As human beings we have complex psychologies. We are all born with powerful inherent patterns to experience life in certain ways and to generate worlds along similar lines. We do this at both the individual and collective level. The inherited archetypal patterns which are our birthright evolved over countless millennia to give us a relatively simple pathway through life marked by the key stages of birth, coming of age, marriage, becoming a responsible member of society, becoming a parent, becoming an elder, until at death we can hopefully pass on wise counsel and wholesome traditions to the next generation. Our original humanity never evolved to live lives as complex as we now do, something which has come about relatively recently, in the space of a mere few hundred years.
When the Yogic theologies and methodologies were being evolved, a period stretching way back into the first and second millennia before common era, although humanity of that time and the structure of its psyche was the same as ours today, which is to say that of a modern human being (Homo sapiens sapiens), the world could hardly have been more different. Two thousand years of social and technological change giving rise to the world we have now has made the simple adoption of these systems in their unmodified entirety difficult and impractical.
Traditional gurus of old, for example, were dealing with spiritual aspirants who were almost always, if not exclusively male, and also almost always, if not exclusively, from higher social castes and educated, which is to say who could at least read and write in ages when the majority of ordinary folk, and more especially women, couldn’t.
The societies we live in now are both more complex and more fragmented. Across the centuries from those earliest days, we have also seen the world we live in become increasingly toxic in all manner of ways. As a generality, we no longer live healthy lives in well balanced and nurturing societies. Our souls have been long sold to the economic and political systems which now dominate the world. Mental illness is now accepted to be a very widespread and very serious social issue, consequent on all manner of negative influences, many of them stemming from childhood instability and trauma.
In earlier societies, stable family units and social structures and behaviours were more likely to have produced spiritual aspirants with rather less of the range of depressive disorders, affects, neuroses and psychoses that are commonplace now. The processes necessary to confront and unravel life conditionings is very likely to have been a lot simpler.
Yet when you hear many of the modern day gurus propounding their views, there is a tendency for them to trivialise these serious issues and act rather as though we still live in these kinds of simpler times. Guru understanding of psychology seems generally rather limited, with a prevailing approach that the methodologies employed in the process of Self Realisation will be those that readily overcome social problems and associated mental disorders, if you just keep up the meditation.
In the over simplification of the human psyche that seems to be a generality, we hear about the ego and very little else. Yet the human psyche is immensely complex with many aspects to it; the ego is simply the principal conscious part of the psyche that we live our lives from and experience ourselves as being, discounting the diversity of other largely unconscious aspects that all play their part. I cannot attempt even a thumbnail sketch of the structure of the personality according to Carl Jung, for example; it is quite beyond the scope of this work, but hopefully my point will be taken. There are many good summaries of the work of Jung which interested readers can readily find and consult.
As people who live in the world, we still need our personalities, the ego being the most significant aspect of this. It is the interface between the you and the world, in much the way that, when you leave the house and go out into the world, you generally wear clothing. Particularly dangerous is the tendency for people whilst still young and still in the process of evolving their ego/personalities, to engage in Zen and Yogic processes designed to deconstruct that ego.
In order to live in the world and function, and most especially as you engage with and progress through the different stages of the pathway to Self Realisation, paradoxically you actually need a strong ego, which acts as a kind of scaffolding or container to support the individual through the challenging requirements and still allow them to function in the world outside.
It is commonplace that people of all ages will look to spirituality of some sort if they feel lost or alienated by their own cultures or life experiences and decide to enter an ashram or monastery. They may be people with histories of abuse or trauma, and may suffer from one or more personality problems or mental health issues. It is not appropriate that people with serious psychological problems go into Zen or Yogic methodologies which may only serve to destabilise them further and leave them not knowing who they are.
Basic yoga practices of meditation, or the simpler strategies of ‘mindfulness’ that are now generally advocated, will always be the best starting point; that and more general life advice promoting physical and mental well being, such as good diet, regular exercise, control of the use of stimulants or intoxicants and so on.
Throughout this website I have consistently emphasised the need for self awareness, a good independent critical faculty and sound common sense not to fall victim to exploitation by any unscrupulous spiritual movements (indeed anything exploitative), but to have a sound enough sense of self to be able to make good decisions and not sign away your life and freedom to some charismatic swami or an online spiritual entrepreneur. People who are lost, with a poor self image and low esteem are much more vulnerable to this sort of danger, therefore need to be counselled to better establish themselves in mental and physical good health before looking to deepen their experience of exotic theologies and practices.
In addition, although the process of Self Realisation is all about recognising oneself as Self, rather than the limited world constructed and constrained self, a well ‘evangelised’ ego that ‘knows its place’ is what is needed. You sometimes hear the ego described as the executive of the Self in the conscious material world. That being the case, you do not dismiss your executive as unnecessary; but neither do you allow that executive to take over and behave as though they are, in fact, the one in charge. A good balance and healthy understanding of the different roles is what is required.
The actual approach to the main principles of Self Realisation, how you go about confronting yourself and your sense of who you are as ego consciousness is a whole methodology in itself and there are many guides and books available, and indeed it is one of the principal things taught in the Yoga Advaitist schools and ashrams. One of the best guides you will find and the one which is the origin of Yoga philosophy is, of course, the Bhagavad Gita itself.
Although it is not my purpose to include sections addressing these approaches and methodologies more than the relatively brief observations found in some of the pages here, here is the one key point which is important to bear in mind as a starter:
Understanding that we are not the same as the different roles we play in our lives, as in the most common of statements you hear said “But it’s who I am!” I used to say this myself way back in the days of my then career as an archaeologist. It seemed to me inconceivable that I could do or be anything else. Many people feel this way; indeed it is quite common for people to have several roles and identities to go with them: spouse, friend, sibling, parent, carer etc. Identifying too closely with these different roles is like an actor/actress experiencing themselves as the different roles they play on stage and then being unable to let these go when they leave the theatre. We have probably all heard stories of real life actors who have had this problem.
You can certainly feel that you have a life calling, you can certainly accept that you have more interest in and skills to perform certain sorts of work or roles than others. But never let it define who you are!