There is hope!

There is hope! Balancing physical and spiritual energy to walk the path of health and happiness

In Atharva Veda, there is a prayer for long life. Which says;

“For a hundred autumns may we see,

For a hundred autumns may we live,

For a hundred autumns may we know,

For a hundred autumns may we rise”

(Translated by Dr. A. C. Bose)

This ancient prayer is more than a beautiful dream.  It raises an important question - is it really possible to have a joyful long life? To be healthy and happy is in fact the most natural state – one that is born of the equilibrium within the life force that binds us. And it is due to many interfering factors that create imbalance and cause our life to less than healthy and happy. While physical life spans has increased in the modern age due to advanced medicine, whether people are in fact healthier or happier is another matter altogether. Since ancient times across cultures, we all know that mind and body are interrelated, and they affect each other. Good health makes us cheerful and positive, and a positive attitude drives good health. Keeping this in mind, when we try to restore energy, we must consider that other factor beyond food and rest – prana, which is cosmic energy and the invisible life force that propels us forward. 

Our common belief is that when we feel tired, and take good food and some rest, we will be energized again. This theory is true to some extent, as long as it is used to restore bodily energy. And of course the mechanics of our body requires food that is rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, etc. and which are also easily digestible, so our digestive system is not stressed in the process. Upon which, the caloric energy derived gets distributed to each cell in our body and we feel energized. But there is another kind of energy – one that is not derived from calories. And when we are unaware of that life force and its interplay with caloric energy, we lose the equilibrium within our mind and body that is naturally build upon it.

And so overindulgence can have the opposite effect if, to satisfy our taste, we depend more on processed, spicy and over cooked food or consume too much of it. If we consume animal proteins in large quantities in our daily diet, we forget that something that taste good and fills the stomach, is not necessarily what our body needs. So knowingly or unknowingly we tend to abuse our body with over eating or wrong eating. Consumption of too much animal protein can boost cellular regeneration and energy levels temporarily, but medical findings have found a correlation between red meat consumption and cancer, which is in simple terms, is an overgrowth of cells. So it is important to understand the idea of balance and equilibrium, especially by taking into consideration our needs beyond caloric energy. Prana of life force is in everything and how we consume it, channel it, and expend it makes us balanced or imbalanced. 

Energy constantly moves through our body – the ancients have described the types of energy centers of chakras that are the nodes through which our life force is channeled. Today’s comfortable and sedentary life style actually blocks the movement of energy and deprives us from having good health to some extent. There is research that correlated sitting with shortening lifespans. Our body needs movement like walking, jogging, swimming, yoga, etc. to maintain the flow of energy and equilibrium.

Equally, wrong and negative emotions like anger, greed etc. lead to psychosomatic diseases caused by an unbalanced mental state.  The food that we eat affects this mental state. So does the lack of awareness of the underlying life force – whether it is being nourished or starved. This is at its heart, is an energy issue - and poor consumption and utilization of energy is a key factor. 

But there is a way out of here, or rather, a way inwards, which was given to humanity by our ancient sages, is simple, and can work wonders to transform our lives.

One such system is “yoga”, which was introduced by sage Patanjali. For total development of body, mind, and wisdom (a more appropriate translation of buddhi, often referred to as intellect), - “ yoga” is a system we can rely upon.  If we make it a part of our life, and practice it daily with sincerity, then it can bring about transformational change by developing our body, mind and wisdom to help us find balance and energetic equilibrium.

Yoga handles energy (prana) in two ways. Firstly it teaches to draw more cosmic energy, and secondly it teaches to throw out poisonous substance and negative emotions from our body-mind system using our breath effectively.

Yoga means union of individual soul with supreme soul; to achieve that, one gradually proceeds through eight steps; like yam (control, which we should not do) niyam (discipline, what we should do), asana (exercises), pranayam (proper breathing), pratyahar (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyan (meditation) and nirvan (liberation). So through yoga, when body mind gets purified, it becomes a good receiver of cosmic energy. Paramhansa Yogananda says “yoga teaches us to know the divine nature in ourselves and others….. Beneath the wave of our consciousness is the infinite ocean of His consciousness. It is because of the wave forgets it is a part of the ocean that it becomes isolated from that oceanic power” (Where there is light, p. 7)

So to make life happy and energetic, we should infuse love and a willingness to help others in all our activities. We should also be careful to stem the leakage points of energy, like unnecessary gossip, or useless activities that have no long term value. 

Today in the name of modernity, we have lost the beauty of the simple life - closeness with nature, the art of spontaneous co-operation with our fellow beings. The resulting unhappiness is manifested everywhere. 

Swami Yogananda’s recipe for bringing health and happiness back into our lives comes to mind - “Drink vitality and receive mental nourishment from a materially and spiritually progressive mind. Take long mental walks on the path of self-confidence. Exercise with the instrument of judgment, introspection and initiative” (Paramahansa Yogananda, Where there is light, p. 109).

Edited by Prodeep Bose