Central Chronicle
Saturday June 28, 2008
There are certain constant factors in each personality. One of the causes of the lack of peace of mind is that people do not know bow to think rationally...
The principles I have discussed above are the principles of mental health as well as those of the feeling of equality. The feeling of equality can be achieved through tolerance only. It will always make the mind wholesome. An equanimous mind faces the ups and downs of life with a smiling face.
The mind undergoes innumerable modifications. It changes every moment. It cannot be tied down to a single former state. It is always uncertain and unpredictable. Tolerance stabilizes it. The feelings of tolerance and equality make it behave in a uniform way in all kinds of circumstances. The Ayurveda takes into consideration not only physical health but also mental health. The question as to who can be called a healthy man is answered thus:
If the metallic contents of the body are well balanced, if the body has the required heat in it, and if it functions normally without being oppressed by elements which produce disease, if its sense-organs are not wayward but controlled and if it keeps the mind cheerful, it can be said to be healthy.
If one is healthy, his body functions smoothly and his mind remains cheerful. Cheerfulness of the mind is not joy because joy is always mixed up with sorrow. Joy and sorrow always follow each other by turns. Cheerfulness of the mind means purity of the heart, which is different from joys and sorrows. Purity of the heart is like purity of the sky. There are no clouds and dust in the pure sky. Joys and sorrows are like the clouds and dust. A healthy mind and a healthy body are inseparable. In the same way mental health and the feeling of equality are inseparable.
There are certain constant factors in each personality. Psychologists speak of personality parameter. They take the following factors into consideration in defining personality. The first is dress. A man's dress shows how much self-conscious he is. The cheerfulness of his mind can be measured in terms of his dress. The second is behaviour. In defining the personality of a man we have to see whether he behaves uniformly in the midst of joys and sorrows or whether he is erratic. A mentally healthy man will never lose the balance of his mind in adverse circumstances. He will impress others with his modesty, tolerance and behaviour.
Abraham Lincoln was a spiritually inclined man. He would behave with his visitors in a very courteous manner. He would treat them as his equals. His friends thought that he was making himself cheap and advised him to maintain the dignity of the office of the President of America. Lincoln told them that as the President he would not like to be less courteous than any body. He would not like to appear to be snobbish before modest and courteous citizens. The dignity of the President lay in his modesty and courtesy. A mentally healthy man would not give up his courtesy even if someone behaved with him discourteously. He is good to the good as well as the bad. There is no reason why one should behave with mentally unhealthy people discourteously. Those who behave in the wrong way are mentally unhealthy and weak. Tit for tat is.the policy of the weak. If your opponent is mentally unhealthy and weak, you should show to him the strength of your mind by behaving with him in a healthy way so that he may realize his own weakness.
The third test is thoughts. One of the causes of the lack of peace of mind is that people do not know bow to think rationally. Thoughts do not stay long in an unhealthy mind. He starts thinking of one thing and soon switches over to another. The nature of a man is known by the thoughts he thinks. His mental health is also ascertained by means of his thoughts. Only a mentally healthy man thinks in a sound manner.