Start Date: July 5, 2025
End Date: August 9, 2025
Venue: Online
A 6-week Online Course on was organised by BhāratShakti, Sri Aurobindo Society on the the topic – A Spiritual Approach to Stress Management. This course ran from 5th July to 9th August, 2025. Eleven participants joined the course which was facilitated by Narendra Murty, Author and Research Associate, BhāratShakti, with some input from Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti.
Online classes were held every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 11.00 AM. The initial presentation was made in the first hour and thereafter the remaining time was devoted to answering questions from the participants through lively interactions.
Details of the course
Modern life is full of problems, desires, expectations, deadlines and frustrations. When we are overwhelmed by all these, we suffer from stress. To combat stress, the remedies that are usually offered include: Medication, Exercise, Visualization, Meditation, Breathing techniques, Muscle relaxation, Laughing Clubs, Healthy eating/lifestyle, Vacations, Communing with Nature etc. But in spite of so many “remedies”, stress refuses to go away. Because these “remedies” do not address the fundamental problem that causes stress. Stress happens in the mind and merely changing our peripheral and outward activities cannot make a difference to the root causes of stress.
Arjuna was in a state of extreme stress on the eve of the Kurukshetra war. What did Krishna advise? Did he give him “stress reduction tips?” Did he ask Arjuna to relax his muscles? Practice deep breathing? What led to the stress of Arjuna was a mental, emotional and existential crisis. It was not the time for deep breathing and muscle relaxation. Arjuna’s stress was due to his defective way of thinking, his defective mental response; in short, his unevolved consciousness was inadequate to deal with the challenge. Outward manipulations cannot eliminate stress. They may provide temporary relief. To deal with stress effectively, we have to bring about a fundamental change in our way of thinking. What we require is a Spiritual Approach. And that is exactly what Krishna taught Arjuna.
During the 6-week online course the group examined the root causes of stress, explored what a spiritual approach to stress management may look like, put under scanner the major stress points in life and discussed how to build a road map to incorporate spirituality in a practical, workable manner in our everyday lives. The course content was prepared taking insights from the timeless wisdom of Adi Sankara, the Bhagavad Gita and Sri Aurobindo.
During the course the group explored and worked towards an in-depth approach that brings a change in our consciousness to attack stress at its roots. The topics that were covered are as follows:
- Analyzing Stress, its symptoms and Its Root Causes
- What is the Spiritual Approach to Stress Management different
- Viveka and Vairagya
- Samatvam/Equality – Equanimity/Evenness of the Mind
- The Yogic Attitude towards Money and Human Relations
- The Path of Karma Yoga
- The Search for Security
- On Having a Spiritual/Divine Orientation in Life
- Antaranga Sadhana or Inner Spiritual Practices
During the course, not only was the knowledge aspect presented drawing from the lessons of the Gita and the writings of Sri Aurobindo, but its application and relevance to the various stress points in life like Money, Human Relations, Work and Insecurity were also emphasised. Also practices for an inner re-engineering and spiritual re-orientation were given which the participants could include in their daily routine.
The course was highly appreciated by the participants as was evident by their lively participation during the interaction and the commitment and tenacity shown by them for 6 weeks. In their feedback, all of them expressed their desire to attend more such courses in future.