Attitude toward death and the practice of self-realization in the Mahabharata from the position of psychoanalysis K.G. Jung

The article is about the problem of personal self-realization. The author compares the practice of self-realization in the Bhagavad-Gita and in psychoanalysis K.G. Jung. The article revealed the meaning of death through the analysis of archetypal images in Mokshadharma. K.G. Jung believes that the main problem of the modern man soul is the loss of the psychical integrity. The psychical integrity is achieved in the process of individuation. The selfhood is the archetype of integrity. According to the ancient Indian spiritual tradition the human suffering is caused by the forgetfulness of spiritual Foundation (the selfhood) as a result of attachment to the empirical things. In the ancient Indian spiritual tradition the human suffering caused by the forgetfulness of spiritual Foundation (the selfhood) as a result of attachment to the empirical things. The path of liberation involves finding own true essence. Therefore the psychological self-realization of the modern person should be comparable with the ancient spiritual practices. К. Estes interprets psychological self-realization of women as disclosure of feminine archetype. One of the methods of disclosure of this archetype is «the creative act». It means any action coming from the depths of the soul. Creative action may be any doings, such as arts, crafts, needlework, daily activities, social activities, etc. In some aspects the method of creative acts correlate with a special spiritual practice karma-yoga, about which the Bhagavad-Gita tells. Karma-yoga is the act which is not directed to the result. Renunciation from the outcome is the common sign of «the creative act» and karma yoga. The main result of karma-yoga and women's creative activity is a «finding of essence», «enlightenment» and «merging with the divine». Another common feature of this two practices is their spiritual background. This knowledge is given as the revelation of Krishna his disciple, Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita. Krishna calls this knowledge secret yoga. K. Estes says that a woman has this knowledge intuitively from the birth. Also this knowledge goes from the soul and belongs to the natural selfhood primeval woman. There are some differences between these two practices despite the similarity. A man, who practice karma yoga seeks a new spiritual state freedom from the daily hustle and bustle, coercive circumstances and breakthrough to the transcendent. In spite of the similarity between these two practices is found and distinction. Practicing karma yoga seeks to find a fundamentally new spiritual state freedom from the daily routine, coercive circumstances and frisk to the transcendent. Therefore karma yoga is understood as a way of special spiritual achievements. In the understanding of the women this practice (which can also be interpreted as karma yoga) is not by achievement of specific and new spiritual state, but it is returning to himself as the primary obvious, true being, how it should be. That is why a woman understands the karma-yoga is not as distinctive spiritual practice, but rather as their natural state, while she understands the vital bustle with all the problems and the worries of how to care of himself in the not the true being and as a deviation from the natural condition of life.

Keywords

Authors

References