Structure of the Human Psyche

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Hindu Psychology

Hindu psychology, Vedantic philosophy, conceives of the human psyche as composed of Atman, intellect (Buddhi), mind (Manas), and senses (Indriyas).

Know that the Soul, who sits within, is the master of the chariot, and the body the chariot. Consider the intellect [buddhi] as the charioteer, and the mind [manas] the reins. The senses [indriyas] are the horses and their roads are the sense objects.

The indriya is not passive; it is dynamic. It functions

• actively to reach out and perceive
• actively to reach out to the objective world and stimulate the nervous system and sense organs."
• actively interpret the sensations
• actively assessing the empirical truth of the sensations
• actively creating meaning and coherence in our lived understanding of things

"Almost all the psychologists of the East and West accept perception as the most direct method of obtaining knowledge. I see you; therefore, I believe that you exist. If I also touch you I am convinced that you are there. But suppose you are passing me on the street and I do not see you. I may be looking in your direction; my eyes are still functioning and your image is reflected upon the retina; yet I do not know that you are there. Why? If my mind were passive, I could not avoid seeing you. The stimulation to my mind from the optic nerve would have informed me, but obviously some part of the mind was not reacting to the stimuli. The mind was not reaching out to the external world and stimulating the indriya to observe; consequently, I could pass you without knowing that you were there. This also explains so-called “absent-mindedness,” where the internal instruments of perception, the indriya and the mind, were not concerning themselves with the objective world and I became forgetful of external matters. The indriya was preoccupied or busily engaged with something else."

Vedic Theory of Truth

Truth is arrived at through perception of empirical reality, active discernment of truth, inference, deduction, and even reliance on authority. but this is influenced by subjective factors which influence even scientific perceptions. Truth also tends to be determined in relation to how it coheres with other experiences and meanings in one's life.

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