Stress develops when we are attached to a particular outcome and are worried that things may not turn out as we desire. If we surrender to God and think whatever He does is for our welfare, this attitude of surrender will help us get rid of stress. A surrendered soul says:
राज़ी हैं उसी मैं जिसमें तेरी रज़ा है।
यूँ भी वाह वाह है त्यों भी वाह वाह है ।।
rāzī haiṁ usī maiṁ jismem̐ terī razā hai
yūṁ bhī vāh vāh hai tyoṁ bhī vāh vāh hai
“I am happy in Your happiness. Whatever situation You put me in, I will blissfully accept it.” Thus, stress is a symptom of a lack of our submission to the Will of God. When we experience stress, the best medicine to cure it is to increase our level of surrender.
Now, what is the problem in increasing the level of surrender? Worldly attachments! We keep pondering, “This should happen this way; that should happen that way.” That is the foremost hurdle to complete surrender. We need to increase our detachment from the world to achieve that goal.
Increasing Surrender to Eliminate Stress
It is common for everyone to experience some level of tension before realizing God, as complete surrender is not always achieved. However, stress indicates something is amiss, and we must rectify it by surrendering to the Divine. It is akin to the sensation of pain when we touch fire. Imagine not feeling that pain - our hand would burn without us knowing it. Therefore, pain is a form of Grace that tells us to take our hand away.
Similarly, stress informs us to increase our devotion and surrender to God.
A spiritual doctor will prescribe you the medicine of submitting to God to get rid of stress, whereas a material doctor will give you all kinds of medicinal drugs. However, such drugs will not help eradicate the root cause of stress. Increasing the level of surrender can lead to eliminating the source of stress.
The scripture tells us that the key to stress-free is learning the art of detachment while working.
The Bhagavad Gita's Timeless Wisdom: Detach from Results for Stress-Free Living
The Bhagavad Gita gave us the wonderful philosophy of avoiding stress over 5000 years ago. Lord Krishna said to Arjun:
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ।।
Karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana.
Mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi.
(Bhagavad Gita 2.47)
You have a right to perform your prescribed duties but are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.
Consider an example — An accomplished school teacher had 40 students in her class. Her work was exemplary, and the state recognized her as a good teacher. Though she could manage 40 students in the school without stress, she experienced tremendous agitation and anxiety while attending to her two kids at home. One may wonder why that is. Her pressure at home was due to her attachment to the outcome of her children. If we can learn to detach ourselves from the results, our minds will become free, and with that free mind, we will be able to put in our best efforts. Our endeavours and actions are ultimately all that is in our hands, not the results.
Always remember—the efforts are in your hands, not the results, so Leave the results in the hands of God.
