Criminal behavior – Ayurvedic perspective

Abstract

Crime is an intentional commission of an act usually deemed socially harmful or  dangerous and specifically defined, prohibited, and punishable under criminal law.  It is unquestionably one of the prevailing and worrying aspect in most of the  societies. Criminal behaviour is often a difficult topic to discuss, as there are different  variables that must be taken into account in order to truly define and obtain a  thorough understanding of the concept. It is often a matter of debate whether the  criminals are born bad or made bad. The born traits alone do not inevitably lead to  crime and the circumstances do not make criminals of everyone; but together they  create a population responsible for a large fraction of crimes. The intentions and  attitude of indulging into criminal behaviour is dominated by the personality,  attitude, physiology, learning, motivation, thinking and other cognitive factors. In,  Ayurveda the criminality can be explained under the concept of Prajnaparadha. In  Prajnaparadha we do things without discriminating as to whether an action is  favourable or harmful. Ayurveda have directly and indirectly discussed the concepts  of criminal behaviour in various contexts like Anna Raksha Adhyaya, Dashavidha  Papa karma etc. Hints about the evolutionary aspects of deviant behaviors are  discussed in the context where Charaka discusses 3 types of Satvas – Deva,  Manusha and Pashu. The born behavioral patterns are further explained in the  context where Saatvikadi prakrithi is explained. Chandogyopanishad and Bhagavath  Geetha also provides references regarding the role of Ahara and the behavioral  patterns. Ayurveda also explains the psychopathological causation of crime under the  context of Unmada. Ayurveda offers a number of practical and powerfully effective  tools for balancing common disturbances of the mental and emotional realm. 

This paper makes a humble effort to discuss the different aspects of criminal  behavior, the primary, secondary and tertiary preventive strategies and rehabilitation  along with the parallel concepts in Ayurveda.