In this episode of The Globali Podcast, Mousumi Kalita Sachdeva invites Pulkit Sharma, a well-known clinical psychologist, psychoanalytic therapist, spiritual counselor and author based in Pondicherry, India for an insightful conversation about clinical psychology, psychoanalysis, spirituality and mental health.
Pulkit Sharma reflects on his 20-year journey as a psychotherapist and talks about how childhood compassion shaped his inner calling, why people suffer so much, how mental health professionals can integrate psychology and spirituality to support emotional healing, the impact of social media on mental health, and practical ways to find inner peace, self-growth, and a more meaningful existence.
#clinicalpsychology #psychoanalysis #spirituality #podcast #pulkitsharmaclinicalpsychologist
VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:28 What inspired you to choose clinical psychology as your life's calling
05:30 How clinical psychology, psychoanalysis and spirituality complement each other
10:13 The biggest emotional struggle people are silently carrying today
13:15 Is there one lesson that every human being should know about emotional healing
15:16 What inspired you to write When the Soul Heals - Explorations in Spiritual Psychology
17:44 In today's world of social media, are people becoming emotionally fragile
22:11 Which experience has had the deepest impact on your understanding of human nature
23:23 The stigma around seeking psychological help
26:43 How do you unwind and de-stress
28:43 Archaic notions around mental illness
30:23 Self-awareness, forgiveness and compassion
32:13 Legacy beyond therapy
35:00 Right age to venture into yoga and spirituality
36:09 Rapid fire questions
41:52 The secret to happiness
42:09 Conclusion
Pulkit Sharma reflects on his 20-year journey as a psychotherapist and talks about how childhood compassion shaped his inner calling, why people suffer so much, how mental health professionals can integrate psychology and spirituality to support emotional healing, the impact of social media on mental health, and practical ways to find inner peace, self-growth, and a more meaningful existence.
#clinicalpsychology #psychoanalysis #spirituality #podcast #pulkitsharmaclinicalpsychologist
VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:28 What inspired you to choose clinical psychology as your life's calling
05:30 How clinical psychology, psychoanalysis and spirituality complement each other
10:13 The biggest emotional struggle people are silently carrying today
13:15 Is there one lesson that every human being should know about emotional healing
15:16 What inspired you to write When the Soul Heals - Explorations in Spiritual Psychology
17:44 In today's world of social media, are people becoming emotionally fragile
22:11 Which experience has had the deepest impact on your understanding of human nature
23:23 The stigma around seeking psychological help
26:43 How do you unwind and de-stress
28:43 Archaic notions around mental illness
30:23 Self-awareness, forgiveness and compassion
32:13 Legacy beyond therapy
35:00 Right age to venture into yoga and spirituality
36:09 Rapid fire questions
41:52 The secret to happiness
42:09 Conclusion
Category
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LearningTranscript
00:04Welcome to the Global Eye Podcast, where we bring you conversations with extraordinary
00:09individuals who are transforming lives through their passion, purpose and perseverance.
00:15Today we are privileged to host a renowned clinical psychologist, psychoanalytic therapist,
00:21spiritual counselor, author and digital creator whose work beautifully bridges modern psychology
00:28with ancient wisdom. For over two decades, he has quietly dedicated his life to helping people
00:35heal from within, proving that true transformation begins in the mind and blossoms in the soul.
00:43Please join me in welcoming Mr. Pulkit Sharma.
00:47Welcome to the Global Eye, Pulkit Ji, and we are privileged to have you with us today.
00:53And let us have a beautiful conversation.
00:57Thank you so much. And I also am looking forward to this conversation and I'm very happy being here.
01:07So you awaken souls and you heal people. That's wonderful.
01:12And Pulkit Ji, you are a healer.
01:15So what inspired you to choose psychology as your life's calling?
01:19And was there any defining moment that made you realize that, yes, this was your purpose?
01:25You want it to be this?
01:28See, you know, as I know myself, right from very early childhood, I was a very, very compassionate person.
01:35Like, you know, seeing people in pain, in misery, in sadness, in trauma, would kind of, would make me very
01:45sad.
01:45And I always have had this need, you know, that something should be done, you know, about this.
01:50But if you ask me for defining moment, I remember two, you know, actually.
01:56So one was when I was, you know, at school, and this was like class third or fourth, you know.
02:06So there was this boy in my class whom I later on understood that he had an intellectual disability, that
02:14he could not really, like, you know, study.
02:17He had, you know, what we would call now is low IQ.
02:20But back then, like, nobody was aware so much.
02:25So he had repeated that same class twice or thrice.
02:29So he was two or three years older than me, but he was a very good friend of mine, you
02:34know.
02:35And so while talking with him, interacting with him, like, I could make sense.
02:39I mean, I said that he had a very nice, genuine heart, you know.
02:44So, and we had a very special bond, but I could make up this something wrong, you know, with how
02:50he learns, how he understands, how he processes information.
02:55And I, you know, I used to really think, you know, because there was this time when I, you know,
03:04was in class five and I had to leave primary and go to the middle school.
03:08And I was so sad that, oh, you know, he will be here only.
03:11And then eventually, you know, his parents removed him, you know, from the school and took him somewhere else.
03:19So one was that.
03:20And the second, I think that was very interesting because my mother, you know, really loves music.
03:29You know, so, also, you know, while growing up, she exposed me to a lot of singers, you know, a
03:36lot of musicians, a lot of songs.
03:39And her favorite singer happened to be, you know, this great singer of 1950s, you know, Gita Dutt, you know.
03:47So she would, you know, make me listen to her songs and I would ask her, so where is she
03:51now?
03:52You know, what is she doing?
03:53And my mom would say, oh, you know, that's a very sad story because she had a troubled relationship and
03:58then she became very depressed and she, you know, became alcoholic.
04:02And then, you know, she just died very early.
04:05You know, so I remember that when I used to listen to her songs, you know, especially one of those
04:10songs, you know, Mary Jaa, Mujha Jaana Kaho,
04:12which she recorded towards the end of her life, when she was almost on her, you know, deathbed, I used
04:18to just think, I used to think, what a waste of, you know, talent.
04:22I mean, you know, that if somehow she had some help available at that time, could have, you know, managed
04:29that troubled relationship, sadness and alcoholism.
04:32I mean, such a brilliant talent, you know, would have been there, would have sung so many songs.
04:37So, moments like these, you know, from the very beginning made me think that, yes, you know, this is a
04:44very important area and something must be done over here.
04:48That's beautiful, beautiful to know.
04:50And yes, these are the live incidents.
04:54It's not that somebody put this thing in your mind.
04:57You just experienced it and you just had it and you just came to know that, yes, this is the
05:02path I have to choose.
05:04That's wonderful.
05:04So, your work beautifully integrates psychology with spirituality.
05:10So, many people see these as two separate worlds, if we speak about psychology and spirituality.
05:16People think about spirituality, they think about it, they think about it, they think about it.
05:20So, many people see these two, you know, parts as two different worlds.
05:25How did you discover that they actually complement each other?
05:29Actually, you know, that's a very interesting thing because, you know, when you start studying psychology, so a large part
05:39of psychology focuses on the conscious mind.
05:42You know, that if you are procrastinating, why are you procrastinating?
05:46If you are angry, why are you angry?
05:49If you are sad, why are you sad?
05:50How can you change your thoughts?
05:52You know, so a large part of psychology focuses on the conscious mind.
05:55And then, there's this also, you know, one school, one perspective in psychology, which is called the psychoanalysis, you know,
06:06which was, you know, developed by Sigmund Freud and many people after him.
06:11So, that school of psychology focuses a lot on unconscious mind, you know, like the things that we are not
06:19aware of and the things that still very strongly affect our minds, like, you know, conflicts and unfulfilled needs, which
06:29we are not aware of.
06:30So, while I was studying psychology, I became very interested in psychoanalysis and I also underwent the training in that,
06:38you know, and training in psychoanalysis simply means,
06:41that you would be on the couch and you would be a patient and someone would analyze your mind, you
06:46know.
06:47So, once I was exposed to this one layer of, you know, consciousness, you know, I was like, and then
06:54when I would read about spirituality, you know, reading people like Ramakrishna Paramahani, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, they talked about
07:04layers of consciousness, you know.
07:05So, I was like that, I know conscious and unconscious, but here, like someone like Sri Aurobindo talks that there
07:12are many layers above the conscious mind, you know.
07:15So, for me, it was like that, yes, you know, if we are really working with human mind and the
07:21problems of life, why do we really need to limit ourselves to one layer or two layers?
07:26You know, I mean, you know, people generally, they train in one thing and then they'll be like, I'll stick
07:32to this, you know, or they'll train in two things, they'll be like, I'll stick to this.
07:35But for me, it was like that, and one more very interesting thing was that while I was training in
07:42psychology, I would often see that it's not that all psychologists are very sorted out.
07:49Some of them are very screwed people, some of them are alcoholics, some of them are suicidal, some of them
07:55have very troubled relationships.
07:56So, I was like that if psychology has not fixed people who are in psychology for so many years, we
08:03definitely need to broaden the horizon, you know.
08:07And that's what really, you know, took me to spirituality.
08:14That's true.
08:15And one thing I just could catch that, yes, people who have suffered a lot, sometimes they choose psychology.
08:22Is it as a relief?
08:25No, it's a very interesting thing.
08:27So, if you have suffered a lot, you will choose psychology because of two things.
08:32You know, one, you would have this desire that by just reading psychology and training to be a psychologist, I'll
08:38automatically heal myself.
08:40Like, I don't need help from someone else, you know.
08:43So, many people come to psychology like this and then there are, again, some people who are not very conscious
08:48of their pain.
08:49But, you know, so they is, you know, they derive this vicarious satisfaction that I'm helping someone is making me
08:58feel good in return, you know.
08:59So, that's a fact actually, you know.
09:03And there have been some very interesting researches also which show that, you know, psychologists and mental health professionals as
09:11a group, they have a lot more problems than the general population, you know.
09:18Right, we would love to talk more about this in a different session, definitely, when it will be seriously on
09:24us.
09:25Let's know more about you because, you know, we just want to know about your journey and how we can
09:30actually project you.
09:32And people can actually connect because people really need that, you know, healing part.
09:40They themselves do not know that they need that because we know that maybe if I feel that I'm unwell
09:46somewhere or I'm uncomfortable, I would never think that I need healing.
09:50I may think that, okay, you know, maybe I'm disturbed tomorrow, I'll be fine.
09:54But many people know that there is a cure to it, like, you know, that the soul needs healing.
10:00So, there is also a term called therapist.
10:04So, you have experienced as a therapist for over two decades because when I call psychologist, you know, you're a
10:10healer, but ultimately, you are a therapist.
10:14So, in your experience as a therapist for over two decades, what is the biggest emotional struggle people are silently
10:22carrying today?
10:24Right.
10:26So, one thing that I have really seen is that what people, like, the biggest struggle of all times is
10:36that there are no stable and reliable anchor points.
10:40You know, like, people can be mentally healthy when they have something to hold on to.
10:44Now, that can be, it can be a family that they can hold on to, it can be a career
10:50that they can hold on to, it can be an ideology that they can hold on to, it can be
10:56a religion that they can hold on to, it can be anything but something which is very stable in their
11:01life.
11:02Sadly, in our times, everything is, you know, there's a lot of chaos, you know, so, so the family systems
11:10are experiencing a lot of chaos, religion is experiencing a lot of chaos, you know, people don't know, you know,
11:16whether they can trust it, you know, or not.
11:20Jobs and careers, you know, with so many technological advancements that we have, AI, you know, many people are really,
11:26like, most common question that people, you know, when they come in therapy these days, they have this fear that
11:31AI will wipe me out, AI will wipe my, you know, career out kind of thing, you know.
11:35So, I think there's a lot of chaos in this changing world because, like, if you were to go back,
11:42like, you know, 10 years or 20 years, we still had some very stable and reliable efforts.
11:48And the second problem is, because of this social media, what I see in Gen Alpha and Gen Z is
11:57that they have, you know, that they are really living life so much in that moment that they have really
12:04forgotten this, you know, this, this thing of, you know, going deep into something with commitment, you know.
12:15So, because they are really living from story to story, from post to post, from reel to reel, from video
12:21to video.
12:22So, I don't see them really developing themselves very deeply.
12:26And I think that that's a very worrisome trend, you know, because for mental health, you need to, you know,
12:32you need to have one or two things that you're really good at, you know.
12:38Right, very true.
12:39So, the social media and the present generation today or the upcoming generation, I do not know.
12:44Sometimes I feel they have lost the emotions also.
12:47It's just to meet me, yeah.
12:50And you have worked extensively with trauma, anxiety, depression, addictions also, relationships, relationship conflicts.
13:01It's because when I, as I can, I have come to know that your childhood only, you know, when you
13:06heard a story where a person is suffering from relationships and all, definitely.
13:11So, you are working extensively on relationship conflicts and personality disorders.
13:16So, is there one lesson that every human being should know about emotional healing?
13:23I think, yeah, you know, because a lot of times when people with very, you know, long-term illnesses come,
13:34you know, or people who have tried many different doors, many different things, they come and they have this thing
13:42that, you know, they would come and they're generally very hopeless, you know, that we have already tried so much,
13:51you know.
13:52One thing that I always tell them is that, you know, that everyone as an individual has a lot of
14:03inner strength and resources to heal and to blossom.
14:08One should never give up, you know, that one should try and find hope, you know, that I think is
14:15very important.
14:16And secondly, I think one should also be very patient.
14:19You know, I mean, what I generally see is, these days are very deadly combination of hopelessness and impatience.
14:27They're very hopeless and they're very impatient also.
14:30You know, if someone were to say, oh, go there and do this and you will be fine in one
14:36day, they'll run like mad.
14:38But then what will happen?
14:39Because changing ourselves is a very uphill task, you know, change really requires a lot of effort.
14:45You know, people need to understand this.
14:47There's no magical change, you know, like even if you were praying to the divine, meditating, that also takes years,
14:54you know.
14:54So, you know, that change comes slow and you need that perseverance and patience and you need to be hopeful.
15:01Then I think, you know, things can be worked through.
15:06And you are also an author, right?
15:10And your book, When the Soul Heals, has been appreciated by psychologists and spiritual seekers alike.
15:17What inspired you to write it and what message do you hold readers take away from your book?
15:25So, see, what inspired me to write was that I really wanted, you know, to be very frank with you,
15:34a guidebook for my own sense, you know, because it's okay.
15:38See, because I got trained in psychology, then I got trained in psychoanalysis, then I was also kind of, you
15:47know, I was exploring spirituality.
15:50So, I learned, like, the yoga of the light and sound and hatha yoga and then transcendental meditation.
15:56So, I had, like, some sense of, like, you know, spirituality.
16:00And I was like that, yeah, you know, so these are three very different worlds.
16:05You know, I need something where I can combine them into a practical approach.
16:10Like, you know, if someone is coming to me and someone wants to work through, say, a problem like anger
16:18or grief or anxiety, you know, how can there be this approach, you know, which has both psychology, you know,
16:30like, conscious psychology, psychoanalysis and spirituality, you know, how these three things can come together.
16:36So, that was the basic idea, which I really wanted to work on.
16:41And I wrote it in the form of self-help book, you know, so that it can be, you know,
16:47that it is of value to professionals also.
16:50And if, say, someone does not want to, like, you know, really go to a professional, has very mild problems
16:55or just want to explore themselves psychologically and spiritually, then also the book kind of, you know, can take them
17:04on that journey.
17:05You know, so that was the whole idea behind the book.
17:08And our viewers must be wondering where to get this book.
17:11Where will they find this book?
17:13I think the easiest rest people say Amazon.
17:17Right.
17:18And there are all, you have got the Kindle version also?
17:21Yes, yes.
17:22So, it's both in a paperback and on Kindle.
17:25Yeah.
17:26Right.
17:27Pulkit Ji, you just spoke about, you know, generations, you know, and in fact, everyone today is scrolling social media,
17:34you know.
17:35And when we speak about social media in today's world, we see people seeking instant gratification and constant comparison because
17:46social media, you know, constantly shows you a picture and you take it to be real.
17:52Nobody knows what is behind the picture that is going to be.
17:56Right.
17:56And do you think people are becoming emotionally stronger or emotionally more fragile and why?
18:05I think, see, you know, what you mentioned about social media is very true and people need to understand that.
18:12So, if I also would log into social media or if someone would see my social media account, you know,
18:19they would, of course, see the best moments being shared.
18:23Like, I would never go and write, oh, today is my bad day.
18:25I just write, you know, when I'm traveling, oh, I'm here or I've achieved something, I'm right, I've achieved this.
18:31Or if I have something meaningful to say on a good day when I can, you know, when I have
18:35that, you know, zest in me, then only I speak.
18:38The day I am feeling low, I will never be on camera and say, oh, yeah, you know, I'm feeling
18:43so.
18:43But people really miss this thing.
18:46So, this is what we call the highlight tree, you know.
18:49So, social media is a space where everybody is sharing the best highlights of their lives.
18:54Right?
18:55Now, the impact it has on the viewer is that they don't understand it's a highlight tree.
19:03It's the best of the best moments.
19:05So, they would say that, oh, this person is living a very grand night.
19:09You know, it's like this life is like this.
19:11You know, he's a big superstar, a big superstar.
19:14And that would make them feel very inferior.
19:18You know, then there'd be this thing, oh, I'm like no hold.
19:21And then there'd also be in this whole thing that I also need to really be, you know, very grand
19:26or do something like this and that.
19:29So, it is making people somewhere very fragile.
19:33Because if you post something and you get likes, people comment, people follow you, you're very happy you're in cloud
19:40nine.
19:40If that doesn't happen, you are like, you know, down into, you know, you're down at the ocean bed.
19:49Really, as deep as that, you know, you crash down there.
19:52So, it is making, you know, so even though people feel or, you know, people feel very good that they
19:58have so many followers and likes and this and that.
20:01But if you see, it's a very rollercoaster light.
20:04You know, you get likes who are happy, you don't get them.
20:06You are like completely sad, dejected and miserable.
20:09So, it is making people very fragile and also because they are not investing in themselves.
20:15They are not doing something meaningful.
20:17It's more like that I need to write something that will catch attention.
20:20I need to post something that will catch attention.
20:23You know, I need to do something.
20:25And I often see, you know, at times very well-meaning, very educated people end up doing completely silly things,
20:32you know, just to grab attention.
20:35You must be, you know, dealing with such people also who come to you, maybe feeling depressed.
20:42We get to hear that, you know, their followers have decreased, their emotional is strained.
20:48You know, sometimes I feel that you need to also take sessions on this factor because I see the youngsters.
20:56Followers decreased.
20:57Instagram account hacked.
21:00They feel like everything, you know, their world is lost.
21:03And that social media has become their world.
21:06And they feel that their entire world has been lost.
21:08Absolutely.
21:09And the problem is really big because I also come across youngsters who pay to get, you know, followers.
21:17You know, who contact these, you know, marketing agencies.
21:21You tell me, how can my video go viral?
21:24Or just like, you know, cross-post it to many sites, you know, so that my video goes viral and
21:29I get, you know, new followers.
21:30So it is really, I mean, it's really bad, you know, in some ways.
21:35But what's the use of buying those followers if you do not know if they're genuine or not, you know,
21:40that is not marketing, I feel.
21:42That is not marketing.
21:44That is, that is, that is, that is, it's a gratification, you know, Khudu.
21:51Yeah.
21:53So you have gone into hospitals, de-addition centers, NGOs, educational institutions and spiritual organizations.
22:01Which experience has had the deepest impact on your understanding of human nature?
22:11I think, you know, whenever we'll be really frank with you, I mean, I have gained a lot from all
22:19the places I have worked with, you know.
22:20But I think that in my, you know, association with spiritual organizations and, you know, while practicing spirituality, I mean,
22:31that those have been the best moments because, you know, when at times you are in that state, you know,
22:37where you can just look at your own life, your own desires, life of others and the whole life as
22:43just like, like a noise from a distance.
22:47That gives you a lot of liberation, you know, for a while, you know, and even if that state does
22:53not last for long, at least you carry that sense with you.
22:57That yes, that it's a play, that it's a play of forces and you are also an actor over there,
23:03but you don't need to be, you don't need to really take it too seriously or too emotionally or too
23:12much like a maniac, you know.
23:18And, you know, many people, as I told you all before also, many people hesitate to seek for healing or
23:26therapy.
23:27And, you know, they seek therapy because they think that's a stigma.
23:33And what would you say to someone who believes asking for help is a sign of weakness?
23:38Because many, I see many are suffering from women, but they would never seek the help of a psychologist or
23:44a therapist because they think that I'm crazy.
23:46Am I mad?
23:47Why do I need a therapist?
23:48What do you have to say here?
23:50I can say to, to such people, I very, you know, my advice or what I say is very simple.
24:00I say that whenever you have to learn something, you know, new or you have to work on your vulnerability,
24:06what do you do?
24:07You contact an expert.
24:08Like if you have to really build your body, you would go to a gym and you would find a
24:13gym trainer, right?
24:13You would not, you know, you would not kind of, you know, you would not say that I will do
24:19your own kind of thing, right?
24:21You know, and similarly, when you are physically ill, when you have like a very bad viral infection or a
24:27typhoid, you don't sell it medically.
24:30You don't say, oh, I know, I know that, you know, that in typhoid you eat antibiotics.
24:34So I just go to the market and buy antibiotics on my own.
24:37No, you go and get the test done.
24:39So I will, I just tell them that, you know, just take mental health also like that, that it's in,
24:47that it's a part of you.
24:48Your mind is a part of you.
24:50And just like you, you are not expert in every domain and in every area.
24:56You may not be expert in mental health, you know.
24:59And in fact, you know, to be really honest with you, if today I become very, you know, stressed out,
25:08it will be very difficult for me also to heal my own self.
25:12Because, you know, you need to look at the whole thing objectively.
25:15You need to look at, you know, the unconscious issues, you know, which you, I mean, each one of us
25:21has their own blind spots.
25:23You know, so having an expert really helps.
25:28Sometimes we may feel that we are perfectly fine.
25:31But sometimes there are low times and you may need an asking for help is nothing bad.
25:36Yeah.
25:37It's needed.
25:38That is why therapists, they exist.
25:42Yeah.
25:43Healing is, I think, very, very important.
25:45We need to spread an awareness, actually.
25:47The awareness is missing somewhere.
25:49Yes, this awareness is there.
25:51And I think that, you know, that there's a general resistance in Indian society.
25:58I feel, you know, even now, though things are really better, you know, from like I started working in, like
26:06my first job was in 2005, you know, for a while.
26:10And after that, I did some more trainings.
26:12But from 2005 to now in 26, like there's a lot of change.
26:16But yeah, I mean, even now, you would hear like this, oh, you know, if you're feeling low, why can't
26:22you fix it, you know, by your own self?
26:24Why do you need someone?
26:25And people will say that if you go up to your family and say, I must have suffered a lot.
26:30I haven't needed a therapist.
26:32Why do you need your therapist?
26:33Why are you being so weak?
26:34You know, so we need to really get rid of this weakness, you know, stigma.
26:41And outside your therapy room, you enjoy yoga, you enjoy singing too.
26:47That's wonderful.
26:48Traveling, writing, photography and studying cultures.
26:52Which of these activities helps Pulkit Sharma heal and recharge?
26:59I think if I don't have too much of time, then music, you know, because if you have that very
27:05short break or gap, you know, music can fill in.
27:08But if I have like, you know, time, like then like if I have a good time in the day,
27:15then yoga.
27:16If I have like a few number of days, you know, then of course, like, you know, traveling and studying
27:22cultures, you know, because I think and the way I travel mostly is very different, you know, because I hate
27:30doing these very quick travels that you go to that you go for five days and you are, you know,
27:36trying to cover three places.
27:38So my would be that I would just pack my bags and go for five days to one place only.
27:42So at times, you know, people and hotel people also when I'm making a booking, they are very sad.
27:47Oh, you are coming, you are coming to Kupi for a week.
27:50No, no, they would say there's not so much to see.
27:53So I would just say that, no, I just want to be there.
27:57I just want to visit a lake, you know, just spend a few hours over there and just be there
28:02kind of thing, you know.
28:03So, you know, because I think that in experiencing a place, you know, you kind of can really disengage from
28:12your own mind and from the chatter of life.
28:15That's very important.
28:16Yeah.
28:17That's actually important.
28:19Sometimes when I also go, writers generally, you are a writer, you will understand.
28:22We go to a different place for a change of environment and we, you know, move with a project.
28:28And when people say, where did you go?
28:31Not just to take the places you go, you are going to heal yourself, not to take you.
28:38Really, that's really, you know, that's interesting.
28:42And if you could change just one thing about how society views mental health, what would it be?
28:55I think, yeah, I think if I could just change one thing, it would still be like this very archaic
29:03notion of madness that people still get carried.
29:11This thing, I think, still persists.
29:15You know, like, you know, and I've seen this so many times.
29:19There is people are trying to, like, you know, look for a matrimonial alliance while the arranged marriage ruled.
29:25And if they get to know that someone was seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist, they'd be like, oh, it's
29:31crazy.
29:33You know, and they would be, like, very unsure.
29:36They'll say, no, we need to talk to the doctor, we need to ask the doctor, what is it, you
29:40know, it won't happen again, it won't happen again, it won't happen again, it won't happen again.
29:43So this whole notion, you know, that same mental illness or mental difficulty as palalpan, you know, madness, still persists.
29:54And it's so sad because, like, you know, I think we have spent so many decades and so many years,
30:04you know, just spreading awareness about this.
30:06But still, it is the end of that.
30:09Right.
30:10And what do you think, what role do compassion, forgiveness and self-awareness play in healing emotional wounds?
30:20Yeah.
30:22See, I think the main thing is self-awareness.
30:26You know, that, first of all, you need to, and that's what I tell people also, that, you know, no
30:33matter, you know, even if you're very bad,
30:36you have a lot of family wounded, you have a lot of pain or you have a lot of fear,
30:40I think the first step in healing is becoming aware about it and being able to, like, you know, experience
30:48it and stay with it without getting, you know, without getting really jittery.
30:56I think that's very important.
30:58Other things can follow, you know, so, like, then it's your choice whether you want to forgive, forget,
31:05or you don't want to, because I also feel, and that's a big problem, because I think, you know, that
31:10forgiveness is really glorified in the whole, you know, on social media these days.
31:25But I think what people don't understand is that forgiveness is a journey.
31:30It's not that you forgive.
31:32I mean, you have to come to that point.
31:34And if people are very wounded, it may take them, I think, many years, maybe even a whole lifetime, you
31:41know, to forgive, you know, so we can't really idealize something and, you know, tell people this is the standard
31:48you must reach.
31:49But I think that self-awareness is very important.
31:51So, if you can just stay with your feelings and fears, you know, and just say that, yes, these are
31:57just feelings, these are just fears, these are just wounds, they are not danger.
32:02The danger was in the past.
32:04Now it's okay.
32:05Now there's no danger.
32:07I think that really helps to heal.
32:13And looking ahead, what did you, like, you know, if I ask you about your personal journey, you must be
32:19having your mission, vision.
32:21So, what is your larger vision beyond therapy?
32:25What legacy do you hope to leave for the world?
32:31I mean, you know, leaving a legacy for the world, of course, is too big.
32:36But I think, I mean, if I could just leave a legacy for psychology as a discipline, I'll just talk
32:43about that.
32:44Because the world is like too big.
32:45I think I'm too small to leave something for the world.
32:48I think the legacy that I would like to leave for psychology is this very cohesive approach, you know, which
32:59is consciousness-based.
33:00In which you can look at various levels of consciousness in one place, you know, where you can have, as
33:08I said, like, the unconscious, the super conscious, the subconscious, all levels and all layers of consciousness.
33:14I think, if you want to, if it's a mental, you know, if it's a mental disorder, you have to
33:22go to a psychologist.
33:23If it's a mental growth, you have to go to a life coach.
33:26If it's something else, you have to go into spirituality.
33:29So, I think we should really have this one approach that takes care of everything, you know.
33:34Because many times people don't know, and they may be suffering at all the layers, you know.
33:40So, someone may be wounded in the past and yet that person may want to connect with the divine, you
33:45know.
33:46Now, the problem is that if they were to go to a spiritualist, you know, that person would say, oh,
33:51you know, just, you know, leave this aside and just, you know, surrender to the divine.
33:56That becomes very difficult when you are wounded.
33:58So, if they were to a psychologist, it's very tricky and I've seen, you know, something like this, that, you
34:03know, when people go to a seat of cases, because they've come, like, you know, like, if they've gone to
34:10a mental health expert who does not understand spirituality or stuff, they would just say that, oh, you have just,
34:16you know, been exposed to a lot of religion in your childhood and the purpose of life is to just,
34:22you know, enjoy and have fun and you have a very boring ideology.
34:26So, just, you know, get rid of this.
34:29So, I mean, yeah, so, we have a lot of problems like this, you know, yeah.
34:34So, I don't want to speak about spirituality.
34:37I mean, how can you come to spirituality?
34:39Come on, it's not a time, you know, spirituality.
34:43Because when we speak about, I need to, sometimes I think I should have a session with you, what is
34:48actually spirituality and how we actually differ it from how people look at this term called spirituality.
34:54Right.
34:56You know, and interestingly, like, my yoga guru from whom I learned yoga, I mean, that he would say this
35:05very interesting thing.
35:06He would say that actually yoga or spirituality may have to come to a young person.
35:09He said that when you're older, you don't have energy, then what do you do?
35:13And similarly, there's this one also very lovely incident about the mother of Shinoshri or Bindu Ashram because I live
35:23in, you know, Pondicherry.
35:24So, you know, often she would get a lot of these letters where people would write to her, oh, mother,
35:30I am now 65 plus, my kids are married, my spouse is dead or whatever.
35:35And I now want to devote myself to your work and do the divine, you know.
35:40And so, at times, she would get a lot of these applications and, you know, people around her would ask,
35:47mother, what should we reply?
35:51And so, one day, as a joke, she said, you just write that perhaps applying to a graveyard is a
35:56better option right now.
36:02So, we had a wonderful talk on psychology, spirituality, therapy and lots to know.
36:09But, Salah, let's have a rapid fire round.
36:12Are you ready?
36:14Yes, I am ready.
36:16As much as I can answer that, you know, I don't do very well in, you know, rapid fires, but
36:22let's see.
36:22We are.
36:28One word that describes Pulkit Sharma.
36:32I think that's my name, which the English translation of it is, you know, to blossom, you know.
36:38So, I, you know, that's what describes me and that's what I aim at, you know, to blossom.
36:45Pulkit Sharma.
36:46Tea, coffee or meditation?
36:50Ah, so, a cup of Kadat Chai followed by meditation.
36:58Okay, that's a good answer.
37:02Psychology or spirituality?
37:05Actually, both.
37:07Both, you know, so one is like the foundation and then the other is the hundred floors.
37:12Okay, are you a morning person or a night out?
37:16Weekdays, morning person, weekends, I love to be a night out, you know.
37:20Okay.
37:21One book you can read again and again.
37:24Yeah, that's actually this, a very classic work.
37:28It's, you know, the name is Siddhartha by Herman Hess.
37:32I think that really has, because it's a psychological and spiritual fiction, you know.
37:39So, it's a wonderful read, yeah.
37:42Okay.
37:42So, if your clients could describe you in one word, what do you think it would be?
37:48I think they would say that I'm flexible because I don't really follow any single format for any session or
37:57for people in general, you know.
37:58So, my work is very spontaneous.
38:00So, I'm very spontaneous and very flexible, you know.
38:03So, you also have to come to every age of people?
38:06Absolutely.
38:07But this is one thing that I would say this thing, you know, that even though, I mean, I've been
38:14working for 20 years.
38:15But yes, I don't really take people who are, you know, a lot older than me because I really feel
38:22that you need to really live that age to understand those issues, you know, also.
38:27You know, I mean, it's one thing to theoretically work with.
38:31I'll give one very interesting example, you know.
38:33So, I was, I had trained as a psychologist but I had not experienced a personal loss or grief in
38:39my life.
38:40So, it was very, you know, so, but when I experienced it, then I could work with people with grief.
38:47Similarly, when I had a daughter, I understood what parenting was, you know.
38:52So, you know, so it's very, so I generally try to stay in those domains where I have life experience
38:58also because that really helps you, you know, to understand, you know, stuff.
39:03So, you know, so if someone, like, I remember this thing that there was this person who was after me
39:10to, like, you know, work on this project where you have to develop psychological interventions for people dying with, you
39:19know, the end stage of cancer.
39:21It was like that, come on, you know, I just had no clue about it, you know.
39:25So, it's like very funny just to, you know, think of some academic concepts and go and say that, oh,
39:32yeah, you know, you should do that.
39:34I mean, it's a, it's a joke, you know, kind of thing.
39:36So, I, I try to stay close to my lived life experience and so, yeah, I mean, I, I do
39:43work with youngsters, people my age, people 8 to 10 years older than me, but not too old because their
39:51issues are very distant.
39:52Yeah, very true.
39:54And what's one thing people do that secretly makes the psychologist in you smile?
39:59Sometimes, you know, okay, so it makes me smile and at times it makes me really go mad with anger
40:10also.
40:10So, when someone is trying to, like, you know, very harmlessly or very harmfully manipulate me and then I'm like,
40:20oh, Lord.
40:22How is this person thinking, you know, I don't understand what I'm going to tell you, you know, kind of
40:28thing.
40:28So, basically, if it's a harmless, playful manipulation, I would smile.
40:33If it's a harmful manipulation, I kind of get quite enraged, you know.
40:38Okay, okay.
40:40Good to know that.
40:40And if you could read one person's mind in just five minutes, whose would it be?
40:49Not one person.
40:51I would love to read minds of many politicians around the world, you know.
40:55I don't know what they are up to, you know.
40:57I don't understand what's happening in the world, you know.
40:59So, I mean, yeah, I mean, you know, I mean, I'm really not, if I had that, you know, magical
41:09power, I love to read their minds and actually to fix their minds, you know.
41:13I would suggest you to read Donald Trump's mind.
41:18It's very unpredictable.
41:20So, better you try reading his mind.
41:23I know, I know, that's true.
41:28All right.
41:30If stress were a person, what advice would you give it?
41:36I would just say that chill out and breathe free.
41:40Like, everything has a solution.
41:41Calm down, you know.
41:43Okay.
41:44So, let everyone understand this, okay.
41:47Stress, what I say, I know we should say this, chill.
41:51Okay.
41:52Complete this sentence.
41:53The happiest person is someone who...
42:00The happiest person is someone who is not scared of their sadness, I would say, you know.
42:06Okay.
42:07It was really, really wonderful interacting with you, knowing you, knowing your journey.
42:13It was really fun.
42:14But one closing question I must ask you.
42:17If someone watching this conversation today feels emotionally exhausted, broken or believes, there is no hope left, what message would
42:29you like to leave them with?
42:31There may be many, but what message to them?
42:37I would just tell them that, you know, that these are just phases, you know.
42:43Like, there are times when there's a lot of sadness, you know, like the way the seasons change.
42:48So, there's an interplay of happiness and sadness also.
42:51So, if you're feeling very low, down and out today, don't worry.
42:55I mean, there'll be a new sunrise tomorrow and things might be brighter, they might be better, you know.
43:02So, don't lose hope.
43:04That's what I would say.
43:05Thank you so much, Pulkiji, for joining the group.
43:09You're welcome.
43:09For sharing your inspiring journey, your wisdom and insightful things about psychology.
43:16There is, I know more and more to know about it.
43:19But, yes, the time I spent with you, knowing you, studying you, it was wonderful.
43:25Thank you for joining the Global Art.
43:26Thank you for inviting me.
43:28I mean, I listen to people.
43:33I don't speak so much.
43:34So, whenever I get the opportunity to speak, I really love it.
43:38Your work reminds us that healing is not about becoming someone else.
43:43It is about rediscovering the strength and peace that already exists within us.
43:49We truly appreciate your contribution to mental health and to humanity.
43:55And to all our viewers, thank you for joining us on the Global Eye podcast.
44:00And if this conversation inspired you, do not forget to like, share and subscribe.
44:06Until next time, take care of your mind, nurture your soul and remember,
44:12every journey toward healing begins with a single step.
44:17Namaskar.
44:19Namaskar.
44:19Namaskar.
44:21Namaskar.
44:22Namaskar.