psychology: Lessons from India

Abstract

The importance of the life-long contributions of Professor Sinha is in his search for new perspectives in psychology that would respect Indian cultural history. In that spirit, I will outline themes that are prominent in Indian cultural traditions from which universal science of human psychology could learn. All human beings relate to water and fertility, creating meaningful rituals of handling this valuable commodity. Likewise, it is deeply human to generate borders and social conditions for their crossings, and to participate collective rituals of symbolic processions. Psychology in the Occident has looked towards India as if it were an esoteric collection of local practices that would fit the empirical interests of cross-cultural psychology. I would claim that the psychological riches of India are of primary importance for general psychology.