Using tenets from the Bhagavad Gita in counselling diaspora Hindu older adults: Impact on stress mitigation and improving quality of life

Abstract

With increasing globalisation, older adults form a sizeable proportion of immigrant groups in different and often resource-rich transnational contexts, either as late-life or long-term migrants (Karl et al., 2017). This diaspora group of older adults faces issues of acculturation, stress, loneliness, and continued adjustments to a dynamic foreign milieu (Ciobanu et al., 2017). The immigration process and life-worlds in the diaspora are important determinants of material and subjective wellbeing and overall quality of life (Cela & di Belgiojoso, 2019).Researchers have suggested that long-term immigrant older adults are often better adjusted than late-life movers (Hepburn & Sintos Coloma, 2019). There are also gender variations, with diaspora older adult men reporting better health and lower acculturative stress compared with older adult women (Carmel, 2019;Markides & Rote, 2019). Diaspora older adults in good health and with good social support are likely to report lower vulnerabilities and higher subjective well-being compared with those with poorer health and less support (Sand & Gruber, 2018). Immigrant older adults have different migration histories, varying present experiences and outlooks.They often seek informal care and look for kin-like relations in the

Weaving Together the Ancient and the Contemporary: Intersections of the Bhagavad Gita with Modern Psychology

“…In another study, Pandya (2022) reported the impact of a Bhagavad Gita text-based counselling program for long-term immigrant diaspora Hindu adults in the United States and United Kingdom. The results indicated that when compared to journal-writing sessions, participants who received the Gita lessons reported lower stress and better quality of life.…”