The West gave us “individual.” India gave us “vyakti” — and those are not the same thing. This first part of the Chitta Vidya series introduces two scholars — Prof. Ashish Pandey of IIT Bombay and Shri Raghu Anant Narayanan, disciple of Yogacharya Krishnamacharya — to explain what Indian psychology actually is and why it differs fundamentally from Western frameworks.
The conversation establishes that yoga today has been reduced to asana and pranayama — the bahiranga, or outer limbs — while the inner architecture of chitta, vasanas, and samskara remains largely unexplored. The distinction between “individual” (the indivisible last unit) and “vyakti” (the expressed being) reframes what personal development means in the Indian tradition. Vasanas are not problems to be eliminated but energies to be refined — sattva, rajas, and tamas working in dynamic balance. This is the foundation on which Indian management philosophy, leadership, and organisational wisdom must be built.
About the Speakers:
Prof. Ashish Pandey teaches at the Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay, with over 14 years of experience in management education, research, and consulting. His research focuses on the application of Indian wisdom traditions to management, leadership, and organizational development. He has published extensively in the form of books and journal articles and teaches courses on Indian management philosophy, ethics, and spirituality for MBA and PhD programs.
Raghu Ananthanarayanan is a direct disciple of Yogacharya Krishnamacharya and Shri TKV Desikachar, been influenced by J. Krishnamurti and Prof. Pulin K. Garg (IIM Ahmedabad), and holds a postgraduate degree in Engineering from IIT Madras. Drawing from Yoga, Behavioural Sciences, theatre, and dance, Raghu has developed Citta Vidyā—a unique approach to personal unfolding and organizational transformation. He is currently establishing the Centre for Citta Vidyā and Indian Psychology with the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. Along with his wife Sashi, he serves as Chief Mentor at Ritambhara Ashram in the Nilgiris.
Prashant Pandey is the Director, Centre for Hindu Identity Studies at the Sarayu Trust. He is also a seasoned journalist with nearly two decades of experience He has subsequently contributed to the publishing sector and co-authored two books, including the BBC’s True Lies. Since 2019, his work has been oriented toward advancing Indic civilizational discourse and Sanatana understanding, with a focus on developing youth capacity for culturally grounded social negotiation and public engagement.
