Man seeks happiness in life. He can be happy only when he is healthy. Health is in fact the most valuable wealth. But health is not only that of body but it is also that of mind. Man chooses or desires to consume only wholesome food in order to keep his body fit as a fiddle. Just as it is required to take good food for the health of the body, Man needs to entertain positive thoughts, compassion and good emotions to keep a healthy mind. Fear, hate, anxiety, anger, jealousy, and worry make the mind troubled and unhealthy. It makes man miserable.
Therefore, Bhagavad Gita lays great emphasis on mind stating that Mind is the reason for man being either bound or free. Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoh.
Man is needlessly worried. In his daily dealings with other men he is fearful or jealous. He hankers after certain pleasures and accordingly plans for their realization. Most often he fails in his attempts to get something difficult to attain. His failure makes him angry which in turn makes him hardhearted and jealous.
Consequently, he becomes miserable — a bundle of needless worries. He frequently thinks of the past, regrets his acts, and becomes remorseful. He is in addition full of anxiety for the future. The past is gone and he cannot do anything to change it a whit.
No amount of wailing and shedding of tears will affect the past. The future is not in his control. So many forces are active in the world, and these forces shape the future. Therefore, man is helpless in regard to the past and the future. Once he realizes this fact, he will be set free from worry about the past and anxiety for the future. There is a shloka by the poet in vikramarka charitra — a Sanskrit poem:
Bhvishyam naiva chinthayeth
Varthamanena kalena
Pravarthanthe vichakshnaah
It means that man should neither feel sorrow for the past nor anxiety for the future. The wise men live and act in the present and they are only concerned with the present. They do not worry about the past. They do not feel anxious about the future. Being mindful of the present will set man free from worries, fears and anxieties. This leads to the health of mind.
Source - Saptagiri July 2021 Issue - article by Prof S Laxmana Murthy title 'Man Seeks.'