Selfhood and Pathways to Well-being: Some Indian Perspectives
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Abstract
Concern for happiness and wellbeing are perennial human concerns. Renewed interest to understand its dynamics in the contemporary world is caused by the increased level of suffering and the urge to improve living conditions. However, the Euro-American scholarship in this area is organized within the framework of the notion of independent self which pursues happiness following a hedonistic pathway in a consumerist setting and maintains a separate and bounded notion of selfhood. The Indian notion of self extends the discourse on self and happiness by positing selfhood as porous, spiritual, and multilayered. It offers a pathway to happiness by relating to others and dissolving the self-other divide. This view also goes with creating and nurturing a viable life world that recognizes the value of sharing and cooperation.
KEYWORDS: Consumerism, Community, Culture, Dharma, Egoistic Self, Happiness, Wellbeing,
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