Body, Mind and Soul
For a Healthy New Year
By Kul Bhushan
Wishing you a happy – even better! – a healthy new year. You cannot be happy if you are not healthy. You will find articles, advice and suggestions no end on how to become healthy. These go on endlessly about food, exercise and sleep. Hundreds of ideas and innovations are promoted with smiling photos of models brimming with energy and glowing health. So you make them your role models and follow all these regimes to eat the right foods, go to the gym, practise yoga and sleep early. After months, if not years, of regular practice and strictly following special diets, you have a strong, immune and attractive body with rippling muscles and the right curves. Women flaunt their ‘washboard abs’ and men their ‘Six Pack Abs’ as their stomachs hug their spines and their six abdominal muscles are displayed loud and clear. Rippling biceps are a major bonus shown off in tight fitting T-shirts or tees. Thus, you look smart and attractive physically. If you can carry it all off with good looks, you can even become a model or even a film star!
But, in most cases, what use is the body beautiful put to? To flaunt one’s ego or make money. Are these so-called ‘beautiful people’ really happy? Look at their mood swings, tantrums, depression and even suicides of models and stars and it is clear that physical beauty has not brought them happiness or any balance in their lives.
So these days, mental health is also promoted with physical appearance. Popular slogans like “Think Positive”, “Keep Busy” and “Be a Winner” are supposed to help you keep mentally fit. Do they really help? If just think positive, what about facing the negative? If you remain busy at all times, what about reflection and rest? If you want to win all the time, what happens when you lose? The boom promoting mental fitness is not really helping people because more and more are getting mentally ill.
And finally, what about your soul? Do you even think about it? Do you even bother about it? Aren’t you a body, mind and soul? Yes, soul too. You have no time for it now; maybe later. Spiritual fitness helps you achieve a sense of wholeness within your spiritual dimension and outlook on life. You begin to look inwards and answer the eternal questions: Who am I? How can I discover myself? How well can I face death? And so on.
The enlightened master Osho shows the way to physical, mental and spiritual health with his unique meditations. Dynamic Meditation enlivens you with vigorous exercise for your body and catharsis for your mind. Kundalini meditation literally shakes out all your stress and negative emotions and Silent Meditation brings you closer to your real being, your soul.
Osho says, “Only one thing is going to remain with you: that is your witnessing, that is your watchfulness. This watchfulness is meditation.”
Go for it – for a Healthy New Year.
* Published in print edition on 30 December 2010
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