Indian Psychology (3 Vols.): V.I Cognition; Vol.II Emotion and Will; Vol.III Epistemology of Perception

Here is the magnificent attempt made at a constructive survey of Indian psychology. In the words of the author, ‘… the philosophical literature of India is not only rich in metaphysics but also in psychology, logic, ethics aesthetics and epistemology. There is no system of India philosophy which has not advance a theory of knowledge and which has not appealed to the facts of experience. Every school of philosophy has made valuable contributions to psychology logic ethics and other mental sciences.

The work is divided into three volumes. Volume one makes a minute and detailed discussion of the problems of perception and cognition. Volume two deals comprehensively with questions associated with emotion and will. Volume three is exclusively devoted to the analysis of epistemology and its perceptional aspect.

Indian psychology created a new standard in scholarly work on its first publication by Kegan Paul in the thirties. The present reprint of all the three volumes of this classic meets the needs of students and teachers of Indian psychology as well as the general reader philosophical-psychological literature.

Jadunath Sinha (b 1892 in Undivided Bengal) received his Ph.D. for extraordinary dissertation on Indian epistemology. He taught philosophy at the colleges in Calcutta, Rajsahi, Dacca and Meerut. He was eminent as a teacher as well as academic philosopher. He died in 1978.

Dr. Sinha wrote several books tracts and reviews. Some of his works are; Indian Philosopher (6 Vols.) Indian Realism Vaishnav Vedanta (5 Vols.) and Comparative Religions (4 Vols.)

I had spiritual experiences throughout my life. I had visions of great saints like Samkara, Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Caitanya, Sri Aurobindo, Sri bamdev and others who prompted me to write Indian Philosophy and Indian Psycholgy.

I had vision of Lord Krishna, Lord Siva and divine Mother Tara who had blessed and bestowed grace on me. I have devoted fifty years of life in severe spiritual discipline, shunned luxury undergone penances studied meditated disseminated knowledge went on pilgrimages resorted to saints yogins and seers. My source Sanskrit texts.

The first edition of the book was published by kegan Paul, Trech, Trubner, & Co London under the title Indian Psychology Perception.

In the second edition chapters in Memory, Imagination, Thought and language were added and the same was published by Sinha Publishing House, Calcutta, under the title Indian Psychology Cognition which constitutes the first volume of Indian Psychology.

The available material on the psychology of imagination and thought is scanty and inadequate. Hence the treatment of these topics is not as comprehensive as that of perception. But there is vast material on the psychology of language on different topics, which could not be incorporated in the body of the book has been embodied in the Appendix.

My special thanks to my son Amiya Kumar Sinha Executive Director, Jadunath Sinha Foundation and founder Bamdev International Centre who took great pains to get the second edition of the book published and further helped me in preparing the manuscripts of all the volumes.

The crowning achievement of the Hindus was metaphysical speculation. But the philosophical literature of India is not only rich in Metaphysics but also in Psychology, Logic, Ethics, Aesthetics and Epistemology. There is no system of Indian philosophy which has not advanced a theory of knowledge and which has not appealed to the facts of our experience. Every school of philosophy has made valuable contributions to Psychology Logic, Ethics and other mental science. But these have never been treated as separate branches of study in India.

The Hindu mind is essentially synthetic. It always analyses a problem into its various aspects, and considered them in their synthetic relation to one another. It never destroys the organic unity of subject and makes a compartmental study of its different aspects. In the philosophical literature of India we find a synthetic treatment of a problem in all its multifarious aspects psychology, logical Ethical and metaphysical. In the later stages of the development of Indian thought, though we come across separate treatises and monographs on logic and Epistemology we find them mixed up with Metaphysics. There is not a single work which is exclusively devoted to the psychological analysis of mental processes.

But though there are no independent sciences of Psychology, Logic, Ethics, Epistemology etc. we can collect ample material from the original works on different schools of Indian philosophy dealing with these mental sciences, disengage them from their metaphysical setting and make a consistent study of them. Indian Metaphysic has, for some time past evoked a great deal of interest among the Eastern and Western orientalists. In recent times some comprehensive works have been published on systems of Indian philosophy, which incidentally treat of Psychology, Logic, and Ethics. Some valuable works on Indian Logic and Indian Ethics also have been published. Mrs. Rhys David’s Buddhist Psychology is a monumental work on the psychology of the Buddhist. But no attempt has yet been made to give a comprehensive account of the psychology of the Hindu.

The present work is an attempt at a constructive survey of Indian Psychology. The aim of this book is to give in brief compass an outline of the most important topics of Indian Psychology. It will be complete in two volumes. The first volume is wholly devoted to the psychology of perception. The subject is vast and immense in scope, and there is abundant wealth of material on this subject. My account of the psychology of perception is not complete and comprehensive. My task here is not an historical survey of all the problems of perception in their logical chronological order but a systematic exposition and interpretation of the most fundamental problems of perception in their logical development of thought. I have tried to throw light on different topics from the different standpoints of Indian thought.

There is no empirical psychology in India. India Psychology is based on Metaphysics. The psychological account of some problems of perception, e.g. perception of the self perception of universal etc. is unintelligible without consideration of their metaphysical foundations. So I found it extremely difficult to avoid metaphysical considerations altogether in my treatment of these topics.

Indian Psychology is based on introspection and observation it is not based upon experiments. Students of introspective psychology will find ample food for reflection in Indian Psychology. They will find acute psychological analysis of some very subtle mental process which have not yet attracted the attention of the Western psychologists.

I have indulged in comparisons of Indian Psychology with Western Psychology here and there which I am sure will be agreeable to some and disagreeable to other. But such comparisons are unavoidable to students of Indian and Western Psychology though they may be misleading.

The present work was planned and partly composed more than a decade ago. Different parts of this work were submitted to the Calcutta University for Premchand Roychand Studentship in 1922, 1923 and 1924. The work was completed in 1924 and some portions of it were published in the Meerut College Magazine in 1924 and 1926. But owing to unforeseen circumstances its publication has been delayed so long. The work has since undergone considerable alterations in the course of revision.

I acknowledge my deep debt of obligation to sir Brajendra Nath Seal then George V Professor of philosophy of Calcutta University who suggested the subject to me indicated the main line of research and helped me with important reference.

In addition to the works referred to in the footnotes, I desire to express my general debt to the works of Thibaut, Keith Mrs. Rhys Davids Aung S. C. Vidyabhushan, Ganganath Jha, and S. N. Das gupta.

My best thanks are due to Professor Haridas Bhattacharya of the Dacca University who was good enough to go through a considerable part of the MS. and helped me with many valuable suggestions. I am also obliged to the publishers for their expending the publication of the work.

In preparing this book I collected material on Emotions from fifty works on Sanskrit Rhetorics (Alankara). It took two years to put the materials into shape and published it in the form of a book.

It elaborately deals with the Psychology of Emotions, Alankara, Aesthetic sentiments (Rasa), Nascent Love (Rati) Ardent Love (Prema) Sex and psychology of religion. It also deals with conation, Volition and Will. It deals with Rupa Gosvami’s analysis of devotion and sentiments of devotion and refers to Jiva Gosvami’s view. This is the most comprehensive book based on Sanskrit works.

My special thanks to my son Amiya Kumar Sinha Executive Director, Jadunath Sinha Foundation for procuring the books from research libraries helping me to get the manuscript prepared and publishing the first edition of the book

This book is a sequel to my Indian Psychology: Perception published by Kegan Paul, Ttrench, Trubner & Co., London. It was written long ago. I was awarded Griffith Memorial Prize by the University of Calcutta for my thesis on Indian Epistemology of Indeterminate and determinate Perception (Chapter I and II) in 1923. I was awarded the Mouart Medal by the same university in 1925 for the completion of research for Premchand Roychand Studentship fro three years. Indian Epistemology of Perception was my thesis for 1925. It contained epistemology of indefinite perception, illusion, hallucination, recognition, supernormal perception and divine perception. The last chapter dealing with recollection, self knowledge and object and general problems of Indian Epistemology has been added. The chapter on illusion has been revised.

My special thanks to my son Amiya Kumar Sinha, Executive Director Jadunath Sinha Foundation in planning and giving shape to this third volume of Indian Psychology.