Introductory Courses in Indian Psychology

This page gives a short overview of the annual courses in Indian Psychology held at the Indian Psychology Institute between 2007 and 2014.

1. A brief introduction
2. Some reading material
3. Projects by participants
4. Evaluations by participants
5. Survey of the long-term effect of the courses on the life and work of the participants

1. Introduction

The Indian Psychology Institute began to offer an Introductory course on Indian Psychology in May 2007. Since then, it has continued every year and over 200 participants have been a part of it. Many of them did the course more than once.

The course is divided into two parts. The first is an 8-day intensive workshop held at Pondicherry in May or June which is then followed by 2 to 6 weekends spread over the following 6 months. The main reason behind the subsequent weekends is that they help maintain a certain continuity between the course and the daily life of the particpants afterwards and that they reinforce and support all that has been learnt during the 8 days. This two-part format for the course was adopted after the feedback received from the participants of the first batch. They only had a 10 day intensive workshop in Pondicherry and they found it difficult to sustain all they had learnt in their life and work afterwards. Since 2008 the short courses have included follow-up weekends.

Every year the group consists of about 35 participants and all of them come from very different backgrounds; we have researchers, professionals, young students, teachers. The one important objective most participants share is the need to better understand the working of their own self. This remains the primary motivation to take up the course.

Methodology:

The basic format of the course consists of three elements.

• The first is a series of lectures that take up various issues/ themes important in understanding IP. There are about 3 interactive lectures per day, each of about 1 ½ hour. The aim of these lectures is to make the participants familiar with the theories and basic principles of IP. Therefore a lot of information is transferred during these talks. These lectures are backed up by reading material given at the end of each day corroborating and often summarizing what all has been told during the day.
• The second part includes doing daily some group activity in small or large groups depending on the exercise taken up. These exercises can vary from doing small meditations together to taking up a particular issue and having discussions on it. Often these exercises help bring the group closer and end up in a friendly and progressive atmosphere.
• The third part involves taking up an individual project and working at it for the entire duration of the course. The projects culminate in an oral as well as written presentation. Taking up a project ensures an active participation by the participant. It helps him to continue thinking and expressing all that he has learnt. Of course the project must revolve around any theme connected to Indian psychology

2. Reading material

During the course various selections of writings from Sri Aurobindo and The Mother are pepared based on the major themes covered. Here are a few examples.

1. Self-observation
2. The parts of the being
3. Steps of the soul
4. The science of living

3. Projects

These are a few examples of projects taken up by the participants during the course of the years:

• In Search of an Awakened Consciousness.
• Detachment as a tool for self-observation.
• Understanding and coming to terms with Spirituality vis-à-vis Religion.
• Self-observation.

4. Evaluations

Here are some excerpts as well as longer evaluations written by the participants at the end of the course.

• Significance of workshop on Indian psychology: A participant’s review
• A Participant's view of the IPI introductory course in Indian psychology
• A student's review
• Some excerpts from the evaluations by the participants

5. Survey of the long-term effect of the courses on the life and work of the participants