On Saturday, February 1st, 2025, Shraddha Shetty, Branch Manager of New Acropolis Pune, delivered an insightful talk on the topic Language of Symbols: Inspiration from Carl Jung, exploring the symbolic language and its connection to the human psyche.
She introduced a Greek pedagogical model for the human being also called the “Three fold constitution of man”. The model describes man as embodying the archetypes on one hand and having the inertia of matter on another. She focused however on the ‘Psyche’, a bridge between the two, the realm of human choice.
She explained how symbols, though varied across cultures and civilizations, carry universal, archetypal meanings that speak to the human experience. These symbols are the language of life and nature itself.
Drawing from Carl Jung’s work to show how symbols from the collective unconscious appear in dreams, even if one has no prior personal connection to them the speaker presented that this inner voice—referred to by Tibetans as the “inner voice” or by Socrates as the “daimon,” and by ancient Egyptians as “Ba”— guides us in recognizing and resonating with these universal symbols.
Concluding her talk, Jung’s concept of individuation was presented, explaining that symbols serve as a means to reconnect with the constant, impersonal aspects of the human being, providing a sense of stability amidst the ever-changing world around us.
