20th May 2011
`Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness'
Richard Carlson
Last week I was addressing a group of Vice Presidents on stress and tension. An interesting point came up for discussion on where is the tension, whether it is in the body or in the mind. There was also a very interesting discussion on where is the aging taking place, whether in the body or in the mind of people. I was trying to explain that there are two different subsystems coexisting, the body and the mind. If they complement each other, we don't feel the stress and tension. But if there is a mismatch between what our mind wants and what our body wants, we undergo stress and tension.
We carry a physical weight on our body. But we carry worries in our mind. We may put on a colourful dress and look attractive externally. But we may not feel well internally unless we enjoy peace and harmony in our mind. We may fall down and suffer an external injury in our body. But in spite of the bodily injury, we may feel perfectly fine in our mind. On some other days we may be perfectly fit in our body, but mentally sick and all our physical energy may be useless.
While I write this I recall a story. Two Monks were going on a street. It had rained heavily and there were puddles of water on the road. The elder Monk saw a very beautiful lady unable to cross the road due to water. So he lifted her and carried her to the other side of the road. The younger Monk was watching this. After both of had reached their monastery, late in the evening the younger Monk asked the elder Monk if Monks can touch ladies for which the elder Monk replied that they should not. Then the younger Monk asked him why he touched and carried that lady in the morning. The elder Monk replied that he left the lady on the road in the morning itself, but the younger Monk is still carrying her in the monastery!
We have to take care of our mental health as well as our physical health.
N C Sridharan
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