Worry-a State or feeling of anxiety, disturbing the peace of mind. It is a very common anomaly affecting people throughout the world, not only in economically developing countries but equally if not more even in economically developed countries, where people who are economically poor and have less monetary resources, have a cause for worry and run about in search of money. It is observed that those who have too much money are also affected with worry.
ਗਉੜੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥ Gauree, Fifth Mehla:
ਵਡੇ ਵਡੇ ਜੋ ਦੀਸਹਿ ਲੋਗ ॥ ਤਿਨ ਕਉ ਬਿਆਪੈ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਰੋਗ ॥੧॥
Those who seem to be great and powerful, are afflicted by the disease of anxiety. ||1||||113||
Which means people who appear materially well to do, are also worry prone.
ਮਾਰੂ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ਘਰੁ ੮ ਅੰਜੁਲੀਆ
Maaroo, Fifth Mehla, Eighth House, Anjulees ~ With Hands Cupped In Prayer:
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਜਿਸੁ ਗ੍ਰਿਹਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਤਿਸੈ ਗ੍ਰਿਹਿ ਚਿੰਤਾ ॥
The household which is filled with abundance - that household suffers anxiety.
ਜਿਸੁ ਗ੍ਰਿਹਿ ਥੋਰੀ ਸੁ ਫਿਰੈ ਭ੍ਰਮੰਤਾ ॥
One whose household has little, wanders around searching for more.
ਦੁਹੂ ਬਿਵਸਥਾ ਤੇ ਜੋ ਮੁਕਤਾ ਸੋਈ ਸੁਹੇਲਾ ਭਾਲੀਐ ॥੧॥
He alone is happy and at peace, who is liberated from both conditions. ||
ਬਿਨੁ ਗੁਰ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਨ ਹੋਈਐ ਮੀਤਾ ॥
Without the Guru, liberation is not obtained, friend.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਿ ਤੁਟਹਿ ਹਉ ਬੰਧਨ ਏਕੋ ਏਕੁ ਨਿਹਾਲੀਐ ॥੩॥
In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the God believing, the bonds of egotism are released, and one comes to behold the One and only Lord. ||3||
ਮੋਹ ਮਗਨ ਮਨੁ ਵਿਆਪਿਆ ਚਿੰਦਾ ॥
Intoxicated with emotional attachment, the mind is afflicted with anxiety.
ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਸਮ ਜਾਣੈ ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਰਾਮੁ ਹਿਆਲੀਐ ॥੪॥
One who looks alike upon pleasure and pain, by Guru's Grace, sees the Lord in each and every heart. ||4||
Fact/truth expressed in Gurbani/ Sikh scripture is that those who are free from both economic extremes are happy.
Some other contributory factors which cause worry are disease or disability, work stress, emotional trauma from breakdown of human relationship and fast-faced globalization.
Tendency of the people to distance themselves from Creator/ God is another important factor because they are losing the benefit of eternal love and security.
ਪਰਮੇਸਰ ਤੇ ਭੁਲਿਆਂ ਵਿਆਪਨਿ ਸਭੇ ਰੋਗ ॥
Forgetting the Transcendent Lord, all sorts of illnesses are contracted.
Which simply means forgetting God, Creator, Lord, Allah, Wahguru, Bhagwan, etc. increases the incidence of worry and other psychological problems.
Guru Nanak (500 years ago) said that those few who contemplate on the Creator Almighty (God) are truly happy and all other beings are to be affected by worry.
ਚਿੰਤਤ ਹੀ ਦੀਸੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋਇ ॥
Everyone has worries and cares.
ਚੇਤਹਿ ਏਕੁ ਤਹੀ ਸੁਖੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
He alone finds peace, who thinks of the One Lord.
ਚਿਤਿ ਵਸੈ ਰਾਚੈ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਇ ॥
When the Lord dwells in the consciousness, and one is absorbed in the Lord's Name,
ਮੁਕਤਿ ਭਇਆ ਪਤਿ ਸਿਉ ਘਰਿ ਜਾਇ ॥੨੩॥
One is liberated, and returns home with honor. ||23|| (Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Raag Raamkalee - 932)
Guru Nanak depicts the true and realistic picture of the anxiety and of worry of the everyone, which is basically a disease of mind, although it is a serious problem yet it can induce as physical symptoms in a person and (s)/he may complain as pains, back pain, muscle and joint aches, headache pain, indigestion or diarrhea or cardiac systems like permutation, nervous symptoms like feeling of the numbness in hands or feet, getting choking sensation, general weakness insomnia etc. Because of the physical symptoms, a substantial percentage of worry reported to the general physician as complaints. These physical symptoms may further aggravate the state of worry and this is a vicious circle created. The problems of worry may be a temporary feature for a person, or one may get attacks of these symptoms for a period of time, therefore it is necessary that a person is properly investigated to identify the cause of worry in any of the physical symptoms and to exclude any role of the chronic disorder.
Management is both preventive and creative
We all know the development of character and personality of our mental outlook pattern, various environmental influences which include the role of parents, brothers and sisters, role of teachers in the school and college and role of religious education. Reading, singing, listing of gurbani kirtan individually and in company of devotees, ie. Sangat, understanding and reacting in the right form from childhood builds a personality enriched with faith, love and devotion in God and in positive thinking. which we call Chardikala (contentment). This acts as an antidote to worry and as such as an effective and a strong preventive measure, the conventional caring management is by drugs alone or supplemented by psychotherapy.
Millions of people seek help for this ailment from doctors and they are most commonly prescribed tranquilizer and antidepressants. These drugs do help to cope with stress and the symptoms of anxiety and give short time relief. As this does not usually provide long term cure or permanent cure and they may produce adverse side effects, if used for a long period of time.
So, there has to be a need for an alternative or complementary approach. Other approaches include Biochemic Tissue, Salts, Herbs, Homeopathic medicine etc. Meditation and yoga have also been found very helpful.
Guru Nanak and guru Arjan many years/ 500+ ago, have gone into the root causes and lasting treatment of this sickness and advises sound and long-lasting treatment.
They suggest Simran of Omnipresent with dedication and sincerity.
Lots of love and lack of security through remembrance or feel presence (God) omnipresent everywhere grounds you to reality and safety. To feel loved, safe and protected all the time, to reverse lack of security - feel omnipotent & omnipresent. One should always keep in mind and sing following Shabad /lines from guru Granth Sahib.
This will also make you content with what you have and move you forward to achieve your goal without anxiety.
We are also told the way to obtain mental peace and pleasure
By remembering God with devotion I have obtained supreme blessing and by singing the Lord's prayers, I have achieved emotional tranquility, mental peace and pleasure. He highlights the management of worry through Divine himself. God talks directly doing simran with love and devotion. Remembering and contemplating on the creator with each breath God tells us that we can shed the mind's worry.
In short, this makes a psychological effect on your mind and works as a psychotherapy.
ਸਾਸਿ ਸਾਸਿ ਸਿਮਰਹੁ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ॥
With each and every breath, meditate in remembrance on the Lord of the Universe,
ਮਨ ਅੰਤਰ ਕੀ ਉਤਰੈ ਚਿੰਦ ॥
and the anxiety within your mind shall depart.
ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਇ ਮਹਾ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ॥
Meditating on the Naam, I have found great peace.
ਹਰਿ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਇ ਮੇਰਾ ਮਨੁ ਸੀਤਲਾਇਆ ॥
Singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, my mind is cooled and soothed.
Guru speaks of their experience; by remembering God with devotion, I have obtained supreme blessing and by singing the Lord's prayers I have achieved emotional tranquility, mental peace and pleasure. He highlights the management of worry through Divine himself. God talks directly doing simran with love and devotion. Remembering and contemplating on the creator with each breath God tells us that we can shed the mind's worry.
According to the Sikhi concept, Simran is not merely a ritual oriented worship, it's practical living spirituality, it is a process of overall building and transforming character and personality of an individual. It begins with the recitation and listening of Gurbani versus often and putting emphasis not only on recitation and repetition and singing continually but more so on the mental attitude of the person who's doing Simran.
There are many good quotations which draw our attention to this aspect in one such quotation --Guru Amar das says:
Everyone repeats God's name by tongue but mere repetitions do not bring transformation. However, by the grace and message understood/ perceived by the mind, only that is person rewarded:
ਪੂਰੇ ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸੁਨਿ ਉਪਦੇਸੁ ॥
Listen to the Teachings of the Perfect Guru;
ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਨਿਕਟਿ ਕਰਿ ਪੇਖੁ ॥
see the Supreme Lord God near you.
Listen to the teachings of one divine (in all) and behold the Supreme Being close to you. He's an ever existing truth or eternal truth, we remember him by Divine hymn/ Shabad.
ਸਬਦੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਧੁਨਿ ਚੇਲਾ ॥
The Shabad is the Guru, upon whom I lovingly focus my consciousness; I am the disciple.
This way continually remembering Shabad with devotion/ dedication. Devotion with dedication and the mind absorbed in the Shabad produces repeated impact on mind a sort of hammering effect which fortifies faith in the existence and benevolence of God along with simran by a stressed/ depressed person daily or regularly and ask God for gift of faith massage on gift of confidence, hope and trust the source of true support. And so then the anchor lesson and its application in life go hand in hand. Life begins to be molded and modified in the light of what one wants.
That's what is basically related to our mental outlook and perception simran or practice of Nam with faith, love and devotion gradually and perceptibly produces healthy change and transformation in the mental outlook and perception of the individual.
The lifestyle or way of life of the person is modified with the result that worries vanish and one gets happy.
ਗਾਵੀਐ ਸੁਣੀਐ ਮਨਿ ਰਖੀਐ ਭਾਉ ॥
Sing, and listen, and let your mind be filled with love.
ਦੁਖੁ ਪਰਹਰਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਘਰਿ ਲੈ ਜਾਇ ॥
Your pain shall be sent far away, and peace shall come to your home.
Guru Nanak puts seal of authenticity when he assures us by saying that the supreme ONE and its application effaces all worries and anxieties, as light dispels darkness, likewise enlightenment by Gurbani dispels darkness of ignorance and its false perceptions.
There are numerous personal experiences of people who could see freedom from worry through simran and prayer Hopefully depending upon the level of faith knowledge understanding of Gurbani and its application in life Gurbani therapy will be useful as alternative system of self-help prayer or as a complementary therapy for the management of worry and Sikh psychiatrists will lead and promote this to our young and adults.
May I also suggest such issues should be discussed in the gurdwara programme for the benefit of school going children, teenagers and young adults. If there is a social worker, a psychiatrist or a MD, he should initiate this service.
Sikhi is a simplified-practical-perfect- universal way of life.
Guru Granth teaches delightful living. (Good+happy) Good for today & better for tomorrow.
Follow it.
Jasbir Singh
