18

Personality in Indian Psychology

ARBIND KUMAR JHA

The various Indian schools of thought such as Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa,
Vedanta, Buddhism, Jainism, Sufi, etc. are a treasury of very rich analysis of psychological
processes of mind-body interaction. They offer methodology for controlling mind, attention,
memory, emotion and ways to attain self-realization. They encompass the whole spectrum of
human life, and bring out a systematic analysis of different aspects of reality. The text of the
Upanisads, Bmhamanas, Aranyakas, Mahakavyas and Puranas along with folk literature from
different parts of India offer a repertoire of wisdom and insights. In short, the Indian world
view and its assumptions and methods about human reality do have potential to contribute
significantly, not only to the world's reservoir of knowledge but also to the domain of practise
and applications for solving personal, social and educational problems.
Indian psychology finds its roots in Indian philosophy, with its belief in the vast potential
inherent in the human being. It has the "know-how" to raise the consciousness of a human
being which is a focal point from any perspective for human well being. The Indian schools of
thought give profound theoretical insights into the human condition. They also provide practical
methods to find love, joy and peace, which they claim are within the individual. These qualities
are considered to be aspects of one's true self, of pure consciousness. In Indian thought, a
person is not a separate fragment, but on a deeper level, is one with all.
Classical Indian thought has been extraordinary in the sense that it has treated human
personality as a subject, with emphasis on self-consciousness, free-will and self-determination.
Human life has been conceived as the meeting ground of divinity and humanity, the avyakta
(unmanifest) and the vyakta (manifest). The Advaita system reaches the startling conclusion
that finite has no reality in an ultimate reference and personality could not be ascribed to a
being in which all finite personalities merged without retaining a vestige of their distinctive
experiences (Bhattacharya, 1969). Of the six systems of classical Indian thought, Nyaya-
Vaisesika and Purva-MImamsa postulate plurality of souls, whereas Samkhya reduces all
psychological principles to the duality of prakrti and purusa only. Almost every school of
thought, which is more of an interpretation rather than a construction of reality, has not only
conceptualized the pivotal position of man, but has followed it up with the delineation of a

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 Personality in Indian Psychology 349

schemata for the development of human personality in close accordance with the reality
postulated (Sharma, 2001). This mapping of a course of development, in the form of a discipline
(anubandha and anusasana), is a unique feature of Indian psychology.

Personality in Nyaya-Vaisesika
The Nyaya-Vaisesika reduces the entire universe, of which an individual human being is a
part, into nine categories (padarthas) and classifies all existents under them. These categories
are substance (dravya), attribute (guna), activity (karma), generality (samanya), individuality
(visesa), inherence (samavdya), non-existence (abhava), soul (atmari), and mind (manas). Out
of the nine substances, which serve as the substrata of all, the first seven serve as the material
cause of Nature without, and the last two provide a peek into human existence and personality.
Further analysis of these two substances yields what could be termed as the constituents of
human personality (Sharma, 2001).
There are three prime factors of human personality - soul (atmari), mind (manas) and body
(sarira) along with the five senses of knowledge (jnanendriyas) and the five senses of action
(karmendriyas).
The Soul (atman)
Nyaya holds the self as a unique, ubiquitous substance to which all cognitions belong. That
the soul exists is indicated beyond doubt by desire (ichha), aversion (dveca), effort (prayatna),
pleasure (sukha), pain (dukkha) and cognition (NS, I. 1. 10). The nature of these attributes is
psychic, which means their mainstay (dsraya) has to be other than the body. Nyaya proves the
existence of soul through inference whereas in Vaisesika, the existence of soul is taken as
given through direct perception. The state of a person at birth and the individual differences in
men serve as further proofs of the existence of the self.
The self is considered eternal and indestructible. It is all pervading. Besides, the self is not
intelligence itself, but owns intelligence as its quality. It is the seat of aharhkara (ego-sense). It
is the knower, the subject. It is neither the body nor mind or senses, but what controls them and
synthesizes their operations. It acts as a unifying factor of all types of cognition and action.
The self is described as one "who sees all, enjoys all, knows all and experiences all". It is
the mainstay of all human endeavours based on thought and experience. It is the repository of
all mental propensities, instincts, desires and dispositions (the samskaras) of the past life.
Hence, it governs and regulates the mind and the senses which serve as media for the soul to
perceive and experience. This connection of the self with the senses and mind for appropriating
external and internal perceptions respectively is what results in the manifestation of
consciousness (Sharma, 2001).
Mind (manas)
Mind refers to the totality of the inner organ. It is through the instrumentality of the mind
that a person is able to receive thoughts - thoughts that eventually influence the soul. The
appearance and non-appearance of knowledge, on contact of the self with the senses and the
objects, are the mark of the existence of mind. Knowledge appears only when mind attends.
Without mind, the direct contact of the soul with the senses would lead us to a strange situation
of perceiving many things simultaneously. But, in reality, the perceptions occur in succession,
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 350 Handbook of Indian Psychology

a situation that presupposes the existence of an intermediate instrument, the mind. Mind thus
functions as a coordinator between the senses and the soul.
Mind is held as an eternal substance. Yet, it is not all pervading because it does not have
simultaneous perceptions. This very fact leads to the position that each body has its own mind.
It means that each individual has his own way of looking at the same thing.
Mind is atomistic and it has no magnitude. It is indestructible and eternal like an atom.
Besides, body and other objects of perception constitute the objective world, whereas mind
defies perception and is the subjective side of the individual. As organ of perception, it helps
the soul to perceive. Though not directly subject to volition, it is still approachable by volition.
Vaisesika characterizes mind as fickle and restless. This quality of mind blunts the intuitive
power of the soul and weakens the hold of the latter on the former i.e., the mind. But, empowered
with volition, the soul is able to retain its overall hold over mind. This restrain of the internal
organ (cittam) is what is called yoga (Sharma, 2001).
Body (sartra)
It is an important factor of human personality composed of the four basic elements of earth,
water, fire and air. It is the site or locus of volition, senses and objects, viz., pleasure and pain
(NS 11.11). Sentiments are also located in the body which experiences them. The body is the
field or vehicle of the soul's experience because the movement towards the acquisition or
avoidance of an object takes place in the body, and also because the efficiency of the senses
depends upon and varies according to the health or disease of the body. Besides, it is the body
that resonates pleasure and pain (Vidyabhusan, 1981).
Intellect (buddhi)
According to Gatuama, intellect {buddhi) and apprehension (upalabdhi) or knowledge
(jfiana) are the same. Intellect serves as an agent and a product for the soul. Being identical
with knowledge it is nothing but the manifestation of object. It is a reality corresponding to the
objective world.
Development of Personality Based on Nyaya-Vaisesika
The process of development of human personality has to take cognizance of its realistic
ontology and rationalistic epistemology, the former defining the 'end' and the latter the "means".
This leaves us with a formidable task of identifying the postulates that characterize human
personality and its development in more familiar idioms and usages and chart a process of
accomplishment and practical discipline, geared to culminate in the final liberation of human
spirit from its entanglement with the world that binds man to the chariot wheels of phenomenal
existence.
The sound epistemology in terms of nature of valid knowledge (prama) and means of
acquiring valid knowledge (pramana) suggests the cultivation of true knowledge and the habits
of valid reasoning, study and reflection are the proper equipment for the development of a
sound human personality. We need to cultivate the knowledge that the self is pivotal to human
existence and is the basis of empirical life. We should be aware that the psychic life is not the
essence of the self; it is rather adventitious, an accidental adage to it. On the part of the human
being it is important to have an understanding so as to empower human life to get rid of this
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 Personality in Indian Psychology 351

adventitious acquisition and achieve the highest good and liberation of the soul. The practical
discipline prescribed by this school implies cessation of actions that are responsible for our
birth and rebirth. This can be achieved at two stages - moral as well as intellectual. The training
procedure implies overcoming selfish desires and impulses, which result in educating the human
will for the pursuit of the highest good i.e., nihsreyasa. We need to cultivate right attitude,
which banishes ignorance, infatuation, bondage, sorrow, and joy as well. This school suggests
meditation on the ultimate truth as another pole-vault to reach the coveted goal.
Focal Points for a Personality Development Program based on Nyaya-Vai^esika
1. Self is the essence of the human personality. It knows all and enjoys all.
2. Jndna emerges in the waking state when the self is in contact with the external world
through the agencies of the body, mind and senses.
3. Human personality is epigenetic in character. It comes into existence only when the self
establishes a functional relationship with its adjuncts and the external world, viz., when
it is "intelligized".
4. Human personality is not fully pre-determined; it is educable in the sense that it is fully
exposed to new dispositions through the instrumentality of manas which serves as the
carrier of samskaras.
5. Nihsreyasa, the highest good, and apavarga, the escape and emancipation from pleasure
and suffering, constitute the twin-ideals of human existence.
6. The development of human personality is achievable through the pursuit of a discipline
which successively moves along the course which is ethical as well as intellectual, which
includes the knowledge of thtprameyas (ends) and ihepramanas (means). The discipline
also includes development of right attitudes and the intuitive perception.

Personality in Samkhya-Yoga
Samkhya etymologically meaning "the philosophy of right knowledge" (samyak-khydit) is
predominantly intellectual and theoretical. Yoga as its counterpart, gives us a practical discipline,
leading to "the realization of reality" visualized in Samkhya (Sharma, 2001). This system is
notable for (1) its theory of evolution, acceptable to many other Indian systems of thought, and
(2) for the reduction of the numerous categories of the Nyaya-Vaisesika system to the two
fundamental categories of purusa andprakrti, the subject and the object (Radhakrishnan, 1957).
Epistemologically speaking, all experience is characterized by this duality of the knowing subject
(purusa) and the known object (prakrti).
Prakrti serves as the basis of all objective existence, the physical as well as the psychic. It
is the source of the world of 'becoming'. Its constituents are the three gunas, viz, sattva, rajas,
and tamas, the three strands (substances, not attributes) which are the warp and woof of the
objective world, and are held in perfect equilibrium (sdmyavasthd) prior to manifestation.
Their disturbance leads to the process of evolution. All things, as products of prakrti consist of
these three gunas in different proportions, their varied interaction accounting for the variety of
the world (Radhakrishnan, 1957).
The other co-eternal pre-supposition of Samkhya is purusa, the principle of pure
consciousness, the soul, the self, the spirit, the subject, the knower. Though passive by itself,
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 352 Handbook of Indian Psychology

its mere presence excites prakrti, upsetting the equipoise of the gunas, thereby unleashing the
process of succession (Sharma, 1976).
Apart from the concepts of prakrti and purusa, mahat has an important place in this school
of thought. Mahat, literally meaning "the great", is the first of evolutes. Cosmic in nature, it
has its psychological counterpart in buddhi, which is the subtle substance of all mental processes,
giving rise to aharhkara (the ego), which is the principle of individuation (Radhakrishnan,
1957).
Aharhkara has three significant aspects. Its sattvic nature gives rise to manas (the mind),
the five organs of perception and the five organs of action. Tamasic aspect brings out the five
subtle elements of sound, touch, sight, taste and smell. These subtle elements develop into the
gross elements. Its rajasic nature merely supplies the necessary energy for these lines of
development.
Yoga provides the necessary practical dimension to the metaphysical formulations of
Samkhya, enumerating elaborate practical methods for achieving moksa, the ultimate goal of
life. Yoga holds that human existence is marked with unhappiness and afflictions of various
types. The real being of man, the purusa, remains veiled by the activities of prakrti An
unswerving discipline of the mind-stuff (citta-vrittis) can ultimately pave the way for the
realization of one's true self.
Human personality, according to Samkhya-Yoga, is a biune, produced as a result of the
conjunction of the spirit (purusa) and matter (prakrti), the former being sentient and the latter
insentient. The two entities are eternal and independent of each other. However, it is their
interaction, rather proximity, that results in the evolution of human personality. What is significant
from the Samkhya view point is the assumption that human personality is only a modification
(parinama), the evolute of prakrti, unlike the Nyaya-Vaisesika viewpoint which lends it a
definite beginning (arambha). Here the human personality is a composite of spirit (purusa)
and matter (prakrti), the psycho-physical organism.
Purusa is altogether different and distinct from the material universe which is nothing but
the manifestation of prakrti. It constitutes the "spiritual pole" of the universe, the very element
by virtue of which we become aware of the existence of this physical world around us. Purusa
represents 'the principle of sentience'. It is the pure, intelligent, conscious spirit, free from the
three gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas. It is not the mind, life or body, but the informing and
sustaining soul, silent, peaceful, eternal that possesses them. It is witness (saksi), seer (drasta),
in-active (akarta) and has neutrality (madhasthata) and isolation (kaivalayam) as the goal.
Samkhya admits plurality of purusa. Pluralism of the purusa is based on the observations
that each experiencing individual is differently endowed - physically, morally and intellectually,
and looks upon the subjective and objective processes in his own way. There are different
'witnessing consciousnesses'.
The biography of each purusa starts with the evolution of the psycho-physical complex
which embodies him. This psycho-physical apparatus is called karana (the agent, die instrunlent).
It has both organs as well as functions, and has thirteen constituents. These constituents are
internal as well as external. The internal instruments are: (1) buddhi, intellect at the individual
level, (2) aharhkara, the ego-sense, and (3) manas, the mind. The external agents are:
(1) the five senses of perception, and (2) the five senses of action. These organs have the
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 Personality in Indian Psychology 353

functions of: (1) seizing carried out by the motor organs, (2) illuminating done by the sensory
organs, and (3) sustaining performed by the internal organs.
Yoga designates the first evolute of prakrti as citta (replacing mahat of Samkhya) which
functionally combines in itself, all attributes of antahkarana which are the intellect (buddhi),
self-consciousness (aharhkara) and mind (manas). It is essentially unconscious but becomes
conscious due to the reflection of the self. It also undergoes modifications when affected by
the objects via the senses. Citta is the real spectacle of which the self is, by reflection, the
spectator.
Citta is of two types - kdrana citta and karya citta. The former remains constantly connected
with purusa and is all pervading whereas the karya citta is the one that expands and contracts
in various kinds of 'abodes', the bodies. There are five kinds of citta in accordance with their
degree of perfection: (1) wandering (ksipta), the one tossed about by passions, (2) forgetful
(mudhd), operating under the influence of tamas, losing its brilliance, (3) occasionally steady
(viksipta), the unstable in its pursuits, (4) one-pointed (ekagra), having sharpness of focus, and
(5) restrained (niruddha). The last two kinds mark a stage that facilitates the attainment of
samadhi, and for that matter, liberation.
Citta Vrittis or the states of citta are directly influenced by the modifications of the mind
stuff (citta vrittis) which are catalogued as cognition (pramana), illusion (viparyaya), imagination
(vikalpa), sleep (nidra) and memory (smriti). These vrittis (mental actions) are influenced by
the impressions (samskara) left behind by the earlier mental actions, which are but "dominant
potential energies", supplying the necessary impetus and energy for the "will-to-live"
(abhinivesa) (Sharma, 2001). Apart from the vrittis and samskaras, which are acquired by
each individual, there are certain pre-dispositions which are inherited and which provide each
person with the "psychological capital" with which he embarks upon the given career. These
very innate tendencies called vasanas together with samskdras and vrittis constitute the very
springs of our thought and action i.e., the "motivational dynamics" (Sharma, 2001). Yoga sfays
that there is need to restrict, control, sublimate and finally atrophy the citta vrittis for the
proper flowing of the human personality. Yoga prescribes an eight-fold method to ensure the
desired development in human personality. The eight-fold method is as under:
1. Yama - restraint; ethical percepts regulating the social life
2. Niyama - observance; ethical percepts with regard to the inner life
3. Asana - seat or bodily posture
4. Pranayama - regulation of breath; control of life-energy
5. Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses from the outer world
6. Dharana - steadying the mind; fixing the mind on the object of meditation
7. Dhyana - meditation; undisturbed flow of thought around the object of meditation
8. Samadhi - concentration, "unification" of the mind and the object of meditation, best
rendered as enstasis (Eliade, 1958)
Development of Personality Based on Samkhya-Yoga
Development of human personality should refer to the successive stages of evolution
involving the constituents of human personality which, in this school of thought, would mean
the evolution of stages that are subtle (suksma) into the phenomenal (sthuld). The development
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 354 Handbook of Indian Psychology

of human personality would be the process of "involution", a journey back home, rather than
an evolutionary process. Samkhya has suggested that the "discriminative knowledge" as the
main instrument of realization of the true spirit or the essence of human existence, which is
through the final release from enticing prakrti into kaivalya, 'when spirit stands supreme in its
isolated splendor'. This discriminative knowledge is the removal of an illusion which shrouds
our true nature from our vision. The knowledge that "I am not" (nasmi) that "naught is mine"
(nd me) and that "the ego exists not" (ndham) leads to the desired release (Sharma, 2001). Yoga
prescribes for the realization of the true objective of human existence, which is the successive
transformation of the person, from the phenomenal to the noumenal.
Focal Points for a Personality Development Program Based on Samkhya-Yoga
1. Samkhya explicates reality with the help of the two principles, viz, purusa and prakrti.
While prakrti is assumed as the primordial matter, dynamic yet devoid of consciousness,
purusa is postulated as the spiritual entity which is all consciousness, but without any
activity.
2. Human personality should be assumed to be the outcome of the interaction between
these two eternal principles.
3. The universe and its set-up are all manifestations of prakrti. In its original unmanifest
state, prakrti maintains a perfect poise, holding its constituents, the three gunas, in
equilibrium which gets disturbed by the proximity of purusa. This marks the beginning
of evolution of the world, with prakrti providing the objective psycho-social basis. Purusa
lends consciousness and intelligence to the objective basis.
4. The biography of human personality starts with the interaction (sanghdta) of purusa
and prakrti, the subjective and objective dimensions of the phenomenal existence.
5. In asmuchas all purusas are alike, the individual differences arise from the differences
in the bodies with which the purusas are associated. Since the physical bodies consist of
a varied mix of the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas - the proportion of these
gunas in a given body accounts for personality differences (Rao, 2002).
6. The antahkarana, consisting of buddhi, aharhkdra and manas, accounts for various
types of subjective, psychic experiences including perception, discernment and volition.
7. The human personality has an autonomous existence. It enjoys reality at the phenomenal
level, its ultimate sources being the unconscious prakrti and all consciousness, purusa.
8. Samkhya accounts for the evolution of the world from the subtle to the gross elements,
human personality being one of the evolutes having both the elements. However, the
development of personality is visualized as a process of involution, a journey back home
to the metaphysical matrix (Sharma, 2001).
9. The astdnga yoga is a course of practical discipline which is characterized by ethical
preparation (yama and niyama), the control of the senses and the body (dsana, prdndydma
and pratyahdra), and the final unification of the empirical self with its spiritual self, in a
state of enstasis (dhdrand, dhydna and samddhi). Here the pillars of individuality crumble
down and the self {purusa) shines forth in full isolated splendor as pure, sweet, bright
and upright (Sharma, 2001).

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 Personality in Indian Psychology 355

Personality in Mimamsa
Mimamsa literally means "revered thought" or "critical" investigation (Sharma, 1976).
According to this school of thought, the universe and everything that exists are real. The existence
has an objective, realistic basis and objects are not externalized ideas, the outer objects exist in
their own right. The universe is eternal and uncreated. The theory of 'efficient cause' stands
discarded. Mimamsa accepts the existence of soul, entirely distinct from body and senses, as
the true experiencer of things in life. It admits plurality of souls. 'Knowledge is a property of
the soul. It is self-illuminating.' It illuminates the self as well as the object. Soul is held as the
true essence of human personality. Mind, body and senses are energized and enlightened by
the soul. Human beings are obliged to pursue dharma, the injunctions of the Vedas, which
requires the performance of actions, some leading to worldly gain and others to moksa. For the
proper performance of vedic injunctions, one needs to acquire true knowledge for which there
are six valid means, viz, (1) sense-perception (pratyaksa), (2) inference (anumana), (3) analogy
(upmana), (4) verbal testimony (sabda), (5) implication (arthapatii), and (6) negation
(anupalabdhi) (Swami, 1977).
With its realistic grandstand and its humanistic and activistic ethics, it places man in the
centre of the universe. Its commitment to the human welfare is total. Human personality in
Mimamsa is taken to be a "live" relationship between the Self and its adjuncts such as mind,
body and the senses (Sharma, 2001). Though functionally connected with the body, the senses
and the buddhi, yet in its reality and essence it is distinctly different from all the three. It is an
agent in each experience and is exclusive to each individual. Self is essentially unconscious
and that consciousness is an accidental quality of the self. The mental processes pertaining to
cognition, affection and conation are properties of the self (arising due to merit and demerit),
and after liberation, the self stands divested of all these properties including "bliss" (Sharma,
1976). It is self-luminous and all-pervasive. It causes movement and lends direction to the
body. It is not perceptible in itself, but is known as the doer with the "F'-sense, and not as the
object. The self is necessarily implied in every knowledge as the subject and it can never
become an object. It is impossible to know the self as an object. All consciousness is necessarily
self-consciousness (Sharma, 1976).
Mimamsa gives full recognition to mind and other senses, because it is through the
instrumentality of mind and senses that the self becomes operative. So far as the functions of
manas are concerned, it has the status and role which are assigned to antahkarana, viz., receiving,
owning and discerning the experiences monitored by the senses (Sharma, 2001).
Development of Personality Based on Mimamsa
Mimamsa includes the conative, the voluntaristic aspect of human existence. Humanistic
in its spirit, it invokes the injunctions of the Vedas to profess what dharma (duty for self-
fulfilment and human well-being) is and how best it can be actualized in life. Dharma is action-
based and requires an exercise of the intellect. Development of intellect is the development of
personality. Dharma is visualized as a great sacrifice (yajna), which is the highest of actions,
which carry social consciousness as well as individual conscience. Human personality is raised
on the props of actions, constituting dharma. The necessary transformation takes place in an
individual's life through the agency of apiirva which is postulated in Mimamsa as an
imperceptible, unseen potency accumulated as a result of karmas (Sharma, 2001). It is this
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 356 Handbook of Indian Psychology

principle, a quotient of merit as well as demerit, which governs and programs the future of an
individual.
Mimamsa prescribes acts under three heads, namely, nitya (obligatory), naimittika
(incidental), and kamya (actuated by desire). Nitya acts are obligatory for all; their violation or
non-performance earns reproach. Their adherence alone qualifies a person to live as a responsible
member of society. Nitya karmas such as prayers are to be performed daily, whereas naimittika
karmas are observed on specific occasions (Sharma, 1976). According to Mimamsa, everything
that concerns the development of human personality must be subordinated to the ethical
dimension and the qualitative excellence of man's pursuit of dharma.
Focal Points for a Personality Development Program Based on Mimamsa
1. Whatever exists is real and objects are not ideas externalized.
2. There is need to reject the theory of "Efficient Cause" of the universe as the universe is
eternal and uncreated.
3. Atman is the essence of human personality.
4. Everyone needs to abide by the dharma,
5. Manas holds the status and role assigned to antahkarana.
6. The development of human personality should be well charted along education of the
human will in the pursuit of the dharma.

Personality in Vedanta1
Vedanta is an exceptionally pervasive system with extensive metaphysics, sweeping
epistemology and an inspiring axiology (Sharma, 2001). The concept of Brahman is the crux
of Vedanta. According to Vedanta, Brahman is the ground-source of the universe. Everything
merges into it. "All this, indeed is Brahman" It is existence-consciousness-bliss. It is the object
of meditation; itds the goal realized by the released souls. The Vedanta assertion is that Brahman
appears as the world. The so called creative activity, ascribed to Brahman, is comparable to
sport. The world is not separate from Brahman; "there is no real modification of the Brahman",
the cause alone is the real. Even the soul is equated to Brahman as reflection of the prototype.
It is this which acts, enjoys, transmigrates, strives for release and gains it. Brahman in itself is
without attributes, formless. The attributes ascribed to Brahman are for the sake of meditation
(upasna). Brahman appears to acquire form because of it adjuncts (upadhis). Its forms are like
the reflection of the one Sun in a reservoir of water. The scriptures describe Brahman as "not
this, not this" (neti! neii!), because it is unconditioned i.e., beyond qualifications (Sharma,
2001). According to Vedanta, duties and rituals have preparatory value, as they serve to purify
the mind. The path of knowledge leads man to his final goal, moksa.
According to the Advaita-Vedanta view (non-dualism) advocated by &ankara, the essence
of human personality is the self which is beyond body, life, mind and intellect. The Self, according
to Sankara, is attributed to have (1) consciousness, (2) continuity in consciousness, and

1
For a focused discussion of personality in Advaita Vedanta, see the chapter "Psychology in Advaita
Vedanta" by Anand Paranjpe and K. R. Rao in this volume.
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 Personality in Indian Psychology 357

(3) awareness of itself as the knower and the agent of activities. The self lives through all states
of consciousness, which mind does not do. The two are different. This self is the knower
(ksetrajfia), the seer (drsta), the witness (saksi), the immutable (kutastha), and pure
consciousness {citta). Human personality is a commune, its members being: (1) the self, the
atman, saksi; (2) avidya, the nescience; (3) cidabhasa, the reflection of the immutable (kutastha)
in the ego; (4) the karana-sarira (the causal body); (5) the linga-sarira, and (6) sthula-sanra
(gross physical body) (Sharma, 2001).
Antahkarana (the internal organ) in Vedanta as a psychological apparatus has been described
as an inseparable part of human personality. It is composed of buddhi, ahathkara, citta and
manas. Buddhi as a modification (vritti) of antahkarana performs the determining function. It
is the intellectual aspect. Aharhkara is the self-consciousness, 'T'-sense, the owning of
experiences. It is the main principle of individuation, the basis of "agency" and enjoyment. It is
self-luminous and immediate, whereas citta stands for "recollection of the past experiences".
It is the storehouse of past experiences. Manas weighs the pros and cons of what it perceives,
or is received through the sense organs. Prana is included in the iriner ensemble by the Advaita.
It is a vital ingredient in controlling the metabolic function of human body. It works as soul's
instrument and is minute and subtle. The pranas are of five kinds:
1. Prana is that vital force which moves upwards, seated in the heart, is felt at the tip of the
nose and corresponds to the respiratory system.
2. Apana corresponds to the excretory system and has a downward movement.
3. Vyana pervades the whole organism with the approximation of the nervous system.
4. Samana serves the digestive system, and
5. Udana is that vital force that moves out of the body and is seated in the throat.
Apart from some minor functions, ihepranas maintain life in the living organism through
inhaling and exhaling.
Vedanta accepts the five levels or sheaths (kosa) of personality:
1. Annamaya koia is the material physical body i.e., the personality fixed in the physicality
of the human composition.
2. Pranamaya ko§a is the vital i.e., personality fixed in the vital sheath of human
composition.
3. Manomaya ko§a causes cerebration and thinking i.e., the personality fixed in the mental
energy of rationality, ethicality and aesthetics.
4. Vijhanamaya kosa is responsible for pure objective thinking and the grasp of direct truth
i.e., the personality that blossoms in the fullness of comprehensive supramental
consciousness.
5. Anandamaya kosa is the sheath of pure joy i.e., the personality that enters into the
supreme regions of consciousness, the key of which is in the spontaneous ocean of
delight.
There are three realities, viz, (1) Uvara; (2) individual soul, and (3) material world. The
implication is that the human personality is a combination of matter and spirit. It is a form of
Brahman, a microcosm in a macrocosm. The embodied self is the knower, experiencer and
doer and is therefore the author of his empirical personality. This conception of personality
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 358 Handbook of Indian Psychology

lends activity and initiative to man, who is the finite form of Uvara, not a mere reflection.
Human personality is live, vibrating and has continuity, growth and fulfilment.
The main thrust of Vedanta is towards the realization of the divine which is indescribable
and is impersonal. According to Vedanta, the course of human development has many stages:
The first stage is the pursuit of knowledge for which the seeker must have appropriate
qualifications which he acquires by practicing four disciplines:
1. Viveka, which is discrimination between the real and the unreal, a realization that Brahman
alone is real.
2. Vaimgya, which is renunciation, a disregard for the pleasure and worldly gains which
pertain to action and actions have finitude. Sadsampatayah are the six treasures, their
cultivation forms the ethical foundation of higher knowledge and spiritual life. These
are as follows:
a. Sama - calmness, helping the mind dwell on Brahman; it is quiescence
b. Dama - self-control
c. Uparati - abstinence or self-settlement
d. Titiksa - endurance or forbearance of afflictions
e. Samadhana - contemplative concentration, concentration of mind on Brahman
f. Sraddha - faith, an affirmative attitude of the mind contrary to the negative, skeptical
one and
g. Mumuksatvam - which is longing for liberation. This is the intense longing for the
seeker to free himself through the knowledge of the true self, from all bondages
pertaining to the body, the mind and the ego-bondages created by ignorance (Sharma,
2001; Nikhilananda, 1978).
Development of Personality Based on Vedanta
The main thrust of development of personality, as has been visualized by vedantins, is
towards the realization of the divine which is all pervading, indescribable and impersonal.
Imputing personality is possible at the empirical level only which means that any description
or analysis of human personality and the prescription of a development strategy would be
confined to the phenomenal level only as personality belongs to ih&jivatman and not to Brahman.
Without mincing words it can be asserted that the course of development of personality is
charted along a successive transcendence from the empirical to the spiritual or in other words
from the phenomenal to the noumenal. The very first stage is the pursuit of knowledge for
which the seeker must have appropriate qualifications which he/she acquires by practicing the
four disciplines - the four instruments of spiritual knowledge i.e., viveka, vairagya,
sadsampatayah and mumuksatvam. But knowledge is not synonymous with the intellectual
understanding of the text; it involves feelings, emotions and actions as necessary elements in it
(Vidyarthi, 1978). This knowledge has to be knowledge-divine (para-vidya) which is not mere
thinking, reasoning or strictly logically derived knowledge, but a state which is realized through
contemplative and meditative exercises by the instrumentality of §ravai}a, manana and
nididhyasana. Vedanta has maintained that renunciation and longing for liberation are the
cardinal virtues without which the mere ethical disciplines give only a veneer of spirituality.
Ramanuja upholds that religious life, cushioned by knowledge, actions and feelings ensures
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 Personality in Indian Psychology 359

proper integration of personality. To realize the true developed personality it is essential to

realize the Brahman which lies beyond the states of consciousness, viz., waking, dream and
dreamless - that is, the turiya avastha, where empirical consciousness of any type becomes
extinct and one awakens within, where sat-cit-dnanda shines forth in all its purity, immutability
and indescribability. The ideal personality would be the realization of the ultimate reality which
is Brahman. The Advaitavadins conceive it in terms of self-realization or self-knowledge
(atmabodha) whereas the theistic schools visualize the highest goal as merging of the individual
(jtva-dtma) with the supreme (param-dtma). In short, development of human personality is
rested on the individual in attaining the knowledge of the Self as the highest truth, which is the
leitmotif of entire human existence.
Focal Points for a Personality Development Program Based on Vedanta
1. Vedanta emphasizes on its ontology of personality that reduces all dualistic and pluralistic
entities to one ground source, the Brahman.
2. Vedanta holds that all is Brahman. It is pure existence, consciousness and bliss. The
phenomenal world (as it appears) is simply an abhasa, seeming reality, a vivarta,
something that appears to be existing as real. The world is a phenomenon, an apparent
reality. It does not have a noumenal reality.
3. Man is not different from Brahman, the highest reality. Ultimately, everything merges
into Brahman.
4. Advaitin approaches Brahman through self-realization which is the result of knowledge
of the difference between reality and appearance.
5. Vedanta recommends four disciplines (sadhana-catustaya) for the fullest development
of personality, which are: (i) discriminative knowledge, (ii) renunciation, (iii) ethical
principles, and (iv) the longing for liberation.
6. The conception of personality in Vedanta is true to its metaphysical mainstay, that is,
human personality has only empirical existence. His/her true personality is embedded in
impersonality.
7. The knowledge (para-vidyd) which is intuitive rather than empirical or rational is itself
the culmination of the ideal of developed personality. However Vi§istadvaita considers
this knowledge of the self as a stepping stone for reaching the final unification of dtman
and parmdtman.
8. The true approach to acquire pard-vidyd is through graded practise of sravana, manana
and nidtdhydsana.

Summary
The conception of human personality in Nyaya-Vaisesika is boldly realistic. Nyaya gives
four means of acquiring valid knowledge which is considered good enough equipment to reach
higher stages of human advancement in the form of knowables. The Samkhya-Yoga system
projects the concept of human personality as the outcome of the association or proximity of
purusa and prakrti. The Samkhya-Yoga system provides the theory of gunas - sattva, rajas
and tamas, as the determinants of certain dispositions and predilections characterizing different
types of personality. The system of Purva-MImamsa shares its ontological grounds with the
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 360 Handbook of Indian Psychology

realistic system of Nyaya-Vaisesika dispensing with the need for an efficient cause for explaining
all that exists and is created. It propounds the concept of ethical quotient of human action
which charts the course of personality. According to Vedanta, personality is a combination of
matter and spirit. It is a form of Brahman, a microcosm in a macrocosm. The embodied self is
the knower (jnata), experiencer (bhokta) and doer (karta), and therefore the author of his/her
empirical personality. The conception of existence-consciousness-bliss (sat-cit-ananda) as the
ontological triune allows greater freedom and expansion to the horizons of human thought
which is non-dualistic. In a unified way, it can be highlighted that Nyaya-Vaisesika syncretism
has underlined the existence-based (sat) aspect of human personality, the Samkhya-Yoga
combine yields discerning features of consciousness (cif), whereas the Vedantic conception
adds up bliss (ananda) to the earlier mentioned aspects. These three (aspects of human
personality) have direct correspondence with the three primary human experiences. It is the
complementarity of these elemental aspects - Sat + Cit + Ananda = Satchitananda, which
provides the general prolific of human being Qlvatman), allowing individual acts of volition,
dispositions (samskaras) and vasanas to determine its uniqueness, a microcosm epitomizing
the connotation of the macrocosm, the ultimate reality, the transcendental self. Thus, it can be
stated that the concept of personality in Indian psychology is a kind of dialectical advance that
explicates remarkable promises and possibilities. Close scrutiny and critical evaluation of the
concept of personality as figured in various Indian thought systems can give us a very sound
alternative paradigm to existing concept of personality and its realization. Last but not the
least, the conception of personality as figured in different systems of thought even without any
contrived synthesis provides immense strength to Indian psychology and to human life, which
in turn should seep and percolate into educational thought, policies and practises so as to
produce persons with personalities and not just prototypes of mechanically and electronically
designed machines on the assembly lines.

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