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Freud Along the Ganges: Psychoanalytic Reflections on the People and Culture of India
Winner of the 2006 Gradiva Award
A collection of new and previously-published essays that sheds light on the intersections between psychoanalysis and Indic Studies.
While Indian academics and clinicians have been familiar with psychoanalysis for many decades, they have kept this Western model of the mind separate from the spiritual and philosophical traditions of their own country. Freud Along the Ganges bridges this important lacuna in psychoanalytic and Indic studies by creating a new theoretical field where human motives are approached not only psychoanalytically but also from the perspective of the teachings of Buddha, Tagore, Ghandi, and Salman Rushdie. The authors of this collection show how the insights of these Indian masters give a new force to the Freudian discovery by providing a basis to better understand the social and psychological Indian makeup.
The book begins by questioning the applicability of the psychoanalytic method to non-Western cultures. It then traces the history of the psychoanalytic movement in India from its onset while it emphasizes the intricate overlap between Indian existential and mystical traditions and psychoanalysis. Freud Along the Ganges offers a unique study of the ways that Indian thought and psychoanalysis illuminate and enrich each other.
A collection of new and previously-published essays that sheds light on the intersections between psychoanalysis and Indic Studies.
While Indian academics and clinicians have been familiar with psychoanalysis for many decades, they have kept this Western model of the mind separate from the spiritual and philosophical traditions of their own country. Freud Along the Ganges bridges this important lacuna in psychoanalytic and Indic studies by creating a new theoretical field where human motives are approached not only psychoanalytically but also from the perspective of the teachings of Buddha, Tagore, Ghandi, and Salman Rushdie. The authors of this collection show how the insights of these Indian masters give a new force to the Freudian discovery by providing a basis to better understand the social and psychological Indian makeup.
The book begins by questioning the applicability of the psychoanalytic method to non-Western cultures. It then traces the history of the psychoanalytic movement in India from its onset while it emphasizes the intricate overlap between Indian existential and mystical traditions and psychoanalysis. Freud Along the Ganges offers a unique study of the ways that Indian thought and psychoanalysis illuminate and enrich each other.
- GenresIndia
440 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 2005
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About the author
Salman Akhtar
167 books53 followersSalman Akhtar is an Indian-American psychoanalyst practicing in the United States. He is an author and Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 6, 2011
It is a must read for anyone trying to understand the mosaic of the phenomenon called Indian.
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April 26, 2017Yet another book "Freud Along the Ganges: Psychoanalytic Reflections on The People and Culture of India " (2008) edited by Salman Akhtar has a number of other essays thematically more ambitious in scope (taking on J.Krishnamurthy, Bhagavatgeeta, Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta et al), including some essays (Radha-Krishna) by Sudhir Kakar.
Salman Akhtar in the preface to the book however shows a a certain keen critical awareness of incoherence between the theoretical psychoanalysis when it is applied to understand Indian thought and thinkers. He notes for instance that :"... the risk is heightened, if one transports personality development models from the West in an unaltered form to India and ends up pathologizing the Other. "The graphic psychosexual vocabulary typical of early psychoanalytic theory can also offend. Psychoanalytic work written in this manner can injure Indian cultural pride and lead to hermeneutic conundrums (emp mine) of considerable magnitude".
Arguably by reversing the gaze we can find that Indian philosophy and thought processes too have their own contributions to make to development of body of psychological theory and this is only becoming evident now with its creeping influence on a range of themes and issues in cognitive and clinical psychology
Salman Akhtar in the preface to the book however shows a a certain keen critical awareness of incoherence between the theoretical psychoanalysis when it is applied to understand Indian thought and thinkers. He notes for instance that :"... the risk is heightened, if one transports personality development models from the West in an unaltered form to India and ends up pathologizing the Other. "The graphic psychosexual vocabulary typical of early psychoanalytic theory can also offend. Psychoanalytic work written in this manner can injure Indian cultural pride and lead to hermeneutic conundrums (emp mine) of considerable magnitude".
Arguably by reversing the gaze we can find that Indian philosophy and thought processes too have their own contributions to make to development of body of psychological theory and this is only becoming evident now with its creeping influence on a range of themes and issues in cognitive and clinical psychology
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews