Surge Forty Six
INNER STRENGTH – A HOLISTIC VIEW
“Strength is life, weakness is death,” roared Swami Vivekananda, the lion of the Vedanta. True strength is obviously much more than physical robustness. We sometimes find a Gandhi or a Lal Bahadur Shastri who faces the influential and the mighty with calmness and dexterity and wins them over. Emotional stability and a clean heart that is free from conflicts and contradictions are necessary ingredients of inner strength. Physical wellbeing should never be neglected or undervalued for it is often the basic requirement for effective functioning.
Broadly speaking, we may consider the human personality as consisting of the three ‘equipment’ namely the body, the mind and the intellect (BMI). Many other aspects like speech (which includes communication skills) and relationship skills can be regarded as falling within these BMI. A program for total self-development should include exercises for the continual improvement of all the three facets of our being. The physical body needs to be kept fit; the emotional dimension needs constant enrichment and our reasoning requires continual sharpening, assisted by an expansion of knowledge and awareness.
Body, A Precious Gift:
Well-chosen exercises, nutritious diet and proper daily habits go a long way towards blessing us with excellent physical fitness. The old saying, “A sound mind in a sound body,” highlights the need for bodily vigor so that our mind too functions better. In today’s world, we have access to many kinds of exercises – from even distant parts of the world. Yoga, aerobics, tai chi, western workouts and a host of other systems are taught in cities around the globe. Someone however said to me once, “I watch a video of yoga frequently. That should keep me fit!” The video neither helps the viewer nor the TV. At another place, a chief executive confessed, “The only exercise that we do here in our company is ‘jumping to conclusions’!” We must opt for some set of exercises that keep all the physiological systems in good shape. Outdoor walking has its own value such as contact with Nature, while a number of indoor exercises – often with the help of machines, weights or other exercises – tone up the muscles or strengthen the bones, acting thereby as effective preventive measures against certain old age problems. The system of yoga, along with pranayama, has excellent benefits to both the body and the mind. As most people know, yoga is a vast and complete science that culminates in spiritual perfection.
While opinions differ on what is most nutritional, all agree on certain principles like it is good to avoid much spice and excess of oil. Moderation in quantity has been a golden rule in matters of food. Some forbid meat and some other experts even ask us to avoid milk and milk products. Many ask us to drink lots of water but some criticize such a view saying it would unduly tax our kidneys! Lay people are confused when they hear all these conflicting viewpoints. One’s body is accustomed to certain food habits and it is sometimes highly unadvisable to suddenly make a drastic change. We have to go cautiously about these issues and make choices with honesty and courage, not in an immature or fanciful way.
Emotions, Our Valued Asset
To be swayed by emotions can surely be a problem, but otherwise emotions are such a wealth within us that they are rightly called a source of human energy, information and influence. When we understand them well and handle them wisely, they can help us mend fences or move mountains. They touch our hearts and a rich life is necessarily one that is centered in the heart. To love and be loved is the greatest privilege of life, said Swami Chinmayananda, the popular teacher of the Vedanta (1916 – 1993).
To put in efforts towards understanding our own and others’ emotions leads to an enhancement of our Emotional Quotient (EQ). By broadening our outlook, we can discard false judgments, which leads to the rise of healthy emotions within us. Just to be aware of the factors that activate particular emotions that arise in us paves the way to a better handling of these forces at work. We need to train ourselves to be rightly assertive in the face of injustice or some unfair treatment meted out to us. This means that we rise above all passivity that is inaction and at the same time avoid aggressive behavior that could be harsh or violent. Even skills that we develop to handle stress fall under emotional maturity for a lot of stress is the result of certain negative emotions making situations look darker than what they actually are. Developing empathy is another aspect of emotional growth, where we “emotionally read” others and thus relate with them very accurately rather than in some imagined way.
Reading uplifting literature, contact with Nature, listening to soothing music etc. have an impact on our emotional personality. The rich literature in different languages has much to contribute towards the enrichment of our heart. For example, the Kannada poet (winner of the Jnan Pith award) Kuvempu sings, “Be free, O my spirit. Move on, walk on, and do not stop anywhere. Do not get confined anytime. Without any fixed home, go on with your infinite journey, enjoying your unbounded nature. (Original: o nanna chetana)” Such verses or passages are elevating. They are available aplenty in every language, be it Oriya or Telugu, Gujarati or Hindi.
Growing in our emotional maturity involves a lot of ways. The highest means, of course, is keen observation of our own (and others’) emotions. We learn directly what goes on behind the rise, the movement and the fall of an emotion when we watch it on the spot. However, this requires a high quality of attention which is marked by total absence of judgment, bias or reactions within us as we watch the emotion.
Intellect, Our Far-reaching Tool
Called buddhi in Sanskrit, our intellect helps us extend the horizons of our knowledge. Knowledge is power, they say. It surely is, in the domain of handling men, money and matters. As our civilization advanced, more and more sophisticated knowledge became available to us, which has resulted in tremendously enhancing the standard of living. Technology has joined hands with all other branches of knowledge like economics, medicine, political science and even sports. We can do thousands of things in much less time as compared with how things used to be at the time of our earlier generations. A number of inter-disciplinary subjects have become independent areas of study in the universities like nuclear medicine or chemical biology.
However, in the context of developing inner strength, the knowledge of human values is valuable. A better understanding of right and wrong and a clearer grasp of why we humans suffer are examples of such knowledge. Study of such literature as would help us know our duties and responsibilities better, manage our resources like time more wisely, handle problems like stress more ably etc. could be considered an expansion of knowledge that contributes to inner strength. Knowledge of leadership qualities, love and friendship, right communication skills and healthy relationships certainly makes us strong enough to survive the many setbacks that typically beset our life.
A program that thus enriches and strengthens the body, the mind and the intellect (BMI) contributes towards inner strength in a holistic way. We are then better prepared to live well, as this being with the whole brings us in touch with the center of our existence, the fountainhead of life.
Swami Chidananda
Tuesday, August 08, 2006