Almost all over the world, physical ailments related to poor lifestyles are ravaging the health of a large section of the population. These diseases including diabetes, coronary artery disease, and hypertension, are prevalent in the young and old alike.
Recognising the root cause of these ailments, doctors are advising lesser dependence on medicines and stressing on exercise and diet control for maintaining physical health.
A wrong lifestyle can lead to several ailments, and such a lifestyle is rooted in the mind and seeded in the soul. Medical research has found that 85% of all diseases are psychosomatic: They are caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress.
To nip the problem in the bud, it is necessary to address it at the root level. This involves checking and changing the pattern of our thoughts.
This is what meditation is all about. If we sit down quietly for a while and observe the thoughts that arise in our mind, we will get an idea of where our mind is going. We will also recognise what kind of thoughts give us joy and which ones give us pain. Invariably, thoughts associated with positive qualities such as love, compassion, happiness, and knowledge, help us feel better. On the other hand, thoughts linked to vices such as anger, ego, hatred, and jealousy, produce discomfort and agitation.
Thoughts also trigger biochemical changes in the body by influencing hormonal processes. Positive thoughts sustained over a long time have positive health effects, while negative thoughts ultimately lead to disease.
After observing the thoughts, the next step is to give them a positive direction so that we can remain happy and healthy.
Having control over our thoughts means having the ability to focus the mind where we want, keep it there for as long as we want, and withdraw it at will.
Practising this frequently, starting with even a few seconds at first, helps us gradually develop control over the mind. This also reduces waste thoughts, which consume a lot of our time and energy.
While that is a rudimentary exercise to improve our concentration, gaining mastery over the mind requires some spiritual knowledge and exercise.
It helps to know that we are souls, not bodies. The mind and intellect are faculties of the soul. The brain, which is part of the body, is the hardware that enables the soul to control the body.
Exercising the mind involves taking our attention away from the physical body and the physical world, and directing it to our spiritual self, the soul. This is me—a sentient point of light and energy, separate from the body but dwelling in it. I, the soul, am the one who feels, thinks, speaks, and acts through the medium of the body. Doing this exercise regularly strengthens our awareness of our true identity and control over our mental and physical faculties.
Diet control goes with this exercise. Pure thoughts are the healthy diet of the mind. Creative thoughts are like vitamins, as they maintain our zeal and enthusiasm.
Positive thoughts, like proteins, build willpower, while thoughts of serving others are like carbohydrates, and provide energy to the mind.
Waste thoughts deplete mental energy and leave us weak. Negative thoughts are toxic and wreck mental health, eroding our ability to make the right judgment, take correct decisions, tolerate negative situations or face adversity. Such thoughts arise from body-consciousness but are seeded in the soul in the form of vices such as lust, anger, greed, and ego.
The most elevated thoughts arise during the practice of Rajyoga meditation when the soul lovingly remembers God, the father of all souls, the ocean of virtues.
Through this link the mind fills with purity, peace, power, and contentment, making us healthy and whole.
B.K. Sheilu is a Rajyoga teacher at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.
This is what meditation is all about. If we sit down quietly for a while and observe the thoughts that arise in our mind, we will get an idea of where our mind is going. We will also recognise what kind of thoughts give us joy and which ones give us pain.