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HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE PROBLEMS OF MODERN LIFE
Dr. H.R. Nagendra
Unless we have a total approach, we cannot solve the problems of modern life which are multi-dimensional. The linear physical model which we have been using will not do. We must deal with man as a totality: physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and, at the base of a 'l, spiritual. Yoga provides the approach to deal with man in his totality. You have heard the brilliant lecture of Swami Pragyamurti in which she has described the use of this total approach of practices on the physical, emotional, mental and intellectual levels. That is what we have been doing for the last 14 years in dealing with a large number of modern problems, particularly medical problems.
Among the highlights of the decade of research in the Vivekananda Kendra Yoga Research Foundation, stress has become the real challenge to modern man, which again is multidimensional, and yoga has been the answer. The Maandukyn Upanishad Karikaa gives the essence of all sadhana, yoga practices, in this beautiful verse:
Laye sambodhayat chittam vikshiptam shamayet punalın, sakashayum vijaniyat sama praptani na chanlayet. (MK-44.)
When the mind gets into a state of laziness, lethargy or sleep, we have to stimulate it, address it and bring it into a state of wakefulness. Once we do that, the whole mind becomes disturbed and has to be calmed down. We must recognize the deeper, inner stagnations and stresses. Once we remove these we find bliss and remain in that state. This is the essence of the sloka.
In this way we started tackling problems of stress and, with a course called 'Self-Management of Executive Tension', we have been handling the corporate sector. When a person goes ir:to deep sleep for six hours, his basal metabolic rate is reduced by about 9%. If the program of total relaxation, which consists of some asanas, breathing practices, sound vibrations,
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