Description

About the Book

In the contemporary world, many people think that spirituality is an abstract concept, while others are concerned about the practical aspects i.e. spiritual development. These include principles of knowledge and practice. These two ways to spiritual development lead to the purification of the Self. Explorations of spirituality is relevant and necessary in the era in which we live, one that has been marked by explosive levels of national and international conflicts, as well as interpersonal violence. Two basic assumptions underscore the need for such discourse: the first is that there has been a growing interest in incorporating spirituality into contemporary psychosocial interventions and medical practices; the second is that, in the 21st century, we live in an increasingly wounded society, one which is in need of spiritual healing. In order to understand productive approaches to this global situation, we need to begin to illuminate the understanding of spirituality in general and Islamic spirituality in particular, spiritual virtues and values, spiritual supports, spiritual interventions, spiritual consciousness, spirituality and happiness, Sufism, and Yoga, Spirituality has been linked, traditionally, to knowledge and religious practices.

About the Authors

Dr. Akbar Husain is Professor and Coordinator, UGC–SAP (DRS-I) at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He received his Ph.D. Degree in Psychology from the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (INDIA) in 1981. Professor Husain was awarded the D.Litt. degree in Psychology in 2015 for his work on Explorations and Applications of Spirituality in Psychology. He has over thirty six years of teaching and research experience. He has successfully supervised 10 M.Phil. dissertations and 25 Ph.D. theses at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He has authored, co-authored and edited 31 books, and contributed 215 research papers, theoretical articles and book chapters in National and International Journals and Books. Prof. Husain has attended and presented papers, gave Invited Talk/Lecture and Keynote Addresses in the several National and International Conferences and Seminars. He was Editor of the Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology (2002-2005) and Journal of Educational Research, University of Malaya (2009). Prof. Husain is also reviewer of various National and International Journals of Psychology. He has standardized numerous psychological tests and completed four research projects. He is a Life Member and Annual Member of various National and International Associations. Prof. Husain has visited several countries for attending conferences and teaching assignments. In recent years he has been involved in conducting the researches on various topics such as spiritual values/virtues, spiritual fitness, spiritual personality, spiritual support, spiritual distress, etc. related to the area of Spiritual Psychology. In addition to this his current areas of research are: Health Psychology, Counseling Psychology, and Positive Psychology. 

Dr. ShahinaMaqbool is Professor of Psychology in Women’s College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, where she has been the faculty since 1992. She has publications in the field of clinical-health psychology. Dr. Maqbool has supervised a number of doctoral thesis. She served as the Chairman, Department of Psychology during the period 2014-2015.