Good morning friends
As many of you guessed correctly, the golden word hidden in yesterday’s Mandala was ‘Health’ ! Congratulations to everyone who has found true health !
The WHO states: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” As this definition states, true health is not confined to just physical well-being, but includes mental and social wellness too.
We all know that the body and mind are closely related. Actually speaking, body and mind are not two separate compartments, but they are along the same continuum; the body being the gross visible ( स्थूल शरीर ) and the mind being the subtle/ invisible one (सूक्ष्म शरीर )That’s why, a physical illness can cause a psychological disturbance and conversely, a mental disorder can lead to some physical problems. Scientific studies suggest that negative emotions like depression, severe anxiety, worry and stress can adversely affect the recovery from an illness and also our immune system. Depression and anxiety have also been linked with the cause and/ or relapse of cancers. Social factors also influence the physical and mental state of an individual.
We doctors always talk about ‘Prevention being better than cure’ for any health issues. So, we stress upon the importance of a good nutritive diet, regular exercise and a good lifestyle. In these stressful modern times, taking time out of our busy schedules for relaxation, for pursuing our hobbies is as, or maybe, even more important than diet and exercise.
While we talk about these aspects of health, we are forgetting an important component of ourselves and that is the spiritual aspect. I am sure many of us have experienced this unseen realm- the spiritual- which is beyond both the body and the mind. It is a matter of experience and not logic ( hence a matter of great controversy ) Our body, mind and soul are interconnected and any change in any of these three components can affect the other two, both positively or negatively. A person who is physically healthy, has no obvious mental problems, may not be truly healthy if spiritually he/ she is harbouring harmful emotions. For example, people who are always angry, always complaining, consistently blaming others, jealous or revengeful, who harbour harmful thoughts for others like hatred, all these people are obviously not healthy spiritually. On the other hand, people who are loving and caring, kind, compassionate, helpful, satisfied with their life situation are spiritually healthier. In the long run, a spiritually unhealthy person is more likely to suffer from physical illness also. It follows that staying spiritually healthy during a stressful period can help reduce the duration of sickness or its complications. Prayers and spiritual practices are known to improve recovery from major health issues, but often these are termed as ‘miracles’ by the medical fraternity. Actually, we need more scientific studies to assess the role of spirituality during stressful situations.
Speaking for myself, I have experienced the benefits from meditation and other spiritual practices during my cancer treatment. After my treatment was over, I have helped some cancer patients with these practices and the results have been amazing.
But even if you leave aside major health issues ( like cancer ), meditation has been known to control hypertension, diabetes and anxiety disorders. So, I believe that being open to spiritual experiences , and not writing them off as an aberration, is the need of the modern world.
When I read the word ‘healthy’ , I think it is an abbreviation of ‘Heal thyself ‘ ! After all, remaining healthy and/ or healing ourselves is quite often in our own hands, isn’t it ? And to remain healthy in the true sense, we need to take care of not just our body and mind but our spiritual aspects too !
Wishing all of us good physical, mental, social and spiritual health in the years to come,
Love,
Anjali Bhatawdekar
