Friday, July 30, 2010

anxiety the killer

चिता चिन्ता तयोर्मद्ध्ये चिन्तानाम गरीयसी।
चिता दहति निर्जीवं चिन्ता प्राणयुतां वपुः॥
citā cintā tayormaddhye cintānāma garīyasī|
citaa dahati nirjīvaṁ cintā prāṇayutāṁ vapuḥ||

सुभाषितं
subhāṣitaṁ

When compared to the funeral pyre, nagging anxiety is a more potent means of burning.   A dead human body alone is burned to ashes at the funeral, but when a living human being is tormented by sad and depressing thoughts, his living body itself is getting burnt, perhaps in a slow but effective way.

When I came across this sloka of ancient wisdom, though very simple but precise, I was awed at the insights our forefathers have gained in human psychology millennia ago.
 The slogan of " healthy body can only exist with a healthy mind" was dished out by modern pep writers and psychologists of western breed only in the last century or at best by some in the earlier century.
 But Indian thought always underlined the effect of anxiety in the holistic health of a human being.  We can see the thoughts reflected in may ancient writings.. In Ramayana the thoughts of separation from Rama could be seen as the cause of death of his father Dasaratha. The same thought is reflected in Jayadeva's astapadi,  when the bard sings about Radaha' plight at the separation with Madhava... Saa virahe tava diinaa,  madhava manasija visikhabhayadiva bhavanaya twayi leena....that Radha is sick just because of the thought of separation from you..  the pathos of Radha's separaation from Krishna can be read in all its vividity in this legend of love everywhere. One can also  read about the excessive jubliliation of Radha and Hari when they are united ultimately.  The yoga aphorisms of Patanjali starts with the admonition to chaannelise the activities of the mind... yogah chithavrittinirodhah.. because the master knew well than anything worthwhile can be performed by this human body only if it divested of anxious thoughts.  It is an acknowledged fact that the whole world is now unanimous in the view that the regulation of anxiety and stress through the oriental prescriptions of yoga and meditation alone can sustain the human race in a healthy shape.


ചിതാ ചിന്താ തയോര്‍മധ്യേ ചിന്താനാമ ഗരീയസി
ചിതാ ദഹതി നിര്ജ്ജീവം ചിന്താ പ്രാണയുതം വപു:
(സുഭാഷിതം  സമയോചിതപദ്യമാലിക)


ചിതയ്ക്കും  ആകുലചിന്തകള്‍ക്കും ഇടയില്‍ താരതമ്യം ചെയ്‌താല്‍ ചിന്തയാണ് കൂടുതല്‍ അപകടകാരി എന്ന് മനസ്സിലാവും .  ചിതയില്‍  വെന്ത്പോകുന്നത ജീവനില്ലാത്ത ശരീരം മാത്രമാണ്. പക്ഷെ  ദുഃഖവും ഉല്‍കണ്ഠയും തരുന്ന ചിന്തകള്‍ മനുഷ്യനെ ജീവിച്ചിരിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ തന്നെ നിരന്തരം ചുട്ടു ചാമ്പലാക്കിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു


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