• What is Indian Knowledge System? How can IKS help in mind-management, organisational psychology and neuroscience?

The Indian Knowledge System (IKS) is a rich, versatile knowledge bank and a cultural heritage that developed to a high degree of sophistication in India, which has a spiritual heritage that predates the Indus and Saraswati civilisations—going back at least 8000 years. The Rig Veda is the oldest text available to humankind. The oldest civilisations, however, have something uniquely modern to contribute.

The Vedas are the ancient texts of the Sanatana Dharma. In the words of Vivekananda, ‘By the Vedas no books are meant, but the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by ancient rishis (sages) … the whole body of supersensuous truths, having no beginning or end, are called by the name of the Vedas, and are ever existent’. All four Vedas embody the inclination of the rishis towards first-person existential research. They asked basic existential questions and discovered unique and indigenous research methodologies to find the answers. The Mundaka Upanishad asks—‘kasminnu bhagavo vijnate sarvamidam vijnatam bhavati?; O Blessed one, by knowing what one thing alone, is all this (everything knowable) known?’ (1.1.3) The Kena Upanishad enquires—‘keneshitam patati preshitam manah?; By whose will directed does the mind proceed to its object?’ (1.1)

Article was first published in the Prabuddha Bharata.  The author is a monastic member of Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, who is known for her lectures and writings on Yoga-Vedanta, which combine traditional Indian philosophy with modern sciences.

The research methodologies used by the rishis shed enormous light on the nature of pure consciousness, its relation to mind function, the nature of the mind and the thought process, the intricacies of attention, the value of cognition, theories of perception, emotional intelligence, the evolution of human consciousness, the natural world and its relation to human consciousness, the mind-body and consciousness-mind dichotomies and their resolution, and the nature of knowledge. The essence of this knowledge, being scientific in temper and contemporary in spirit, can be readily integrated into various academic disciplines, and this encompasses the scope and purpose of IKS.

The Vedic corpus, consisting of the four Vedas—Rik, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva—is a multi-philosophical compendium of diverse body of knowledge. However, the Upanishads, the essential knowledge portion, are pointed and purposeful in providing the most relevant and in-depth insights into the nature of life and consciousness. They will be the backbone of IKS.

In addition, the Itihasas and Puranas, which are made-easy ethical manuals for the masses to practise the lofty teachings of the Upanishads, can be used to impart practical wisdom. The six Vedangas—Siksha, Vyakarana, Chandas, Nirukta, Jyotisha and Kalpa—are still used today.

The six systems of Indian philosophy, born of Vedic thought in the period between 500 BCE and 500 CE, offer valuable insights and provide the substance of IKS. Other streams of IKS include Ayurveda, Sthapatya, Natyashastra, Dharmashastra, Arthashastra, etc. in keeping with the continuity of the corpus.

The Indian way of continuing the evolution and transmission of knowledge is through commentaries, interpretations and revisions of the foundational texts.

The greatest contribution of IKS lies in the comprehensive study of pure consciousness as a noun and relative consciousness as a verb. The nature of the Atman, the unchanging Self, as described in Vedanta, and the state of pure consciousness outlined in Yoga are unique to the Indian spiritual tradition.

Definite methods, methodologies, and means have been identified to access this ultimate truth about the Self. Drawing from this profound research methodology will provide IKS with its signature strength and distinction in delving into the ultimate and otherwise unfathomable depths of human psychology. Human identity, thus explored, would reveal the divinity of the human soul. Vivekananda would define education as the manifestation of the perfection already in man. IKS can be used as a powerful tool to facilitate this. The same Self reflects in the mind to produce empirical awareness, also called the conscious mind. Now consciousness can be studied as a verb.

Among the six philosophical systems, shaddarshanas, the Yoga system holds profound relevance to mind management, cognitive sciences, and related disciplines today. The Patanjali Yoga Sutras can be considered the ultimate textbook on mind management. Modern neuroscience, neuropsychology, and cognitive sciences can benefit immensely if the real value of the Yoga Sutras is extracted in contemporary language.

Concepts such as klesha (mental affliction), vritti (thought fluctuation), samskara (mental impression), pratyaya (thought-content), samyama (the stages of dharana-dhyana-samadhi), and prajna (intuition through higher awareness) provide immense knowledge about the workings of the mind, how to control it, and transform consciousness. Dinacharya, which is the daily regimen, and Ritucharya, which is the seasonal regimen, in addition to the Yama-Niyama disciplines, would be of great use to our students today.

Neuroscience is a rapidly changing area that impacts several fields of medicine, including public health, public policy, sports medicine, as well as the military and the pharmaceutical industry. Major therapeutic approaches to psychological counselling, as well as frameworks and perspectives that guide the understanding and practice of counselling, can be drawn from the wisdom provided by IKS. This would help us understand human behaviour, enhance self-awareness and self-reflection, and facilitate all forms of personal and collective growth and development. It would aid in challenging and rectifying maladaptive behaviour and functioning.

Additionally, it would help students tailor interventions to address the specific needs of individuals through ethical and professional practice. The psychodynamic approach to handling the mechanisms of the unconscious—such as drives and instincts—is also addressed by Yoga psychology. This would help tackle widespread mental health and emotional health issues.

IKS also has something to contribute to organisational psychology. Organisations perform through human employees. The efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation depend on the effective management of its human resources. In fact, the proper utilisation of all other resources, such as materials and money, can only happen with trained and committed human resource potential. Thus, character formation is the bedrock of education. The hallmark of character is the ability to work with diverse minds through acceptance and co-operation in true team spirit. Indian spiritual values throw great light on human resource management in an organisational setting. This can be extracted as the contribution of IKS to modern skill and career development while framing educational policy.

Swami Vivekananda insisted that religion must be at the core of the educational process. What he meant was that the rich spiritual wealth of the great contemplative traditions of the world should seep into academia to produce an education of character and purpose. The word spirituality was not in vogue at the time of Vivekananda. By religion, he meant the life giving teachings of great inner felicity and enlightenment that form the sum and substance of every religion. Today, these are more commonly referred to as spirituality.

Vivekananda advocated for a holistic education that encompasses physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual development. In today’s language, we can say he decisively promoted the development of analytical intelligence, emotional intelligence (EI), and spiritual intelligence (SI). He emphasised ‘man-making’ and ‘character-making’ education, believing it to be the foundation for personal development, contributing to a prosperous nation and a peaceful world. 

Education, to him, was the magic word that would solve personal, collective, and national problems and empower individuals to realise their full potential by overcoming obstacles and superstition.

It is heartening to see that many premier educational institutes are opting to introduce elements of IKS into their curricula. Worth mentioning would be NRCVEE, IIT Delhi, which launched courses on Yoga-Vedanta even before the NEP emphasised IKS in 2020. Many universities and IITs have now made it mandatory to introduce self-development programmes as electives, crash courses, or credit courses, to help students develop themselves before they go forth to build a glorious, harmonious, sustainable world of peace and prosperity

The author is a monastic member of Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, who is known for her lectures and writings on Yoga-Vedanta, which combine traditional Indian philosophy with modern sciences.

To read all articles by Author and Her Video Science of Happiness according to Yoga-Vedanta 45 minutes

Read Ritucharya is an answer to lifestyle disorders & All articles on Education & Science of IKS and articles on IKS by Prof Gautam Desiraju

She is the editor of the English journal Samvit and has authored books such as Self-Discovery and The Science of Happiness. She has lectured extensively at universities like IIT Delhi, universities in the U.S. and other countries, and has a significant presence on YouTube.

To read all articles on Education

This article was published in the January 2026 issue of Prabuddha Bharata, monthly journal of The Ramakrishna Order started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896. This article is courtesy and copyright Prabuddha Bharata. I have been reading the Prabuddha Bharata for years and found it enlightening. Cost is Rs 400/ for one year and Rs 1150/ for three years. To subscribe https://advaitaashrama.org/pb-subscribe/