Interdisciplinary Centre for Swami Vivekananda Studies (ICSVS), PU Organises Seminar on Stress Management

Chandigarh May 21, 2015: Excessive work load, lack of work, strained human relations, emotional imbalances, vices, disagreement and guilt are the top reasons behind stress, said Adhyaksha of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Yadavagiri, Mysore, Swami Muktidanandaji Maharaj at Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Swami Muktidananda was speaking at a seminar on ‘Stress Management’, which was organised by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Swami Vivekananda Studies PU. ‘Stress’ is one of much deliberated lifestyle diseases ailing the modern man today and stress free life is a common pursuit for each individual. Swami Muktidanandaji lent a fresh perspective towards managing stress in daily lives.

Integrating the spiritual, scientific and psychological dimensions, Swami spoke about the various reasons for stress, the symptoms of stress and also offered a number of tips and solutions to manage stress in one’s life, followed by a meditation session for the audience.

Swami Muktidanandaji acquainted the audience with four functional aspects of human mind – the intellect, the emotion, the will and the memory. Speaking about the power of mind, he mentioned that “it is the mind that binds you in shackles and it is the mind that liberates you and bring you joy.” He furthered that it was therefore important to control one’s mind and quality of thoughts to be able to understand stress and manage it.

Breaking the stereotypical notion on stress, Swamiji mentioned some amount of reprimand was required to maintain an individual on the correct path of life and stress that disturbed the normal physical and mental health of the individual needs to be checked and managed. He also mentioned that eating disorders, lack of sleep, absent mindedness, hurried and fast speech and repeated discordant movement of hands and legs were the most common symptoms of stress.

Further Swami Muktidanandaji shared a number of solutions to manage stress in one’s life. Learning the art of relaxation, planning of routine, regular yoga and exercise, developing of right attitude and a positive outlook, practicing meditation, goal orientation, faith in God and faith in oneself, strengthening of mind and nervous system were some of the measures that could help manage stress. He also mentioned the tips that could help in reducing stress, these included practicing rhythmic breathing as frequently as possible, right speech, balanced and nutritious diet, practicing virtues like empathy and compassion, and living in tune with nature.

Earlier, Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Swami Vivekananda Studies Prof. Nandita Singh, introduced Swami Muktidanandaji, the speaker for the day.

The chair for the seminar was Swami Satyeshananda, who is a monk of the Ramakrishna order founded by Swami Vivekananda ji. The guest of honour was Smt. Sujata Sharma, Director of Swami Ram Tirth Educational Institutions at Mohali.

The seminar concluded with a guided meditation session. It was attended by faculty, students, research scholars and large number of interested persons from the community./ (SK Vyas, Jalandhar)