From time immemorial; life is inseparably associated with stress and therefore stress management. Various philosophies, ideologies, religions, traditions, customs, conventions; and in short; different ways of life actually constitute the process of traditional stress management.

In India (Bharat) the traditional path of progress (blossoming), which embodies the ancient wisdom manifesting in different semantics according to varying periods and socioeconomic situations; keeps us going in traditional stress management. This path identifies the four progressive stages in traditional stress management.

These four stages of our traditional stress management take us to the perfection, self realization, objective existence, eternal truth, sacchidananda, ishwar, paramatma or parmaeshwar.

Traditionally these stages are identified as baddha, mumukshu, sadhak and Siddha.

Baddha means completely oblivious to one�s true self and totally lost in one�s subjective or petty self. One can say, totally individualistic.

Mumukshu means one who gets ambiguous but haunting �wake up� calls promptings from the core of his or her heart. The restlessness begins. The search of the �self� though, without direction or clarity begins. There doubts, distractions, disturbances and frantic activity like that of a person who just begun to learn swimming.

Sadhak stage begins when the mumukshu gets the guidance and direction for the search. The efforts get rectified and refined. The pace, the swiftness and the momentum increase. The progress however is full of subtle, conflicting, confusing, harrowing, dreadful spells of ordeals in physical, instinctual, emotional and intellectual realms of an individual. These are often destabilizing, uprooting and violent in nature. These are essentially the ordeals which destroy all kind of subjective frameworks of an individual and bring him closer to objective state of existence.

Siddha is a stage; marked by the final and extremely subtle processes of dissolution of subjective or individual self into cosmic self. The struggles in this stage are often beyond the comprehension through language of digits and letters. These stages are beyond the comprehension of different levels of individual consciousness and also beyond three dimensions.

When we are in the first three stages of traditional stress management; we are tender and delicate within. We are amenable, accessible, vulnerable and susceptible to damaging and harmful influences and inflictions coming from within us; and from the people trapped in various phases of the stage of baddha, which manifest in many ways. But; possibly the most dangerous manifestations are the powerful inflictions or onslaughts of skepticism, cynicism and sarcasm. These manifestations of the baddha individuals are stupefying, disorienting, distracting, distorting, dragging and devastating in nature. The baddha individuals knowingly or unknowingly manifest these and energize, expedite, facilitate the process of dementia, amnesia i.e. loss of memory of our self or our soul consciousness; and suck us in the hell of VINASHA!

The meaning of VINASHA i.e. ghastly total destruction; can be compared to the fire setting is due to short circuiting. According to Geeta, Dnyaneshvari and Dasbodh; and in my experience also; VINASHA is obliviousness or forgetfulness of God i.e. our true self.

Hence it is said; �To prevent VINASHA; avoid the company of those, who forget, deny or denounce God i.e. self; and/or malign their motherland, guru, mother and father! Such avoidance; whether physical, mental or intellectual; is possible; only through the unshakable and steadfast persistence in the practice of NAMASMARAN.

Is it not possible to successfully tread through the four progressive stages of traditional stress management and prevent VINASHA in some other simpler ways and/or through some short cuts? In my experience; NO! It is not possible in any way other than NAMASMARAN!

It is often said that practice is more important than preaching and promotion. This is true with respect to gross self deception by those who intentionally and deliberately preach and promote with ulterior motive; some thing for petty gains and practice something else also for petty gains such as money, power and adulations at the cost of others.

But if we go to the essence of the words practice and preaching, then it would be evident that as we live every day life (practice) we invariably share at least some of the impressions, understanding and experiences with others (preaching and promotion)!

Actually we are born with the dream of global welfare. But we rarely identify it. If and when we identify it, then we get charged and possessed by it and begin to pursue it, according to our predisposition and capability. Thus some of us get satisfied with ad hoc (incomplete, superficial and symptomatic) solutions; and enter political, social, commercial, artistic, academic, industrial, agricultural, philanthropic careers.

Some of us however are not satisfied with ad hoc solutions and try to go to the root of the problems so as to realize the dream of universal welfare. Many of them get lost into the fleeting ideologies, unrealistic concepts and self deception. Many others come to terms with the deception and in turn; deceive people under the guise of political revolution, spiritual renaissance, sat yug and so on!

Some of them however, try to go to the roots of the problems for realizing the dream of global unity and harmony; with holistic perspective. After extensive study and experiments spreading over life time; they almost reach holistic solutions in terms of universal perspective, policies, plans and actions, which differ in terms of details; but not in essence.

The most important common factor amongst them is the tangible perception and experience of universal unity and harmony.

They know that while they are practicing NAMASMARAN; the whole universe is actually going through the process of self realization, unity, harmony and justice; along with them. This experience is so ecstatic; that they cannot resist themselves from preaching and promoting NAMASMARAN in every possible way; as a matter of greatest privilege, golden opportunity and of top most priority.

The degree of accuracy and appropriateness of constitution, laws, rules, other manners of government regulations; regarding the taxes and the manner of expenditure of the taxes collected; decide the extent to which they convince the conscience of people, and their acceptability. This in turn decides the extent of public compliance with the constitution, laws, rules and other ways of government regulations regarding the taxation.

One of the major causes of black money is the bitterness amongst majority of the people that they are being deceived by the unjustified and coercive taxation. Naturally this is followed by manipulations to hide money and evade tax. Private entrepreneurs can often escape from the agony of having to pay (unjustified and coercive?) taxation, where as government servants cannot escape from (unjustified and coercive?) taxation on their regular legitimate income and hence try to earn money by illicit means and hide it.

The tax evasion also takes place due to lack of faith in the way the tax money is �used� by the government.

The ministers, bureaucracy (government agencies) involved in tax collection and police are part of the people and hence can not be expected to have a perception and behavior different from that of the majority of the people.

In such a situation; money earned by cheating, misguiding, swindling, stealing, exploiting, robbing and most importantly through making and twisting laws to suit the vested interests; is really the darkest money! In fact; the tax money laundered ni several government projects and programs (on which tax is evaded) the darkest money!

Besides these two points one point is important.

We the people (from top to bottom) whether in government or in free enterprises; are governed by individualistic and petty ideas. Hence we revere superficiality, glamour, and glitter and material success achieved by any means.

Naturally we get leaders and rulers who thrive on darkest money, supported by black money and not those who can have moral and spiritual sway; without money! We have no interest in having such leaders either. Till such time that we have this mindset; no political parties can not come to power and remain in power without money! Naturally; we can not expect; neither the (desperately and helplessly gathered) black money; but most importantly the darkest money refereed to above; to disappear.

But even amidst all this; NAMASMARAN practiced through centuries; has begun to get expressed in holistic perspective, policies, plans and programs; world over. The universal conscience has begun to arouse and the process of individual and universal blossoming has taken momentum! This sway of NAMASMARAN is bound to purge and cleanse the world of all darkness!

Hence this is the most opportune time to practice, teach, preach, sponsor and do whatever we can; to promote NAMASMARAN and consolidation, and implementation of holistic perspective, policies, plans and programs; so that the governance of pettiness, superficiality, individualism, selfishness and all kind of deception including the black money and �darkest money�; be destroyed!

The activities in body cells, various exocrine glands and endocrine glands go one and contribute to peculiar activities in nervous system. These contribute to our body consciousness, pains and pleasures. These pains and pleasures in turn lead to desires, ambitions, hopes and despair of pride.

The culmination of these however eludes most of us. Hence we remain discontent and disturbed irrespective of failures and successes.

The body however undergoes aging in the course of time and our restlessness and anxiety begin to deepen in view of impending end of our bodies.

This is the reason the saints have repeatedly preached to begin the activity of self realization in the form of NAMASMARAN right from childhood; irrespective of whether one understands the essence of it or not.

NAMASMARAN has been emphasized because most of the other supportive activities conducive to self realization; e.g. exercise, diet, social norms, career building, etiquettes, manners, customs, traditions, conventions, rituals, festivals, hobbies, art, entertainment; are generally followed without much resistance and without much reluctance! But all these in absence of NAMASMARAN; prove elusive and illusive.

In fact it happens so; that NAMASMARAN, and the sublime consciousness of global unity and simultaneous blossoming of one and all (BHAKTI); become obscure; and we start expecting some kind of �gain� from NAMASMARAN.

Any kind of so called �gains� and activities related to them are worth when they culminate in NAMASMARAN and BHAKTI. NAMASMARAN and the BHAKTI associated with it are thus the culmination of life and not the means for any gains!

Hence someone has said that he is ever grateful, humbled and prostrated in front of; and adores; all those who practice and promote NAMASMARAN.

Any and every obstacle that obstructs the respiratory passage can cause strangling, breathlessness, suffocation, asphyxia and death; if not promptly and skillfully removed.

This is very true for the holidays in India.

The holidays in India are like respiratory obstructions, which are further complicated by natural calamities, accidents, strikes, demonstrations, riots and unaccountability in the elected bodies and the bureaucracy.

Most interesting and of course nationally distressing issue is that; all such �obstructions� suffocating all Indians; are at the cost of honest tax payers and national progress or rather very existence of the nation.

Why don�t we learn to enjoy holidays at our own cost; i.e. by taking �without pay leaves�? Why should we not; irrespective of our caste, religion, region, culture and so on; �enjoy our duties� rather than getting addicted to �irresponsibly and shamelessly enjoying� holidays at the cost of others?
Most of us would agree to this in principle; but probably would argue that unsafe and hectic commuting, excessive traveling time, exhausting exertion, disturbing working conditions and disheartening and discouraging unfairness in bureaucracy in terms of lack of accountability and incentives; destroy all the initiative and enthusiasm to be fair and sincere.

This vicious cycle of our system (in several aspects; besides those which are stated above) promoting individual deterioration and vice versa; leading to individual and national downfall; can be broken by universal practice of NAMASMARAN and not merely by other efforts (even though appreciable and admirable) such as those of several activists fighting corruption; such as Baba Ramdev and others.

Through NAMASMARAN we can learn to �enjoy our duties�, overcome �addiction of irresponsibly, shamelessly and destructively enjoying� holidays at the cost of national progress; and enjoy holidays more creatively and constructively at our own cost; i.e. �without pay�!

This hypothesis can�t probably be verified convincingly enough and tangibly enough; by just casual and occasional practice of NAMASMARAN by few amongst us. We need to popularize and globalize on priority basis the understanding and practice of NAMASMARAN.

NAMASMARAN embodies individual and global blossoming.

NAMASMARAN embodies conquest of inner and outer evils.