Saagar Manthan (The churning of the great ocean)—How I came to understand psychoanalysis through Hindu mythology

Much has been written in psychoanalytic literature about the many gods and mortals of Greek mythology, however, a search on PEPWEB with the keywords ‘Hindu mythology’ revealed scant results. The fact that, barring some exceptions that may shed light on the original Oedipus, Ganesha (Kakar, 2005; Tang & Smith, 1996) a culture which acknowledges 33 million gods and uncountable parables has generally gone untapped for its psychological sap probably serves as a reminder that psychoanalysis has been mainly a westerner's craft. With this essay I intend to share thoughts that have emerged during my own analysis, memories from childhood, and reveries in adulthood. I intend to share how my thoughts about Hindu mythology have helped me understand how the complex process of psychoanalysis might work.