- Title Pages
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Towards a World of Freedom*
- 2 The Right Perception of Self-interest*
- 3 State Must Free the Mind from Fear*
- 4 Fear as the Basis of Social Order*
- 5 Dharma and Jainism
- 6 Human Freedom and Rights
- 7 Truth in Jainism
- 8 The Dharmic Law
- 9 The Dharmic State
- 10 The Caring State
- 11 The Caring State
- 12 Government Governs in Place of Law*
- 13 Unity of Life
- 14 Dharma and Islam—I
- 15 Dharma and Islam—II
- 16 The Supreme Court—I
- 17 The Supreme Court—II
- 18 To Have or To Be—I
- 19 To Have or To Be—II
- 20 Unity of Life
- 21 Personal and Social Health
- 22 The Paradox of Sex—I
- 23 The Paradox of Sex—II
- 24 The Human Condition
- 25 Learning to Live
- 26 The Roots of Violence—I
- 27 The Roots of Violence—II
- 28 The Love of Violence—I
- 29 The Love of Violence—II
- 30 The Power of Mind—I
- 31 The Power of Mind—II
- 32 Power of Perception
- 33 The Karma Conundrum
- 34 Jainism and Relativity
- 35 Beyond Either/Or
- About the Editor
Power of Perception
Power of Perception
Where Mind Is Free from Sorrow*
- Chapter:
- (p.142) 32 Power of Perception
- Source:
- Chaturvedi Badrinath
- Author(s):
Tulsi Badrinath
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The Yoga-vasishtha goes into the causes both of well-being and ill-being, of health (svastha) and of illness (a-svastha). In this essay Badrinath raises the great concern of mental and physical health because human well-being is threatened in various degrees. He states how the modern system of medicine has separated the mind from the body. Thus, health is seen as something that is entirely physical, and not connected to the mind. Not every illness or disease is created by the disturbed mind. Those that are, can be cured only by the self-reflecting mind. But there are others which can be cured by proper medical treatment. Badrinath says how no medical system of ancient India thought health to be merely the absence of disease. The Sanskrit word for health is sva-astha, ‘a state of being centred in one’s self’. Similarly, the word for illness is a-svastha, a state of being displaced from the centre of one’s being. And both, like everything else in Dharmic thought, are relational terms.
Keywords: health, disease, well-being, Yoga-vasishtha, Dharmic thought, Mahabharata, speech
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- Title Pages
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Towards a World of Freedom*
- 2 The Right Perception of Self-interest*
- 3 State Must Free the Mind from Fear*
- 4 Fear as the Basis of Social Order*
- 5 Dharma and Jainism
- 6 Human Freedom and Rights
- 7 Truth in Jainism
- 8 The Dharmic Law
- 9 The Dharmic State
- 10 The Caring State
- 11 The Caring State
- 12 Government Governs in Place of Law*
- 13 Unity of Life
- 14 Dharma and Islam—I
- 15 Dharma and Islam—II
- 16 The Supreme Court—I
- 17 The Supreme Court—II
- 18 To Have or To Be—I
- 19 To Have or To Be—II
- 20 Unity of Life
- 21 Personal and Social Health
- 22 The Paradox of Sex—I
- 23 The Paradox of Sex—II
- 24 The Human Condition
- 25 Learning to Live
- 26 The Roots of Violence—I
- 27 The Roots of Violence—II
- 28 The Love of Violence—I
- 29 The Love of Violence—II
- 30 The Power of Mind—I
- 31 The Power of Mind—II
- 32 Power of Perception
- 33 The Karma Conundrum
- 34 Jainism and Relativity
- 35 Beyond Either/Or
- About the Editor
