STRESS AND THE CALL OF GURU: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

When we are in unbearable stress and nothing appears to provide solace, when life appears to have gone in vein; and when past, present and future appear to be null and void; we tend to start “sinking”! Our life begins to appear to be a tragic story of deception and defeat! We seem to be miserable total losers, helpless and desperate for help.

Everything in our body, mind and in the world; appears to be going away, without ‘giving anything’. It appears to be totally dissociated from us; or in fact rejecting us. There is total isolation.

This condition; when nothing and nobody appear to provide urgently needed life line; is shattering, uprooting and devastating!

In such a dark and hopeless state of void; when we are gasping for life; we ‘experience’ a loving and assuring call from our innate core; which is enthralling and encompassing everything conceivable by our consciousness.

“Come on! My dear, I am your destination and destiny! I am your culmination! The millennia of your subjectivity are mere contingent in my omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent absolute consciousness. I am your true self! ”

This call fills our existence inside and out. It instantly connects us with everything hitherto “lost”! It transforms us from isolated drop to the entire ocean. It is enlivening and recharging; every molecule of body and in fact the whole being! It is distinct and unforgettable! It is haunting from within and without!

It is said that practice of NAMASMARAN enables us to listen to such a call of guru; and conversely, such a call of guru reinforces our motivation and interest in NAMASMARAN. We get empowered to proceed with NAMASMARAN far more buoyantly and help ourselves and the billions; simultaneously; to rejuvenate and blossom!

TOTAL STRESS MANAGEMENT AND TIME: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

As we study stress; and Total Stress Management; the ‘stress of the passage of time’; strikes our attention! This stress may not be easily noticed as it is a bit subtle.

But the painful and stressful feelings of nostalgia; are often soul stirring and the subject of art and literature. Can we bring back the golden moments shared with our brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents? Can we bring back the childhood friends, adolescent love and more mature romance?

Don’t we have this agonizing experience of loss of time; and our inability and helplessness to resist its passage? Don’t we get emotional; while going down the memory lane?

The concept of time is an enigma; a mystery; in several ways. A continuous process; of changes in the world and in one’s body; stimulate the human brain. According to the stimulation of various receptors in different tissues of the body there are modifications in neuro-humoral secretions, metabolism, and consciousness associated with them!

As a result; we experience things and events. Further; they last “long” or “short” and become unbearable or absorbing! But they are always fleeting! Time is thus a passing, fleeting or relative reality.

We can verify; if; through NAMASMARAN (the core of Total Stress Management); we can go beyond this subjective individual consciousness (ego) and the “stressful helplessness” of playing in the hands of (what we call) “time”! We can also verify if we can go beyond the three dimensions and “time”; and if this engenders; pleasant transformation in us and the universe; called God’s plan or spiritual renaissance.

STRESS, CULTURE AND LANGUAGE: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

Stress begins with conception and is conscious, subconscious and unconscious. But the prevalent manifestations of stress; in individual and global life; originate from our ignorance of ‘true self’.

This gives rise to ‘petty identity of self’ and petty perspective of universe! As a result; thinking is founded on wrong assumptions, prejudices and premises. Such thinking is not holistic. It is sectarian, fragmented and full of conflicts, stress and ill effects in individual and global life.

Since one of the functions of intellect; in association with feelings and passions; is language; the language of a person and a social group reflects the conflicts and stress in that individual; and social group.

We can find many examples of the “linguistic symptoms”; of stress in the languages of individuals, groups and cultures.

Thus cow is referred to as Gomata; i.e. mother cow; expressing love, care, respect, appreciation; in societies where the Total Stress Management (the core of which is NAMASMARAN); is traditionally practiced. Others; look down (knowingly or unknowingly) upon cow; as an eatable product and call it; beef!

The rivers are revered as mothers, who feed their babies, in societies where the Total stress Management; is traditionally in vogue for millennia. The rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna, and Narmada are referred to as Maiyya (beloved mother). Others; treat the rivers; as mere sources of water, with some physical characteristics, area and at the most; scenic beauty.

The societies, where the Total Stress Management is ingrained in customs; call the plants; such as Tulasi (holy basil i.e. ocimum sanctum); ‘Goddess Tulasi’ and worship them. Where as the societies lacking this perspective; treat them as mere living elements; lower down the scale of evolution; with some medicinal or other properties.

The earth is called Bhoodevi (Goddess earth) and Bhoomata (mother earth) in such cultures with holistic perspective inherent to Total Stress Management. Earth is treated as a physical nonliving phenomenon and simply called earth; by those who are oblivious to such concepts.

We can quote many examples.

By Total Stress Management, the perspective becomes holistic and is characterized (apart from many other things); by holistic perspective and language. Hence the myriads of forms in the universe are treated and gratefully revered as deities or incarnations of the ultimate and absolute truth, the true self of an individual. That is how there are prayers for earth, sun, rain, ocean, wind and water apart from other elements.

We find words with subtle, deep and profound meanings such as NAMASMARAN, SWADHARMA, dhyana, guru, guru-tatva, shraddha, prayashchitta; and karma, krama, raja, bhakti, jnana, laya hatha and other varieties of yoga and the aphorisms such as ATMANO MOKSHARTHAM JAGAT HITAYA CHA (for one’s liberation along with simultaneous emancipation of the universe).

This richness and profundity of attitude and language show the holistic health of the society and the culture.

In absence of Total Stress Management (the core of which is NAMASMARAN); the stress remains mismanaged and causes suffering (sin)! It gets reflected; apart from other aspects of behavior; in the language.

In Sanskrit it said:

PAPENAIVA NRUNAM VAANI BHAVET KATUKA BHASHINI
DAINYA MATSARYA PARAMA SHUBHA ASHUBHA VIVARJITA

This means;
Language; of a person, who has sin (pettiness, jealousy and meekness) in his heart i.e. who lacks holistic perspective of individual and global blossoming; is sharp, biting, burning, scalding, and unconcerned and un-bothered about anyone’s true welfare!

LEARNING FROM MAHATMA: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

It is said that Mahatma Gandhi preached that you don’t see, hear or speak ill about any one.

I have given some explanation about this in my book “Stress: Understanding and Management”.

But more recently I have begun to realize that the essence of this preaching is;

When we start “seeing” the common root of the apparent universe, through the practice of NAMASMARAN; we begin to realize that all of us are actually driven by the same root cause; (MAHAKARAN).

This perception leads to following conclusions.

Whatever and whomever; we see, hear or speak about; is a reflection of the same common source as ours. We are equally responsible for what we see, hear or speak about.

So; we begin to introspect and stop getting agitated by the apparent chaos and disturbances and stop acting violently (seeing bad, hearing bad and speaking badly about) or feeling helpless.

We realize that the radical solution to the problem is intensifying our NAMASMARAN so that you we merge with the MAHAKARAN and cast constructive influence effectively; on the apparent disturbances and chaos inside and outside!

It is well known that Mahatma Gandhi (and Acharya Vinoba Bhave also) had a very strong conviction about the paramount importance of NAMASMARAN in life and practiced NAMASMARAN with topmost priority. We have a golden opportunity to verify this conviction.

1.What are Anxiety Disorders?

In our day-to-day life we undergo many stresses at the physical as well as at the mental level-knowingly or unknowingly. Some of the effects we recognize while most of them we do not.

Anxiety as an effect of stress, it is one of the common experiences of mankind. Every one of us experiences anxiety at one or other time in our life.
But the intensity of the feeling varies from person to person, from event to event. Anxiety is supposed to be the basic of the all emotions.

Feeling anxious sometimes is supposed to be a good thing as it helps by motivating you to prepare for a big test or by keeping you on your toes in potentially dangerous situations.

Anxiety that comes in few occasions is not something to be concerned about. But for some people, anxiety is a constant threatening factor in their lives. When it started interfering in some ones day to day functions person suffers from the disadvantage of it, when it exceeds a limit; it is called as an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders can cause person to suffer from intense, long-lasting fear or worry, in addition to other symptoms.

2.Anxiety as Clinical Syndrome:

In clinical practice, anxiety is one of the most prevalent causes of health care provider visits. Anxiety occurs when individuals perceive threats to biologic or ego (psychological) integrity. Some measure of anxiety can be expected as a temporary response to stress, such as when a patient waits for medical test results; but when anxiety becomes so severe that it interferes with one's ability to function in daily life or is inappropriately triggered, it is considered pathologic and warrants treatment. It is unattached to a clearly identifiable stimulus, unlike an adjustment disorder with stress. It is an alarm that signals impending danger and warns us to prepare for action. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of several anxiety disorders that include agoraphobia other specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic Stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

3.Types of anxiety disorders.

A chronically recurring case of anxiety that has a serious effect on a person’s life may be clinically diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. The most common are:

1. Generalized anxiety disorder.
2. Panic attacks or disorder.
3. Social anxiety disorder.
4. Phobias.
5. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCT).
6. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

4. What Are the Symptoms Anxiety Disorders?

Each Type of Anxiety disorder has its own set of clinical presentation:

1. Generalized anxiety disorder: is characterized by at least 6 months of persistent and excessive, exaggerated anxiety and worry about everyday life events with no obvious reasons for worry.

2. Panic disorder: Panic disorder without agoraphobia is characterized by recurrent unexpected panic attacks about which there is a persistent concern. Panic disorder with agoraphobia is characterized by both recurrent unexpected panic attacks and agoraphobia.

3. Social anxiety disorder: is characterized by clinically significant anxiety provoked by exposure to certain types of social or performance situations, often leading to avoidance behavior.

4. Phobias: is characterized by clinically significant anxiety provoked by exposure to a specific feared object or situation, often leading to avoidance behavior.

5. Obsessive-compulsive disorder: is characterized by obsessions (which cause marked anxiety or distress) and/ or by compulsions (which serve to neutralize anxiety).

6. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): is characterized by the experiencing of an extremely traumatic event accompanied by symptoms of increased arousal and by avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma.

5. Various shades of Anxiety Symptoms in General:

Anxiety presents in multiple domains with insomnia and somatic concerns as the most frequently reported symptoms. Common physical symptoms include increased heart rate, chest pain, palpitations, dyspnoea, and diaphoresis.
Psychological arousal: This may be evident as irritability, poor concentration and sensitivity to noise.
Autonomic over activity: This is experienced most often as sweating, palpitation, dry mouth, epigastria discomfort and dizziness.
Muscle tension: This may be experienced as restlessness, trembling, inability to relax, headache and aching in the shoulders and back.
Hyperventilation: This may lead to dizziness, tingling in the extremities and paradoxically, a feeling of shortness of breath.
Sleep disturbances Other features: Depression, Obsessions, Depersonalization, and these symptoms are never the most prominent features of a GAD.

6. Self Care Measures for Anxiety Disorder:

• Regular Exercise for at least 20-25 minutes.
• Have Nutritious and regular Diet.
• Drink lots of water.
• Meditate regularly it will help in all aspects of your life.
• Engage in activities that can make you laugh. Laughing helps to reduces stress hormones like adrenaline and cortical.
• Engage yourself in Rejuvenating activates like listening to your favourite music reduces stress and relieves anxiety.
• Get enrolled in some good creative Hobbies or Sports.
• Yoga and relaxation therapies do play very effective role in controlling Anxiety.
• Getting enough sound sleep will reduce your stress levels.
• Having a positive attitude, finding the good in what life throws your way and looking at the bright side of things enhances your ability to effectively manage stress.
• Relaxing in a hot bath reduces stress and tension.


**********Homeopathic Treatment for Anxiety Disorder**********

Prolonged untreated Anxiety can contribute to other psychological disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, furthermore weaken the immune system and speed up the aging process. A healthy immune system controls our body's healing process and safeguards it against infections and diseases. The aptitude to reinforce mental calmness promotes wellness, liveliness and longevity.
Homoeopathy is holistic system of medicine where not only the symptoms of the disease are considered but also prime importance is given to the Patient as an Individual.
Homoeopathic medicines are selected after thorough individuals’ total detailed history taking and also considering his personality type and a detail account of surrounding is also considered in the treatment plan.
A detailed Bio- psycho-social aspect is considered to prescribe the most suitable homoeopathic remedy.

Homeopathic remedies work towards balancing the altered emotional state of an Individual. Homeopathic treatment will help eradicate Anxiety disorders, phobias, prevent relapses as well as help build self-esteem and self-confidence. The remedies are harmless and effective for adults as well as children and will escort to a permanent long-lasting cure, and also help to heal and promote mental health by strengthening the body to heal it.

Homeopathy works by enhancing the body’s natural ability to heal itself.
Action of individual specific homeopathic remedy leads to gentle stimulation and restoration of imbalanced “vital force” to balance.
This in turn leads to disappearance of signs and symptoms.

Homeopathy does not try to suppress elements of an individual behavior; rather it aims to redress any imbalance in the body naturally without altering the body with drugs. This has the outcome of reducing the symptoms of Anxiety without causing any side effect on the body. Homeopathy treats the whole person. Not only do the depression and anxiety symptoms improve, so do most or all of the other physical, mental and emotional complaints of the person.

Homeopathic is based on principle of Individualization, so practitioners will take detailed case histories so they can address all the ailments that may be affecting the individual. Another exceptional thing about Homeopathy is that people on multiple medications can safely take Homeopathic medicines. Homeopathic drugs are non-habit forming and have no addictive characteristics.

Homeopathy has an exceptional proven safety record with more than 200 years of clinical effectiveness.
Treatments are always individualized and the risk of side effects is nil if the treatment has been accurately chosen and the dosages are correct.