Yoga and Psychoanalysis

¹ Hospital for Mental Diseases, Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada

A simplified account is given of the philosophy and metaphysics of Yoga, and of the view which results of the relation between man and the world in which he lives. Yoga, like psychoanalysis, recognizes the effect of unconscious forces on conscious behaviour, and suggests methods by which they may be controlled. Both Yoga and psychoanalysis aim at the ultimate integration of human personality. But while the two systems consider both conscious and unconscious levels, Yoga believes in a third or super-conscious level, in which hidden powers become available and the soul is freed from bondage. In recognizing a spiritual plane of existence, Yoga transcends the limitations of psychoanalysis.