Creative Confinement

Part 2 of Swami Isa's writing on the Coronavirus crisis, published in the Malayalam newspaper, Janmabhumi on 07/04/2020. Read the article in Malayalam

by Jagadguru Swami Isa

 

Mankind is experiencing an unprecedented, critical situation and the challenging task before us is how to empower each individual to make his journey in these difficult times and emerge unharmed, unhurt.

The noisy, turbulent world is compelled to be in a silent, solitary mode and this period must be fully utilized to build up physical, intellectual and mental immunity. Central and State Governments and voluntary organizations must play a leading role in executing this project.

Emotional conflicts adversely affect the immunity potential of the people.

By nourishing creative thought and outlook we can win over the current situation.

Swamiji is suggesting certain procedures to be followed during this period.

1. Physical Immunity

To build up physical immunity it is essential to take pure, and delicious food.

Health care workers of Government agencies must create awareness among the people about nourishing, immunity booster food items suggested by the Ayurveda system of medicine. A few examples: one tablespoon of honey and half tablespoon of ghee; Kushmanda (winter melon) rasayanam; milk boiled with ashwagandha choornam or turmeric; porridge with milk etc. Instead of fast-food packets people must turn to sattvic food of milk, fruits and vegetables.  

Yoga techniques like veerasanam, pridhvi mudra, nadi sudhi, pranayamam, etc can be followed to lead a stress-free life.

2. Intellectual immunity

It has been scientifically proven that negative thoughts, emotions and attitudes of an individual will have unhealthy impact on his innate immunity.

We must see to it that those who are sick and those in quarantine are not subjected to frustrating news about death and disease. News about cure and well being can inspire a note of optimism among the people.

Meditation is the most sublime practice to build up immunity, nourish creative thought and activities. If concentration on a single thought is possible for twelve seconds it becomes a dharana; if the duration is multiplied by twelve, it becomes dhyana (attention can be focused on the flame of the lamp). By propagating meditation techniques power of concentration can be developed. Mantras produce sattvic sound, and the chanting of mantras can boost immunity. 

Young people should be encouraged to focus their attention on art, literature and cinema and by applying modern technology venues can be formed to present their creations and can have a healthy competition.

Arrangements have to be made to see that those who have to live in quarantine do not suffer from mental depression. Social media can play a significant role in instilling hope and faith in such circumstances.

Certain norms of behaviour have been followed in India since Vedic period. We say Namaste to greet people, wash legs and hands before entering the house, and have rituals ensuring hygiene connected with death and funeral. The whole world, especially the new generation must be made aware of our traditional practices of hygiene.

3. Mental/emotional immunity 

In order to create mental and emotional immunity it is essential to avoid unhealthy programmes in visual media. Mind has to be kept pure and pious as it is conducive to building up immunity as well as boosting life energy. It has been scientifically proved how the physical wellbeing of a person is closely linked with his intellectual and emotional health.

Television channels and electronic media can play a major role in providing programmes that promote positive thought and emotions.

Sublime values of human life like love, kindness, empathy are to be nourished in these difficult times and with this aim in view relevant schemes have to be designed and executed.

It would be a good idea to devise methods that will help the people to assess their physical, intellectual and emotional health and find ways and means to improve their creative power and learn how to boost their immunity. Every day, both morning and evening, we must find time to think and pray for the peace and happiness of every being in the universe. This will improve our emotional health.

Long-term Solutions

It is imperative that we think of long-term solutions and this is possible only by finding the root cause of the problem. It may seem like a natural phenomenon, but it is rooted in negative destructive thought.

It could be a deliberately created bio weapon, a product of trespassing into nature but is the inevitable result of distorted knowledge and defective system of education. In ancient days wars were fought face to face, then fought in the sky and ocean, and atomic weapons were believed to be the ultimate ones. Warfare has attained another dimension with bio-weapons, sowing disease and death on a scale beyond our imagination. The root cause can be traced to the selfish motive in the mind of man to attain supremacy by killing fellow human beings and destroying nature. Only the right system of education can wipe away the negative elements in the mental make-up of a human being. The loss of values in the system of education resulted in breaking the link between man and nature. In recognition of this sad predicament Isa Viswa Prajnana Trust gave shape to a Total Education scheme and founded Global Energy Parliament in the year 2010. The basic I-Theory has been discussed in GEP sessions conducted in various parts of the globe and practical models of I-Theory have been evolved.

While searching for long term solutions to the existing problems, the recommendations made by GEP need to be considered and we hope the Human Resource Ministry would look into the proposals submitted by Isa Viswa Prajnana Trust after conducting research programmes in executing the teaching methodology, Education for Total Consciousness.

We will overcome COVID19 but its damaging aftereffects will go on haunting us for a longer period, and we need to look for permanent solutions.

The physical reality of objects and events lie in the quantum theory of energy turning to matter. This quantum has a leg of vibration of three frequencies and that leg is I vibration, at greatest frequency it is black, at medium frequency, red and at the minimum frequency it is white. Thought dominated by black matter vibration leads to negative emotion and action and the white matter vibration dominated thought leads to positive thinking. The disastrous situation we are facing at present is the result of black matter dominated thought. The journey of a human being is from the blending of happy and sad vibrations to vibrationless total happiness. Man has forgotten the reality that life is not just birth and death. May solitude throw light onto the truth!

Swamiji’s Recommended Daily Practice:

1. As soon as you get up in the morning, sit facing the East and take deep breaths ten times.

2. Examine the thoughts that come to your mind and see whether these are good or bad.

3. If the thought is bad, deliberately bring in good thought.

4. Check the emotion that comes in.

5. If it is negative emotion, think of positive emotions to overcome negativity.

6. Take deep breath, sit straight and bend exhaling, 9 times.

7. Stretch legs and gently massage from toe to head to energise the whole body. 

8. Sit in vajrasana and meditate on light for 3 minutes.

9. Make a prayer to be blessed with good thought, good mind, good body and the willingness to do good karma (actions).

10. Chant Swami's "Human Mantra":

While expanding, I become the universe

The universe receding becomes I

Neither expanding nor receding

I am Total Consciousness.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!

 

 April 7, 2020