By Swami chidanadna
Do we not notice, in our daily life, that there are times when we feel cheerful and other times when we simply lack enthusiasm? It is indeed worthwhile finding out what brings energy to us and what causes its depletion.
Right food, many claim, can give us energy. Certain vitamins, minerals etc. along with the carbohydrates help the body’s chemistry to make us feel energetic. As we know, there is a whole industry that sells energy drinks, various supplements, tonics and pills that promise us a more vibrant life. We cannot deny the role these food and drinks play in making us energetic but we feel low in spite of these on occasions.
“Seek good health from the sun,” is an old saying1. Exposure to the morning sun, and to generalize it a bit more, being in the midst of natural surroundings, can help us draw from Mother Nature quite a bit towards good health.
Advertisements sometimes go beyond sensible limits. There was an advertisement of a soap, many years ago, which claimed that taking bath with that brand could ensure an energetic day for us! We take such things in a lighter vein of course.
In this piece of writing, I wish to draw your attention to a totally different approach to finding energy, which can add in ample measure to all the other things we may do. That is ‘keeping our promises’! Whenever we deliver the goods in time, which means we do what we had promised to do, the sense of satisfaction and relief rising in our bosom makes us feel unburdened. We feel light inside our chest. If we clear some important pending work, say in the very first three hours of the day, we are highly likely to feel light, cheerful and energetic throughout the day.
In the Mahābhārata,there is the story of a certain housewife who gains supernatural powers that astonishes an ascetic who had attained certain powers by meditating for years in the forests. When the ascetic asks the woman how she got those powers, her simple reply is, “I did all my duties towards my family with love and care. That itself has awakened these powers within me!”
Leaving aside miraculous powers, it makes sense to recognize one fact. Our being able to do our duties2 and to keep our promises can do a lot of good to our mental health. Living an orderly life, in this way, can be a source of subtle energy that paves the way to happy living.
Swāmi Chidānanda
Notes:
1 āditād-icchet ārogyam |
2 kartavya-nisthā |
