Fighting Stress-Vedanta style!

The SMS promising a ‘stress-full to successful life’ proved to be irresistible. I dutifully forwarded it to many friends whom I considered spiritually-inclined. Last time, I went to Jaya Row’s lecture at Kamani & took some friends along, there were complaints that what began on a loftier note ended up with a whimper. While her readings of Bhagwad Gita made a lot of sense to lesser mortals in the mundane world, the whole exercise turned into a marketing exercise to sell seminars, CDs, books & DVDs toward the end. Therefore, no wonder a reply from a younger colleague stated that she, ‘instinctive and spontaneous as she was’, could no longer adapt to Jaya Row’s ‘corporate culture’. Nonetheless, I made it to the venue with fewer and newer friends, assuring myself during Ms. Mudgal rendition of beautiful bhajans that the event at least gave us an excuse to meet & discuss what she taught.

Jaya Row began with evolutionary terminology stating how homeostatic mammals progressed to human’s mental statis (it went over my head!) to elucidate how Vedantic Samam or equanimity was the ultimate key to success, happiness & growth. The state of equilibrium or calmness isn’t inactivity but one leading to an intense, vibrant action. Mental agitation, on the contrary, is caused by our inherent negativity toward one and all, resultant desires to rid ourselves from them but making ourselves all the more attached & finally stressed in the process. Row is fond of marital references to spouse, mother in law as targets of our ire & manages to strike a chord & draw an instinctive applause from the audience.

Stress was, however, defined as an ‘internal phenomenon’ implying thereby that we end up with it when we become reactive and fault-finding to people or situations around us and therefore its cure also lay inside us. Switching to a vocabulary suited to the young (the auditorium is usually full of bald, graying heads whose life-game may already be in the mandatory Overs) and pleading with them to move from being enumerators to denominators, she explained how our uncontrollable mind overwhelms the intellect we are blessed with to cause agony and stress. Therefore, what we need is an overpowering intellect to keep us calm & serene when life becomes topsy-turvy & turbulent and take it head-on. Sportingly, she gave the example of Tennis legend, Billie Jean King while my mind meandered to Michel Jackson’s number by the same name. It did prove her point about minding our mind!

Poor intellect leads to a spate of desires. If fulfilled, they lead to a state of delusion, blind pursuit of wealth & power, leading to envy & arrogance. My thoughts turn to Durga, the young, valiant civil servant at the receiving end of politicians in UP. Row, however, spreads the net wider claiming politicians will always be ‘corrupt’ & Indians, ‘indisciplined’. She pointed out how affluent parents, for want of time, shower gifts and gadgets rather than love upon their children these days. When the desires are unfulfilled, it prevents enjoyment of what we have, destroys relationships out of envy and even compromises values as we choose unethical ways to get what we desire so strongly. Ch. II, verses 62-63 of Bhagwad Gita begin to ring in my mind where man’s degradation to destruction is traced from attachment, desire, anger, infatuation, loss of memory & reason to ultimate ruin. Jaya Row’s views are essentially rooted in Bhagwad Gita, which she crafts well to meet the needs of varied audience.

What is the cure, then? We need to rekindle the ‘higher self’ within us. Desire things by all means; but don’t crave for them. A flow-chart on the screen explains how ‘Desire management’ leads to relief, reducing them to comfort and using intellect to define them saves us from these ‘weapons of mass distraction & destruction’. The ultimate aim is to integrate mind, body & intellect to realize eternal bliss in the form Atman.

Jaya Row gesticulates angrily to the young lady in waiting why she isn’t on the mike  to announce what happens next while she tries to convey that Row has yet to finish with the last slide dealing with ‘Take Home Points’. Stress confronts us at strange times! 

Child Labor & FDI!

Just saw a documentary produced by BBC under Our World series dealing with the problem of child labor in cotton industry in India & cocoa in Ivory Coast-both employing child labor, often enslaved and earning nothing at a tender age. The weaving unit in India from whom leading brands like GAP, Marks & Spencer etc sourced supplies looked okay in terms of working conditions & wages but the owner could not claim the same below the spinning unit. Since the supply chain begins with picking up of cotton in the fields, action should also begin from there. The responsibility must be shared by the local govt. under whose jurisdiction the laws prohibiting child labor & minimum wages are violated & the brands in developed world, which charge exorbitant prices but care little about the poor people at the first stage of supply chain.

As we introduce FDI into various segments of Indian economy, we should ensure that the benefits of investment flow to the poor of the poorest & we are not just exploited as a market. The stipulation for companies like Ikea, which have been granted permission to set up businesses in India, that a fixed percentage of material must be sourced locally should stay. At the same time, steps must be taken to ensure that no child labor is involved at any stage & remunerative wages are paid to everyone. Wonder why our own media remains confined to political debates in the capital & cannot do stories revealing how politics & economy is actually impacting the life & living of our people in a globalized economy!

On Attires & Culture!

Following the infamous gang rape case of Delhi, one assumed that Indian males would reflect upon the traditional bias against women & correct their mindset. After all, we worships goddesses & deities in our homes everyday and seek from them blessings in the form of knowledge, wealth, and security. Our nation too is our ‘motherland’. But reactions to the ghastly event brought out again how we as a society discriminate against women both at home & outside. The bias cuts across the political & social spectrum. A Congress MP described the protesters crying for change in rape laws as ‘dented & painted women’ implying perhaps they did not represent the real or Aam women. The remark led to a huge outrage forcing him to apologize & retract what he had said. The BJP performed no better. An MP Minister mentioned a Lakshman Rekha for women- you cross it and you would be punished like Sita! The RSS Chief termed marriage between man & woman as a ‘contract’. The woman serves the man & he provides her security. Whatever happened to our much not only means shifting the onus of crime from accused to the victim but revered culture! There were snide remarks opposing everything that women do-using mobile phones, wearing western wear or working late. It is curious how one can blame wearing of jeans for sexual assaults on women. Men of all ages are seen clad in jeans without an eyelid being batted. Besides, linking of attire to culture is ironic. How are khaki shorts worn by RSS workers in consonance with Indian culture? If we go around the country, we can see dhotis, lungis, pajamas &, churidars in plenty but not one ‘Aam aadmi’ in British army-style khaki shorts. Raising such non-issues also violates the principle of equality of sexes enshrined in our Constitution. If men are free to dress up the way they like, let them not preach sermons to women because the fault lies with men.  When a Pir, a spiritual healer of eighty rapes a minor of thirteen in Kashmir or a young rickshaw puller sexually assaults an eighty year old & dumps her in a Delhi park, you can’t blame the victims or the way they dressed. A placard at Jantar Mantar aptly asked:  why should a woman feel ashamed when it’s the men who have a dirty gaze?