Kiran Kuman Salagame, PhD, is former chairman of the psychology department at the University of Mysore, India. He is also vice-president of the International Transpersonal Association. He is author of The Psychology of Meditation: A Contextual Approach.

Here he describes how Indian thought is a fusion of many influences — primarily Vedantist, Buddhist, and Jain. However, going back to ancient times, there were always materialists in the mix. Additionally, there is the influence of the prehistoric Indus Valley culture — whose language has yet to be deciphered fully. There is also a tension between the spiritual ascetics who withdrew from worldly activities and those spiritual practitioners who wished to have an impact in the material world. Above all, Indian thought is focused on processes of transcendence.

(Recorded on January 7, 2020)

Published on January 20, 2020