Does submission to a deity relieve depression? Illustrations from the book of Job and the Bhagavad Gita

Abstract

Two ancient texts feature a hero who does not submit completely to his deity. One, Arjuna, depicted in
the Bhagavad Gita, decided not to fight in defiance of his mentor and deity Krishna. The other, Job of
the Old Testament, complained bitterly that his god treated him unfairly. Both suffer affective
disturbance. Arjuna, dejected, displays a panic attack, Job shows severe depression. After each
interacts with his god and actually sees the divine form, each submits totally and then experiences
symptom relief. These old texts support the claim of some contemporary religious congregations that
submission to their respective gods relieves depression and anxiety to bring peace and joy. We pursue
two implications: (1) Might psychotherapy learn from this and explore secular equivalents of
submission to supernatural being(s)? (2) By what mechanism does submission to a god relieve
depression? We call on longstanding evolutionary theories to which we have contributed about the
relation of submission to depression. From this we tentatively conclude that whereas belief in a god
may alleviate existential anxiety about the meaning of life and what happens after death, submission to
such a supernatural figure is required for the relief of depressed mood.
Key words: Arjuna, Book of Job, Bhagavad Gita, depression, dejection, triune brain, submission, incomplete
submission, deities.