At the outset, I ask you a simple question: Do you love yourself? If your answer is yes, then why do you live in stress?  Why do you create turmoil and frustration for yourself? Most of the people will say, Oh no…I don’t create stress, but I get stressed because people hurt and torture me. The truth is that until and unless you are not ready to absorb the  negativity of other people you cannot be frustrated or unhappy. You become stressed only when you open doors of  our mind and take in negativities of others. This is how you end up being upset – if you don’t take in the negativities of  other people, then can anyone make you upset?

When someone gives you a gift, you have every right to say ‘No’ or you can accept the gift. And when someone is saying bad words to you, the other person can be your husband or wife, mother, father, child, neighbor or your boss is giving you harsh treatment, you can remain vigilant and not respond unconsciously; you can listen to it very attentively but refuse to take it in. But you live your life so impulsively that you never think about this. You just unconsciously grab whatever is said to you and end up in a miserable state.When you know who you are and how you do your duties, then why do you react to the situations in which the other person is unloading his anger on you. If that person is being unwise, you be wise at least.

You should take responsibility of your mind, and see what is beneficial or harmful to your mind. You need to keep a watch on what you will take in seriously or what you will simply ignore. If you are given poison, will you eat it? I give you a situation: Someone invites you for food, you go to their home, and you see a cockroach floating in the soup which you have been served. Now out of politeness, will you take that soup? The host is serving you with great love to eat but you can see that there is a cockroach in your soup, will you take that? You are not crazy, you are not mad, you will point it out to your host about the is-happening.

But when odd situations arise in your relationships, you don’t use your judgment well. You can’t be honest in your dealings – in the hope of golden future you endure so much humiliation, pain, insults. You not only take it but you chew on your ugly situations. You talk about it again and again with your relatives, friends and sometimes even to casual acquaintances. You wash your dirty linen in front of all. I have observed, people find a very narcissistic pleasure out of their sad stories. If one narrates his story then soon another person will follow to talk about his agony and will magnify it more than what actually would have happened in reality. What is the cockroach in soup of your relationships – it is ‘Expectations’, the hopes you have from others, or others have from you; this cockroach is indeed spoiling the broth of your life.

One more factor which is responsible for your stress is that you are absorbing everything in your head, as you have a humongous list of likes and dislikes. This list of yours makes you biased and you judge people, things as per your preferences. You create an idea about anything and everything in your head and then you act according to that condition. You see world from these spectacles and so does other person. On the top of that, you passively take every comment, observation and remark very seriously. Other person might have said something in lighter mood but you are never lighter – you are always loaded with your perceptions hence confusion and discord is the result.

Only if you use the power of discrimination and think twice before taking any thought seriously, it would save you from unnecessary stress. If only  you be vigilant towards which thoughts you are going to save in your brain and which thoughts you would simply brush off – you would not create stress for yourself and maybe you wouldn’t give stress to someone else too. Do not accept every thought – use your intellect more.

In your day-to-day life too you have to use the power of discrimination – what you are going to consume and what you are going to reject; even whom you are going to interact with, etc. Even if you do not want to be with any particular individual, who is a walking tower of negativity, you can always use your intellect and secure yourself. You should save yourself from any kind of onslaught.

Stress is carcinogenic. It kills your body cells and infects your immune system. You may think, ‘well, I don’t have much stress – it is a small issue’ but be aware that poison even in small amount is enough to end your life. Do not say that you have little stress. Even this little stress can be equivalent to little poison; the only difference is that this poison of stress will kill you slowly.

Chanting is one of the most wonderful ways to live a stress-free life. A research study was done in Australia on the benefits of chanting Om. I would like to share the results of that study. When Om mantra is chanted in a correct way, it has a direct effect on the pineal gland. It is one of the most important glands in the brain from where vital hormones are secreted. What are hormones? Hormones are the chemicals which have neurotransmitters to run your body system perfectly. The pineal gland with pituitary and hypothalamus takes care of all your major systems in the body like musculoskeletal, circulatory, digestive, eliminatory, cardiovascular, etc. Brain is the computer of body, and there is such a complex lymphatic and glandular system which is running human body so perfectly. But this computer comes with a hazard that it can get corrupted.

When you chant Om, it has profound effect on the pineal gland. It means if you do it correctly, soon you will experience the changes. When you are in deep sleep all these glands are working and various chemicals are secreted by glands like thyroxin, melatonin and serotonin. When you worry for a long time, this system gets corrupted soon. More stress means glands will not secrete chemicals as it is needed. Because of continuous stress your sleep gets affected, and when you can’t sleep properly, then further hormonal system malfunctions. The Australian research said that if you chant Om regularly, your glandular system would start functioning normally. You will assimilate the power of the mantra, and this power will improve your health and calm your mind.

You may do a small practical now. Sit straight. Spine should be erect. Sit in a comfortable pose / asana, making sure you have a solid base. No movements of your shoulders, arms, fingers, toes, head – nothing should move. Stop every movement – sit like a statue. Keep your body immobile. Slowly close your eyes but do not close them too tight.

Stop all movements of the body. Take a deep breath through your nose and gently let it go out through your nose. It is very unhealthy to breathe through your mouth, so breathe through your nose. Fill the lungs with air – take deep breaths in and out. Try to inhale slowly, and gently let your breath become silken breath – devoid of any jerk. Feel the body movements – when the breath goes in you will feel the stomach expanding, and when you exhale your stomach will move in and rib cage lowers to the normal position. Be observant and see the changes attentively. By taking deeper breaths are giving your body and mind a rest; this is the best technique to keep the body healthy and to keep it free from diseases.

Step two is to take a deep breath, inhale deeply and while exhaling chant slowly Om….Om…Om…Om….Om…Om…Om….Feel the vibrations which are happening in your throat region and listen to the sound you are creating by chanting Om. Do it for ten minutes.

Now don’t use the word Om, but just a sound similar to a bee – hmmm…hmmm…hmmm. Do it in the mind. You can hum without saying the word Om but do not forget to inhale deep. Be focused on your breath, the sound, and while exhaling chant hmmm, hmmm, hmmm. After a while, chant the ‘Om’ mantra mentally, breathing deep, let the chanting resound in your mind.

Now be silent.

Let your mind be absorbed in this mantra chanting – in vibrations of the divine word. When it is done with the right method and aptitude, it produces mind-boggling results. But you have to do it every day. You cannot derive its great effects, if you don’t do it correctly and regularly.

These days laparoscopic laser surgery is done to remove kidney stones. Do you know why stones are formed- the reason is when oxygen doesn’t reach properly in the abdomen area and when there is lesser energy, calcium begins to deposit in that area and stones are formed. In laparoscopic surgery, they use sound waves to crush the stone and crumbled particles pass out through urine. If the sound waves have the power to crush the stone, then imagine the enormous changes these sound vibrations produced by chanting can bring in the body and brain.
If anyone has thyroid problem then they should do the Gunjan of Om. For Gunjan, plug your ears with thumbs and do chanting of ‘Om’. Gently plug the ear with your thumbs and gently chant Om. It will have a direct effect on your thyroid gland, and it will soon begin to function normally. So chanting Om is going to give you so much benefit – physically and emotionally.

So begin your day with the mantra and end the day with it. Wherever and whenever it is possible, do your chant – on the way to work, sitting in train, car – you can use your time in a much more creative way. Silently chant Om.

Do your Om chanting and stop worrying as worrying isn’t going to change anything. Rather it will take your health away. Keep your mind cool, live your life with grace and know that the law of karma is working – so be good and do good. If still some challenges and difficult situations arise, handle them wisely. Soon you will be beaming like a sun. Don’t believe my words, try for yourself.
Tat Sat Om