Years ago, when I decided to study what had caused me clinical depression, for some time, I came across many points-of-view depending on who you were sharing them with. The psychiatrist told me that it was an imbalance of neurochemicals in my brain. My Chinese diviners told me that my yin and yang were imbalanced. Ayurvedic practitioners told me that the blame lay squarely on the imbalance of the doshas; the spiritual experts said that I was balancing out my purva sanchit. I was told that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Human as I was, I stood somewhere in-between — the two extremes trying to find the balance of my life. The common factor of all I heard was rectifying the imbalance.
From the trapeze artists in the now-almost-extinct circus shows to evolving minds of would-be saints, each of us knows that balance is crucial. If we lose it, there’s unhappiness waiting for us.
ACTION. REACTION
Each action gives out a reaction. The Goddess of Justice stands, with the scales in her hand tipping up and down. We all walk a tightrope balance of survival, stability and adaptability, action and passivity, single-minded pursuit and a wide-open outlook. The esoteric symbols of our idols are about balance too. The Holy Trinity is about Creation, Preservation and Destruction. The Shakti sits serenely astride a tiger balancing all the five senses as symbolised by what She holds in Her hands: the trident [touch], flower [smell], the vase of nectar [taste], the drum [sound], and Her own glow, the Radiance of the Sight.
Modern physics tells us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Vedic wisdom says that the law also applies to human action. Every thought, whether expressed or merely a ripple in our mind, reaches out to the Universe and binds us to the results forever. Our thoughts and actions are undying and their effects cannot be fathomed by any law of the intellect, or rationality.
BALANCE HOLDS THE KEY
Alternative therapists often ask us to retain the balance of our minds and bodies. Activity is to be balanced by rest. Moderation is a balance of thoughts and actions. It is comparatively easy to maintain a healthy balance in our physical well-being, but to be able to carry that balance to our emotional wellness might need extra effort. When life dishes out pain or unhappiness for long, it is easy to get cynical and develop a darker view of the world. The more darkness we feel, the more of it we will attract. We are responsible for the outcome of what we create. Balancing anger with understanding, humility with good self-esteem, simplicity of mind with social skills, generosity with the ability to maintain one’s personal impenetrable boundaries, concentration and distraction, or going too far and falling just short… all of this needs effort.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra says when we attune ourselves to our body’s natural intelligence, it is easy to recognise the signs of every single imbalance. A lesson in niyama includes the cultivation of balance and health, along with emotional contentment and surrender to the higher powers.
WHEN EVERYTHING IS BETTER
Balance is a conscious dynamic process. Given the extreme indiscipline of our lives and minds, starting on it may seem a bit tough. One may slip from time-to-time, but getting back in there does the trick. Once the mind and the body get used to balance, the flow is fairly smooth but, at no point of time, can we take it for granted. If there is restraint, there is temptation. If the change is only forced from the outside, or if it does not come from within — there are more chances now of the balance being disturbed.
One realises the outcome of everything is so much better and long-lasting when we experience things in moderation. Once this is done, it becomes motivating enough to choose and maintain our balance in our thoughts and also life.
