STRESS AND PHILOSOPHY: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

Consciously perceived stress increases if the conflicts in our mind increase. The conflicts increase if there are apparently contradictory sets of information bombarding us. Such conflicts cause confusion and chaos (and confused and chaotic behavior) in personal and public life.

We generally turn to philosophy when we are conscious and apprehensive about our stress. But often we come across contradictory statements and we get far more stressed than before!

Why does this happen? Are the philosophies and their study counterproductive? In fact many of us may arrive at such a conclusion and give up reading philosophy; altogether!

One of the aphorisms of various philosophies and spiritual observations; is that; happiness is within.

However; most of us find that pleasures or pains are actually outside; and hence the conflict and stress begins to build up!

Who can deny; that the pleasures of tasty delicacies, haunting music, artistic landscapes, changing skyscapes in the evenings, setting sun, twinkling stars, soul stirring moon, and such sources of romantic experiences are outside us?

The source of pleasure or pain due to the fulfillment or otherwise of bare minimum necessities; is also outside us. Thus supply or deprivation of food, water, shelter and health care; is outside us; and determines our happiness or sadness.

The success or failure of marriage, procreation and rearing of children; is outside us and causes pleasure or despair.

Availability or denial; of employment, business, income, profits, comforts, compliments etc also; is outside and results into our joy or frustration.

The fair or unfair policies for working in farms, factories, workshops and getting proper remuneration, production or price; are all outside us and contribute to our wellbeing or misery.

The good or bad conditions of roads, nature of traffic, status of transport such as buses and local trains; are all outside us and provide comfort or discomfort.

The time has to come to understand once and for all; that; needs, wants and ideas and source of happiness or sadness; vary. Thus for a baby suckling the breast milk, there is nothing like happiness or sadness being inside or outside. Same argument can be put in different situations, for different people and in different words!

The immortal and true happiness; a greatest ever aspiration and ultimate culmination of individual and global life; also; is inside as well as outside! The only fact is; this ultimate happiness is beyond the apparent and changing scenario.

Further; it is only the exceptions amongst us, who transcend the subjective barriers; through practice of NAMASMARAN; and realize this transtemporal bliss.

But they do not merely preach; “happiness is inside”; but inspire us to evolve holistic perspective, policies, plans and administration so that we all (the citizens of the world of all ages, all regions, all religions, all races and all socioeconomic conditions); get materially and spiritually i.e. holistically empowered to share their realization.

Hence; one can at the most say; that ‘the way to such eternal bliss’ is ‘from within’. But; preaching; “happiness is within”; is irrelevant, absurd and often callously hypocritical; just as it is irrelevant, absurd and callously hypocritical to deny a hungry new born a breastfeed; and preach it; to eat bread!

STRESS AND OUR EXISTENCE: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

One of the types of stress; is when we start aging and experience encounters with death; and witness the deaths of contemporaries, friends and/or family members. Through such experiences; one question that begins to create turmoil; is about our own existence! It is difficult to articulate this turmoil about our existence, but it shakes us from inside out.

Usually we try to avoid this turmoil because we find it impossible to get answers. In stead; we reassure, console and boost ourselves; with our physical attributes such as normal medical reports, our normal physical capacity, our power, endurance, flexibility, agility and our other support systems such as our children, family members, friends and possessions.

But somewhere deep inside; we keep getting the nagging, eroding and stressful hunch of our mortality; in spite our efforts to convince ourselves of our “immortality”.

We can try to overcome this stress; by understanding the meaning of existence; and our ‘experience’ of existence.

The meaning of the word existence is not simple. The existence of a pencil and that of fire is quite different. Similarly the existence of LASER rays, X rays, space, time, feelings, thoughts, consciousness, dreams; is very different from one another. The physical characteristics and laws governing the existence of these are different.

Through this understanding we begin to appreciate that ‘we’ i.e. our true self; is different from the ever changing and perishable and hence mortal body cells, tissues and our body. ‘We’ are beyond three dimensions, space and time. ‘We’ are immortal, omniscient and omnipotent as repeatedly reiterated in Bhagavad Gita.

Whether we are theists or atheists i.e. believers and nonbelievers; respectively; we have the opportunity and golden chance to appreciate and verify this; and try to conquer the stress of ‘ceasing to exist’, ‘dying’ or ‘losing our world’; through NAMASMARAN; as advised by the seers; for centuries!

STRESS EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYERS: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

Since the stress is ubiquitous; it is prevalent amongst the employers and employees also. Quite a lot has been written on the relationship between employers and the employees. But because; the solutions provided; have not been adequately holistic; have not proved effective; and the conflicts and the stress; have continued to plague us.

In today’s world; our relationships (employers and employees); are found to vary from company to mill, city to village, public sector to private sector, farm to quarry and from contract system to permanent employment. Our status as employers also has become quite heterogeneous and full of contradictions; in terms of priorities and interests. Often a particular policy benefits some sections of industries; while harms the interests of the other industries.

This is especially evident; where the financial benefits of exploitation of developing countries get passed on to the employees in affluent countries! There are contradictions amongst the employers and employees in different industries; such as weapons, service industries, alcohol, fruit juices, tobacco, health food products, drugs, fast (junk) foods, emergency medicines, cosmetics and edible oils; also.

This is a challenge of global stress management.

We all need inner growth and objectivity on the one hand and holistic perspective, pacts, policy, laws, rules, planning and programs; conducive to such inner growth; on the other. This can help some of us (leaders, establishment or employers) have to rise above pettiness; and some of us (the land-less laborers, child laborers) to rise above helplessness and apathy.

It is said that; this is possible; through; striving for the essence of classless society and the spiritual renaissance; which is holistic renaissance, through universal practice of NAMASMARAN (the indispensable light or oxygen). But intellectually we can only imagine this. For actual experience of healing ourselves and the ailing mankind; both materially and spiritually (Total Stress Management); we need to practice and promote NAMASMARAN.