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5 Types of
Restlessness
There are five types of restlessness:
The first is due to the place you
are in. When you move away from certain places, streets or
houses, you immediately feel better. Chanting, singing, or the
innocence of children playing and laughing can change this
atmospheric restlessness. If you chant and sing, the vibration in
the place changes.
The Wheel of Life:
East vs. West
The second type of restlessness is
in the body. Eating the wrong food, Vata-aggravating food,
eating at odd times, not exercising, and overworking can all cause
physical restlessness. The remedy for this is exercise, moderation
in work habits and a one to two day vegetable or juice diet.
The third type of restlessness is
mental restlessness. It is caused by ambition, strong thoughts,
likes or dislikes. Knowledge alone can cure this restlessness; this
includes seeing life from a broader perspective, knowing about the
Self and realizing the impermanence of everything. If you achieve
everything, so what? After your achievement, you will die. Knowledge
of your death or life, confidence in the Self and in the Divine can
all calm down mental restlessness.
The Tao of Happiness
There is also emotional restlessness.
Any amount of knowledge does not help here. Sudarshan Kriya helps!
All that emotional restlessness vanishes. Also the presence of the
Guru, a wise person, or a saint will help calm emotional
restlessness.
The fifth type of restlessness is rare.
It is the restlessness of the Soul. When everything feels
empty and meaningless, know you are very fortunate. Do not try to
get rid of it. Embrace it! This restlessness of the Soul can bring
authentic prayer in you. It brings perfection, Siddhis and miracles
in life. It is so precious to get that innermost longing for the
Divine. Satsang and the presence of enlightened ones, soothe the
restlessness of the Soul. Do not look for the Divine somewhere in
the sky. See God in every pair of eyes, in the mountains, water,
trees and animals. How? Only when you see God in yourself. Only Gods
can worship Gods.
9 Remedies
Heightened awareness brings you close
to the reality. And for this, you have to increase your prana*. This
can be done through:
1. Fasting and eating fresh food
2. Pranayamas, Sudarshan Kriya, and
meditation
3. Silence
4. Cold water baths
5. The right amount of sleep
6. Emotional contentment
7. Presence of the Master
8. Singing and chanting
9. Giving without Givership and service
without Doership
All of these together is Yagya. When you have reverence for the
whole universe, you are in harmony with the whole universe. Then,
you do not need to reject or renounce anything. When you have
reverence in all your relationships, your own consciousness expands;
Even small things appear to be significant and big. Every little
creature appears dignified. It is the reverence in every
relationship that saves the relationship. Cultivate the skill of
having reverence for every moment in your life.
* Prana is the Sanskrit for
"breath". In Vedantic philosophy, it is the notion of a vital,
life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy, comparable
to the Chinese notion of Qi. Prana
is a central concept in Ayurveda and Yoga where it is believed to
flow through a network of fine subtle channels called nadis. Its
most subtle material form is the breath, but is also to be found in
blood, and its most concentrated form is semen in men and vaginal
fluid in women. The Pranamaya-kosha is one of the five Koshas or
"sheaths" of the Atman. Prana was first expounded in the Upanishads,
where it is part of the worldly, physical realm, sustaining the body
and the mother of thought and thus also of the mind. Prana suffuses
all living forms but is not itself the Atman or individual soul. In
the Ayurveda, the Sun and sunshine are held to be a source of Prana.
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