It is with great sadness that we report that our esteemed colleague and friend Anand Paranjpe has passed away on June 14, 2025.
Anand had been caring for his beloved wife Meena over the past year, and following Meena’s passing in April this year, Anand’s health began to decline. He is survived by his two sons, Prasad and Shri their wives and his 4 grandchildren.
Anand was Born on March 13, 1936, in Chiplun, Maharashtra, India and passed in New Westminster, BC, Canada at the age of 89.
As many of you know Anand was a long time member of the Western Canada Theoretical Psychology group (whom he often referred to as “the Mafia”) and published along side many of the founding members in the group’s regular publications.
Beyond that Anand also was an active in the Canadian Psychological Association’s sections on History and Philosophy as well as International and Cross-Cultural psychology, having served as section chair and invited speaker for these sections.
Internationally Anand was also active in the proceedings of the International Society for Theoretical psychology as well as the International Association of Cross Cultural Psychology.
Throughout his career, beginning with a PhD from the University of Puna in India, through his postdoctoral studies with a Fulbright and Smith-Mundt scholarship in 1965-66 at Harvard with Erik Erikson, Gordon Allport, Stanley Milgram, Cora DuBois and Robert White, Anand worked towards bridging of India’s scholarly traditions with the Western psychology and decolonization of psychology in India. He began his professional career in Canada in 1967 at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. For over three decades until his retirement in 2001, he mentored many undergraduate and graduate students, inspiring them to dig deeper into the conceptual foundations of psychology.
Anand was honoured by being Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Humanities – Simon Fraser University, and in his “retirement” he also became an Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Contemplative and Behavioural Sciences (Psychology), Sri Sri University, India and a National Visiting Professor for the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (2010-2011). Most notably, he also received the following honors and awards: Fellow, Canadian Psychological Association, Fellow, National Academy of Psychology (India, and Distinguished Psychologist, National Academy of Psychology (India) (2021).
His many books focused on self and identity theories arising from traditional Indian sources like the Upanishads and Vedas along with classics in Western philosophy and psychology. His rigorous scholarship is clear through his many publications and most clearly perhaps in his magnum opus of “Self and Identity in Modern Psychology and Indian Thought” (1998), which has become a staple in psychology curriculae in India. Since his “retirement” in 2001, Anand remained active in regular lecture tours in India and publishing right up until his 88th year. He always noted “I am retired, but not tired” and published his last book and an article in 2024, just a year before he passed away.
Notable among these are his Handbook of Indian Psychology – co edited with Rao and Dalal (2008), Yoga and Psychoanalysis (2022) and his last book, Understanding Yoga Psychology: Indigenous psychology with global perspective (2024). Also published in 2024, is his ‘autobiographical’ Challenges in the Pursuit of and Indigenous Psychology: A self-reflection, in the General Review of Psychology.
Anand was an excellent teacher and was deeply beloved by his many students. His courses on Self & Identity and History of Psychology were hugely popular as he inspired generations of psychologists to excellence. He was also well known as a great hallway conversationalist for philosophical discussions, great wit, and great sense of humor; and always full of life with laughter ringing through the halls of the classroom complex at Simon Fraser University.
Anand is also well known for his kind, and deeply caring nature – a Guru who mentored and nurtured all aspects of excellence in his graduate students and also a true sage advice on life. His passion and scholarship were accompanied by his pioneering promotion of Indian classical music in Vancouver, Canada where his legacy of bringing musicians of the highest calibre in the world to perform in his adopted hometown.
Anand had a stellar career and a fulfilling life. He will be missed by the scholarly community and all who got to know him.
Randal Tonks
Camosun College
Victoria, BC, Canada
Gira Bhatt
Kwatlen Polytechnic University
Surrey, BC, Canada