Stress

       When confronted with challenges of life, or when under pressure to perform, we often tense our minds and bodies in an attempt to focus on our goal or objective. This intense condition creates mental, emotional and physical rigidity that causes us to be more receptive to the information and possibility that surround us. We become inflexible, unconscious to other people and their feelings, as well as our feelings. This tension not only dis-empowers us; it blocks our ability to perform at our higher mental and physical levels. This rigidity eliminates flexibility.   Increasing tension often leads to the opposite of relaxation, which is increased stress.

      Too much of stress leads to change in blood pressure increase in adrenalin, increase in glucocorticoids- all potential destructive harmones, increase in perspiration, heartbeat, etc.  One will loose his self-confidence. One in relaxed condition can maintain balance and manage stress. Stress should not lead to distress. Recent studies have shown that the damage inflicted on the body due to too much of stress is not just restricted only to ulcers and heart diseases, but also extends to the loss of immune function and memory. In the short term, stress is damaging, but over time it turns destructive- in the adrenal glands the cortex secretes cortisol which becomes toxic to brain cells, potentially damaging cognitive ability and increasing fatigue, anger and depression. The immune system gets weakened due to repeated suppression of disease-fighting cells, decreases in blood flow leave mucous lining vulnerable to ulcers and the elevated blood pressure and heart rate damage elasticity of blood vessels. The above stress syndrome is not exclusive to high-fly executives only; it is affecting young mothers and school going children as well. To control stress and avoid all its consequences, both yoga and meditation are superb proven remedies.    

   Our culture takes pride in science, being scientific. Our time is referred to as the scientific age.  It is dominated by rational thought, and scientific knowledge is often considered the only acceptable kind. That there can be intuitive knowledge or awareness, which is just as valid and reliable, is generally not recognized. This attitude, known as ‘scientism’, is widespread pervading our educational system and all other social and political institutions. ‘The emphasis on rational thought in our culture is epitomised in Descartes’s celebrated statement, “cogito, ergo sum”(“I think, therefore I exist”) which forcefully encourages western individuals to equate their identity with their rational mind rather than with their whole organism’.

    If scientists consider that the living systems are organized in such a way that they form multilevel structures, each level consisting of subsistence that are wholes in regard to their parts, and parts with respect to their larger wholes, the same is reiterated in Isavasya Upanishad [Mantra 1].

    Molecules combine to form organelles, which in turn combine to form cells. The cells form tissues and organs, which themselves form larger system like the digestive system or nervous system. These finally combine to form the living organism, the man or the woman, and the stratified order does not end there. People form families, tribes, societies, nations. All these entities –from molecules to human beings, and on to social system- can be regarded as wholes, in the sense of being integrated structures, and also as parts of larger wholes at higher level of complexity. In fact, we shall see that Parts and wholes in an absolute sense do not exist at all! Now, this can be, as well, understood as a myth! The concept of Maya also reiterates this. To confirm this doctrine, further, there is the virtual molecule theory. These virtual molecules are transitory, living for a short while on borrowed energy; they borrow energy and repay as debt and exit! In fact, the humans are virtual molecules at that! We exist on borrowed energy and exit as soon as the energy is wasted or depleted! How beautifully modern scientific theories are confirming the ‘Truth” experienced by the Seers and Sages is simply marvellous!

    Further, continuing the concept of the subsystem of the whole system (part of the whole), Arthur Koestler has coined the word ‘holons’ for the sub systems that are both wholes and parts, and he has emphasized that each ‘holon’ has the opposite tendencies; an integrative tendency to function as part of the larger whole and a self-assertive tendency to preserve its individual autonomy. In biological, or social system, each ‘holon’ must assert its individuality in order to maintain the system’s stratified order, but it must also submit to the demands of the whole in order to make the system viable. These two tendencies are opposite but complimentary.  In a healthy system - an individual, a society, or an ecosystem, there is balance between integration and self-assertion; this balance is not static but consists of dynamic interplay between two complimentary tendencies that make the whole ecosystem flexible, open to change.

   American Psychologist J.L.Holland has identified six types of personalities that are very useful here. 1.The conventional type consists of persons who are conforming, methodical, conscientious, and efficient- tending to be inhibited and not wanting to stand out from the crowd. These types of persons are ideally suited to jobs of receptionists, accountants, etc. 2.The second type is the social type, who like people and enjoy mixing with them. They make very good teachers, counsellors, therapists and management consultants. 3.The third type is the investigative type, are analytical, complex, curious, and precise. These are usually good researchers. 4. The fourth type is the artistic personalities deeply non-conformist, and original. 5.Then there is the fifth type, the realistic who are down-to-earth, natural and genuine; usually pilots and engineers belong to this type. 6. The sixth type is enterprising, very self-confident and out-going; they infuse confidence in others. All of us fall under one of these categories and more often than not a combination of these traits.

    Daniel Goleman recognized the qualities of emotion such as emotional intelligence, awareness of one’s own and other people’s feelings such as empathy, compassion, motivation, and the ability to respond to the pain or pleasure of others and put it in a measurable quotient called Emotional Quotient (EQ). His hypothesis is that for an effective use of IQ, EQ is necessary. “It is not IQ, but emotional intelligence that matters”, he said.  Carl Jung referred to the growth of personality as ‘individuation’ and associated this with the spiritual dimension of life. Danah Zohar concluded that ‘the spiritual intelligence is the basic foundation for an effective use of EQ and IQ’.  Hence a new quotient called the ‘Spiritual Quotient’ (SQ) has come to be known as a very important aspect of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ). In fact it is the foundation of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).

Stress and illness

  Stress is an imbalance of the organism in response to environmental influences. Temporary stress is an essential part of life. From the system point of view, the phenomenon of stress occurs when one or several variables of an organism are pushed to their extreme values, which induces increased rigidity through out the system. In a healthy organism, the other variables conspire to bring the whole system back into balance and restore its flexibility. Preparation to fight the threat appears in the form of tight throat, tense neck, shallow respiration, accelerated heart- beats, etc. and the organism will adopt a fight or flee response. The end of threat is perceived by a ‘sigh of relief’ and back to a state of relaxation.

   When the ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response is prolonged and the organism is unable to relax and regain control over the situation, the consequences are detrimental to health. Prolonged unabated stress generates physical and psychological symptoms like muscle tension, anxiety, indigestion, insomnia    will eventually lead to illness.  Inability to adjust to social rules and cultural habits leads to tension and stress; prolonged stress is at the root of the problem. Although the stress and the consequent ‘fight or flee’ method of facing the situation is common to all the animals, it is the human beings who have to cope with another set of problems originating in their culture.  A civilized human being cannot fight or runaway from the scene and his state of homeostasis is disturbed leading to prolonged stress and illness- physical or mental. People under prolonged stress develop suicidal tendency, peptic ulcer, cancer, cerebral haemorrhage, heart attack, diabetes and many other undiagnosed diseases. But the link between stress and illness is not yet well known, although it is well known that prolonged stress will suppress the body’s immune system and consequently, the body’s natural mechanism of self-defence against infection fails leading to illness.

    Illness will arise if five elements of life, the four activities and the environment are out of balance. When the ‘laws of comfort’ are violated, the body becomes fragile. Stress from outside,, injury, germs, viruses, fatigue or mental pressure results in inclination towards illness and diseases. It is also true that unless willfully submits, sub-consciously or unconsciously, to the weakness, no disease or illness will bother. It is willing submission and cooperation that leads to illness. A strong will power keeps illness at bay. A person who gets disease can also drive it away, is the principle here. The human body has an amazing capacity to cure itself; it has power of recuperation. As long as there is breath of life in the patient, there is a possibility of reversing the process of disease.

   Many expert psychologists reveal to us that inner conflicts, pent-up anger, hatred, jealousy, fear, tension, anxiety and other negative emotions can give us pain in the neck, ulcers in the stomach, sugar in the blood, diseases of the heart, and other various forms of ailments known as neuroses. They tell us how, through the sublimation of the emotions (by meditation), the neurotic trend can be altered and the outer life of a patient changed.

    The medical research is more preoccupied with microorganisms that cause disease rather than the social and cultural environment that harbor the disease. Stressful situations arise not only from personal emotional traumas, anxieties, frustrations, but also from hazardous environment created by economic and social environment. It is not necessary that the stress is induced by only negative experiences; even the joyous situations cause stress and illness. In modern life, we have hip-hopped both head-centred and heart-centred scripts. We spend most of our time of waking hours in judging others with the hidden question of “what is in it for me”. This is the problem! Selfless service and love cure all illness and diseases.

  It is here that the spiritual training of the individual becomes more important. Yoga and meditation can contribute to a great extent in developing a balanced personality, enhancing one’s emotional intelligence, and managing stress. ‘Yuj’ meaning unite, Yoga refers to the uniting with the all–pervading power as well as to an attainment of inner harmony between the mind, body, emotions and the spirit, and the outer balance between the social, material, career and family related aspects in the individual. Meditation is a process of attaining ‘thoughtless awareness’ and not just a mental process to develop concentration of Mind, as it is often believed to be.

   According to the Upanishads, “meditation is the route to the highest knowledge, the spiritual knowledge. When self-realization occurs, it is the integration of inner self with the cosmic Self”.

   There are Yogic exercises that help relax the muscles and keep the mind cool. Yoga and Ayurveda as a way of life assure a hundred years life of fulfillment and there are numerous living examples. Indian way of life is completely in tune with the Vedic utterances and Upanishadic guidelines. Patanjali, an exponent of the Yoga School has laid down different postures in Yogic exercises. These offer great relief to a strained body and mind. This is completely different from the Western way of life that is devoid of organic unity and systems approach to life.          

  If stress is to be managed, our intelligence is to be leveraged and additional personality traits are to be developed. It is not possible for every one to lead a stress-free life. Living is an art. Each individual is fully equipped with the intellect and is capable of handling the problems of life provided he avails of the facility of ‘buddhi’ and keeps his mind under the supervision of budhdhi. One need not retire to the forests in search of self-knowledge. Sahaja Yoga is one such system that leads to the path of Self Realization in a simple, practical, consistent manner without altering one’s style of living.

Suicide

   Suicide is forbidden in all religions. It is sin to commit suicide. Indian holy scriptures condemn suicide and warn that any person who commits suicide will repeatedly take birth and repeatedly end life abruptly without fulfilling the desires. The dissatisfied soul wanders in search of a host and it is not easy to get one. It is the desire of all parents to beget children who are happy and successful in life. There is also the belief that the soul of a person commiting suicide will never rest in peace. These are always in transit. Persons who are afraid of facing life will take to suicide. They forget that success or failure is not important in life; it is living that is important. The very meaning of life is struggling for survival. One has to live and struggle in life, realize the meaning of life and attain the goal. Evolutionary process must go on. It is the soul with blemishes (desires) that seek rebirth. The seeds of rebirth lie in the desire. To break the cycle of rebirth, the seed of desires should be burnt with Realization of the Self. One has to live a full life in order to attain this Self Realisation. Hence suicide is not the answer for the life’s problems. Self- Realisation is the answer. 

   The golden Rule of Mind Management Technique is that with maturity and experience in life, one must develop ‘vairagya’, the sense of detachment. The coconut is a good example. As the tender coconut becomes ripe, the inner copra separates from the outer shell.  Vichara, viveka, and vairagya are the three ‘V’s of Victory in this war against ignorance of life.  All relationships are governed by the principle of ‘maya’ and ‘Lord’s Grace’. Deriving happiness from wife or husband, brothers and sisters, children, and other relations and friends depends on ‘His Grace’. Love knows only sacrifice.

        Another important thing is that many parents do not realize that their children are not their children. They are only passing through their life through a medium and nothing more than that! Parents have their past and children have their future and the two will not stay together forever. This aspect needs a proper understanding and, that should lead to the sense of un-attachment (not total detachment like disownment); it is like the water drops on the leaves of the Lotus. This is the secret of happiness in life.

Death and Immortality

   “There is neither death nor birth, neither a bound nor a struggling soul, neither a seeker after liberation nor a liberated one. This is the ultimate Truth” [Amritabindu Upanishad, Sloka 10; Viveka Chuddamani  574].

    It is in Katha and Kena Upanishads that we come across Death and Immortality, respectively. Nachiketas was watching the Visvajit sacrifice performed by his father Vajasrava for heavenly rewards. At the end of the sacrifice, Vajasrava offered cows and other gifts to Brahmins. As a boy of tender age, Nachiketas was sceptic about these offerings, of these Cows that ceased to yield milk. He thought that the Visvajit Sacrifice (Yajnya) would not be complete without offering everything in his father’s possession including the son, me Nachiketas. He asked his father,‘to whom wilt thou give me?’ Vajasrava did not pay heed to his son. When Nachiketas went on asking him, he angrily said that he would give him to (Yama) Death. Nachiketas went to Yama, the God of Death to know what is Death. Yama refused to divulge the secret in the beginning; finally Yama conceded to reveal the truth due to Nachiketas’s shruddha, bhakti and other noble qualities.

   Yama said, “The wise, who by means of the highest meditation on the Self knows the Ancient One, difficult to perceive, seated in the innermost recess, hidden in the cave of the heart, dwelling in the depth of inner being, (he who knows that One) as God, is liberated from the fetters of joy and sorrow”[Kathopanishad :Verse XII].

    Yama went on to say that,” whoever knows the word ‘Aum’ as Akshara Brahman and meditates on ‘Aum’ would obtain whatever he desires because God is the fulfillment of all desires. This sacred word is the highest symbol of the Absolute. Further, ‘Aum’ is indeed the Supreme, the Self. This self is never born, nor does It die. It did not spring from anything, nor did anything spring from it. This Ancient One is unknown, unborn, eternal and everlasting. It is not slain even though the body is slain. Although this Atman dwells in the heart of every living being, ordinary mortals cannot perceive it because of its subtlety”.

 “He who is free from desire and free from grief, with mind and senses tranquil, beholds the glory of the Atman. Though sitting, It travels far; though lying, It goes everywhere. The wise who know the Self, bodiless, seated within perishable bodies, great and all-pervading, grieve not” [Kathopanishad II-20-2].

       “A wise man should control speech by mind, mind by intellect, intellect by the great Atman, and that by the Peaceful One, the Paramatman, the Supreme Self”. “ Knowing that which is soundless, touchless, formless, undecaying; also, odourless, tasteless, and eternal; beginningless, endless and immutable; beyond the unmanifested; knowing’ That’ man escapes from the mouth of death” [Katha Upanishad, III. 13 & 15].

      “He is the sun dwelling in the bright heaven; He is the air dwelling in space; He is the fire burning on the altar; He is the guest dwelling in the house; He dwells in man. He dwells in those greater than man. He dwells in sacrifice. He dwells in the ether. He is all that is born in water, mountains, earth and sacrifice. He is True and the Great. He it is who sends the incoming life-breat, Prana upward and throws the out-going breath downward. Him all the senses worship, the adorable Atman, seated in the center, the heart. When this Atman, which is seated in the heart goes out from the body what remains then? This verily is ‘That’. No mortal lives by the in-coming breath, Prana or by the out-going breath Apana, but he lives by another on which these two depend. As the intelligent man realizes the splendour of this Supreme Spirit, he becomes free from that part of his nature that grieves and suffers, and thus he attains liberation”[Katha Upanishad, V 1-5].  

        Yama relates another important secret about’ what happens to Self after death’, to Nachiketas. He says:

        “Some Jeevas enter wombs to be embodied; others go into immovable forms, according to their deeds and knowledge. Thw Being who remains awake while all sleep, who grants all desires, That is pure, That is Brahman. That alone is said to be immortal. On That all the world rests. None goes beyond That. This verily is That” [Katha Upanishad V 7-8]. “ Immortality is attained when man transcends his apparent nature and finds that subtle, eternal and inexhaustible essence which is within him” [Kena Upanishad I- 2].

        Thus, at great length, Katha and Kena Upanishads describe the essentials of existence and show the path to immortality. In the real sense, there is nothing that is perishable or imperishable for everything is illusion. That unicellular amoeba which made its first appearance has multiplied itslef into innumerable self and the result is the vast multitude of living creatures of different names, forms and functions. If that is not immortal, what else is immortal? Our parents live in us and we live in our children; then where is the question of death? It is the illusory body that perished under His will. Ultimately everything is gobbled up by Him.Everything is wasting and waning over time and we do not realise this Truth due to our ignorance.            

          Death is an illusion; so also is birth. Since the whole life is a drama, leela of the Lord, where is birth and death? It is He who enters in and out of bodies at His will. This transmigration of souls is the eternal game played by Him, the Supreme Spirit, Brahman. It has already been pointed out that it is He, the Brahman, who willed it. He created the cow and He himself became the bull; for all practical purposes, there is neither the cow nor the bull. It is a make-believe, magic of the Lord. He pervades the whole macrocosm and every atom of the microcosm; He is the One and only; He is the both. So death is a matter of transition from one state to the other. It is transmigration, transformation. The physical law is ‘nothing is lost when a candle is burnt’. So, also nothing is lost or gained when a soul discards the unwanted body and enters another. It is His will!

       Often we hear that such and such a person is no more. Sometimes we say, in fact, that person was with me till late in the night yesterday, and he is no more in the morning. Such news come as rude shock, a surprise. It never occurs to us that it is all His leela. Still we laugh over birth and cry over death! Even after people die their memories live. Even after people physically die, their genes are already transmitted and thus they live in some other name and form! So, virtually none dies and nothing lies after death since death is an illusion for a Jnyani and, an apparent reality for an ignorant person. Hence, the Rule of MMT here is “Fear not Death! Face it Boldly. You have conquered the world”.

        Death is for celebration. It is an auspicious thing to celebrate death. That is the reason why ‘Vaikunt’ is celebrated as a grand feast in the memory of the departed soul on the thirteenth day of death. What happens after deayh is another interesting story. The physical body, made of the elements disintegrate and merge into their original state. The hair becomes the root of plants; the flesh and bones merge into water and earth. Thus, unto dust goes the body that was shaped out of the elements! 

  The departed soul finds its own level of existence in the macrocosm according to its purity (atomic weight?). Purer the soul, devoid of desires, tamasic, and rajasic gunas and, full of sattvic guna, the soul rises higher and higher into the sky. It may cross the lower levels of Pitru Lok, Deva Lok, Svarga Lok and reach Nakshatra Lok or Brahma Lok. Whatever might be! But, it is a fact that all departed souls from this Mrutyu Lok will find their own levels in the sky, the cosmic world. Some dissatisfied souls or unfulfilled souls remain nearer their homes or even within their homes till theie their desires are fulfilled. Some souls might be revengeful and some benevolent; and that depends on the ‘fear complex’ or ‘guilt complex’ of the living, more than the dead. Some souls wander in search of a suitable body to fulfil their unfulfilled desires. Ultimately, it is the unfulfilled desires that make the soul go round and round. A fully satisfied soul takes refuge in the Lord, the Supreme Consciousness (Brahman) and remains there forever.

    Desire is Brahman and desire is the cause of birth. It is the sweet will and wish of the Soul to take birth after birth, unless it is tired of it and finally decides to call it off. This is liberation of the soul; this is mukti to the departed soul. Some departed soul may be hankering for love and respect from their children; others may be waiting for the fulfillment of some of the unfulfilled desires.  Hence, it is the duty of every human being to satisfy the departed souls by just remembrance with Shruddha and Bhakti, whoever it might be. The modern day busy life may not permit elaborate functions to celebrate anniversaries; at least, a well-disposed mind and an act of self-less service will do to propitiate the departed souls. A glass of milk and a fruit will be enough to satisfy the departed souls. They always shower their blessings on their wellwishers. This knowledge is beyond all reason and science; it belongs to the spirit. Rituals or no rituals, the souls sustain on their own, i.e., desire.

        This holistic approach is important. Devoid of this sense of participation in the ecosystem, the individual and the community try to exploit the natural resources beyond their capacity to restore themselves. Thus sustainable development is not possible, particularly in an over-populated, under- developed, poverty-stricken economy.