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Spirituality and Indian Psychology pp 47–63Cite as

Model Building from Cultural Insights

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Part of the book series: International and Cultural Psychology ((ICUP))

Abstract

Worldview is shaped by culture, and worldview directs the choice of conceptual models, research questions, and what we do professionally as a social scientist. This chapter examines the Indian culture vis-à-vis the culture of science. First the thesis that science has a culture is laid out by recognizing the defining attributes of science. Then the Indian worldview of who we are and what we should be doing is presented, followed by an examination of how this view interacts with the culture of science and what is called scientific thinking. Research on Transcendental Meditation (TM) is presented as a vehicle to examine the interaction between Indian cultural worldview and what is called scientific thinking. Implications of this interaction for studying human value system for cultural researchers and global psychology are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

     The Lord’s form was extremely fearsome because of His fierce [angry] eyes, which resembled molten gold; His shining mane, which expanded the dimensions of His fear generating [fearful] face; His deadly teeth; and His razor-sharp tongue, which moved about like a dueling sword. His ears were erect and motionless, and His nostrils and gaping mouth appeared like caves or a mountain. His jaws parted ferociously [fearfully], and His entire body touched the sky. His neck was very short and thick, His chest broad, His waist thin, and the hairs of His body as white as the rays of the moon. His arms, which resembled flanks of soldiers, spread in all directions as He killed the demons, rogues, and atheists with His conch shell, disc, club, lotus and other natural weapons (Prabhupad, 1972, Canto 7, Chapter 8, pp. 141).

  2. 2.

     namaste narasiMhAya prahalAd AhlAd dAyine, hiraNyakazipurvakSaH zilATankanakhAlaye, ito nRsiMho parato nRsiMho yato yato yAmi tato nRsiMho, bAhir nRsiMho hRdaye nRsiMho, nRsiMham AdIm zaraNaM prapadye; tava kara kamalA vare nakhaM adbhuta zRGgam dalita hiraNyakazipu tanu bhRGgam; kezava dhRta narahari rUpa jai jagadIz hare, jai jagadIz hare; jai nRsiMha deva, jai nRsiMha deva; jai bhakta prahalAda, jai bhakta prahalAda.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2404 Maile Way, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA

    Dharm P. S. Bhawuk

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Correspondence to Dharm P. S. Bhawuk .

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Bhawuk, D.P.S. (2011). Model Building from Cultural Insights. In: Spirituality and Indian Psychology. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8110-3_3

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