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This volume situates Indians in the contemporary world and profiles the major facets of their thought and behaviour; then goes back to trace their roots to ancient thought to see how the past predisposes and the present guides Indians in their everyday life. The volume begins with a conceptual framework showing how the Indian worldview has encompassed and enveloped a variety of ideas and influences from divergent sources. As a result, Indians are both collectivists and individualists, hierarchically oriented while respecting merit and quality, religious as well as secular and sexually indulgent, spiritual as well as materialists, excessively dependent but remarkably entrepreneurial, non-violent in principle but violent in practice and comfortable in shifting between analytical, synthetic as well as intuitive approaches to reality. Such a coexistence of opposites often causes inaction, hesitation and perfunctory action, but also equips Indians to be innovative by continuously aligning their thought and behaviour to the demands of a milieu. The milieu has an inner layer consisting of desh (place), kaal (time) and paatra (person), which are embedded in the larger societal contexts of castes and classes, poverty, corruption, fragmenting politics, conflicts and violence and unfolding global opportunities and challenges. Cultural heritage permeates in all these. Indians function in this tiered, multifactorial, dynamic space.

This volume draws evidence from ancient texts and the latest national and international research, many of which were conducted by the author and his associates. It does not, however, hesitate to indulge in anecdotal evidence, cases and speculative ideas in order to complete the picture. The author takes an in-depth view of the Indian mindset without getting the reader lost in either the intricacies of ancient philosophical abyss or the trivialities of present-day non-events.

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Chapter 1. The Framework.- Chapter 2. Collectivism and Individualism.- Chapter 3. Hierarchy and Power Process.- Chapter 4. Spirituality and Materialism.- Chapter 5. Religiosity, Secularism, and Sexuality.- Chapter 6. Entrepreneurship amidst Dependence Proneness.- Chapter 7. The Paradoxical Mindset.- Chapter 8. The Shifting Mindset.- Chapter 9. Mindset in the Larger Context.- Chapter 10. Epilogue.

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"In this book, Jai B.P. Sinha has proposed how several cultural patterns have evolved in India and their influence on the psychological and behavioral functioning of Indians. ... This book demonstrates the extent of usability and practicality of Western models in Indian society and need for the generation and application of Indian concepts. ... the book opens new directions for the academicians to combine historical and philosophical understanding with empirical work." (Rishabh Rai and Anand Prakash, Psychological Studies, Vol. 62, 2017)

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