The great East-West contrast for healthy living

nBY NOELGDESOUZA

The Wes tern prescription for good health, such as for those who have diseases like diabetes and heart problems, i s co remain active; practically, this means walking or jogging More energetic versions are cycling and swimming.

ln contrast, the Eastern prescription (Hindu -Buddhist) fo r good physical and mental healt h is scaying still and includes emptying the mind (praryahara). Emptying di e 11-und i s no easy task; the mind is naturalJy designed to flit from one thought to the next. Memor)' consi s ts of a jumble of mind- images which are an imprint of the world w l-uch one has experienced. Patanjali counsels agaLn st m odifying such images, as chat would mean bei ng active and not passive, as praryahara should be.

psychosomatic illnes ses mean char we need to guard against allowing unhealth y emotions to permeate our way of l ife. Permitting emotions suc h as sadness and fear to dominate our thinking can be detrimental. Ins tead, making happiness and hopefulness a part of our medicative process cou.ld mean good healtl, There is an obvious age factor which can dictat e t he exerc ises an indiv id ual chooses Young athletic-oriented individuals wid1 reasonably good health may opt for jogging and cycling, whilst older p ersons may choose relax ing exerc ises and hope that inner calm develops. A variant of active exercise is tl1e military goose -step move m e nts which were see n so often in the news relating to the threats fro m North Korea. Similar parades are also common in the Balkan states, suc h as in Greece.

In these troubled the effects of sud1 emotions is no easy task. Events like d1e ho rrendou s bombing in B osto n and the tragic explos io n s in Texas have traumatised peop le even in far away p laces

Hindu scripmres liken the mind co a raging bull wh ich need s to be controlled b y hold ing its horns. Chapter

6 of tl1e Bhagwad Gita

''Emptying the mind is no easy task; the mind is naturally designed to flit from one thought to the next. Memory consists of a jumble of mind-images which are an imprint of the world which one has experienced extols: 'In a fair still spot. Hav:ing his fixed abode There restraining heart and senses, silent, calm, Let him accomplish Yoga , and achieve Pureness (of) soul, holding immovab le Body and ned, and head Tranquil in spiri t , free of fear. That Yogin, so devoted (and) so controlled comes co the peace beyond "(E Arnold's poetic version of the Gita).

Modern workplaces demand a lot of mental activity an d alertness. Indeed, cl-us places stress on individuals w ho long for calm and often go on hol idays co distant p laces International tourism has become tl1e order of d1 e day.

Of course, tl1e Eastern a nd Western systems often contain e lements of ead1 other, but predominantly the Western way is to activate one's muscles and breatl-ung; whilst the Eastern way is to de -stress tl1e body and slow tl1e breathing to calm the m ind (the highes t version of this practice is dhyana , a term common to both H in duism and Buddl-usm).

It is being accepted in tl1e West t hat emotions have their effect on health. Such invented during Mao's time. It was political i n character and was meant for galvanisi ng tbe Chinese peop le.

Aged persons who choose rela.xing exercises could possibly benefit from the Chinese Tai -Chi system which can be performed by individuals of aU ages Its main aim i s apparently to achieve inner calm tl1roug h graceful movements. A variant i s the martial style move ment times, worry and fea r are w id espread. The almost instant transmission of troubling news exace rbates the effect of events which may be far away, but n ever d1eles s relevant. Emptying the mind from

Hosp itals i.n Au stralia bar visitors during certain homs when patients are encouraged co rest and to s leep Such supposed 'inaction' is sai d to help in d1e curative processes. This coincides with the Easter n way. Ir is possib le for all indiv id uals, w hether sick or not, to sec asi d e a peri od w hen they can rest with n o interruption. his then that d1e)' can stop worrying about the workplace and o d1er maners, and cry to 'empty their minds'.

,,Modern med icine has produced a whole rru1ge of medicines for inducing sleep. Amongst d1ese, barb iturates have a reputation of being habit-fo rming. Milder ve rsions for helping o n e to sleep are periodicall y being announced by drug compa1-ues.

Some practitioners of yoga develo ped a type of yogic rest or trance called ruriya which is abso lute rest with d1e organs going into a feeb le state of activity. Such a trance i s obvious ly difficult to achieve. Modem medicine has its variant in t he form of induc ed coma, which is used in very serious medical cases.

Every indiv id ual needs co make a conscious choice depending o n what sui ts that person's ability. For example, someone who cannot have a daily run might still be able to swim. Even so meone who mostly lie s in bed can engage in mental exerc ises. The above exercises might be decided upon by consultati o n with someone or by reading books, but tl1e choice is entirely left to tl1e indi vidual. le is based on freedom of choice and on se l f-clisc ipline.

In a rece n t article in the S.Jdmy Morning Hemld, Hugh Mackay, social commencaror says, "Eve ry part of our society has become infected w:ilh the virus of s elf-promotio n , obsessed with recognition. ln the name of encouraging one ro 'feel good' about o urse lves , as a society we seem to have gone a bit too far".

W/e see adults clamoring to be photographed w ith celebri ties, children are rewarded for even the s mallest of efforts made, and certificates a nd praise are lavi s hed for almost everything Unless t h.is is done wi th a sense of m oderation , all ic does is co buil d a bloated sense o f self-worth that fuels egotism.

Gone are the days when verbal praise and acknmvledgements were the reward , instead o f material things or public accolades. The i ncidents of edification have reached s uch enormous proportions chat it has become a source of embarrassment. In an era where feeling unique an d special is encouraged almost constantly, be i t fashion or t he owning of rare material possessio ns, the constant war-cry o f bein g 'special' is ofte n taken co the extreme.

An iUusu·ation o f chis extreme marketing of one's uniqueness can be seen eve n in sports In an effort to encourage indiv iduals, t!Je team's contribution that is intrinsic in the success of th e individual, is re legated co th e back sea t. It seems we have developed an almost unque n chable need for recogn ition and the belief thar public rewa rd would so m ehow encourage better and more successful efforts.

\Vhar chis does is create a false expectation tl1at not only is one unique, but one has the right to b e seen as unique and be endo rsed by others The fact is chat each of us is unique and s pecial b y vir tue of just what we are - humans endowed with special faculties that make us stand apart from other species. Within our own species , each individu al has a very si ngular DNA that makes us unique. This also bestows on us the capacity to chink, act constructively and conduct our lives as a community, not just as individual s or tribes of animals. Somehow, ,ve seem to h ave moved away from tl1e fact chat ,ve are inter-connected and inter-dependent

So, why are we descending further into chis vortex of se lf gratification? Is it a sense of intrins ic insecurity? Why do we post selfies on Facebook and metweets on Twitter? Perhaps ch is self-grandstancling g ives a sen se o f contro l in an increasing world 1.hat seem s beyo nd one's control. The truth is that no one is any more superior or inferior co any o ne else. As the saying goes, 'W hat you win o n tl1e swings, you lose o n the roundabout'.

On rhe other h and, we h ave individuals w h o are so self-critical, tl1at they discount ilieir own self-wo r d,. The y are rel uctant to speak up even w hen they have something worthwhil e to say, they take the back seat alwars, and sometimes bec o me coo dejected a nd discouraged at the smaUest disappointment, in stead blamin g themselves. Often t hey also descend into self- pity Sadly, tl1ese negative emotions onl y destroy their confidence further.

A commo n l ament is char man y are too concerned about \vhat others might say'. In traditio nal culm res, o ne often hears the phrase, 'Wh at would od1er people s ay? ' \'{/he n we look into the orig in of d1 is phrase, it seem s ir came about to illustrate the idea that in the final analysis, what matters is how one's Life is evaluated posthum o usly when those left behind would be able to say, 'd1ere goes a g r eat person'. This is falsely und erstood to mean that we should somehow bow to od1er people's opinions, discounting our own ideas. \While this concern abour d1e views of ochers does produce some cohesi o n in n orms being maimained in so cial in teractions, it also stifles indi viduality to a certa in extent. It would seem that it requires a fi ne balance to maintain a sense of self-worth, while still being aware of m aintaining cohesion wiiliin the family/ society.

The idea of an intrinsi c sense of sel f-worth tl1ac resulrs from th e pursuit of bas ic values such as kindness, ilioughtfulness, generosity and cornpassion in everyday Li fe seems alien t o man y It is the response from o ur feUow-be ings w h en we practice good values that validate om sel fwortl1. Self- esteem and self-worth are b oth intrinsic, and cannot be so ught externally. l\ sense of satisfaction in behaving in a 'hLm1an' way is somethi ng that is w ithin the expe r ience of everyone Generous giving, b e it of our time, mo ney or help brings with it its own reward.

Hugh Mackay's su mmation best illustrates tl1is: "Self-respect is a very priva te con cept, easily overloo ked in the noisy contest to construct and prom ote an ' im age'. le i s a thing we earn by cbe way we han dle di sa ppointment, tedium and loss, as weU as those fleeting m omencs of happiness. There i s no shorccuc, and no amount of se lf-promotion will get us d1ere".

It seems we have developed an almost unquenchable need for recognition and the belief that public reward would somehow encourage better and more successful efforts

The idea of an intrinsic sense of self-worth that results from the pursuit of basic values such as kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity and compassion in everyday life seems alien to many