Through my interactions with people from different walks of life throughout the world, I have had the opportunity to make a keen observation of their lives. To my dismay, I have found the whole world heading the wrong way. The world today, as I can see it, is getting busier in hankering after riches with no time to ponder the basic reason for doing so! Ask people as to why they are throwing themselves into this whirlwind of constant, frantic grind, and the answer all of them seem to give is “happiness”. People want happiness. It is this drive for happiness that goads them to continue keeping themselves occupied in working, eating and sleeping for money thereby largely alienating themselves from the company of a healthy lifestyle ensconced in divinity.

The stress being put on most of us, the imposition of contradictory belief systems by mislead parents, the inadequacy of school systems, and the directives of ego-driven authority, all combined, have lead the vast majority of humanity to forget their origins. Consequently, they live lives of suffering instead of happiness. Money alone promises them only a few mundane and tellurian spells of happiness. This happiness is not for real, it is not eternal, and does not link their souls to the ultimate Soul of God. The real bliss is that which you attain when you are fulfilled with benevolence of God. This can be obtained only by realising the existence of the soul inside us.

Ancient Indian scriptures and sciences, including Ayurveda, teach us how to lead a happy and successful life by performing certain practices and by practicing yoga. Researchers of the modern times have found these ancient recommendations relevant even in this modern day when life has changed so much.

According to Ayurveda, we have three levels of consciousness — sensual (body), emotional (mind) and spiritual (soul). Happiness involves feeding not only our body and mind with good food and education but also feeding our souls with righteousness and divine enlightenment. In our quest for acquisition of wealth and bodily pleasures, and even for acquisition of formal education, we try every way to feed our body and mind. But we forget to feed one very important aspect of our being — the soul. The body can be taken as a car which the soul (you) drives, with the mind serving the purpose of a bridge (the steering wheel) connecting the two. If we keep on feeding the car with the best quality fuel and decorating the steering wheel with the best quality covers, what will the car do without its driver being fed? It will hardly move a few miles and then stop.

You may know several celebrities who have got name, fame and money. They have the best of formal education. All these feed on their senses and mind. But, unfortunately, you also have heard many of them leading a miserable life, sometimes pushing them to the path of suicide, merely because they have throughout their lives remained ignorant of the most important aspect of living --- feeding the soul. Let me give you an idea about how you feed your soul through the following illustration:

Do you remember a time in which you helped a blind man cross the road when you yourself were in a hurry? Or, a time when you gave alms in charity to someone who was in need when you yourself were left with a few coins in your pocket? Do you remember a time when you did community work under the scorching sun just when we were tired and planning to take some rest in the shade? You took bodily pains to do all these under contradictory circumstances for someone else and without expecting anything in return. In spite of this, how did you feel? Happy and content! This was because these were instances in which you have fed your soul even at the cost of feeding your body and mind.

Basing upon the jewels of Ayurveda and ancient Indian philosphies, I have tried to devise a simple yet effective lifestyle regime for people who are completely occupied with our daily chores. I have called this program Jivananda. It is a concept ushering in perpetual and genuine happiness into our lives. In Sanskrit, Jiva means ‘soul’ and Ananda means ‘bliss’. Therefore, Jivananda signifies the ‘bliss of the soul’. This program helps you to be a master in conducting yourself through the maze of life’s variables and constants. It strengthens your ability to guide yourself along a chosen path of self-empowerment of body, mind and soul.

Ayurveda has answers to problems in all the three components of life. I have tried to combine these responses of Ayurveda towards life into one harmonical regimen that can be followed by one and all, without having them to take out a chunk from their busy life schedule. Therefore, in my capacity as an Ayurvedic doctor who has years of experience in healing most of the diseases using Ayurveda, heartily recommend Jivananda to one and all. I am confident that by practising Jivananda readers will be benefited within four weeks. It will make a difference in all levels of life, physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual.  Let me, therefore, talk in some detail about Jivananda in this article.

There are many paths to health and happiness according to traditional Indian system. Some demand rigid discipline, which is fine for those who identify with that level of unwavering commitment. Some choose Hatha yoga that addresses health through the body, others choose meditation (of which there are many forms) that addresses health through the mind, and then, there are those who choose to go to the mountains to search for truth underlying their souls. However, there are also many people who just cannot sustain such a commitment. Whatever be your orientation towards self-development, Jivananda can be your friend, as you can practise the routines in and around your life schedule.

The practice of Jivananda addresses good health through body, mind and soul, in an effective manner. In my opinion, Jivananda can help all who wish to help themselves become all that they can be, on the three levels of life (physical, mental and spiritual). This programme uses a balanced and holistic approach that is easy, comfortable and entirely convenient. It teaches you to lead a natural life. While living a natural life one can experience all the benefits of flowing with the powerfully creative energy force, rather than resisting it, which many do, unconsciously. When one lives a life in accord with natural laws, so much more can be achieved by doing less. This is the supreme style of living.

Jivananda can be practised almost anywhere, anytime, and under many diverse conditions and circumstances, like cleaning your teeth, driving your car, travelling in a bus, train or even in an aeroplane. You need not take out a separate time slab for practicing Jivananda. The principles of Jivananda can be followed by men and women, children and adults alike. There are no hard and fast rules on the timings of performing Jivananda — mornings, afternoons, evenings or nights are all possible timings for the practice of Jivananda.

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