Arka Foundation, India

 

A talk on “Stress Management”

at the Central Sericulture Research and Training Institute (CSRTI), India

(20th of December 2008)

The research and technical team members of CSRTI, listened with rapt attention to the talk and actively participated in the workshop conducted by Srinivas Arka.

An excerpt from Srinivas Arka’s talk on ‘Stress Management’

Stress can be of three types – physical stress, internal stress and environmental stress. Physical stress is mostly caused by fear, anxiety, panic, pressure and such factors affecting the body. Internal stress is due to emotional stress which arises from negativity, questioning, not letting go of the past and such other factors. Environmental stress is caused mostly by water, air and sound (noise) pollution. This is one of the reasons why we have to give much attention to our body and mind through sports, exercise, Yoga and Dhyana or intuitive heart level meditation.

The body is to be looked after well, which in turn helps navigate the mind through meditation. The body has rhythm, discipline  and a biological clock and needs timely food and rest; so looking after it is important.

The body is like the temple, the mind is like the priest and the soul is like God.

All the senses are like chanting hymns or mantras. Whatever may be the task you perform, try to become one with the task and ensure to do the best and leave the rest. The intent is to avoid the tendency to do the least and expect the best.

Then the question would be - how do you know that you have done the best? If you have really worked with sincerity and dedication from your heart, then that is the best. The word ‘Shraddha’ in Sanskrit means having an emotional feeling with many petals such as kindness, devotion, dedication, determination, compassion, empathy, respect and other such noble qualities. This involves getting into and raising your heart-level consciousness. Automatically you will be guided once you are at the heart-level. The message is to drop the submarine of thought on the surface of the ocean of your existence – it will really go deep into the heart until it reaches the bottom of your soul and then finally resurfaces with some new inspiration and wisdom. This is one of the reasons that people of the past went deep into their consciousness, into the heart, and into the very core of their inner consciousness in order to gain knowledge and wisdom. Fifty percent of the knowledge is there and the remaining fifty percent is in Nature – we have to match it. Most questions can be answered from within – it is an amazing technology of the cosmic universe. Regardless of your background, religion or culture, you have been ordained with so much wisdom. It is called Intuitive wisdom. Awakening of this wisdom becomes possible through Dhyana.

Sometimes we are neither in the past, nor in the present, nor in the future. When we mentally go to the past, the consciousness swings backward to the past, which means that we are whiling away the present moment. Sometimes we think about the future, not able to pay attention to the present moment. Life is so sensitive and mercurial that it can swing in any direction. Therefore we have got to bring in some balance.

Tomorrow is not entirely in the future. The future is not on the horizon.

Half of the future is in the present moment. Half of the past is also in the present moment, because the present moment arises from the decisions we made in the past; that is, the product or fruit of the past (that is, past karma, thoughts, words, actions). Interestingly, the present has got more power over the future. The past, of which we have no control, is gone externally in the physical world. But we see the essence of the past in our body.

The body itself is simply a reflection of the past, of whatever we have done, wherever we have walked through. 

The heart is constantly reminding us of where we are going, what is our destination, what is our purpose, and so on.

We have to be in the present moment – touch will help in this. We have to deal with the mind. How can we get presence of mind? Any person, talk, or situation demands your presence of mind. If you are not present there, time is wasted and there is no productivity. Communication becomes shallow. Past things can bother us – we have to let go of the past and learn how to accept certain things. We are here only to learn and learn. We can never make things perfect – we can only try – chasing perfection is like chasing a mirage – we can never get there – but the joy is in its chase, with a positive attitude and good spirit. Life is holistic - with body, mind, space and time. Through Dhyana, we can achieve oneness in body, mind and spirit.