By Oinam Anand
Janmasthami falls on the day after tomorrow. On this auspicious day many devotees will throng in every temple in every shrine where the Lord Krishna is adorned.
Why do men worship God? Why do they pray before God? Man pray to God to reduce or to wipe out their minds’ total fear; fear of being robbed off by robbers, fear of failing in the examination, fear of deterioration of health, fear of losing jobs, promotions etc. These fears in man in many forms have encircled man.
So man seeks the help of God and think it will achieve with some prayer specially on the auspicious days. This fear in mind creates stress and this has led to some who insist that despite of regular praying they have never achieved their desire. Praying of such kind only accumulate their stress in mind because such men or most men when they pray it is with a hope that there be reduction of their fears instead of praying for the strength to love human being.
Coming to the problems of fear and stress of the students of today, they are always under immense pressure. Mental pressure on them is more than physical, from ever growing competition amongst peers. There is always ever increasing demand to perform better and better in the examination. Racing to meet a deadline for school assignment, dealing with difficult problems, earning a poor grade are all stressful.
Anything lasting long enough in our mind to cause mental pressure can be a stressor. When a student pass in the first Division or in ‘A’ grade, it is a great achievement. But when the said student expects to be among the toppers or an A+ grade then the result of the examination is a cause of a stressed situation for the youngster.
Students in their formative years, more in the teenage period, are sensitive to their surroundings, to the events that is happening around them. Constant struggle to live upto the expectation of self or of others, of parents teachers or peer groups can be stressful.
With every new syllabus, with every new course of study, with every new teacher or new school, there are new questions of results. These new situations bring apprehension and fear of failure. Striving becomes even more stressful when unrealistic or unclear expectations are imposed by elders or parents. In this situation fear and stress occurs in the student’s mind even if he or she performs better. Stress occurs in his mind and youngsters get tired of constant efforts and may have a hidden fear of not being successful the next time.
But at the same time stress and fear have got a positive factor in our lives. We need stress and fear. Without it life would be less exciting and challenging. Stress sometimes acts as a source of motivation and a necessary component to survived.
But for its positive perspective, prolonged stress can be detrimental and may take a toll of our health. It is more in the lives of students. Students evolve their own strategies to cope with stress which if not controlled in time are harmful such as escape through alcohol, drug, frequent illness, oversleeping, over-eating or even starving themselves.
Then there arises the need of coping with stress that arises in the minds of the youngsters in their formative years and here comes the need and importance of spiritual teaching as a part of school curriculum.
Quality of Education should not be equated with quantum of curriculum content. There should be a few topics more intensively on moral education. Moral education needs more on the teaching of the teacher less with the curriculum content. Conventional wisdom tells us that the teacher is the one who leads his students on the path of knowledge. Unfortunately, in these days it is very hard to find a good role model teacher when the demand of such teachers is increasing.
Our present generation lives in an increasingly dizzy world. The world seems to be falling apart and we have nothing to hold on. The traditional social structures are collapsing. Man are craving for money.
Today the students are acquiring education with selfish aims and self interest in mind. By the time they finish their course of study, by the time they start working and earning, they feel that they have achieved all their goals. The good job, the fat pay becomes all in all for them. Also the parents no longer insist that their children must acquire spiritual education. Consequently our younger generation have completely lost their mental power and their
inner reality is also eclipsed.
Where does the mistake lie? Does it lie with the parents, or the teachers, or the leaders? It is the mistake of everyone of us all. And it is the responsibility of everyone of us to teach the young minds the importance of moral education, the importance of human values like truth, righteousness and love.
By imparting spiritual and moral lessons and activity as a part of syllabus in the school curriculum, it will help to foster true education to the students as well as in the society. It will help in lessening the burden of stress on the mind of the students.
This importance of spiritual and religious healing is felt necessary in medical science also. Unlike in the past, doctors now recommend spiritual and religious healings as a part of treatment.
Patients with depression psychosis now begin to turn spiritual for solace, while known drug addicts got completely reformed after taking the spiritual path. The young generation should be made to know the superiority of mind over matter. For this spiritualism is the only tonic.
Source: The Sangai Express
