Shadows of the East: Carl Jung, Indian Psychology, and the Problem of Erasure

 The Overlooked Connections

By Nandini Bhautoo

Carl Gustav Jung, a towering figure in 20th-century psychology, is widely regarded as a pioneer of depth psychology and the architect of concepts such as the collective unconscious, archetypes, and individuation. Yet beneath this acclaim lies a more complex story of intellectual borrowing, reframing, and, in some cases, erasure. While Jung frequently drew upon Indian metaphysical systems — including Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra — he often failed to acknowledge their depth, origins, and cultural context. This essay explores how Jung utilized Indian thought, why this borrowing remains underacknowledged, and what it reveals about broader patterns of Western engagement with non-Western knowledge systems.

Carl Jung’s psychological framework owes a substantial, if obscured, debt to Indian metaphysics. Pic – Amazon

Jung’s Engagement with Indian Thought

Jung’s reading of Indian texts is well documented. He was familiar with the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and secondary sources on Yoga and Tantra. In his 1932 lectures at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), later published as The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga, Jung offered a psychological interpretation of the chakra system. He described each chakra as a symbolic representation of psychic development, aligning them with stages in the process of individuation.

However, Jung was clear that he did not treat these systems as literal. He insisted they were mythological structures that paralleled his psychological theories. As such, he recast Kundalini Yoga — a deeply embodied, spiritual practice rooted in precise ritual, breathwork, and metaphysical ontology — as a symbolic map of the Western psyche.

Selective Integration and Symbolic Recasting

Jung’s engagement with Indian traditions was not one of equivalence but of selective integration. He abstracted the rich metaphysical concepts of Indian philosophy and used them as scaffolding for his own symbolic universe. Concepts such as Purusha and Prakriti (from Sāmkhya), Atman and Brahman (from Vedanta), and Shakti (from Tantra) were reinterpreted as archetypal motifs.

For instance, Atman, understood in Vedanta as the immutable, eternal self, became for Jung a metaphor for the archetypal Self emerging from the unconscious. The feminine principle Shakti, with all its philosophical nuance and ritual dimensions, was transmuted into a Jungian anima figure — a psychological projection rather than a cosmic force.

Cultural Erasure and the Politics of Knowledge

This process of reinterpretation is not neutral. By filtering Indian systems through a Western psychological lens and stripping them of their ritual, ethical, and philosophical frameworks, Jung participated in a form of cultural erasure. Indian psychology — an intricate fusion of epistemology, ontology, and praxis — was reduced to symbolic material for Western individuation.

This erasure is part of a larger pattern in modern intellectual history, where Eastern traditions are mined for insight but not acknowledged as equal or original systems of knowledge. The appropriation is often cloaked in universalist language: Indian ideas are “timeless” and “mythic,” thus available for reinterpretation without attribution.

The Critique from Within and Without

Indian and Western scholars have pointed out this imbalance. Ananda Coomaraswamy warned against the misreading of sacred symbols when divorced from their metaphysical context. Agehananda Bharati described the “pizza effect,” wherein elements of Indian traditions are appropriated by the West, altered, and then re-exported back to India as supposedly authoritative interpretations.

Moreover, contemporary scholars like Georg Feuerstein and David Frawley have highlighted the profound depth of Indian psychological systems — especially Yoga and Tantra — that rival or surpass Western psychotherapeutic models in their coherence and transformative power. These traditions emphasize direct experience (anubhava), ethical preparation (yama-niyama), and systematic training (sadhana), dimensions that are often missing in Jungian reinterpretations.

Toward a More Equitable Dialogue

Acknowledging the roots of Jungian psychology in Indian thought is not about discrediting Jung’s contributions. Rather, it is about restoring balance and integrity to the cross-cultural exchange of ideas. It requires recognizing that Indian traditions are not mere symbolic reservoirs but are living, complex systems with their own philosophical rigor and spiritual sophistication.

Such an approach invites a more respectful and dialogical engagement, where Indian metaphysical systems are studied in their own right, not merely as precursors or analogues to Western theories.

Conclusion

Carl Jung’s psychological framework owes a substantial, if obscured, debt to Indian metaphysics. By failing to fully acknowledge this lineage, Jung inadvertently contributed to a broader pattern of epistemic erasure that continues in various forms today. Recovering these connections is not only an act of intellectual honesty but also a step toward a more just and reciprocal global history of ideas.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 20 June 2025