TOTAL STRESS MANAGEMENT AND NAMASMARAN (JAP, JAAP, JIKRA, SUMIRAN, SIMARAN; i.e. remembering God or true SELF) 10: DR SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

Doctor: Some of the reasons for not noticing stress are as follows.
1. Stress usually being a slow process, acts like a slow poisoning and hence goes on unnoticed until it acquires serious dimensions.
2. Many of us suffer from stress and attribute the effects of stress to more apparent things such as infection (which itself can result due to stress!). You can understand this if you appreciate the fact that we “see” the dust particles moving in a dust storm but we do not “see” the force of wind, which actually is the cause of the movement of the particles! The STRESS is like this unseen, enemy! Therefore it gets ignored.
3. The word STRESS, is used by any body and every body, without understanding, its meaning. This is similar to the usage of words such as democracy, socialism, secularism etc. This gives us a wrong impression that we know everything about it. As a result most of us develop a false notion that we can manage it without anybody’s help. This is in fact one of the greatest illusions, or one of the greatest myths of all times.
4. Most of us are habituated to put up a brave face even when we are suffering! Many times, this is because of shyness, feeling of shame and so on.
5. We try to hide our sufferings i.e. stress because of the fear that we may be insulted, humiliated, ridiculed, pitied, sympathized or even exploited.
6. Other reasons are more obvious; such as illiteracy, poverty, lack of time, lack of information, lack of dialogue, lack of communication, lack of curiosity, apathy and so on (which are actually due to stress)
Patient: Why don't we learn all this in schools and colleges? I would like to know more!
Doctor: Sure! We will go to the root of stress and its management!

TOTAL STRESS MANAGEMENT AND NAMASMARAN (JAP, JAAP, JIKRA, SUMIRAN, SIMARAN; i.e. remembering God or true SELF) 08: DR SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

Patient: Can a child practice NAMASMARAN?
Doctor: Life is like a river. Stress is like a disturbed river or a whirlpool! NAMASMARAN is a process of reestablishing the river to its calm flow! Hence; it is better to start as early in life as possible.
Patient: But won't they get bored?
Doctor: They would! Therefore NAMASMARAN has to be started in small "dose"!
Patient: Would this act as preventive measure!?
Doctor: Yes! NAMASMARAN is like alum! It enhances the settling of muddy particles to bottom!
Patient: I see!
Doctor: NAMASMARAN is like systematizing the electrical wiring so that bulbs of our life; emanate light according to our potentials; in literary as well as actual sense(voltage)! It is like a proper functioning of signals! It makes the traffic smooth!
Patient: Can we compare stress with TRAFFIC JAM?
Doctor: This is not an exact analogy but helps in understanding STRESS, clearly, which in itself; significantly "rectifies the signals" and reduces STRESS!
Comparison of STRESS with TRAFFIC JAM!
1. The STRESSORS are like excess number of VEHICLES coming from all directions.
2. The individual under stress is like a square where the signals or the traffic police are not working.
3. The signs and symptoms of stress are like the excess crowding, anxiety due to inability to reach destinations, quarrels amongst the drivers, excessive blowing of horns, chemical pollution etc.
4. The pathology is inability of the vehicles to move and reach their destinations.
5. The Relaxation Techniques prevalent today are like arbitrary and isolated efforts to calm down the drivers and prohibit the blowing of horns.
6. The relaxation techniques therefore can bring about temporary peace (temporary symptomatic relief) but cannot help the vehicles to reach their destinations (cannot effectively remove the pathological changes and handle the stressors effectively).
7. NAMASMARAN (and consequent Total Stress Management); is like re-establishing the functioning of the signals and re-instituting the traffic police (perception) so that the crowding, jam (homeostatic disturbances or affect), blowing of horns, quarrels (symptoms and signs ) and the reaching of the destinations ( handling the stressors and rectify the pathological changes ), all are made possible.

TOTAL STRESS MANAGEMENT AND NAMASMARAN (JAP, JAAP, JIKRA, SUMIRAN, SIMARAN; i.e. remembering God or true SELF) 06: DR SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

Patient: You were to explain with examples; how NAMASMARAN is crucial to Total Stress Management!
Doctor: Yes! We have to appreciate the vast nature and causes of stress so that we can understand the crucial role of NAMASMARAN in Total Stress Management!
Patient: Yes doctor! Please explain!
Doctor: Stress is like a horse! But it would never leave us at any cost! So there is no lasting escape from it. There are only few options.
A] Getting dragged after it,
B] Getting bitten or beaten by it,
C] Carrying it on our head,
D] Beating or killing the horse (Barbaric, cowardly, disgusting and obnoxious. Isn’t it? Since stress is inseparable from life, killing horse is equivalent to suicide!)
E] Learning to “ride” the horse with delight, which is what Total Stress Management (TSM), is and the core of it is NAMASMARAN!
Patient: Any other example?
Doctor: Stress is also like river! But; we have no choice as we are already born in it! There are only two options. Either to get drowned, or to learn to swim to the bank.
TSM enables us to reach the bank of the river safely.
Patient: How would you define stress scientifically?
Doctor: Stress means a variable degree; of acute or chronic changes; in the internal environment of the body. The normal stress such as moderate exercise is useful. But when we talk of “stress” we actually mean HARMFUL STRESS OR DISTRESS, which causes adverse effects on almost every cell of the body; making life miserable in several ways.
Patient: What is this INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT of the body?
Doctor: The body cells contain fluid within them and they themselves are present in a fluid medium. This fluid which they contain and the fluid by which they are surrounded, together form the INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE BODY.
Patient: What is the importance of this INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT?
Doctor: The importance of the internal environment is that, various physical and chemical characteristics of the internal environment have to be maintained within a certain range if the body cells and hence the organism, have to function in the normal i.e. healthy way. If the characteristics undergo drastic variations then STRESS develops. This stress causes damaging effects on our life. This should explain to you the importance of the internal environment as well as the importance of any factor/s, which may bring about changes in it.
Patient: What are the characteristics of this INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT?
Doctor: The internal environment i.e. the fluid inside the cells and surrounding the cells, has certain concentration of hydrogen, sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, magnesium etc. It has certain osmolality, temperature, viscosity etc. We are all aware of one such physical characteristic viz. blood pressure. The text books of physiology, describe in details, but it is not necessary to list them here and burden our memory.
Patient: What are the causes of stress?
Doctor: The causes of stress are called STRESSORS. The stressors are nothing else but exaggerated stimuli, which cause change in our internal environment beyond the normal range resulting in stress. We will see with examples; how NAMASMARAN, which is the core of Total Stress Management; is crucial in overcoming these!