Prevention and Thoughtful Living

 

My current venture in India is bringing me in contact with several people each day under various settings. I am getting to know the new staff assigned to my department. The referrals sent to me vary enormously with respect to socioeconomic status and problems. My voluntary meetings with saree sakhis to discuss Preventive Medicine predominantly revolve around women related issues. Despite the diversity on the surface it is becoming increasingly evident to me that the common denominator in the list of problems for every person or family I meet is STRESS.

Someone is drinking or smoking because of it. Someone is eating unhealthy because of it. A few put blame on it for lack of commitment to exercise. Some manifest marital discord due to it. Others neglect self care because it. For some sleep has become a problem.

 The effects appear unlike each other but underlying cause is the same.

At a meeting in Aundh in Pune 2-3 days back I was talking to about fifteen saree sakhis. I went around asking them to state what bothered them health wise and then addressed the concerns one by one in the next two hours. More than once during the talk a reference was made to how stressful life has become lately. How life gets caught in goals to achieve, deadlines to meet, social expectations to fulfill etc etc.So much that a person gets buried under all this pressure. There are these trends in society and you find you can’t escape them.

Just before I entered the venue of this meeting I was on the street searching for the place. It was a quiet residential area. A group of 5-6 young girls, teenagers or in early twenties were gathered outside a gate and lighting a cigarette. I wasn’t sure they would pay heed if I ask for directions but there was no one else on that street to stop and ask. I stopped hesitantly without making eye contact with the girls who were smoking and asked if they knew this bungalow. One of the girls looked at the Google maps screen in my phone and pointed out to further down the same street. As I walked in that direction the destination was moving away from me instead of closer. So I turned around. The girls had continued their tryst with their cigarettes. My destination turned out to be the same house outside which they were standing and smoking. One step into the compound, one step on the road, I debated with myself whether to talk to them about the cigarettes. 

What I was seeing was inconsistent with the image I had of Pune. Girls in such nice neighborhoods never stood like this in the middle of the street, in clear view, smoking cigarettes. I really wanted to stop and tell them this habit isn’t good. But I didn’t. And I am kicking myself for that now. I feared they would tell me it is none of my business. But then I could have asserted that I take it as my business being a mother, doctor and a responsible citizen. They could take it or leave it. May be at least some thing would make them think. But I had lost my opportunity. 

The next day in my OPD I was seeing the man I had met in the hospital earlier for newly diagnosed diabetes and alcohol habit. Accompanying him this time was his mother, wife and a brother. The first time I met him, a girlfriend was by his bedside. The interview with the family opened a big can of worms. The wife was encouraging patient to smoke and drink. She was obsessed with drinking and offering tea with lots of sugar every two hours to her family. Husband had a bunch of girlfriends who he claimed were platonic relationships but wife was paranoid about him talking to them. They fought constantly and blamed each other for the problems.  He smoked and had alcohol at home in the presence of his young kids. If the mother tried to get her son off alcohol the wife resisted her efforts. When I mentioned the patient could lose his life because of uncontrolled diabetes, liver failure due to alcohol or cancer due to smoking he told me defiantly that the kids could survive on the life insurance money after his death!!

It was obvious this family’s education and intelligence quotient was not great. They would need a lot of support and counseling. In my own way I scolded each of them for their behavior and gave them a piece of my mind to become responsible parents to their kids. All of them nodded before leaving the office that they would follow what I had asked them to do. I will be seeing them again in two weeks.

As I walked alone the next day to the OPD my mind was revolving around all these scenarios. Each person was caught in the tide of his / her circumstances. All focus was on the world outside. 

Again and again a line from Ga Di Madgulkar’s abhang written for Pu La Deshpande’s movie Gulacha Ganapati and later made popular by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi kept coming to mind. 

Ujedi raahile ujed hovun 

Nivrutti Sopan Muktabai 

Indrayani kaathi devaachi Aalandi 

Laagali samaadhi Dnyaaneshaachi 

Ujedi raahile ujed hovun!

Ujed = Light

Dnyaaneshwar and his three siblings saw light and became enlightened! They chose to remain in that light and became the Light themselves. 

What was that light ? Where was the light? 

That light was not outside.

 It was within. 

The Light of Self Realization.

That same light is within each of us. 

But our attention is turned outwards. We can’t see this light.

And paradoxically what our eyes consider as vision or the bright visible world is really nothing but darkness. 

We have no clue about what we are doing, why we are doing it and where this is leading. 

In our class WhatsApp group recently there was discussion about retirement. Someone made a comment “we should work at least until sixty, right? “ I asked “what is this rule based on?” 

My comment received no response.

If we take a hard look at our stress we can identify the issues that cause the stress. But if we dig deeper to find WHY we have given importance to those issues we reach road’s end. If fitting into a certain lifestyle is so important and not being able to maintain it is causing stress, do we take a pause to ask, what is the basis on which we decided this lifestyle for ourselves? 

We have just adapted to keep moving with the waves but never acquired the skills to ride on the waves. Never asked ourselves what is the best way to surf on the ocean of life. 

Hindsight is always 20/20. !! That’s the common saying. And it is true. We see the pitfalls in our path after stumbling really hard. Often when death is knocking on the door. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could see the trajectory of our lives in the beginning rather than at the end of the ride ? Wouldn’t it be helpful to know that we HAVE a choice at every turn rather than realize that we HAD that choice?  We may not necessarily be in a position to change the events around us but we could most certainly change our role in the play. Instead of following a senseless and harmful trend we could become trendsetters. Think out of the box. For our own good if not for anyone else. 

Depending on the level of basic intelligence and education level, a single encounter with a motivating person may trigger change or need continual guidance to steer life into a meaningful and productive experience. 

 The trajectory of life can change once we have good insight to guide our path. The benefits may not be evident right away. But 10-20 years down the road the investment towards a better way of life will pay off. And better life does not mean living with better commodities like house, cars, phones, designer clothes and shoes. If that was the case celebrities with no shortage of money would be stress free. Whether a billionaire or a day laborer, stress can eat up your life. Even the rich find themselves so busy with their lifestyle that they neglect their own care. The measuring stick for quality of life has not much to do with the money you have. Your health and happiness is proportional to your thinking, contentment and thoughtful behavior. 

The more I go around spreading the message of Preventive Health the more I realize how closely it is connected to spiritual awareness and awakening. These two avenues are connected tightly. Therefore very often I end up suggesting my patients to meditate or form the habit of chanting the name of their preferred deity. Because these are means to withdraw the mind from outside and search inside. 

Even the people who have followed a healthy lifestyle for their entire life may not feel complete until they tap into the spiritual dimension. The visible world of things can bring pleasure but not joy. To tap into true joy one must dive deep inside. And for that one must slow down. Pause. Reflect. 

The Light must be found within. Once that is found all other needs and wants become less important. The very cause of stress, anxiety, unrest, frustration and disappointment is removed. You not only tap into this unique treasure, magically it keeps multiplying when shared with others. You really start living in the true sense from that point. 

Dnyaaneshwar’s prayer comes to mind here.

Shama dama kala sadnyan vidnyan 

Paratoni adnyan na ye ghara

Samadhi saadhan sanjeevan naam

Shanti Daya sama sarva bhooti 

Through life of self control and mind control you can understand the world and yourself. Science and spirituality will guide your living.

Ignorance can never return thereafter.

The Name of God is an effective means of achieving peace, equanimity, compassion and state of spiritual realization. 

Saree is a Ponduru Khadi cotton in pastel shades of green and grey.