Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist propounded the concept of analytical psychology that has tremendously effected the every domain and realm of human experience. It has exerted influence from mythology to art and literature. He made deep peep in to human psyche and gave his wonderful concept of archetype. Archetype may be defined as model, prototype or template of something on which the future compositions are made. The original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or replication of that are made, on which they are based, a model or first form or prototype. Concisely
archetype is blue print of something. There is no way to study human patterns of behaviors than studying and analyzing archetypes. Archetypes are structural contents/elements of our collective unconscious. Every human being is restructured on these models.Every individual has certain fixed certain fixed patterns of behaviors. He behaves and acts according to these internal contents of his personality. His action responses are determined by these unconscious contents of his unconscious. Shadow archetype is universal in nature and is widely present in every individual. Shadow is the impressions of bad and secret acts or sins of our personality stored in unconscious it is the treasure house of one’s impressions committed or lived. These may be termed as “sanskar” in Indian mode of philosophy. Whatever act good or bad we do it leaves an indelible impression on our mind. The sum total of such impressions is called sanskar in karma Hindu philosophy. Shadow is dark side of the coin or our own personality. This archetype occupies a significant part of human psyche. We are not aware of this part of our personality.
All human diseases, pathologies, pains and sufferings are direct outcome of the reflection of this part of human psyche. Now the medical men of prominence have started believing and admitting the “psycho-somatic” basis and origin of all human suffering. This shadow is most wanted and cherished but rejected and concealed part of human psyche. It is very alluring and seducing and “sweetest of sweet” every human being is very easily entrapped and enticed. None can avoid its charming and fascinating spell. In Shakespeare idiom it is “swallowed bait”. Every human being yearns for this bait. It is so fascinating. Unlike Freud, Carl Jung did not studied sex and sex related matters differently independent of human behavior but rather under the “shadow” archetype. There is no place for instincts as biological processes but he studied these as integral part of archetypes. The instinct of Freud is archetype of Carl Jung.
Our shadow is derived from not only this life but it derives its roots from our ancestral primitive animal life and even before that when our concerns were not limited to ego fulfillment but were survival and reproduction and when we were most spontaneous and natural like nature in our behaviors. We were only “child” than not man like modern man. Every child has this shadow archetype inherent in his psyche but he is not aware or self conscious of this. The child is “natural of the nature”. In infancy he has nothing to hide or conceal from human eye.
He is naked
like nature. He is not clothed like us. He accepts nature as it is not as it should be. He acts spontaneously and instinctively. He has accepting attitude .what when he grows or comes in direct contact with fellows his attitude becomes “rejecting and concealing” like ours. It is we people that impose “unnaturalness and fixations” on his innocent mind. He also starting developing a value pattern and life pattern imposed on his innocent psyche by “religious dogmatism” and “ethical impositions” the child does not know what is good or bad it is we people who impose fixations of goodness and badness on his innocent psyche. So the innocent child is shaped in to what we call adulthood. He also starts developing devil ness and evilness in his psyche. There is no devils, saitans outside of our psyche.
These are structural elements of our own psyche. The shadow is “garbage” unwanted dirty stuff of our house or our psyche. This shadow side of our personality is revealed to us in our dreams in images and symbols. Dreams are window to our unconscious. There is no way to know ourselves other than knowing and analyzing our dreams. Dreams broadcast telepathic messages of unconscious that we can listen if we know the technique how to listen them. The popular symbols of shadow are snake,(Eaden garden), phantoms, dragons, demons etc. in popular folklore and mythology it is represented s guarding the treasure house, the entrance to a cave or pool of water , a grand mahal, these are symbolic representations of the collective unconscious. The serpent guarding the buried treasure house is motif in all popular cultures
The shadow unravels the mysteries of naure.it is priori to understand the nature of man and his patterns of behaviors. We can not understand matter and universe unless we understand archetypes. Archetypes are road to our unconscious. The soul or unconscious can not be known be reading so called orthodox religious literature but by studying unconscious. We can mould our personality by knowing its dispositions and dominate archetypes. Archetypes are the models to shape and mould our personality.
Most of the diseases and mental disorders are psycho somatic in nature. There is no way to correct these disorders other than by making the unconscious seen by the patients. The so called anti depressant drugs and tranquilizers are no solution to the psychoses of psyche. These are only suppressive and repressing measures. These hard and sharp therapeutic measures only deaden our consciousness and add to our already existing “numbness” of mind. These are causing very damaging effect on the psyche of the human beings. Man is turning “wild beast” under cumulative effect of these suppressive medical measures.
