The concept of self actualization in Humanistic Psychology, as developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, is compared and contrasted wRh the concept of self-real/zation in Vedandic Hinduism and the two major schools of Buddhism-Thervada and Mahayans. The first part of the paper deals with the theoretical views of Maslow and Rogers and their philosophical foundations. The second part of the paper deals with common elements and differences among the schools of Eastern philosophies. FinaLly, the concept of self actualization in Humanistic Psychology is compared and contrasted with the concept of self-realization in the three Eastern philosophies covered in this paper. It is concluded that the two concepts complement each other and provide us with a broader view of self-development than each view by itself. Implications for counseling are brought out.
Self-actualization is a key concept in humanistic psychology. It describes the process of personal growth as well as defines the direction and end result of healthy development. Two major figures in humanistic psychology, Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, have given us detailed accounts of the process of self-actualization, the conditions under which it occurs and the outcomes that result from its normal operation. They have also described in great detail the pathological phenomena that result from the blocking or distortion of the process. Both Maslow and Rogers view self-actualization as a natural tendency or drive in the organism to enhance itself or to express its innate potential. The social environment in which the organism exists may help or hinder the expression of this drive. The social environment may totally block the self-actualization drive from emerging, or it may seriously distort its expression.
Under favorable conditions, however, self-actualization occurs almost spontaneously, though not inevitably. The innate tendency for selfactualization drives the individual toward greater awareness, independence, creativity, personal and social competence, and a number of other desirable traits spelled out by these theorists .
A markedly different view of self development (or self-realization, as it is more commonly called in this context) is found in Eastern religious traditions, especially in Vedantic Hinduism and the Thervada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism in which self-realization takes place as a result of long and arduous discipline.