CONWAY — Displayed on a closet shelf inside the home of Kiran Kumar is a framed photo of Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Hindu spiritual master Kumar worships.
The lack of a closet door makes the picture visible from Kumar’s sparsely furnished living room. His philosophy toward furniture mirrors his spirituality.
“How many chairs can you sit in at once?” he asked. “How much does it take for a person to be happy?”
This fall, Kumar, a psychology professor from the University of Mysore in India, taught a course on positive psychology as a Visiting Fulbright-Nehru Scholar at the University of Central Arkansas. Positive psychology is the study of “subjective well-being” - or what makes people happy.
“I focus on the spiritual aspect,” Kumar said. “The question, ‘What is happiness?’ is an ancient one. I teach the concept from an Indian point of view.”
A devoted Hindu, Kumar earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bangalore, India. He worked as a Fulbright Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Saybrook Graduate School in San Francisco.
Decades of research led Kumar to embrace the concept of positive psychology, but his friendship with a UCA professor led him to his latest Fulbright fellowship.
In 2007, Kevin Rowell, associate professor of psychology/counseling, spent six months teaching at the University of Mysore.
“I facilitated his visit,” Kumar said, “and we have been friends since.”
Rowell said he became interested in a research/teaching collaboration in India in 2005.
“I searched many universities for one that had a graduate counseling psychology program similar to [UCA’s]. Three universities looked promising, one being the University of Mysore.”
He said he was able to make a “cold email contact” with Kumar about the possibility of visiting Mysore.
“[Kumar] quickly replied that one-time funds were available for inviting guest lecturers to the university,” Rowell said. “He offered me the invitation, and so I made a two-week visit to India in 2006.”
Rowell said he knew over lunch on his second day in Mysore that he and Kumar could “look forward to a long lasting collegial relationship.
“He asked me if Western psychology has all the answers for the human condition. Not wanting to be the ‘ugly American,’ I replied, ‘No, I don’t. I believe we have a soul, and that Western psychology has for the most part ignored it.’ His face lit up. He exclaimed, ‘Exactly! You cannot ignore the spiritual aspect of humans.’”
Kumar said that when he wanted to apply for another Fulbright fellowship, he thought he should choose a place where he already had a friend.
“I also wanted to get the feel of UCA,” he said.
Kumar’s course, Positive Psychology from Indian and Western Perspectives, opened his eyes as well as those of his students to the meaning of “happiness.”
“I had a diverse group of students,” he said. The group’s small size required him to adjust his teaching technique. “But that allowed us to have meaningful discussions. I’d sit with them, and after theory I’d say, ‘Now let’s talk about our experiences.’ I think it helped each of them personally. It gave them new insights into life.”
He taught his students that, according to Indian culture and thought, happiness is found inside the individual and does not depend on external circumstances.
“In America, more people are embracing the Indian concept,” Kumar said. “They are meditating; they are doing yoga. In India, we’re going the other direction. We are embracing the material. The message I want to send is that pleasure ultimately lies in yourself.”
T he Beatles sang that money can’t buy love. Kumar said it can’t buy happiness, either.
“Research is showing that what you give in a close relationship is far more important than what you can buy with money,” Kumar said. “We require money to fulfill our basic needs, but beyond that it, has no positive gain. People are chasing a mirage.”
He said an understanding of positive psychology is necessary in today’s world, with so much of the news emphasizing only the negative aspects of human nature.
“You look at the global scenario. Terrorism, violence, poverty, wars, strife. It’s in all the newspapers, all the channels,” Kumar said. “What is causing all these things? Misunderstanding, on the one hand. Als o, t here is greed for power and money. Behind all these things is a quest for happiness or satisfaction. But you look at the outcome of it - it’s negative. Money and materiality will not lead to positive things.”
Balancing the constant pursuit of earning a living with playfulness and close relationships will help people find happiness, he said.
“Meditation is a way of developing positive emotions. Developing an attitude of compassion and forgiveness can also help - expressing our gratitude for what we receive from others,” Kumar said. “These are all positive states of mind.”
Arkansas, he said, strikes him as a place to relax and have fun.
“When I landed at the Little Rock airport, I saw a sea of green trees,” he said. “I found out Arkansas is known as The Natural State, and it is very nice and peaceful. Nature is imbued with a positive consciousness.”
He said he has noticed that southern Arkansas shares something in common with India.
“Even in the Southern part of American society, like Arkansas, it’s much more conventional and has more in common with India than with other parts of the U.S.,” he said. “The belief in religion, going to church - that kind of showed me that this part is much more traditional. There were many things we discussed in class to which I said, ‘Yes, that happens in India.’ There are lots of cultural similarities.”
Staff writer Daniel A. Marsh can be reached at (501) 399-3688 or at dmarsh@arkansasonline.com.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 134 on 12/18/2011