Stress and its Management with Bhagwad Geeta🙏

Stress !!
How many of us have heard this word? I am sure everyone might be aware of this word and many are facing it,/ or have faced it. Lets understand more about stress.
Stress is a feeling experienced due to emotional strain and pressure. It is basically a mental pain which sometimes causes physical pain, too!
It is a response given to various stressers we have in our life.
Basically there are 3 types of stress according to psychology
1]Hypostress or understress: This is faced when there's not much work to do . Even being empty brings stress( many students might be experiencing this situation)
2) Eustress: This is a positive stress and enhances our  functioning. It does not bring any negative feelings. This kind of Stress is usually a combination of excitement ,fulfilment and just a bit stress. 
3) Distress: This is a negative type of stress.It brings extreme anxiety, sorrow or pain. Many people are facing this type of stress in present situation. Some are worried about their jobs at the same time worried about getting infected and many other things.
The stress is basically like a odometer in our bike or cars. Whenever the car has medium speed it goes on smoothly . Too low speed and too high speed are dangerous for passengers sitting in the car !
Same way when our life has eustress( medium speed) it functions well and goes smoothly , when this goes on to Hypostress or hyperstress , it causes malfunctioning.

In this situation Of pandemic , many are facing with the Hypostress and hyperstress. When this kind of stress increases it kind of decreases the functioning . It increases the feeling of anxiety and finally there are chances of going into depression. Mind gets programmed to get anxious even in simplest situation. Hence hyperstress and Hypostress are bad . 

About Bhagwadgita

Now we will be seeing some main causes for having stress in our lives and their solutions according to Bhagwad Geeta. Bhagwad Geeta is a part of Mahabharat , a great epic . In this  too , Lord krishna has guided Arjuna in his distress and given some important messages for human race . It is great phenomenon and a boon towards human beings. It has enormously Great and deep meanings. I have been listening to Geeta since last 4- 5 months from my mentor and started reading it in last 2 months. I have tried my best to encode them out .

Stress Management and My learnings from Bhagwad Geeta

Stress is an unending loop. The Bhagavad Gita provides a direct solution to this major issue, which can stop the roots of stress from multiplying. Here, are the three big reasons for the development of stress:

1)Worrying about the result:

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||

You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty. (Chapter2:47)

To find out the solution to a problem, first we need to identify the cause of that problem. If we see the  student’s loop, we can conclude that we are always worried about the result, even after we have given the exam nicely, we are tensed what the result might be. There are four lessons from the above verse to be kept in mind:

●We have to perform our duty sincerely but we should not be concerned about the results.
●Whatever be the result, accept it. The action is in your hands but not the fruits of that action. ●There are many factors involved in the formation of the result, which is not in our control.
●Don’t consider yourself as the doer of the action, you are just a medium.
●Not performing our duties or running away from them is an incorrect way to handle life situations. 

●Don’t be attached to inactivity.

2. Excessive attachments to things.

ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंस: सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते |
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते काम: कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते || 62||

क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोह: सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रम: |
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति || 63||

While contemplating the objects of senses (money, people power, etc.) a person develops (excessive) attachment for them, and from such attachment selfish desire develops, and from it arises anger. From anger arises delusion (superiority, grandiosity, obsession, paranoia), and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence (wisdom) is lost. When this happens, one falls into degradation (the person becomes completely stressed-out). (Chapter 2 :62 ,63)

In the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita, we see that Arjuna, after realizing that he has to fight with his own dear family members, becomes highly stressed and wished to leave the battlefield. Though he was a great warrior and it was his duty to fight for the right cause yet he was unable to do it. Why? Because he was attached to his opponents whom he saw as his family members. Similarly, we are excessively attached not just to our family members but also to money, status, power, position, additives, gadgets and all sorts of material things. And with these attachments, our selfish desires arise which further lead to anger, delusion, and stress. Whenever there are some issues with these things; when we get stuck between our several attachments, stress starts originating. 

To get out of such situations we should:

●Not have excessive attachments to object of senses like food, wealth, house, position, people, gadgets etc.
●Limit our desires and check whether what we really want is a need or desire.
●Keep working towards our goal, until then be satisfied with what we have.
●Love and respect everyone and everything but don’t get attached to them.

● Practice detachment 

3. Non-acceptance of the present situation.

मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदु:खदा: |
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत || 14||

*O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.*

When the five senses come in contact with material things we are bound to experience joy and sorrow. They are unavoidable like the summer and winter season. We can’t stop the seasons from coming, but we can change our attitude towards them. In winters rather than complaining about the cold and using it as an excuse, we can wear warm clothes and keep working. Similarly, during the time of distress, rather than inaction or complaining, we can adjust ourselves and proceed with our work. When we accept this fact then stress starts disappearing.

Stress originates when we don’t accept the current situation. Here, we need to:

●Realize that everything is temporary in our life: people, money, power will keep on coming and going.
●Tolerate the conditions with peace in mind, God’s name in heart and smile on face.
●Accept whatever position we are in, keep working to solve it but never run from them or get tensed about the situation.
●Respond and not react.
●Let go and move on.

So, we can deduce that the entire concept of stress arises due to our expectations of the result, deep attachments and dissatisfaction from the current situation. Stressful situations will come, but it depends on us how we respond to them.

Now, we know by understanding the root cause of stress, not thinking about the result, preforming our duties sincerely without attachments, accepting the truth, believing in God, we can easily deal with stress. Also, we need to accept the fact that
●Whatever happened, happened for the good. 

●Whatever is happening, is happening for the good.
●Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.

(Ps: I am not promoting any kind of religion over here. I respect every religion . These are just some learnings from Bhagwad Geeta, which I feel would be helpful for all of us .)

Hope it helps you!

_~Kshitija❤️

Inspired by My mentor- Rajeshwar Channe and Shri Krishna( The originator of geeta)🙏