Shri Bhagavaan uvaacha
kutastvaa kashmalamidam vishame samupasthitam |
anaaryajusthamasvargyamakeertikaramarjuna (2)
klaibyam maa sma gamah paartha naitattvayyupapadyate |
kshudram hridayadaurbalyam tyaktvotishtha parantapa
Bhagavan (Supreme Lord) said:
“From where has this weakness arisen, at this crisis time? It is not noble, nether it will take you to a better state, nor it will earn you name or fame, ” [2,2]
“Don't yield to this effeminate behavior, it is not worthy of you. Cast off this petty weakness of heart and arise, O scorcher of foes!, ” [2,3]
Let us briefly summarize the situation. In the midst of the great Mahabharatha war, Arjuna the great warrior, has become totally emotional seeing that he has to fight his relatives. The great warrior who had defeated mightiest of enemies is now totally helpless and weeping and refusing to fight.
In the previous verse we had discussed about stress and the four stages of stress:
Well, we may say, we will not get into such situations as Arjuna's. So, why bother about all this? But are we being honest with ourselves? Most of us have at one point or other in life reached that ultimate stage of breakdown stress. If we see the increasing cases of suicide or drugs, it is obvious that more and more of us are slowly but surely descending on the self destructing path towards breakdown.
There are any number of reasons to get into this desperate stage:
1. Total loss of wealth when the stock market crashes
2. Loss of a high paying job
3. Death of a near and dear one
4. Massive loss of face/prestige
The triggers for any person reaching this final stage of stress come primarily from 3 sources:
a. Nature: This could be natural events like floods, famines, drought etc. This is something not within a person's control and are "acts of God". But they can have a devastating impact on the emotional stability of an individual.
b. Environment: Stress trigger also could be caused by the environment in which an individual functions. It could be the family environment, office, stock market etc. A severe fight with the spouse can lead a person to emotional instability. A stock market collapse can create mental turmoil. Several people committed suicide after the stock market crash during the great Depression period in USA.
c. Internal : Stress trigger may arise from one's own thoughts. I may imagine the worst in every situation and get stressed. Have we not heard of people who are afraid of their own shadows, literally? At the extreme, this progresses into situations where people here voices that don’t exist, see people and situations that don’t exist.
What happens once a person reaches this level of stress? It causes the following:
None of these characteristics will help us in:
This is a not good state to be in for a human being But how do we get out of this distress? Can I go the market and buy something? Well drinks and drugs may give short term relief. But once their effect is gone, the turmoil is doubled. What is the state we need to be in before we degrade ourselves more?
What follows in the Gita are words of wisdom which if we can inculcate, will enable us in the first place not to reach that breakdown stage and even if we reach, will enable us to bootstrap ourselves back to normalcy.
Conclusion : Lesson from Swami Vivekananda’s Life
“Once when I was in Varanasi, I was passing through a place where there was a large tank of water on one side and a high wall on the other. It was in the grounds where there were many monkeys. The monkeys of Varanasi are huge brutes and are sometimes surly. They now took it into their heads not to allow me to pass through their street, so they howled and shrieked and clutched at my feet as I passed. As they pressed closer, I began to run, but the faster I ran, the faster came the monkeys and they began to bite at me. It seemed impossible to escape, but just then I met a stranger who called out to me, "Face the brutes." I turned and faced the monkeys, and they fell back and finally fled. That is a lesson for all life — face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them. If we are ever to gain freedom, it must be by conquering nature, never by running away. Cowards never win victories. We have to fight fear and troubles and ignorance if we expect them to flee before you”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
As readers may be aware, 4 of my books on spirituality are available on Amazon.com. I invite readers of my blog to try any of the books and give me feedback so that I can make changes in the next edition.
1. Glimpses Of Indian Spirituality
Glimpses Of Indian Spirituality
2. My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
3. Attain Infinite Bliss
Attain Infinite Bliss - A Spiritual Guide
4. The Spirit Of Spirituality
The Spirit Of Spirituality
kutastvaa kashmalamidam vishame samupasthitam |
anaaryajusthamasvargyamakeertikaramarjuna (2)
klaibyam maa sma gamah paartha naitattvayyupapadyate |
kshudram hridayadaurbalyam tyaktvotishtha parantapa
Bhagavan (Supreme Lord) said:
“From where has this weakness arisen, at this crisis time? It is not noble, nether it will take you to a better state, nor it will earn you name or fame, ” [2,2]
“Don't yield to this effeminate behavior, it is not worthy of you. Cast off this petty weakness of heart and arise, O scorcher of foes!, ” [2,3]
Let us briefly summarize the situation. In the midst of the great Mahabharatha war, Arjuna the great warrior, has become totally emotional seeing that he has to fight his relatives. The great warrior who had defeated mightiest of enemies is now totally helpless and weeping and refusing to fight.
In the previous verse we had discussed about stress and the four stages of stress:
- Relaxed State
- Normal Stress
- Hyper stressed
- Break down
Well, we may say, we will not get into such situations as Arjuna's. So, why bother about all this? But are we being honest with ourselves? Most of us have at one point or other in life reached that ultimate stage of breakdown stress. If we see the increasing cases of suicide or drugs, it is obvious that more and more of us are slowly but surely descending on the self destructing path towards breakdown.
There are any number of reasons to get into this desperate stage:
1. Total loss of wealth when the stock market crashes
2. Loss of a high paying job
3. Death of a near and dear one
4. Massive loss of face/prestige
The triggers for any person reaching this final stage of stress come primarily from 3 sources:
a. Nature: This could be natural events like floods, famines, drought etc. This is something not within a person's control and are "acts of God". But they can have a devastating impact on the emotional stability of an individual.
b. Environment: Stress trigger also could be caused by the environment in which an individual functions. It could be the family environment, office, stock market etc. A severe fight with the spouse can lead a person to emotional instability. A stock market collapse can create mental turmoil. Several people committed suicide after the stock market crash during the great Depression period in USA.
c. Internal : Stress trigger may arise from one's own thoughts. I may imagine the worst in every situation and get stressed. Have we not heard of people who are afraid of their own shadows, literally? At the extreme, this progresses into situations where people here voices that don’t exist, see people and situations that don’t exist.
What happens once a person reaches this level of stress? It causes the following:
- Desperation
- Extreme Misery
- illusion
None of these characteristics will help us in:
- Growing as an individual
- Gaining peace and happiness
- Being efficient in our activities
- Supporting other members of the society
- Resolving the cause of the pain or struggle
- Whatever is the situation, we should never get in to Hyper Stress / Distress state
- We have to face the situation with appropriate positive stress level and get back to relaxed state quickly
- We have to avoid, unwanted / unnecessary stress arousals
What follows in the Gita are words of wisdom which if we can inculcate, will enable us in the first place not to reach that breakdown stage and even if we reach, will enable us to bootstrap ourselves back to normalcy.
Conclusion : Lesson from Swami Vivekananda’s Life
“Once when I was in Varanasi, I was passing through a place where there was a large tank of water on one side and a high wall on the other. It was in the grounds where there were many monkeys. The monkeys of Varanasi are huge brutes and are sometimes surly. They now took it into their heads not to allow me to pass through their street, so they howled and shrieked and clutched at my feet as I passed. As they pressed closer, I began to run, but the faster I ran, the faster came the monkeys and they began to bite at me. It seemed impossible to escape, but just then I met a stranger who called out to me, "Face the brutes." I turned and faced the monkeys, and they fell back and finally fled. That is a lesson for all life — face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them. If we are ever to gain freedom, it must be by conquering nature, never by running away. Cowards never win victories. We have to fight fear and troubles and ignorance if we expect them to flee before you”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
As readers may be aware, 4 of my books on spirituality are available on Amazon.com. I invite readers of my blog to try any of the books and give me feedback so that I can make changes in the next edition.
1. Glimpses Of Indian Spirituality
Glimpses Of Indian Spirituality
2. My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
3. Attain Infinite Bliss
Attain Infinite Bliss - A Spiritual Guide
4. The Spirit Of Spirituality
The Spirit Of Spirituality
