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Depression as a Starting Point

Often there are reasons for feeling depressed, like bankruptcy, divorce, or bereavement. Sometimes loneliness brings it on; other times it’s the unrelentingly horrible news on television. An economic depression can also definitely do the trick. In any case, a pervasive sense of malaise saps our enthusiasm for spiritual practice, and transforms our meditations from oases of inner regeneration into deserts of wasted time. There’s nothing good about feeling bad—or is there?

Surprisingly, according to the yoga tradition depression isn’t altogether a bad thing. The Yoga Vasishtha, one of the greatest spiritual classics of all time, opens by describing a deeply depressed teenager. Many yoga students have heard of Rama, the perfect king of Hindu history who’s the hero of the epic Ramayana. They haven’t heard though, that he went through a period of such depression in his boyhood that he was ready to completely give up on life.
Rama had been raised in luxury, and blessed with every advantage a prince of his era could enjoy. One day he set off on a pilgrimage, eager to visit northern India’s many holy sites. However, the poverty, disease and suffering he witnessed affected him profoundly. When he returned home he locked himself in his room and sat staring morosely into space.

Rama’s father was shocked at the change in him. He’d lost interest in his studies, in sports, in his friends, and even stopped eating. Psychotherapists today would immediately recognize these symptoms as typical of depression. In those days though, spiritual adepts often served as therapists, so it’s not surprising his father consulted a yoga master named Vasishtha. “My son is so dejected, you’d think it was the end of the world!”

“No,” Vasishtha answered. “It’s the beginning of wisdom. For the first time in his life, Rama is seeing the world clearly. He finally realizes life isn’t just about having a good time. He sees now that most people suffer, and that even the lucky ones eventually succumb to old age and death. He’s learning to face reality, and that’s a good thing! Now he will understand why spiritual practice is important. It helps us develop the strength and dispassion we need to respond constructively to the painful challenges we all face in life.”

According to the yogis, depression can be an entirely appropriate response to the truly awful things we experience. In Rama’s case, it showed he was maturing beyond a superficial engagement with life. He was now ready to set out on an inner pilgrimage, a quest for wisdom and authentic self-transformation.

Read full article in the Spring 2010 issue of Light of Consciousness

© 2009 by Linda Johnsen, M.S., author of Daughters of the Goddess: The Women Saints of India and seven other books on spiritual life. She is also a respected Vedic astrologer. Readers interested in consulting her for an Astrology reading can contact her at Johnsen108@aol.com.