In defence of an Indian approach to the psychology of emotion

The indigenous Indian approach to the psychology of emotions, which originated in Bharata's ancient classical work called the Nāṭyaśāstra, is articulated and its conceptual structure is situated in the contemporary psychological scholarship and the discourse on emotion. In particular an analysis of Bhakti Rasa is presented to illustrate how life gets transformed and lifted to higher levels of spirituality. The issues pertaining to theory and method in appreciating psychological reality are examined. It is concluded that emotions are complex phenomena that need different “paradigms” appropriate for understanding the different aspects.