Stress = Pujya Gurudev

Stress is Boon, Welcome It

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

“Udyanam te purusa navayanam jivatum te daksatatim krnomi A hi rohemamamrtam sukham rathamatha jirvirvidathama vadasi”. Atharvaveda 8/1/6 "O Purusa (mankind)!

May you prosper, not decline. I give you vital breath and purusartha (endeavour). Ride this pleasurable chariot (body) which is the seeker of immortality, and till old age, disseminate spiritual and scientific knowledge." If the moments of stress are utilized properly, life would continue to grow and mature smoothly; although, of late, stress has emerged as the main stumbling block in human progress and growth. It is true that at present stress is generally considered a curse and it is devouring human abilities at an alarming speed. The top echelon of the society is badly in its grip, and the situation has worsened so much that even school going children are falling prey to stressrrelated ailments. But what exactly is this much talked about stress? Stress is the name of the challenges that are being continually thrown at our body and mind by the circumstances and situations. 

Haphazard liferstyle, declining culture of cooperation and camaraderie, cutrthroat competitiveness and unbridled ambition r all these have combined to aggravate the intensity of stress. Incidentally, stress in itself is not a disease, but if left unmanaged, it becomes the source of all psychosomatic maladies. Continuous and prolonged stress shatters the immune system of the body which, in turn, falls an easy prey to an unending series of diseases of the heart, stomach, respiratory system, skin and what not. And the poor mind? The less said about its plight, the better. It is the mind which is its first victim. Passing through the stages of fear complex, anxiety and depression the condition occasionally deteriorates to the extreme of mental breakdown. But such an eventuality occurs only when stress is not wisely handled and utilized. With proper utilization, malevolence of stress can be turned into the benevolence of gains. For this, we need to adopt the right attitude towards life, positive thinking and a healthy liferstyle. The first point to note in this connection is that stress is a messenger, not the message; a warning, not the worry. But for this timely warning, we would be deprived of many precious opportunities and gifts which nature and life wish to bestow on us. 

To create wakefulness is the first and an invaluable boon of stress. It is another matter that in our pessimistic mindset we mistake this wakerup call for a threat and get panicked. Stress is also a great activator of body and mind. In this phase the activity level of mind reaches such a feverish pitch as cannot be achieved or even imagined in normal sedate circumstances. Ditto for the body; through stimulated nervous system and the endocrinal glands, the body primes itself and becomes fully organized, alert and geared. The whole energy of life peaks for the big fight ahead. The next stage in this frenetic preparation is the singlerpointed convergence of all concentration on solving the stressrgenerating problem. Perhaps this scenario is never possible without coming under stress. Solutions to the problems which otherwise would have troubled us for eternity are seriously sought and found in the stressrborn state of high alertness. The usefulness of the stressful moments can also be gleaned from the augmentation in inner strengths. 

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma