World Mental Health Day

 

Not too long back I wrote about one out of the twelve Taatiche Abhang of Sant Muktabai. Perhaps on the one and only occasion in his life when Dnyaaneshwar lost his cool and locked himself up inside the hut, this little sister who was barely 9 years old at the time, rose to the occasion to remind him of who he really is. If you study these twelve short poems you are struck with the simplicity and direct approach of the poetess. The essence of the poems involves knowledge of the universal spirit( Bramha Vidya) along with a descriptive definition of a saint. If you read between the lines, underlying these intricate spiritual concepts is a beautiful lesson on mental health! 

Let us take a look at abhang #5 from the series. Then some select lines from rest of the taatiche abhang.

५ – संत तेचि जाणा जगीं

संत तेचि जाणा जगीं ।

दया क्षमा ज्यांचे अंगी ॥१॥

लोभ अहंता न ये मना ।

जगी विरक्त तोची जाणा ॥२॥

इह परलोकीं सुखी ।

शुद्ध ज्ञान ज्यांचे मुखीं ॥३॥

मिथ्या कल्पना मागें सारा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥४॥

Those people should be recognized as saints who hold mercy and forgiveness in the heart. Who embody detachment by not allowing greed and false egoism to enter the mind. Who remain happy wherever they are by holding on to pure knowledge. Keep aside false imaginations of the mind and open the door oh Dnyaaneshwara.

In other verses she says

विश्व रागें झाले वन्ही ।

संती सुखें व्हावें पाणी ॥

शब्द शस्त्रें झालें क्लेश ।

संती मानावा उपदेश ॥

The world erupts in anger fueled by numerous desires and greed. Saints can douse these fires by their natural tendency to remain cool like water. 

The world will continue to create anguish with sharp words. Saints must take even the harshest of such words as valuable lesson.

घर बांधिलें डोंगरीं ।

विषया हिंडे दारोदारीं ॥

People believe that moving away from crowds will bring peace. They seek dwelling in mountains with such false ideas. Truth is that their mind remains restless with innumerable desires. Whether in company or solitude, one cannot find peace unless desires are reined in. 

वेळे क्रोधाचा उगवला ।

अवघा योग फोल झाला ॥

You accumulate merit through good deeds. And squander it away in just a moment when anger gets better of you.

आपआपणा शोधून घ्यावें । 

विवेक नांदे त्याच्या सवें ॥

आशा दंभ अवघें आवरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

Try to find who you are. A person who knows himself finds wisdom and with wisdom comes peace.

Give up false expectations and hypocrisy and keep an open mind Oh Dnyaaneshwara!

एकें उंचपण केले ।

एक अभिमानें गेलें ॥

इतकें टाकुनी शांती धरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

False pride( too much self importance) leads to a man’s downfall. Experience peace by giving up the false ego.

ऐसा नटनाटय खेळ ।

स्थिर नाही एकवेळ ॥३॥

Nothing is permanent in this world. We are all actors assigned roles in a divine play. 

रागें भरावे कवणाशी ।

आपण ब्रम्ह सर्वदेशी ॥

ऐशी समदृष्टी करा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

See God in everything and everyone. Then you will conquer anger. Adopt such attitude of equanimity towards all. 

एक मन चेष्टा करी ।

भूतें बापुंडी शेजारी ॥

अवघी ईश्वराची करणी ।

काय तेथें केलें कोणीं ॥

पुन्हा शुद्ध मार्ग धरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

Man can control all his senses. He can control eating, can control what he listens to or what he sees with his eyes , or what he touches with his hands. Except he cannot control the mind on his own. The mind is wild and difficult to tame. Only its Creator knows how to control it. So turn it there. Devote your life to God. Take a path of truth and purity. 

तुम्ही तरुनी विश्व तारा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

Uplift yourself every day and alongside uplift others. Don’t put yourself down or others. 

ऐशी थोर दृष्टी धरा ।

ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥

Keep such magnanimity of attitude and open the doors of your heart Oh Dnyaaneshwara!

शुद्ध ज्याचा भाव झाला ।

दुरी नाही देव त्याला ॥

For those that have a pure heart God is ever close to them. That implies they will enjoy lasting peace.

If you think over it carefully, excessive desires and greed create restlessness and lead to anger and frustrations. Too much materialistic pursuit strains relations as well as personal wellbeing. Too much pride blinds us to reality. The mind frequently conjures up ideas that are not consistent with reality( mithya kalpana in Muktabai’s words). If we don’t recognize such imaginative troubles in time it can lead to great problems. How many us carry grievances in the heart about someone else’s wrongdoing? Instead if we could learn forgiveness( kshmaa) it would save us a lot of suffering. Many of us carry prolonged grief over the loss of a loved one. If we realize and accept the impermanence of every thing we can overcome grief. To mark the virtues of the departed loved ones and try to carry them forth in our own lives is a more practical way of staying connected with them forever. Just like people, prosperity and physical attributes do not last in the same condition forever. Accepting change gracefully makes things so much easier. A life led with purity of thought, appropriate effort, contentment, introspection, kindness and service brings meaningfulness and peace to the mind. 

Above principles ensure lasting peace. Yet all people may not be ready for that much introspection and refinement.

For short term too there are measures to keep the mind from going crazy.The daily ups and downs tend to put a strain on the mind. A few minutes each day to rejuvenate the mind can do a lot of good to maintain mental health. Whether it is listening to good music, reading a good book or taking a walk outside. Playing with kids or tending to plants. Taking up a painting brush or putting on your ballet shoes or ghungroos. Reciting a poem or striking a yoga pose. Sitting down to meditate or lending a hand to serving food to the homeless. Small things can restore the mind to its state of wellness. Whilst choosing such good options as above we need to consciously avoid harmful options like taking solace in smoking, alcohol or other drugs to  feel good. These are like bad friends who will ultimately lead us to regret. 

Yesterday October 10th was World Mental Health Day. Every day ought to be Mental Health Day! Who is available to care for the mind 24/7 other than ourselves? Why don’t we start today? 

My cotton kasavu repeated here. Same saree, same me, different time and different location.