Stress Management, Science and Spirituality

In the current demanding situation, all of us, including school or college students, youngsters, or senior citizens are facing some or the other mental stress. Initially, students and their parents are under pressure to get the admission in the school or college of their choice, then students are under tension of performing better with good grades. By the time their education and childhood which is snatched by these stresses, gets over, when they turn as youngsters, they start facing another stress of getting the job or livelihood. After securing the job, next are the stresses of getting promotion and excelling in the jobs or business. After settling in the job or business they are under stress due to the anxiety in mind about getting the right life partner of their choice. Then while fulfilling their professional and domestic responsibilities they have yet another stress of performing the acrobat of maintaining the delicate relationships at their workplace and home. After thirty-forty years of long professional stressful career, when people think that now they will live relaxed life, the next tress is due to the worries such as health issues like diabetes, blood pressure and other ailments. Also, at that age mind gets gnawed with thoughts such as will I require to be completely dependent on somebody due to my ailments or reducing strength, how can I survive in the loneliness, if, my life partner leaves this world before me, or whether, my earnings or savings gathered throughout the life will suffice till my last day. In short, we are constantly under some or the other stress throughout our lives.

Definition of Life:

After going through all these facts and taking into account all the aforesaid problems we can define the life in one word as ‘Megaproblem’. It may seem to be somewhat negative. However, if you ponder over the complete life from birth to death, you will observe that, the very first problem of our life is the newly born infant can’t take a breath. Then doctor pats on the back of child and child cries thereby learning to take a breath. The extremely last problem of our life is at that due to the burden of carrying the decrepit body person doesn’t want to live but the breath is not stopping. Therefore, the time traversed by us between the first and last breath, that is our life, is full of numerous of problems and therefore, life can be defined as a ‘Megaproblem’. The greatness of the great personalities in the world lies in the fact that, they desperately work for achieving their goals of life with courage, patience and strong determination. With this approach they go beyond achieving their goals by attaining much more than what they had planned and touch the skies. With an obsession of searching an oasis in the dessert, they convert the life’s negativity into positivity in spite of numerous problems which they face on every step of their journey to success. Their positivity is so powerful that, just by talking to them, or spending some time with them, the ordinary people like us, who pay more attention on our problems otherwise, get help to overcome the stratocumulus clouds of negativity covering our minds and we can reinforce our minds to face the problems more positively.

Scientific Theorems:

Now, let’s be honest. All of us can’t reach the gigantic heights like these great personalities, so in the craziness of imitating these great people if, we can’t achieve much, then ultimately, we will bounce back to depression and negativity from which we are trying to escape. Then what’s the solution? Let’s see, if we can apply the scientific theorems for managing the stresses in our lives.

We know, that according to scientific theorems, when the body in the space is acted upon by external forces, stresses are developed in the body. Consider that, our mind is that body and the external forces are the problems like cut-throat competitions, uncertainties, menace, etc. which exert stresses in our mind. Then which bodies or rather materials are exerted to higher or lower stresses? Rigid materials are subjected more stresses as compared to flexible materials. Similarly, those people who are more flexible and open minded and are ready to adjust with the situations have lesser stresses as compared to those who are very rigid, always wrangle with others and who are adamant. Such bull-headed people not only create stresses for them but also for others. Frequently, stresses are induced also when we don’t accept the change easily. We forget that, change is an inevitable part of life. However, our tendency of not accepting the change is absolutely normal and as per the Newton’s First Law of Motion which we have studied during schooling that is- “Unless the body is acted upon by a force the body in equilibrium doesn’t enter into motion or the body in motion doesn’t come to equilibrium”. The best example of it is we don’t want any change in our settled jobs of comfort or any condition of comfort in life we don’t want to get disturbed. Only when, we are helpless and there is no other alternative, we accept the change with a great despair and that introduces stresses. Time is the solution to many problems. Sometimes, the issues due to which we get very disturbed and which create lot of mental stress, the same issues with the passage of time, we feel less important or insignificant. Automatically, the stresses due to such problems diminish in their magnitude with time. That’s why Einstein went beyond Newton while presenting his ‘Theory of General Relativity’ in 1915 and stressed more on the importance of time while considering the Fourth Dimension of Time in addition to the three dimensions of space considered by Newton.

Spiritual Taught:

Whenever we come across the changes which are responsible for loosing comfort and joys or when we experience unexpected changes which turn our life into sorrows, we are stressed. Lord Shrikrishna has given similar advice to Arjuna in the Verse 14 of Chapter 2 of Bhagwat Geeta:

मात्रा स्पर्शास्तु कौंतेय शीतोष्णसुखदु:खद:।

आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितीक्षस्व भारत।।

Oh son of Kunti, joy and sorrow generated out of material comforts experienced by our senses are like the winter and summer cycles which come and pass away regularly. However, as you are not getting afflicted mentally by these seasonal cycles, you should also learn to withstand the cycles of joy and sorrow as they are temporary.

We find the meaning of this verse little complex to understand. But in brief, Lord Shrikrishna has said much earlier, the same thing which Newton and Einstein have put forward through their laws or theorems. As the cycles of joy and sorrow are coming and going with the passage of time, so if, we adopt the habit of looking at them neutrally, then the rigidity of the mind will diminish with time. The reduction in the rigidity of the mind will help to reduce the effect of external forces on it like joy and sorrow reducing the stresses in the mind. This explains us the gravity of the utility of Scientific Theorems and Spiritual Guidelines in controlling stresses.

To conclude, the rules for living happy life, scientific rules from theorems and rules for progress in spirituality are analogous. Consequently, we can apply the rules from scientific theorems and spiritual guidelines for resolving many issues and problems in our lives thereby controlling the mental stresses.