Swabhav Swachhata-Sanskaar Swachhata

Swabhav swachhata-sanskaar swachhata (purity and cleanliness in behaviour and culture) is the theme of this year’s swachhata his seva campaign of the Government of India. As a tribute to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, the Government of India has been promoting a swachhata hi seva campaign every year. The aim of this campaign has been to motivate people across the country to come together and develop a citizen’s movement for sanitation and cleanliness (swachhata). This year the campaign starts from September 17 to October 2 (the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi).

The initiative to make India completely and holistically clean was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2014 when in his Independence speech from the ramparts of Red Fort he gave a clarion call to make swachhata a national priority. This effort to make sanitation and cleanliness a national mission can only be achieved through people’s participation, the Prime Minister had underlined. Ever since then as a run up to October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti), the swachhata hi seva campaign is taken up.

The aim to make swachhata an intrinsic part of the lives of the citizens of the country resonates with large number of people who see it as something which is directly linked to their well-being and happiness. While there are individuals who point out that swachhata has always been part of their tradition and culture, but this special campaign is helping in promoting greater awareness and highlighting the holistic nature of swachhata.

Talking of the theme of this year’s campaign, Divya Gyan, an advocate argues that cleanliness outside can only come as a product of cleanliness inside. He underlines, “Inner swachhta is the cornerstone of human development and any development, scientific or otherwise, can only come if humans first decide to embrace their own soul and work towards cleaning it.”

According to Gyan, “The first step of developing a society is to first improve yourself. Society is but a bigger picture of human structure, if we as small units first improve ourselves, the tapestry is sure to improve.” Without self-cleansing and self-purification, we can neither transform ourselves nor transform the society.

Divya Gyan describes how the theme of this year’s campaign reminds him of what Kabir said “bura jo Dekhan mai Chala, mujhse bura nai koi”. The process to first identify a shortcoming, still less working for it, is a gigantic task which requires great human effort and character, he stresses.

Meanwhile Manya Dudeja, a fifth year law student points out, “An anecdote which has often worked for me personally when I'm buried in work commitments is to tidy up my workspace.” She feels this has significant impact on her as it clears up her mind for any task she has at hand. It creates an illusion of structure and makes me trust that I've got this, she adds.

According to Manya, the first step towards making an outward effort to put things in place, to make the world a better place and to undo the outside dirt, is the effort towards moral cleanliness. One’s heart and head must be clean, she says so that we can strive for cleanliness outside.

Manya emphasizes that the transformation and change has to begin from within and we have to turn inwards for the inner cleansing. She underscores, “To strive for cleanliness (ethical and professional) outside, one must first strive for cleanliness within and this is only possible through our constant efforts. Some of the ways one might attain inner cleanliness is self-care activities, instilling a disciplined lifestyle and creating an emotional balance.”

Gunjan Saxena of Dev’s Handicrafts argues that cleanliness in one’s attitude and behaviour can be promoted by adopting eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle. This can lead to inner calmness and a propensity to adopt clean habits and behaviour, both at the inner and outer level, she stresses. “We must make it a habit to use natural and environmental-friendly products so that it aligns with our behaviour and attitude which should be nonviolent in nature,” Saxena notes. She has been conducting workshops in these areas to create greater awareness.

According to Saxena, if we use products which are harmful to nature, we are promoting polluted behaviour and culture. This has to change if we are to work on our inner transformation and do inner cleansing, she adds.

As the swachhata hi seva campaign is a tribute to the Father of the Nation, it would be apt to revisit his principles for self-purification. The Mahatma had said, “Identification with everything that lives is impossible without self-purification; without self-purification the observance of the law of Ahimsa must remain an empty dream; God can never be realized by one who is not pure of heart. Self-purification, therefore, must mean purification in all the walks of life. And purification being highly infectious, purification of oneself necessarily leads to the purification of one's surroundings.” (Mahatma Gandhi, My Experiments with Truth)

So, it is only through the process of inner cleansing and self-purification, we can strive to work for the real cleanliness of our surroundings. Let us all take this inherent message across the entire nook and corner of the country.

Towards deplug literacy: An approach for work-life balance and well-being

Australia has recently enacted a law which gives individuals working in different organizations the right to ignore their higher-ups who try to contact them after their work hours. Under the Right to Disconnect, the employees are allowed to neither read nor respond to any official communication beyond their stipulated work hours. While there can be exceptional situations, but the broad idea of the initiative to spare employees from the rigmarole of their official work even after they are finished off for the day’s work is clear. Australia is the not the only country in the world to take up such a bold initiative to protect the personal and family life of employees; there are about a dozen countries both in Europe and South America who have taken up such initiatives.

In the backdrop of this initiative to protect the private space of employees beyond their working hours by Australia and various other countries, a number of individuals reacted on its pros and cons and whether it is really a good idea to log off after one’s working hours.

Dr Oinam Sareeta Devi, Secretary of Kasturba Gandhi Institute of Development feels there is really thin line separating office and home life. She feels the relationship between employer-employee depends on the type of organization one is working – government service, companies and business, civil society organizations or institutions like schools and colleges. According to her the cultural context and type of country one lives is also important. Devi, who also teaches in a local college says it is difficult to divide the official and home time, though she feels the aim should be to strive for proper work-life balance.

“There are times when we have to spend a whole evening at home preparing notes for the class the next day,” she points out, “This accentuates during and after exams. Almost every time I bring answer sheets home for checking, this takes lot of time.” She argues these are work which are superior do not tell; the answer sheets have to be checked by any means and the results have to be announced. It is part of one’s duty and even if one has to burn the midnight oil, it will have to be done, Devi argues.

Notwithstanding the realization of one’s duty and the need to give cent per cent to do it, Devi feels unnecessary meddling in one’s private life after duty hours by the bosses is not a healthy trend. “If the bosses need to discuss something critical, then they have the whole day to discuss. If one gets a call from the boss to discuss official things while one is spending time with one’s family or cooking, it is encroachment in one’s personal space,” she says, “If it is not emergency, and still the boss decides to call up to discuss, it should be called inefficiency. “

While arguing that one-size –fits-all-norms cannot suit all individuals or organizations, Arish, the Director of Naamak Publications is strictly in favour of encouraging work-life balance. He stresses that in ventures like a publishing house which requires constant innovation and creativity from the entire team, if the employees are not fresh, they cannot give their creative best. Arish points out that he is clear about how he encourages his employees to maintain work-life balance and encourages them to rewind every now and then. “I try to be flexible in my approach and engage with my team members according to mutual convenience; there are coercive techniques that are used to extract the maximum out of the employees,” he says.

While initiatives like that of Australia and other countries which have enacted the Right to Disconnect might be difficult in a country like India, Arish feels it should be the responsibility of the employers to help their employees with their work-life balance. He talked about how small businesses and start-ups coerce their employees to work an astounding 12-14 hours a day and give very little holidays. “I can tell you these leads to burn-out, contributes to high turnover rates, and seriously contributes to the quality and efficiency of work,” he underscores, “There is a limit beyond which an individual cannot work, they are after all humans.” “We have to treat all our employees like human beings and respect their dignity,” he quips.

However, before encouraging work-life balance of our employees, we have to start with ourselves, Arish argues. If we are not able to have our own me-time or family time, we will keep on interfering with our employees’ private time, he points out.

Mayank Mathur, an IT expert makes a poignant point in the context of developing economies like India where there are high rates of unemployment and job insecurity. He says in this context, the employees automatically come under the mercy of their employers who can force them to work well beyond their stipulated hours. In this regard, Dr Sareeta Devi observes employers are not at all concerned about the health including mental health of their employees as there are no dearth individuals searching for jobs.

According to Mayank Mathur, both employers and employees need to learn the art and science of effective time management, prioritization and goal-setting so that together they can strive to maintain a healthy balance. He underscores the importance of introducing mindfulness practices in modern day organizations which helps in nourishing the mind, body and spirit of all. Overall, self-care should be given a priority, Mathur argues.

In the backdrop of increasing cases of disengagement between employers and employees due to poor work culture in organizations, Mathur feels there should be transition towards prioritizing experiences, relationships, and personal growth over materialism. As soon as we decide to get into the rat race to double productivity by any means and brow-beat our competitors, we are getting into the realm where we are forced to compromise on the work-life balance both of the employers and the employees, Mathur says.

Complimenting all efforts which helps employees life a healthy and meaningful life, Mayank Mathur argues that given the modern day pressures, deplugging which entails disconnecting from work- related tasks, technology, and responsibilities outside of work hours. Failure to deplug can lead to many modern day lifestyle disease like stress, depression, anxiety disorder, and burnout. In this context, Mathur articulates on the need to be deplug literate wherein an individual develops the critical skills to effectively deplug so that they can improve their mental and physical health. An individual who is deplug literate will designate device-free zones in her/his house; this could be their bedroom or dining space. Further, they will be able to use technology wisely where they can limit their work-related activities outside the working hours. According to Mathur, an important pillar of being deplug literate is the ability and ingenuity to say ‘no’. He feels most of the times individuals in order to enhance their stocks in front of their employers take up more work than they possibly can do productively. In such situations, their efficiency suffers. So, it is important to be mindful of taking up excessive work or responsibilities that can encroach one’s personal time, he adds.

So, while there can be arguments and counter arguments on the right to log off or disconnect, the overarching goal should be to encourage work-life balance which promotes mental and physical health and contributes to genuine happiness and well-being. Mayank Mathur’s concept of deplug literacy can be an important skill to develop in the contemporary times for our overall well-being.

Let not Anger Control Us; let’s Learn to Control it?    (Vedabhyas Kundu)

Riyansh is a middle-aged executive working in a small firm. There is an overload of work, and a toxic work environment. All these environment is having a toll on him, he has become short-tempered and finds it difficult to control his anger even on small things. This is having a direct impact on his health. He suffers from anxiety issues, he is now increasingly having sleeping disorder and many times he suffers from indigestion.

Riyansh is not alone who suffers due to his inability to control anger. Anger, in fact is natural part of our life; it can be described as our natural response to different threats and triggers. It is organic in nature and can be explained as a natural emotion. There can be different triggers which can cause an individual to be angry. For instance, the office environment was the trigger to make Riyansh get angry for even small things.

Life coach and spiritual healer, Anupama Jha points out that primarily the triggers of anger results from lack of mind control which then translates into lack of control over one’s own emotions. She then talks about the detrimental effects of not been able to control one’s mind and emotions as these leads to both physical aggressiveness and mental imbalance. Extreme form of anger can even lead to heart attacks, she warns. Like Riyansh and others who are suffering anger disorder, Anupama Jha points out how such individuals from low life conditions and low life satisfaction. They suffer from low self-esteem, high stress and have difficulties in putting together healthy relationships.

Sohini Jana, who works in the area peace education describes the triggers which fuels anger as of two types- internal and external. Internal triggers are those feelings who according to her which an individual experiences from inside. In this context, Anupama Jha talks about the inner wound which contributes to our consternation. Both Jha and Jana talks about different emotions or situations that an individual is currently going through which makes them angry. In these cases no real external factor is involved. Like for instance, an individual could experience guilt feeling that s/he is not loved by someone with whom s/he may be attached; this can be the cause of their anger. Or there can be a situation when we nurse a feeling of revenge towards someone who might have done some wrong to us.

External triggers are those which results from external factors. Like for instance the toxic environment in Riyansh’s office of his developing a habit of being angry at the slightest instance. When someone tries to harm us physically or mentally, it also makes us angry. Further, habits of alcoholism and substance abuse are also triggers for getting angry. Sohini Jana tells how an individual can get angry when someone do not agree with her/him, s/he is teased or her/his dignity is compromised, when we make a mistake which becomes apparent not only to us but to others, and when we might get ignored.

Constructive management of anger is critical. While anger can be a positive thing if it is managed constructively, it can lead to serious consequences if it remains uncontrolled. Here we can learn from Mahatma Gandhi who said, “It is not that I do not get angry. I don't give vent to anger. I cultivate the quality of patience as angerlessness, and generally speaking, I succeed. But I only control my anger when it comes. How I find it possible to control it would be a useless question, or it is a habit that everyone must cultivate and must succeed in forming by constant practice.” (Mind of Mahatma Gandhi)

So, it should be a matter of constant practice that we learn on how to manage the triggers which causes anger. Anupama Jha underlines the significance of healing our inner wound so that we can cultivate inner peace. She is philosophical as she notes, “Life will keep throwing different difficult situations at us, but if we are unable to learn the art and science of handling such situations, we will keep getting angry which is uncontrolled.” For inner peace, inner healing is critical, she adds. She further notes that as we continue the process of inner healing, we are able to control our mind more constructively.

Anupama Jha also suggests on the importance of living consciously. She feels that individuals should know on how to expand their self-awareness and develop their consciousness on who they are; this will help in handling anger issues effectively. It is also important to learn on how to control our mind and emotions effectively, she stresses.

The first step in managing one’s anger is to recognize and understand the triggers which causes anger, says Sohini Jana. She feels once we start to recognize the triggers at the deepest level, we will be able to overcome the root causes of our anger.

Meanwhile Anupama Jha underlines the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation in handling one’s anger positively. She stresses on the efficacy of practicing mindfulness meditation which evokes a calming effect and regulates our emotions. She talks about different studies which suggests how an individual’s angry outbursts tends to decline when s/he practice mindfulness meditation regularly. In this context, Sohini Jana points out on how mindfulness meditation helps us to remain attentive to the present moment, not let our attention to waiver and keeps us away from those thoughts and ideas which can make us angry. She feels that when we practice mindfulness meditation, we are able to avoid stress and become relaxed.

The author in his different workshops on anger management has been advocating on the need to keep an anger journal as an important strategy. The author recommends that individuals keeping an anger journal while making entries in note books daily use self-introspection to jot down the different points of time of the day when the individual got angry. The author suggests that the anger journal is written while retiring to bed in the night. It is recommended that the individual writes down the triggers of getting angry- who made you angry, what were there reasons, where did you get angry, when did you get angry. Then the individual is encouraged to write on what they were thinking and feeling when they got angry. Further, in the journal, the individual could write what did they do and what they said when they were angry. Finally, the individual is encouraged to write the consequences of their angry behaviour on themselves and on others. Their final observation could be that if they would find themselves in the same situation now, whether there would be some change in their behaviour or attitude.

Mansi Sharma, a mediator and lawyer who researches on nonviolent communication advocates its extensive trainings and assimilation in our daily habits. She feels nonviolent communication helps in the expansion of one’s feeling of human interdependence, contributes in the development of a healthy communication ecosystem and help to respond to difficult situations empathetically. According to her, as nonviolent communication hinges on the foundational architecture of Mahatma Gandhi’s 5-pillars of nonviolence- respect, understanding, acceptance, appreciation and compassion, these helps in handling difficult situations constructively. She underscores how practicing nonviolent communication helps in expansion of one’s self-awareness in the context of triggers that causes anger and one’s self-esteem.

According to Mansi Sharma, when we have assimilated the principles of nonviolent communication in our daily lives, we will be able to recognize the unmet needs of ours and also the unmet needs of others which will help us to respond and react accordingly.

Given the deleterious effects of anger, it is imperative that every individual learn to control their emotions and mind so that anger do not take control of them. To conclude it would be pertinent to quote the Vietnamese Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, who in his book, The Art of Communicating, said, “Anger is often a symptom of underlying pain or fear.” So each one of us need to go deeper and not at the surface level to unearth the inherent root causes of our anger and start the different strategies as discussed in this article to further our emotional healing.