Relevance of Ancient Indian Knowledge to Modern Psychiatry

India is a large reservoir of traditional knowledge which is not being utilized in a systematic manner due to the lack of awareness in the country Long before the discovery of psychoanalysis by the west Indian academicians have understood the complexity of mind and the interplay of cognition, behaviour and emotions. Based upon this wisdom they devised various psychotherapeutic techniques akin to our modem cognitive and behaviour therapies. In Bhagwat Geeta written about 3500 years BC, what Shri Krishna imparted to anxious and depressed Arjuna is what is done by a modern cognitive ' therapist who attempts to correct the defective cognitive schemas and errors of thinking of insightful psychiatric patients. In this excellent ancient model of psychotherapy through several chapters, the way of self knowledge and realization, yoga, devotion, meditation and soul liberation are described in detail. Geeta shows the path of meditation which is very close to psychotherapy. Meditation like psychotherapy is based upon a fundamental assumption that one's perception is clouded or distorted, that he does not see the world and its phenomenon as they are but as he wants to see them. Tools employed in meditation practice are focussed attention, insightful concentration to all that is happening around and a pleasant realization that all the worldly phenomenon are ' temporary. It enables a person to have a deeper sense of well being. If psychoanalysis heals the self defeating fragmented ego in ourselves meditation goes one step beyond and unites the sense of self with life as a whole (Chinmayananda,1989) This is one of the most important contribution of Indian philosophy to the western concept of modern psychology Yoga' came into existence around 3000 BC. It had been the way of life in ancient India. Systems and principles of yoga are described in detail in vedic scriptures The 8 common points of yoga are known as the asthang yoga. The asthang yoga are Yam (restraint) & Niyam (discipline) together help an individual to regulate himself and his activities which is like activity scheduling' of modern behavioural technique for CBT, Asanas (body posturing) and Pranayam (breath control) are like physical measures done during behaviour therapy such as breathing exercise and relaxation technique Pratyahara (withdrawal), Dharma, Dhyana & Samadhi are concerned with the cognitive dimension of an individual. The popular yogic technique being used widely is the Hath yoga (Niranjanand, 1993) Role of yoga in stress and sleep management, enhancing performance, improvement of concentration, memory & reducing anxiety has been widely studied and acknowledged Ramayana (written about 500-300 BC), Mahabharata and Panchatantra give a brilliant account of intrafamilial. couple and interpersonal dynamics and they describe beautifully the human tendencies of expectations, desires, respect, devotion love hatred and their respective roie in determining human behaviour in a society Anecdotes from these ancient literature can be used successfully in any form of supportive, interpersonal, marital and couple therapies Giving psychotherapy about death, dying and bereavement can be made simple if one has read Geeta and Ramayana The acceptance