Shri K. C. Jain
Treasurer, IYA & Managing Trustee,
Akhil Bharatiya Anuvrat Nyas
When it comes to our health, we never take chances. At the manifestation of the slightest symptom, we either undertake self-medication or seek help. Most of us turn to allopathy for solutions. But diseases that afflict our physical and mental state are rooted in our emotional state and while modern science has been immensely successful in diagnosing that the symptoms being manifested in the body are rooted within, it may not always have the answers. Today, taking off from this premise, we will see how health and disorder are visualized in Preksha Meditation.
Let us begin with a simple example. What is a fever? Is it a disease or is it merely pointing to the symptoms of disease? Perhaps we’ll all agree that a fever is only a symptom of a disease which could be anything from a simple infection to something life-threatening, such as cancer. What is important to note is that by merely treating the symptom, the fever, the disease cannot be treated. For that, we have to get to the root of the disease.
Along this vein, let us add another example. Nowadays, it is fairly common to hear that underlying almost all diseases is stress. This stress could be due to any reason, and in working professionals, its occurrence has become quite common, with much emphasis being laid within organizations on effective stress management to improve the productivity, creativity, and decision-making in individuals at the lower levels as well as in the higher echelons of management. But again, what many of us do not understand with regard to stress is that it is rooted in emotional disorders afflicting us, such as anger, fear, greed, ego, jealousy, etc. This stress is only a symptom of what is an emotional disorder and without treating the cause, it is improbable that we will find a lasting cure to this problem. It might appear utopian, but if one is able to overcome these emotions, there will be no stress. But if the diagnosis itself is wrong, how can there be cure?
Now, some of you might believe that the answers to keeping stress, anxiety and other such disorders at bay are easily found by what youngsters also call “popping some pills”. Modern science has delved deep to find the solutions and has come up with path-breaking technology and medicines. However, these have only been successful in remedying the external symptoms, the physical manifestations, while some disorders occur at a psychosomatic level, where even science acknowledges its limitations.
The focus on treating the physical aspect of the disease has, in many instances, created dependence on medicines for life. This is perhaps why many people complain about not being able to find a cure for their ailments and seek alternative therapies. While modern-day science looks for credible alternatives to heal at a deeper level, it is the ancient age-old wisdom of Indian spiritual and meditational sciences which take us beyond the physical and address the root cause of the diseases at a holistic level. Thus, the science of meditation seeks to cure from within what is manifest as a disorder at the external level.
In Preksha Meditation, the focus is on treating the emotional aspects in order to treat the physical and mental disorders. The objective is to correct the imbalance in our emotions, our state of mind, or in Leshya. Addressing the state of Leshya in our being can lead us to correcting the emotional disarray within us, helping in effectively creating order in our physical being.
