Jungian Imaginal Practices as Emotional Maturity and Devotion in Advaita Vedānta

Abstract

This research facilitates a dialogue between Jungian psychology and Advaita Vedānta, a Hinduspiritual tradition focused on freedom from bondage through knowledge of the Self. Inpreparation for knowledge of the Self, Vedānta requires emotional maturity through inquiry,values, and devotional practices such as karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga. However, traditionalpractices of Vedānta may overlook the significance of the unconscious in psychological health.Jungian psychology’s exploration of the unconscious, through dream analysis and activeimagination, could offer a way to address this gap. Further, Jungian methods aim to facilitate arelationship with the Jungian Self, akin to the relationship with the Vedāntic Lord, Īśvara.Through a hermeneutic analysis of both traditions, this study explores whether Jungian dreamanalysis and active imagination might be considered a practice of emotional maturity anddevotion in the Advaita Vedānta tradition. The findings suggest that imaginal practices can beunderstood as means of emotional maturity and devotion in Vedānta. At the same time, Vedānticmethodologies offer distinctive approaches to psychological growth and point to an ontologicalreality that extends beyond the scope of psychology. This study furthers cross-cultural dialogueand demonstrates that both traditions have unique and complementary roles in supporting holisticgrowth.