The forest of Hindu thought supplied Jung with concepts against which he could define some of his own fundamental ideas, not least ego and Self. The profundity of Indian thinking about psyche and world made it necessary for Jung to stake his claim as a psychologist to the same territory all the more firmly—not least because Hindu thought offers a different understanding of the central concern of Jung’s psychology, the creation of consciousness. This seminar introduces concepts from Hindu thought, and then turns to a consideration of how Jung grappled with them. We end by considering whether Jung’s views of ‘eastern’ versus ‘western’ mentalities remain of value.
