From IIM Ahmedabad To Happiness

Author(s): Vijay K Jain
Publisher: Vikalp Printers

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FROM IIM-AHMEDABAD TO HAPPINESS
peevishness, envy and the like, as well as unhealthy suggestions produce as much harm as unwholesome foods and poisonous surroundings. Accordingly, we find many of the ordinary ailments of life amenable to control by suggestions as well as by proper medicament.
The seeds of desire are said to be the harbingers of vital poverty and decrepitude. The body is subjected to abnormal strains by reckless living. It is easy to desire, but not so easy to gratify the senses, for their objects often lie beyond reach. Besides, every desire, once gratified, becomes a still stronger longing for further gratification. Hence, worry puts in its appearance and becomes an additional tax on the body for which it was never designed. It is this additional burden on the body which is the cause of much trouble in the case of thinking beings. We, given mostly to relying upon our intellect, suffer acutely from both real and imaginary pains, for we not only think of the immediate future, but also of that which is the most remote and might never happen. The amount of energy which is consumed in the operations of the intellect, in calculating and determining the future course of events and actions, is enormous, and directly tells on our health.
The human body is a delicate organism, and not intended to bear, with impunity, the constant pressure of hard work to which it is subjected in many instances. Exposure to inclement weather, harmful and uncongenial surroundings, and want of suitable healthy food, all combine to accelerate the approach of old age. Hardened arteries, abnormal liver, vitiated kidneys and degeneration of the vital organs are some of the effects on our body. Gradually the muscles shrink, making the skin loose and wrinkled; the memory and intellect are enfeebled and the senses are impaired.
Fortunately, vitality is not a fixed quantity which cannot be
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