STRESS AND PROPAGANDA: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

There are many causes of STRESS. But in party politics, power games, entertainment, showbiz, performing arts, commercial art, writing, publishing, advertising, marketing and such businesses; the major cause of STRESS; is the insatiable and unending craze of propaganda (due to the dread of being ignored, neglected and dejected).

Even the �erudite, wise and spiritual� people amongst us; have fallen prey to propaganda and feel terribly handicapped, and at a major loss; in absence of propaganda!

Being cut off from our own selves and from the innate core of others; has made us caricatures of our selves. We have become unsatisfied and diffident about our convictions. Hence; if we get material success; then we become delirious and arrogant; and if we fail, then we become fragile and frustrated. But in both cases we are weak and starved of devoid of inner fulfillment. We are dependent on the crutches of propaganda for our survival!

Thus instead of capturing the excellence in our fields; we have become slaves and prisoners of bombastic banners, hollow hoardings, pitiable placards, preposterous posters, scandalous slogans and the deluge of cheap advertisements in print and electronic media and bloat with unfathomable pride and arrogance!

In short; the propaganda per se; is not bad. But the slavery of propaganda in preference to or at the cost of pursuit of excellence has definitely given rise to stress in all the walks of life.

In turn; the cancerous growth of this unproductive business of propaganda; that represents few elites in the society is flourishing at the cost of productive majority.

Such other businesses include commission agents, bureaucracy etc; and are pivotal in causing/precipitating the global growth of mercenary tendencies on the one hand; and dwindling buying capacity in the productive masses on the other; leading to global recession!

We have to understand that addiction of propaganda is as bad as any other addiction if not worse and not only does it handicap us; but it degenerates and perverts us! This addiction is like accepting the mastery of our own caricature or our shadow and meekly following it!

We still have a chance and a choice; to either become slaves of the propaganda; and spread our STRESS; or become free from such slavery and STRESS; through the pursuit of excellence in fields; by way of study and practice of holistic perspective, thinking, motivation and actions. This is Total Stress Management (the core of which is NAMASMARAN).