In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on the “Atman” and the “Deham” and how we’ve to give more importance for the “Atma-Soukhyam” and comparatively lesser importance for the “Deha-Soukhyam”. Of course, we should ensure that our “Deham” is fit and fine. We should consume nutritious food, perform regular exercises, etc. and keep ourselves fit, both physically and mentally. But at the same time, if we start giving too much importance to the “Deham”, then it would start controlling us! As discussed yesterday, if we’re able to give atleast equal importance to both the “Atman” and “Deham”, even if we encounter several problematic situations in life, we would be able to handle them with the required calmness and balance. If this understanding is not there, and if we start giving too much importance to the “Deham”, we would funk and sit in a corner even if a small problem comes by. In fact, this is the main reason why many people today fall into mental depression. If we closely analyze the gross reasons as to why people fall into depression, it would clearly show that such people do not understand the significance of the “Atman”, and how to enrich our “Atman” as we move on with life. The moment we’re strong with the “Atman”, many problems can be avoided in life. Readers have to understand and realize this point very clearly.
In this, there is a small problem – Many of us might not be of the intention that we should give more importance to the “Deham”. Of course, many of us are ardent followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma”, and all of us would respect and revere what Bhagawan Krishna says in His Bhagawad Gita. He uses this term – “Maashuchaha”, which means, “Please do not worry about anything that happens in your life! I shall take care of you and ensure that you reach “Moksha”!” However, are we really following what Bhagawan Krishna says? We might not have the intention to disobey Bhagawan’s divine words of wisdom, but in many situations, we might lack that intent and effort to implement Bhagawan’s words into action. This is where the problem comes. Now we should analyze why such a problem arises. The root cause of this problem is that we do not spend time and effort to understand about our “Atman”. On the other hand, we spend a lot of time trying to understand our “Deham”, and this translates into “Deha-Soukhyam”. For instance, if there is a disease, we immediately go and consult a doctor, get medication and try to cure it. In other case, we tend to read a lot about various viruses, bacteria, etc. and how we should safeguard ourselves against those. Also, we read a lot about various aspects of physical fitness, exercising, dieting, maintaining our body weight, etc. and we also consistently do many things for that.
Now given this fact, we should ask ourselves a question – Are we doing the same kind of reading, remedy, etc. for our “Atman”? The more we read about something, the more knowledge we would gain on the subject, wouldn’t we? We’re reading a lot about various aspects of the “Deham” and with this knowledge, we’re trying to ensure “Deha-Soukhyam”. Now, if we do not give the same amount of reading and understanding time for our “Atman”, how on earth would we be able to understand the significance of it? If we’re not devoting time and effort to our “Atman”, how would we be able to achieve “Atma-Soukhyam”? We should think about this deeply as this is the crux of the problem. So for achieving this, what should we do? We should read through many discussions, listen to various discourses, debates, etc. that pertain to various aspects of our “Sanaatana Dharma”. We would all accept the fact that there is no shortage of explanations pertaining to the righteous way of living in our “Sanaatana Dharma” literature. Hence, what is stopping us from enriching our knowledge in this subject? So, it is we who’ve to make the effort, and this is the sole purpose of starting and maintaining this blog page as well. Also, the main idea behind spending so many episodes discussing such topics is for all of us to understand this subject. Of course, all of us know the overall storyline of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc. because these stories are imbibed into us ever since childhood. But what is important for all of us at this stage, is the deeper understanding of the various aspects of “Dharma” that are both directly as well as indirectly conveyed by Valmiki Maharishi and Sage Vyaasa respectively.
Hence, for today, let us understand this important point, and let us realize the fact that if we’re able to allocate time and make a conscious effort towards understanding our “Atman”, we would never go into any sorts of mental depression. The more we give importance to the “Atman”, we would become calmer and composed, which would enable us to take on any challenges in life! We shall continue this discussion further in the next episode and move on with what happened next at Indraprastha! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 