Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S
Vijnana, as mentioned by Master Charaka, is one of the important tools or therapies included under Sattvavajaya Chikitsa – Ayurveda Psychotherapy. Vijnana actually means scientific or scriptural knowledge. When used in Sattvavajaya Chikitsa, Vijnana tool is used to instill scriptural, scientific or worldly knowledge in the minds of people who are embarking on the journey of finding mental solace or those suffering from mental / psychiatric illnesses. So, Vijnana is a curative and preventive option in psychotherapy.
Definition of Vijnana
Vijnana is defined as ‘Shastra Jnanam’ which means scriptural, scientific or textual knowledge.
Texts and scriptures are considered as important testimonials and represent ‘truth’. This knowledge helps the person to take his path towards attaining true knowledge, to understand the mind, the nature of imbalances and stress graph the mind is undergoing and to improve his or her capabilities of coping up with the imbalances.
Scriptures teach one about the paths of pravrutti i.e. indulgence or engagement in worldly affairs and Nivrutti i.e. renunciation which helps them in discriminating between good and bad and adapt them into their lives after proper judgement. This also teaches the people about the right ways of responding and behaving in response to various stimuli and triggers.
Vijnana, as a therapy, can be correlated with CBT i.e. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Vijnana helps in reducing and destroying the rajas and tamas doshas of the mind and increases the Sattvika attribute over a period of time and helps in getting rid of mental disorders.
Different meanings of Vijnana
The term Vijnana has different meanings. They are –
– Profane knowledge or understanding
– Discernment
– Judgment
– Consciousness
– Perception
– Comprehension
Vijnana as a therapy aims at enhancing the above said entities related to the mind.
Aim and goal of Vijnana therapy
As already explained, Vijnana therapy aims at instilling awareness of scientific and scriptural knowledge in the mind of the person and puts him in a pathway wherein he would regularly practice what he or she has gained from this knowledge.
With enhanced vijnana one would gain control over the mind, the doshas of the mind i.e. rajas and tamas, experience enhancement of sattvika guna, would keep away from the prajnaparadha – committing conscious mistakes and sins or intellectual blasphemy and get rid of mental disorders.
Scriptural Knowledge enables a person to think in a practical and scientific way. It is a kind of comprehensive worldly knowledge procured from the experiences of wise men and sages documented in the scriptures.
Vijnana forms an important branch of Sattvavajaya Chikitsa, just like Jnana. Dhairya, Smriti and Samadhi are the other three therapies. Jnana means spiritual knowledge. It differs from Vijnana. Vijnana is more scientific and refers to Laukika Jnana. Laukika Jnana means worldly knowledge.
This includes the knowledge of –
– science
– art of living and blending with the earthly world
– texts and scriptures
– activities of body and mind
– interrelationship of body and mind
– social conducts
– personal conducts
– rules of diet and lifestyle
– what to avoid and what not while suffering from some diseases
– physical and biological events and many more things which falls under the umbrella and purview of scientific, scriptural and worldly knowledge
Though not all at a time, the knowledge of these aspects are slowly introduced to the patient so that he learns them comprehensively and starts admiring and accepting them. This will help in clarifying his doubts about worldly things and would provide deeper insights into his problems. This would help in erasing his or her apprehensions and would also calm the mind.
Vijnana thus refers to specific and skilled knowledge which is based on the information about the worldly phenomenon and the way the world works and worldly affairs take place obtained in a systematic way. Promotion of this worldly knowledge and inserting the components of the same in the patient’s psyche is a part of sattvavajaya chikitsa.
It includes development and uses of behavioral techniques for treating psychiatric and also psychosomatic diseases. The jnana can be transformed into a vijnana. This happens when the former gets processed and passes the criteria of scientific principles which includes –
– formation of hypothesis
– analysis of facts
– repeated and reproducible observation
– and all these put into practical usage
Approved jnana is called vijnana. Thus, vijnana includes systematic understanding of the world / nature and the activities, which includes living and non-living worlds and also the worlds inside and outside us. Much of the understanding of worldly affairs is based on a proper understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship between the things as seen and perceived by our senses and mind.
Vijnana thus forms a deeper understanding of nature and its phenomenon. It means to say that if we thoroughly understand the qualities and properties of anything we can comprehensively use them so as to fulfill our needs.
From health perspective
One should know how one’s body works. One should also know how the mind works. Later he should try to understand how the body and mind interact with each other. If one comes to understand how the outside world interacts with one’s body, he or she could understand what measures should be taken so as to rectify and correct any problem which has taken its origin due to faulty interaction between them.
He or she also will get a clue about how to prevent those problems and miseries in future. When one understands these mechanisms, he would find ways to keep the mind happy, settled and calm in true sense.
Vijnana is also a mind phenomenon wherein we are trying to understand many things in their right sense, to understand natural phenomena in a systematic way. By knowing this we can sync and blend with the nature and the world around us and be happy.
Vijnana basically trains one to perceive, understand, process, modify, save, re-design and execute the information and knowledge gained from the same. This will give clarity towards the actions to be taken on the basis of this knowledge.
With precise knowledge comes precise understanding, which is the basis of precise and meaningful actions in sync with the perceived knowledge. With such a scientific and scriptural knowledge and the clarity of plans of action, a person will not tend to do prajnaparadha i.e. obsessive purposeful mistakes or sins. Since this knowledge enhances sattva quality, rajas and tamas – which are the doshas of the mind, will be under control and balance and so do dhi, Dhriti and smriti components.
In a healthy person, vijnana will help in nurturing the already persisting knowledge and enhance the wisdom and will prevent diversions, imbalances and perversions in rajas or tamas, dhi, Dhriti or smriti. Hence the mental balance and health will stay intact. On the other hand, in a person with diseased or disturbed mind, vijnana, when instilled gradually, will help to deflect these imbalances towards the positive side, heal the mind, develop and improve comprehension and to get rid of psychological disorders.
So, vijnana as a therapy, is both preventive and curative in action.
Vijnana v/s social skills training
Properly introducing the patient or his psyche to the outer world and its affairs and activities, the phenomenon included therein does include social skills training. ‘Social skills training’ fits into sattvavajaya chikitsa and is widely used for many neurotic conditions including depression.
Deficits in social skills
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Insufficient reinforcement
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Disturbed behavior / behavioral deficits
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Can be corrected by social skills training
Biofeedback – It is a method in which an electronic (usually) instrument is used to provide feedback to the patient regarding his or her physiological activities which are not normally available to one’s conscious mind. Examples include –
– EKC
– BEG
– Pulse rate
– Blood pressure monitoring
– EMG
– GSR etc
This feedback helps the patient to control these responses. By this method relaxation is easily achieved.
Other factors which help in instilling and nurturing the vijnana
Understanding the below mentioned concepts explained in the scriptures and the scientific base of their explanation and regularly adapting them in one’s life, as a matter of practice, will help in comprehensive prevention and cure of mental disorders. Though not mentioned, they can become important game changing members of Ayurveda psychotherapy i.e. Sattvavajaya Chikitsa. They are –
– Sadvritta – conditioning oneself to blend with and be a part and parcel of society in which he or she lives
– Sadachara – indulgence in noble conducts
– Achara Rasayana – adapting behavioral therapy and fine-toning one’s behavior
– Dinacharya and Rutucharya – practicing and adapting to daily regimen and seasonal regimen and transitions as explained in scriptures
– Mastering the vegas – mastering to address the expressions of natural body and mind expressions / urges
– Mastering the arishadvargas – to conquer, control and empower the abnormal mental expressions and high-end emotions – the six enemies of the mind i.e. kama – desire or lust, krodha – anger, lobha – greed, mada – ego, moha – attachment and matsarya – jealousy.
