Let the Child in You Live

The world would have been a much better place if all of us could retain the innocence and purity of a child. The problem is that we think we need to learn the ways of the society to survive. This assumption, however, needs to be re-examined. Having seen children very closely and observing their behaviour it seems that if adults were child like the world would have been much happier. It is so easy for children to adjust to situations and people unlike the adults. They can wave to strangers, smile innocently at them, greet them without any inhibitions. They can stay happy and carry on with their activities with the same vigour even when they are sick. Their laughter is genuine, their cries are genuine. Their tantrums, too, are genuine.

It’s so easy for child to speak out his mind without any fear or hesitation. They don’t hesitate in calling a spade, a spade. If you are bad to them, they will just tell you so, on your face and will have no guilt or regret for saying so. And the interesting thing is the child will forgive you easily for being bad to them.

It’s time we should realise that it is important to keep the child in us alive to maintain inner peace and tranquillity. We feel so happy while we are with a child as they make us forget all our worldly wisdom.

In fact we can very easily learn anger management from the kids. At one moment they are sad or upset over a particular thing, situation or a person. At the next moment they behave so normally as if nothing had happened. This is because they forgive, forget and let go things easily and move ahead. The children are not burdened with stress. Though they do feel stressed at times they don’t hold on to it. The longer we hold on to our stress the more troublesome it becomes resulting sometimes in burnout.

Therefore, to maintain inner peace and happiness, we just need to keep the child in us alive. Life would be much smoother if at times we behave child-like and take things easily. Kids can dance even if they are bad at it, they can pose stupidly for photographs, they can say no when they want to, without any hesitation and they can laugh their lungs out. They have no pretentions. If we too could behave like them, we would celebrate the event called ‘Life’.

It is said that the children learn from us. They do, but many of the undesirable things too, that have made this society a difficult place to live. They learn deception. They learn treachery. They learn to lie. To feign innocence. The unfortunate part is that all these vices are being picked up by the children at a much early age these days. It is time we adults learnt to be children from children.

Free from worry of the past and anxiety of the future the child is a pure soul. It is the purity of the soul that reflects on the face that gives the gleam. It is this purity that is lost as we grow and acquire adulthood. Little wonder that the term used to denote the impurity in products is called adulteration and the term that denotes impurity in relations is called adultery.  And mind you I am not kidding!

Blame it on Vyapam

Next time, when a son or daughter fails to make it to a medical entrance or a public service commission examination parents may not have reasons to doubt the sincerity or the capability of their wards. Possibility of something like Vyapam hitting the prospects of their children could well-nigh the there. Such is the reach, scale and impact of this admission-cum-recruitment related scams that people would feel the need to question the results of any competitive examination. The whole credibility of such examinations which are supposed to select the best from a lot is at stake. No stone should be left unturned to find out the real roots of the scandal. Already, the uncanny frequency of deaths related to Vyapam scam and the kind of circumstances related to those deaths obliquely suggest that there is something more to the incidents than what meets the eye. Calling those deaths as abnormal instead of mysterious may hardly be reassuring when there is so much to smell. But there are far greater implications of Vyapam than only unearthing the real breweries producing this deadly cocktail of crime and corruption. For a country like India where few opportunities are chased by too many aspirants, establishing the credibility of such examinations would be a major issue. More so because Vyapam like scourges keep on reappearing at a nagging rate. For a country with such an overwhelmingly large number of youthful aspirants waiting in the wings for their hard earned chance, loss of confidence in the system may be dangerous. Vyapam or for that matter similar such scams that have been happening point out at the glaring systemic lapses. We had the likes of Ranjit Dons of Bihar who tampered and tinkered with medical entrance examinations. We had a Public Service Commission examination of Jharkhand declared void by the Hon’ble high court. We had the recent All India Medical Entrance Examination declared void by the apex court. The kind of frustration that such incidents generate is certainly not good for the young India’s health. How many more judicial and media trials will be needed before we are able to hold such crucial examinations in a free and fair manner, to the satisfaction of all examinees. Yes, satisfaction of all examinees, because that is the real test. If the examinee is satisfied that those better than him were successful, then only can an examination be called fair. Vyapam like incidents bring a bad name to all competitive examinations that are supposed to select persons on the basis of merit and merit alone. How to ensure this? Difficult to say. Particularly, because the society is witnessing a moral crisis of sorts. When parents become party to their wards’ cheating and corruption what better can be expected. It hints at a deeper malaise that has afflicted the society. Obsessed only about ends, means have ceased to be of any consequence in this society. Parents who were supposed to preach what is right and what is wrong are now teaching there is no wrong in the wrong as long as the results are right. But in the process the society is paying a heavy price. However, all is not lost yet as in the end the nemesis catches up as we are seeing in Vyapam case. There is an old age adage that if you sow wind you will reap whirlwind.

The Psycho- biology of Yoga

Some four decade ago my professor of physiological psychology was trying to explain the psycho-somatic origin of certain ailments. In the course of the lecture he mentioned that the three reasons for formation of ulcers in the stomach were hurry, worry and curry. Those were the times when the medical fraternity, though aware of the effect of mind on the body was talking about the idea of integrative medicine is a hush-hush tone. But times have changed and the impact of psychology on physiology is more than established. It is in this light that the decision of the United Nations to observe June 21 as the World Yoga Day has to be viewed.

As we in India observe this day to emphasize the importance of yoga there is need to convenience the population at large why this ancient practice for maintaining mind body integration is important today. Particularly for the overwhelming large number of young people who may have reasons to be skeptical about the scientificity of yoga. More so because of the health related vulnerabilities of the Indian people with regard to the life style ailments like diabetes and coronary heart diseases. Only by understanding yoga and its benefits can somebody religiously practice it and get the desired results. Practicing yoga without putting ones head and heart into it would not benefit. Yoga is the practice that integrates mind and body and is the answer to the mind body conundrum.

To understand yoga one must understand the somato-psychic perspective of health, the relationship between two seemingly incompatible substances – the corporeal and the spiritual. Researches in immune system, cognitive behavior therapy and neuro plasticity suggest that the mind body connection works both ways. Mind by regearing attention and emotion can effectively rewire the brain and substantially affect mental and physical health. It has been now found that practices that integrate mind and body like yoga and meditation can reverse many irreversible conditions. It is even realized that comprehensive life style changes may turn on the beneficial parts of the genome and turn off more harmful parts.  Integrative medicine or holistic healing is all about understanding the mind body compatibility. Mind and emotions play a critical role in our health and well being. In fact, the endocrine system is largely influenced by mental dispositions and secretions like catecholamine having significant bearing on physiological health. Yoga helps in arriving at a balance between mind and body through influencing the secretions of ductless glands. By training even some of the involuntary responses like blood pressure may be controlled. Not only this, it is now found that brain behavior and immune functions are related and this is the reason why psychoneuroimmunology is emerging as an important field of research in health studies. The health of our body and the health of our mind are inextricably correlated and lead ultimately to the transformation of the spirit which is the final aim of yoga.

The tendency in the present age is to find quick fix solutions of everything including health and in the process we have almost outsourced our health. Rushing to the doctor or the chemists shop at the slightest pretext, realizing little that we are strengthening the harmful microorganism.

The practice of yoga gives a robustness to the mind and the body that helps in resisting diseases and creating a healthy mind and a healthy body. Yoga is not just an exercise. It is a practice that helps in reinventing oneself and realizing the potential. In the modern times when stress and anxiety are driving humanity to the brink, yoga can be a panacea. Behavioral and medical scientists have demonstrated quite convincingly that people have far greater capacity to tolerate psychological and somatic stress than was earlier believed. And the reactions thereof can also be controlled. Thus, yoga is an easy way to attain mental and physical wellbeing with little effort and some discipline. It is the old age answer to the new age problem. Let yoga become a lifestyle.

Enforce Ethics in Advertising

The recent controversy surrounding Maggie has raised a very vital issue about ethics in advertising. As management academics we keep on harping on advertising and marketing ethics semester after semester, but with little or no impact on the marketers, advertisers and endorsers. It is time to rethink advertisement ethics given the growing influence of the media over the society which can be easily swayed to believe the unbelievable. In fact the impact of the advertisement content is so powerful that it drives the gullible consumers straight down to the stores to purchase and use the product. More so, in a country like India where the degree of gullibility in very high and a large number of consumers and are getting duped every day. In fact false advertisement claims made about their products by the big MNCs are blatant lies draped in colorful campaigns and crisp punch lines that mesmerize the vulnerable consumer into compliance due to the sheer celebrity status of the endorser. The big question is can the celebrity get away after proclaiming utterly false benefits of a product to the consumer. It is time they should be made liable too because it is their stature that contributes maximum to the impact leading to purchase behavior. The poor consumer becomes an innocent victim. Be it the effect of a food supplement on the growth of a child or the claim of an over the counter drug or ever a pain relieving cream. It is time for the Advertisement Standards Control of India (ASCI) to adopt a more interventionist posture and take suo motu cognizance of advertising claims that are wide off the mark and are made with the intention to deceive the consumer. In the US there is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that is in place for protecting the US consumers from effects of such falsehoods of advertisement claims. The Federal law says that the advertisement must be truthful, not misleading, and when appropriate backed by scientific evidence. The FTC enforces the truth-in-advertising laws on all kinds of media. The FTC nominates those claims that affect consumer’s health like claims about food, OTC drugs, dietary supplements even more closely. And if required the agency files actions in Federal District Courts. Further, the FTC enforcement guidelines are there to make the endorsers know that they shouldn’t talk about their own experience with a product if they haven’t actually tried it. At times the FTC may even decide to investigate if practices are unfair. False health and fitness claims are fought in coordination with food and drug administration. China is even more concerned. There is the China Consumers’ Association that over sees the advertisement claims made by marketers, producers and endorsers. Recently China revised its law relating to false advertising and has proposed joint liability of media and advertisers. This, it is stated, will make media more responsible. Further, the organizations and individuals endorsing the products claiming false benefits to the consumers will also be liable.

Why it is important to enforce responsible advertising in India is because of the very high penetration of the media and its very powerful impact on the society. Particularly the gullible sections that comprise a large number. Honestly speaking revenue generation through false claims tantamount to thuggery. This kid of loot through jooth must be reined in. You can’t get away by saying anything and reasonable restrictions must be imposed.