Psychoanalysis as a Spiritual Discipline

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Discipline

Practice of Abstinence: Evaluating Gandhi in Retrospect

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Charu C Mishra
Keyword(s):  
International Seminar ◽  
Sexual Abstinence ◽  
Spiritual Discipline ◽  
Religious Context ◽  
Normal Life ◽  
Psychological Mechanism ◽  
Unconscious State

(International Seminar on Making of Gandhi, 10-12 March 2011, Shivaji Univ. Kolhapur) Abstinence is a voluntary act of restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to Sexual abstinence or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations. Abstinence has diverse forms. Commonly it refers to a temporary or partial abstinence from food, as in fasting. Because the regimen is intended to be a conscious act, freely chosen to enhance life, abstinence is sometimes distinguished from the psychological mechanism of repression. The latter is an unconscious state, having unhealthy consequences. Freud termed the channeling of sexual energies into other more culturally or socially acceptable activities through “sublimation”. Abstinence may also arise from an ascetic element, present in most faiths, or from a subjective need for spiritual discipline. In its religious context, abstinence is meant to elevate the believer beyond the normal life

Quintessence of Truth and Beauty in the Writings of Rabindranath Tagore and Keats A Comparative Analysis

IJOHMN ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-68
Author(s):  
Swati Rani Debnath
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
John Keats ◽  
Spiritual Discipline ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
Rabindranath Tagore ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Spiritual Perspective ◽  
Eye Opening ◽  
Sensual Pleasure ◽  
The Universe

In literary works, truth and beauty have been expressed in a varied number of ways by authors of all genres. Rabindranath Tagore and John Keats, two prominent writers from two languages have linked beauty and truth in philosophical manners in many of their writings. Beauty and truth are not separate entities; they flow from the same spring. Tagore views beauty as linked to eternal characteristics of nature and truth is associated with it. Keats sees beauty from spiritual perspective and according to him, realization of truth leads to the fulfillment of beauty. Readers of Tagore and Keats get eye-opening insights from the viewpoints that are followed by their expressions in regarding the tenets of truth and beauty. Truth and beauty fulfill each other in their harmonious existence in the universe. The authors make us realize that beauty does not emanate merely from sensual pleasure; it is an abstract idea, a spiritual understanding that originates from rhythmic attachment with truth. This article compares and contrasts philosophies of truth and beauty from the writings of Tagore and Keats. In doing so, the paper investigates the literary works of the two writers and explores how they have philosophized truth and beauty in the domain of human thought as well as in the realm of spiritual discipline.

Denied Violence, Glorified Fighting: Spiritual Discipline and Controversy in Ananda Marga

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphaëël Voix
Keyword(s):  
West Bengal ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Spiritual Discipline ◽  
Internal Characteristic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Anthropological Fieldwork

This article tackles the issue of violence inside Ananda Marga, a contemporary Indian religious movement based in West Bengal. It analyzes a controversy Ananda Marga has been through and questions its role within the movement by examining its link with an internal characteristic of the group: an initiatory process into asceticism. Based on long-term anthropological fieldwork in India, I describe the structure of Ananda Marga and then distinguish between the "history" of the movement, which is written and given collectively, and the "stories" of the movement, which are told orally and individually. By confronting these different versions of the same event, I argue that the controversy can be seen as a part of a larger initiatory process in which committed disciples gradually acknowledge the legitimacy of violence.

scholarly journals Understanding Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Missionary’s Autobiographical Case Report

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Hunter York
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Treatment Resistant Depression ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Spiritual Discipline ◽  
Convulsive Therapy ◽  
Service Oriented ◽  
Resistant Depression ◽  
Electro Convulsive Therapy

As a career cross-cultural missionary in Southeast Asia, the author has seen first-hand and has personally experienced the devastating effects of colleagues, families, leaders, clinicians, and the sufferers themselves misunderstanding the symptoms and the reality of major depressive disorder, an increasing global health problem.  This autobiographical case report reflects on twenty years of treatment-resistant depression and a journey through pharmacological approaches, psychotherapy treatment, Christian prayer counselling, and electro convulsive therapy without improvement in this condition.  The primary concern is how to remain faithful and effective with this condition in a service-oriented occupation that requires regular emotional expenditure.  In lieu of effective conventional and non-conventional therapies, the remaining option is to find a way to manage chronic depression; identify personal trends, weaknesses, and triggers; and find a personalized way to live that minimizes the effects of the condition.  In any chronic, incurable disorder, the sufferer must inevitably come to terms with his or her reality and find peace in the acceptance of that reality.  By expressing the journey through treatment-resistant depression, the author encourages readers to persevere in ministry and to respond more appropriately to the afflicted with clearer understanding and empathy.  A companion article on mitigating depression symptoms through the spiritual discipline of identifying with Christ and His experience of human emotional pain during His passion is available.  

Education Piety

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-59
Author(s):  
Benaouda Bensaid ◽  
Salah Machouche
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Spiritual Growth ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Spiritual Discipline ◽  
Ibn Khaldun ◽  
Muslim Education ◽  
Spirituality In Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
Muslim Scholars

This chapter seeks to explore the crossroads between learning in Islam and spirituality, and also the methods according to which Muslim instructors shape students' experiences in a context of piety development. This study also examines questions pertaining to the concept of spirituality in education, methods pedagogic principles that further merge spiritual discipline with knowledge acquisition. The theoretical research draws on the textual analysis of early works of Muslim scholars, more specifically on Abdul Ibn Khaldun and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, given their prominent positions in the history of Muslim education. This study shows that the Islamic learning has always taken students' spiritual growth for granted and has, despite differences of practices across Muslim regions, always maintained the refining of learners' spiritual character.

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