Managing stress in student life.

By Swami Shrimohanananda
Stress is something very common in the present day situation. The very fact that students are slipping into depression committing suicide shows there is something wrong in the system. But instead of brooding over the problem it is better to come out with solution. The question arises what in reality this stress is? Stress is a quality used in engineering to define pressure any material especially a metal can sustain. In physics it is an applied force to strain or distort. Stress in human being can be your best friend or foe. The popular belief of stress is something evil and it should be changed. It is a nonspecific challenge created in your body and mind to any demand due to external factors. We call it non specific because different people react differently to the different situations and there is no fixed parameters to measure stress in various individuals. In simple terms it is a mental state where men feel that situation beforehand is too much for him to handle. The term stress can also be defined as stimulus response and interaction between an external force and the resistance provided. !et us first analy"e some reasons behind stress and afterwards we shall find their solution. Not accepting the reality# The first and foremost reason of the stress is the inability to see the situation as they are. When a student is preparing for an exam or an interview the stress is because he is too much worried that how he will perform and thin$ing that his preparation is not up to the mar$. In such situation it is always advisable that he should not bother about it because whatever preparation he has done is over and there is nothing miraculous he can do in a short span of time now. So it is better that he $eeps himself calm and quite and face the situation with whatever preparation he has done till now. Being nervous will ma$e the things even worse. This $ind of self suggestion will help him overcoming nervousness. Not understanding hidden karmic laws# There is always complain from students that they are not been given that many mar$s which they should have achieved. There is fault in the examiners attitude or he has done some unintentional mista$es. Bhagavad Gita says five factors are responsible for any action to happen. %. Adhishthan &The time and space' (. )oer *. Instruments of various types +. )ifferent $ind of efforts ,. !uc$ or destiny Adhishthan tatha karta karnam cha prathakvitham vividhashcha prathakcheshta daivam chaivatra panchamam. -ita xviii.%+ !uc$ or destiny is nothing other than the resultant effect of our own previous actions and their impressions combined together. There are so many uncalculated factors wor$ing in the life of an individual that one cannot predict with certainty as to why such incident too$ place in his life. In a class teacher teaches same sub.ect but only few understand it rightly others will grasp it fully and few may learn it exactly opposite. It is all because of their individual intelligence which they inherited from their birth and during their present lifetime. /o brain can thin$ or grasp any sub.ect which it has not $nown before. Thus intelligence is nothing but the subtle past impressions which ma$e some individual understand some sub.ect more deftly than others. !ord Buddha while preaching his disciples under a tree pointed towards some fallen leaves and as$ed if that many leaves only are available in the tree. )isciple replied no then Buddha as$ed to $now all the leaves available in the tree we must loo$ up similarly to $now the whole gamut of

events happening in the life of an individual we must $now our all past actions. But this $nowledge is not available to us thus ma$ing our .udgments vulnerable to flaws. That is why it is advisable that whenever some contradiction arises in our perception0 remind yourself that there is no such thing li$e in.ustice in the wor$ing of this universe. 1owever such contradiction is attributed to unforeseen unpredictable reasons in the world and is popularly $nown as luc$ or destiny. Indulging in excesses: When any individual indulges in any action which is beyond his limits it creates stress. 2voiding excesses is a necessary condition for stress free life. -ita spea$s about moderation in action recreation food and sleep as a way for overcoming sorrow. 3oderation is a golden rule for getting best out of oneself. It helps in preserving mental as well physical health. Aimlessness: It is such a vice that ma$es a student feel meaningless about him. Ideally student cannot feel fully satisfied by .ust getting a degree. 1e must set a high goal for himself in his life otherwise even while studies he cannot invest his best energy. Student life should be .ust a part of that great aim. We must constantly remind ourselves of that great goal otherwise we will li$e a helpless straw in the ocean of life tossing up and down at the mere frown of petty incidents around. Not being systematic: 4reparing oneself beforehand for any exam interview and ma$ing this as one5s habit is a prerequisite for avoiding mental brea$down. Student must bring habit of finishing their syllabus with regularly study hours. The way we can5t eat more food than a certain amount at one meal similarly the mind also cannot absorb more information in a definite period. 6nowing this student should not miss even a single day without study. 7therwise it will be li$e loosing a session of acquiring $nowledge. xpecting perfection e!erywhere# 4erfection is something we see$ always but find it very rarely. 4erfection in any sub.ect comes only after a long practice. Acharyat padam aadatte padam shishyah svamedhyaa| Padam sabrahamcharibhyah padam kalena uchyate|8 3ahabharat &9dhyoga parva' :irst quarter of the $nowledge student gets by his teacher second quarter by his self effort third quarter discussing with his fellow students and the last quarter in due course of time. Thus ma$ing the $nowledge complete. We cannot hurry up things .ust li$e that. 3astery of a sub.ect ta$es its full cycle to reach perfection. "onclusion 3ental stress is .ust a state of mind. It is only a passing phase and even our happy elated state of mind is also a passing phase. Stress is as necessary as our body temperature to stay alive. It should not be ta$en as our enemy. When sages say love your enemy it doesn5t mean that first we label somebody as enemy and then try to superimpose feeling of love towards him. It means don5t even ac$nowledge that enemy exists outside. Stress and strain are li$e guests .!abeling a mental condition as stressful pleasant or strenuous itself is wrong. They have got message to us and we must use these messages as aids for our more rapid progress as means to discover the inner power and possibilities. ;xternal factors are very limited and if we straighten our irregularities within outside stimulus will cease their influence over us. So we must not harp too much on these passing by realities. The way perfect world is as good as expecting dar$ness to be white ice to be hot similarly stress and strain has to be ta$en as .ust one part of the whole. Behind all these torpidity of the mind there is an infinite source of bliss which is 2tman0 thin$ing and meditating on that reality will .ust brush aside all $inds of stress and strain.