T-Groups and Indian Philosophy

Abstract

Ancient Indian philosophical traditions emphasized knowing oneself as one of the primary goals in life. The individual process of contemplation and meditation were encouraged. This is like the Maxim “Know Thyself” carved at the entrance to the temple of Apollo in Delphi. The philosophical underpinnings of these traditions are very relevant to a T-Group practitioner. The focus of knowing oneself in western psychological view is to live a more meaningful and fulfilled life. Indian thought offers the same focus but also goes beyond this worldly life for those who want to search for their ultimate truth. The Indian philosophy is vast, and the intention of this chapter is not to attempt to cover even a small percentage of what is available there. We focus on two major Indian philosophical and spiritual traditions of Vedanta and Buddhism regarding the concept of self, learner, and the learning process for knowing oneself. This is an introductory chapter, and the expectation is that the reader will be motivated to do more reading on these and many other philosophies from Indian spiritual knowledge traditions.