(adapted from a lecture by Sri Paramarthananda)
Problems are common to all
persons. The problems maybe short-term or long-term and may relate to health,
money, career, business, relationships etc..
Problems also bring in their train mental worry, which itself is a big
problem, as one cannot think and reason clearly with a worried mind which is
always accompanied by a troubled intellect. Since in life problems come
together or in succession the problem of worry seems to be eternal and
continuous. Even on those rare occasions
when there is a spell of problem-free time one is driven by the worry as to how
long that good spell will last! Since
constant worrying has a negative impact on mental and physical health,
sometimes leading to psychosomatic disorders, this problem of worry is to be
viewed seriously. For that let us first
try to understand its nature and how it operates.
Worry occurs in four stages;
occupation, victimization, immobilisation, and dissipation. We shall see them now in a little more
detail.
1) Occupation
– Worry may be concerning the family, finances, health, friends etc. Whatever
be the subject matter, it occupies one’s mind without volition on one’s part. Once
it occupies the mind, one’s mind is hijacked by the subject matter of worry and
one loses mental freedom or mastery of the mind.
2) Victimization – Once the worry over a problem
enters one mind, how long it stays there is not in one’s hands. As it stays in the mind it goes on churning
the mind producing unhealthy emotions such as fear, bitterness, self-pity,
frustration, anger etc and victimizes one in the process. This victimization of
mind leads to deterioration of mental health which in turn affects the physical
health
3) Immobilisation – Because of
the disturbed and negative mind-set, one’s intellectual resources and capacity
to solve the problem get immobilized.
Like a virus affected computer, the stored knowledge, secular and
spiritual, cannot be retrieved and employed effectively to solve the problem on
hand. With intellect immobilized, the
problem-solving capacity gets blunted.
4) Dissipation
– The disturbed mind and immobilised intellect stands not only in the way of
one’s solving the problem on hand but also renders one not capable of engaging
in any constructive work that requires deliberate thinking and mastery over the
mind and intellect. As a result one is confined to a mechanical life without being
able to employ freewill. This
is living in absentia where one broods over the past and does not live in the
present and life gets dissipated.
To sum up, at the stage of occupation
freedom is lost, at the stage of victimisation health is destroyed, at the
stage of immobilisation solutions disappear and at the stage of dissipation
life itself becomes meaningless. One should be beware of the mental trap that
considers worry as a manifestation of the sense of responsibility and thinks a person who does not worry is an irresponsible
and non-caring person. There is a famous verse which says that between the
funeral fire and worry, worry is more destructive as the former burns only a dead
body whereas worry burns a living person.
The scriptures urge us to work on the problem instead of worrying over it. Working on the problem is
something every responsible person should do.
We shall now see about working on a problem. Like worry, working also comprises four
stages: decision, crystallization, exploration, and preparation.
1) Decision
– Unlike in worrying where it occupies the mind when it chooses, now one decides
when to think over a problem. The time
and duration of thinking one keeps under one’s control. This way one is not vulnerable to the gate
crashing of the problem in one’s mind on its volition.
2) Crystallization
- Keeping the intellect or the rational faculty in command, one condenses and crystallizes the problem
into a few important points without
being emotionally affected. This way the problem is not allowed to continuously churn the mind leading
to emotional disturbances.
3) Exploration - At this stage one thinks of various solutions to the problem. This is solution oriented
thinking as opposed to problem-oriented thinking which is worrying. As against immobilisation of the intellect, it is put to proper use to look
for and arrive at possible remedial measures. If we find it
difficult to go through the stages of crystallization and exploration, it means
we are worrying and we are being victimized by the problem.
4) Preparation
- When we go through the stage of exploration; we will be able to identify many
alternatives or solutions to the problem. We have to choose one alternative and
plan its implementation. Hopefully our implementation will succeed in solving
the problem.
In the fourth and final
stage, one starts dwelling on implementation of the possible solutions. Until the implementation programme is
successfully completed (which may take time), one should try to strengthen
the mind by means of cogent and rational analysis and understanding of the
relevant issues and by prayer to the Lord for strength of mind to accept the
results of one's efforts and for developing a proper attitude by which one rises above
the problem, making it appear insignificant in one's enlightened vision. This
will make one turn one's attention to other constructive activities instead of
being plagued by the problem which defies solution. Sometimes the implementation
of one’s strategy may not solve the problem. In such a case one must not lose
hope but try again with alternative solution going
through all the four stages once again. Until
the problem is solved, one must try again and again summoning one’s inner
strength to face the problem.
At times a problem becomes unsolvable as in the case of a medical problem where the doctor says that one
has to live with it. This is a choiceless situation. In such a case,
preparation is strengthening the mind by wisdom, understanding and prayer to God
for mental strength to rise above the problem, so that the problem does
not trouble the mind. The lives of many
handicapped people who had conquered their handicaps mentally and had become
great achievers is a big inspiration in this regard. These people did not seek sympathy or brood over
their problems but working with a strong will and focussed mind rose to great
heights and serve as inspirational models to others.
Thus, one needs to conquer worry by strengthening one’s mind and retaining one’s
ability in relation to decision making; crystallisation of problem, exploring and
implementing possible solutions and preparation of the mind to face the
ultimate results with a prayer to the Lord asking for strength and
wisdom to solve those problems that are solvable and to accept and rise above
the problems that are not solvable. This way
even if one is not able to solve the problem, one can live a happy and constructive life.
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