By Dr Partap Chauhan
 Human beings are the only form of living in the world that is privileged to
enjoy the beauty of entertainment. It is said that our souls take 84 lakh
births in various forms of life before being born as humans. This means we have
just one life now to enjoy and then wait for another eon spanning 8,400,000
generations of approximately 70 years each.
Unfortunately, with the fast-paced modern life we are leading today, we have
largely alienated ourselves from true enjoyment. The modern civilisation has
made great strides in providing material comfort to the human being. But along
with the good things also come the bad things. Stress is one such by-product of
the modern life. Mental stress today is the worst enemy of human health and
well-being. It is deadlier than the deadliest disease as it affects the mind and
emotions which control the whole body.
 Time is a precious commodity for people today, a lack of which is a contributing
factor to increasing stress. We all seem to be hankering after things that we do
not possess. In the process, paradoxically enough, we do not get time to enjoy
even things that we possess! To illustrate, let me talk about the poor,
super-busy man who was fond of music and often listened to music while he was
away from home—in the car, bus and train; inside the bank and in office.
Finally, he got some money. But, thanks to his busy schedule, he never got the
chance to listen to his own home theatre that he bought full one month back!
The modern age has also taken its toll on the family life of people in general.
After the day’s hard work people are left with almost no time to even talk to
other members of the family. This has created a sort of artificial barrier
between each other. The net result is utter non-cooperation and incongruence—the
son does not know where his father is going the next morning or the mother is
not aware of her daughter’s greatest day in school the next day. There are also
examples of a ‘family’ of four living together as neighbours in separate rooms,
with individual television sets, bathrooms and wardrobes!
The bottom line is that the world is fast getting boring by the day with no
entertainment to help people lead a happy and healthy life. And, even if there
exist some forms of entertainment, they are only as momentary and short-living
as the whip of a cool breeze in a hot summer day.
The Permanent Entertainer
Ayurveda, it is where the entertainment-starved world can find a solace in. For,
this 5000-year old science from India offers simple remedies based on the
bounties available in nature that ensure us happiness of a lifetime.
According to Ayurveda, health is not the possession of a disease-free body
alone; it is the possession of a healthy mind, body, senses and, most
importantly, soul. In our quest for happiness and pleasure we often try to
provide entertainment to our mind, body and senses. Forms of entertainment that
may be classified under this category include participating in cocktail parties,
discotheques, cabaret dances and gambling, listening to loud music and
subscribing to narcotics. These forms of entertainment offer only transient
amusement as they could only cater to the temporal aspects of human beings—mind,
body and senses.
It is easy to observe the changes that take place in our bodies, minds and
senses as we grow up from childhood to adulthood. The only aspect of our life
that remains constant and changeless is the soul. Soul is the ultimate driving
force sitting inside us that controls the body, mind and senses.
Entertaining the Immutable
What Ayurveda prescribes is to provide every means of entertainment to this
permanent aspect of our life, i.e., soul. Entertainment for the soul includes
practicing non-violence, speaking the truth, helping others, not cheating or
exploiting others, living with love, peace and harmony and by realising the fact
that we are souls.
 It is important to realise that, “I am soul”. I is neither the body nor the
mind. It is not something new to us as all are aware of this fact. That is why
whenever we refer to body or the mind we use the word 'my' for example, my body
is aching, my mind is a bit off today. We always use the word 'my' for something
that belongs to me. This proves that I is neither the body nor the mind. Who is
the I then? I is the soul, the energy which keeps this body and mind alive
(Jiva), gives them light (Jyoti) and lets them experience love (Prema).
Self-realisation or ‘to be enlightened’ simply means to know this fact that “I
am soul”.
Many people think that one day some bulb will light up in their head and they
will become enlightened or self-realised. Others are trying to open up the
Chakras and lifting up the Kundalini power. Many are meditating for
hours daily trying to concentrate the mind on light, picture or a sound. But all
these are meaningless if I don't know who I am. Self-realisation is very simple.
It is not complicated. All you have to do is 'realise' about your 'self'. It
means to realise or know that, “I am soul”. This is foundation of spirituality.
But this is unfortunate that today we live in a total make-belief world unaware
of our actual existence, much like a drunken man who can not differentiate
between the real and the imaginary. The root cause for such behaviour is an
imbalance in our mental energies.
Self-Realisation for Enjoyment
 More specifically, the mind has three Gunas (states). They are Sattva
(knowledge, purity), Rajas (action, passion) and Tamas
(inertia, ignorance). An imbalance is caused when Sattva decreases and
Rajas and/or Tamas increase(s). As Sattva decreases, mental
strength, determination and the power to discriminate (to distinguish right from
wrong) also decrease. When such a state is prolonged, the mind becomes stressed.
This may then lead to other mental disorders like anxiety, depression, fear and
nervous debility.
To conclude, one should try to attain the state of high Sattva and
minimise Rajas and Tamas. Rajas and Tamas also have
a role in various functions in the body like action (passion) and sleep. When
Sattva is in abundance, the functions of Rajas and Tamas are
positive and constructive. In this state they help us in attaining a state of
balance or health.
In one of my previous articles, I suggested some great means to increase Sattva.
You may click here to read the same.
The Final Word
In order to provide lasting entertainment to ourselves, it is important that you
make the above a part of your life process. To make this easier for you, I have
summed up the above points and devised a lifestyle plan. It is called the
Jivananda Lifestyle Regimen.
It also includes the
Jivananda Meditation that helps us realise the fact that we are souls.
Over the past year, I have been recommending this to everyone I came across such
as patients, students and workshop participants. And I am happy to see
positive results in all of
them—Jivananda has helped them in keeping their minds in a state of high
Sattva and lead happier, healthier and stress-free lives—lives that
have bought tickets to a permanent entertainment show.
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