Bhagavad Gita and Psychotherapy: Relevance and Applications

Abstract

ABSTRACT Implementing Bhagavad Gita in day-to-day practice will facilitate in developing a culturally acceptable form of psychotherapy, which would be possibly more appealing and effective in the Indian context. This narrative review focuses on Bhagavad Gita with the aim to outline its utility in day-to-day psychotherapeutic practices. The article summarizes various psychotherapeutic approaches which are apparent during the dialog between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita. These psychotherapeutic approaches which are evident when one reads the Bhagavad Gita have been compared to modern psychotherapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoanalytic therapy. It aims to show the similarities between them and further postulate how psychotherapeutic principles from Bhagavad Gita can be used to develop a more indigenous model of therapy which takes this scripture into account.