Rest or stillness is of great importance in Hinduism. Shiva
and Vishnu, the two important Hindu Gods, indulge in fun, relaxation, and
stillness. Modern Hindus need to learn from the gods the importance of resting
and relaxing. Stillness allows us to detoxify the mind, clear our minds, focus
and find solutions to problems of life.
Abhilash Rajendran
www.hindu-blog.com
Today, rest and relaxation are considered sin by many.
People cannot see a person taking rest or relaxing, they think the person is
wasting life or is wasting the wealth of parents or ancestors.
Just like hard work, resting and relaxing is equally
important.
It is not physical rest alone that is required; we need to
put our mind too to rest. We need to stop the mind from constantly filling it
with rubbish.
Today, the funniest part is that a person can only rest
after his/her death. That is why we have ‘rest in peace.’
Actually, we should take frequent rest while we are alive so
that we do not suffer on earth and we are able to come up with creative
solutions to the challenges that life throws up.
When we do not have proper rest both physically and
mentally, we develop fatigue. There is confusion, agitation, anger and we
commit mistakes after mistakes.
Every Hindu scripture gives prime importance to the
cessation of mental movements. This is displayed graphically by Shiva and
Vishnu. Shiva shows it to us through intense meditation and withdrawing from
the world. Vishnu shows it by sleeping on Adishesha. After a period of rest,
both these Gods become active again.
Mental rest, stopping the flow of thoughts, cessation of
brooding over past and giving up unwanted intellectual pursuits just to satisfy
the senses are very much necessary to have a fruitful life.
Today there is constant bickering, churning, seeking,
agitation, questioning, exploring, and forming opinions. This leaves our mind
frustrated and fatigued. We take in more information than we can actually
process.
We need to develop a good filter for our mind. We should
only allow that information and thoughts to enter the mind that makes our life
healthy and beautiful. All other thoughts need to be filtered out.
Desire driven restless mind causes big accidents in life.
They never reach the destination. A quiet and spiritually serene mind will know
which desire to follow and the correct path to take and the correct speed
required. Only such a mind reaches the destination without getting hurt.
Creation begins when Shiva and Maa Parvati disturbs the
stillness and darkness with their dance. Shiva (Purusha) is first in denial
(solitude), but later he accepts the invitation of Maa Parvati (Nature). They
both indulge in pleasures and activity (family life). Both then withdraw into
stillness – cosmic darkness. Then they again emerge to perform the Ananda
Tandava dance.
Hindu teachings are always based on cycles - a recurring
sequence of events. It based on silence and sound, formless and form, stillness
and movement, rest and activity. There is no end to this cycle.
We humans out of ignorance are attempting to change the
cycle with constant sound, constant movement, and constant activity. But this
is not possible. Sound will be followed by a period of silence.
Relax and refresh always to find creative and correct
answers to questions that life throws at you.
Abhilash Rajendran
www.hindu-blog.com