Vipaasana

Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual can meet the demands of the mundane tasks of life as well as the more challenging ones without feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Living in a fast-paced world with constant pressure can create stress on mental health. Conditions that affect the mind like mental disorders, addiction, etc. negatively impact the body. It is estimated that 6-7 % of the Indian population suffers from mental disorders. Given the sheer population size, this number roughly amounts to 9,90,51,024 people suffering. Further mental health is an integral part of health, not just a social issue. It is a right of every human being, which must be protected. A healthy mental apparatus is important for personal growth, sustaining relationships, productivity and dealing with one’s environment. It can be improved with personal effort/ Saadhana ( Yoga Saadhana ), with professional help or both. What can be done to improve mental health? Maharshi Patanjali def...

  For thousands of years, people have adopted the ancient practice of Yoga to enhance their physical and mental well-being. Its foundation is the idea that the body and mind are interconnected, and it has its roots in India. The Sanskrit word " Yuj ," which means "to connect or join," is where the word " Yoga " originates. A common definition of  Yoga  is the fusion of the mind, body, and soul. It is a comprehensive technique that incorporates breathing exercises, physical postures, meditation, and mindfulness. The fact that  Yoga  helps to increase strength and flexibility is one of its key advantages. The physical positions, or asanas, help to increase flexibility while also stretching and toning the muscles. Injuries can be prevented and posture can be improved as a result. Yoga  provides a lot of advantages for mental wellness as well. Stress and anxiety can be lessened by practicing meditation and breathing exercises. Additionally,...

What is a Patriarchal society? Even though the actual definition of patriarchy is that the male is the lead role in decision making in a family, it goes much beyond this to mean in a broader sense of male domination .  How is patriarchy manifested and propagated in a society? Societal norms and mores. Prevalent cultural norms. Having more male Heroes and Gods in our mythology. Egoistic male attitude learnt in early stages of life. Primary and secondary socialisation factors. Objectification of women in advertisements. Over emphasis of a man as a lead role in films. Lack of sex education. Denial of basic human rights to those other than men. Exploitation and violence. Child marriage Female genital mutilation Unwanted pregnancy Treating women as one's own property Lack of bodily autonomy What is Bodily Autonomy? Usually referred to women, even though applicable to men and LGBTQ community, bodily autonomy is the agency and power of a person to make a choice about one's body wit...

Content Credits: Tejus R S  Edited and organised by Sriroop B k Could we have managed COVID better? Yes.  What does rise of COVID cases in second wave indicate? The crisis shows lacuna in terms of intelligence, listening, priority, data forecasting, planning, decision making and execution which are Fundamental Management practices that one should possess for effectively handling the pandemic. Facts to be understood: The country spends just about 1.26% of its GDP on its public healthcare system which is much lower than countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh which spend close to 3%. National Health policy 2017 recommended the central government to spend 2.5% on health and states to spend 8%. Hardly any state is allocating the required funds for public health. WHO prescribed Doctor to Patient ratio is 1:1000 i.e. one doctor for every 1000 patients. India stands at 1:1456( Economic Survey 2019-2020 ) and is even 1:10000 (National Health Profile 2019) in some parts of the coun...

 Yes, depending on your age, severeness of the disease and your willingness to recover from the disease, lifestyle diseases can be treated and cured over a long period of time. What are lifestyle diseases? Also called " Civilisational disease " or " Non-communicable disease" or "Culturogenic diseases" , they are not infectious and do not spread from one person to another. They are unique to each individual. These diseases can include High blood pressure, Hypertension, Diabetes, Stroke, Cardiovascular Diseases, Atherosclerosis, Obesity, Internal organ damage, Cancers, Parkinson's disease, Autoimmune Diseases, Alzheimer's Disease etc. How are lifestyle diseases acquired? Lifestyle diseases are acquired mainly from the way of lifestyle that we follow.  Unhealthy diet, no exercise, smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction, irregular sleep, chemicals in food, excessive medicine intake, lethargicity, depression, sadness, anger issues and the like will accumul...

There have been a shift towards a digital economy in the recent past. Cryptocurrencies are among those digital transitions.  What is a Cryptocurrency? It is a digital currency which uses cryptography. What is Cryptography? It is a technique of protecting the information using codes so that only the intended user will be able to extract and understand the information. What is the technology that Cryptography uses? Cryptography uses blockchain technology. What is blockchain technology? It is a technology which uses a technique called digitally distributed ledger.  A ledger is nothing but a record of any transaction.  Normally one centrally controlled ledger is used to store the information of all transactions. But in blockchain, multiple decentralised ledgers are used to store the information, i.e. each information is stored at the same time at different places on different computers. What is the advantage of blockchain technology? Since a single piece of information i...

 A question lingering in the minds of many, "Can lifestyle affect health?" Answer: Yes, IN A HUGE WAY. What is lifestyle? Lifestyle is literally the way in which a person lives right from waking up to sleeping back again including both. It includes all the activities that we do daily and how we do it.  Eg: Waking up and sleeping times, food habits, exercise habits, etc. What affects our lifestyle? Money : This is one of the biggest factors that affect our lifestyle. It can even change a person's attitude! Usually as income increases, people tend more towards materialistic lifestyle. Simplicity becomes rare. Everything is easily available and hence value for other humans and generally the world decreases. Although there are a few exceptions to this, money plays a huge influence on a human's mind. Culture : In quite a few cases culture also plays a huge role in influencing lifestyle. It can have both positive and negative effects.  Eg : Fasting if done correctly by unde...

You might have heard about the word cognition from time to time in your circles. Ever really wondered what it is? What is Cognition?  Cognition is the process of THINKING which entails LANGUAGE, REMEMBERING, REASONING and INTELLIGENCE. LANGUAGE  is the process by which we will acquire information. REMEMBERING  is the process where we learn to store the acquired information. REASONING  is a process where we make logical conclusions about the stored information. INTELLIGENCE  is a process where we connect the gaps by adding creativity to the information. In further stages of life cognition can include PERCEPTION, EVALUATION and JUDGEMENT. When does cognition start? It was believed widely that children develop the ability of cognition only when they start learning a language, but today it has been proved that right from birth, an infant starts cognising the world around it. Can cognition be improved? Yes, cognition can be improved. Brain has a characteristic called...

  Normally anxiety is common among humans. But, chronic anxiety will affect the quality of life and can have physical symptoms on the body as well. What is anxiety? Anxiety is the body's natural response to stress.  Whenever we are in certain situations that we have not faced or are yet to face, there will be a certain degree of fear, nervousness and apprehension. Eg: First day at school, attending a first job interview, giving a public speech, moving to a new place, a new relationship, etc.  Normally it will not last very long. It will ward off when we come out of the situation. What happens during anxiety? It will boost up all the functions of the body to perform a particular task and achieve goals.  It will trigger the fight or flight mechanism and release a flood of chemicals like adrenaline. The pulse rate, the breath rate, blood flow and the oxygen supply to the brain and other parts of the body increases. But over a period of time after the task is done or the...

  The pursuit of mental peace or inner peace acquires importance at all times of life. But unfortunately we usually realise this only after a trauma. What is mental peace? It is a state of mind which is achieved from mental and emotional calmness, free from unnecessary worries, fears and stress. It is a happy and relaxed state of mind while doing karma or action. Why is it important? To enjoy the existence of life! If we are constantly complaining about everything around us, can we really enjoy this one life that we have? To develop compassion and tolerance towards others. Once we start accepting the diversity of others and ourselves, we can appreciate the life to its fullest. To get proper sleep! When the mind is peaceful, we can sleep without any worries and can avoid all the sleep related illness. To enjoy the happiness more deeply. Being happy is a state of mind which happens without our obvious consciousness. But being aware that we are happy can lead us to bliss. To impr...

Mind is a very powerful tool which can be shaped and used in many ways. It is often neglected and looked down upon as it does not show any symptoms in the physical body at least in the earlier stage. Attitude and mindset determines the person’s qualitative aspect of mind. We often neglect smaller things in life for example making our own bed, trying to learn small things like gestures, polishing our way of behaviour towards others, taking responsibility, etc. Many of these small things have the potential to create a huge impact on our personality. Observing and enjoying the smaller things for some occurs naturally while it comes from a constant and conscious practise for others. The smaller things will play a huge role in activating the reward system of the brain by motivating us to perform better and ultimately help us in taking control of our thoughts, emotions and actions. Once we start appreciating the smaller things in life, we develop an attitude of acceptance and tolerance. This...

     Credits : Aishwarya      Examination is a test conducted to evaluate the expertise of a candidate concerned with a subject. The examination system was introduced by the 'King of Sui dynasty' of China to select "able" candidates for the post of government services. Is the practice of proving our "expertise" through examination relevant in today's world?       In ancient India, the learning process took place throughout one's life. Gurus were considered as gods and revered more than parents. Civilisations were built, the country prospered and ancient Indians excelled in administration, science, mathematics, astronomy, art, medicine etc. Few drawbacks of the ancient system of education as pointed out by the British were that: women were not included in the Gurukuls or Vidyapeet and Varna or Caste system was created which led to evil social discrimination.      The British introduced the system of examination in India to ...

       As we tread along a new path towards medical healthcare, there is a need to re-establish diplomatic ties towards the nations around the world which portrays our empathy and leadership qualities. One such step taken by the government is Vaccine diplomacy.      Two vaccines related to COVID have been approved in India after confirming their safety and efficacy. India has formulated a rational vaccine distribution programme targeting and prioritising the frontline workers, the older population, vulnerable population with lifestyle disease and then to the general population. However, it would have been much better to release the vaccine in phases so that people are absolutely sure about the efficacy of the vaccine. With vaccination kicking in, everything is expected to go back to pre-COVID levels including the economy. But the V shape economic recovery is theoretical and it is difficult to expect such a recovery in a practical scenario.   ...

       India being a strategically important nation in the Indo-Pacific region must balance its strategic ties in such a manner that it does not lose its strategic autonomy. Strategic autonomy is the heart of todays geopolitics.      India has been more inclined towards the US in the recent years. This has created tensions among its neighbours. India is now seen as a staunch ally of the US which has led to some degradation of ties with its neighbouring countries. Being seen as an ally of any one country is not in the best interest of any country.      The closeness of India with the US has pushed away Russia towards China. China views India with hostility and this is evident from the border skirmishes happening. Neighbours such as Nepal which were hitherto close to India have found some ground of friendship with China when it solved some internal dispute in Nepal. Countries such as Iran have blamed India of being pressurised by the US. ...

       Evolving the defence strategy of any country depending on the changing geopolitical circumstances becomes crucial to remain sovereign in this multipolar highly globalised world.      India has the distinction of rising as one of the major global power in defence sector in quite a short time. The US which was supporting Pakistan in 1970's and who despised India and imposed sanctions when we became nuclear was quick to change its side after the 9/11 attack. Since then trade and defence ties with the US has been on an upsurge.      4 major US agreements bring any country closer to the US in terms of defence and cooperation. The General Security of Military Information agreement(GSOMIA) allows the militaries to share the intelligence gathered. Logistics exchange memorandum of agreement(LEMOA) which allows access to designated military facilities for refuelling and replenishment. Communication and information Security memorandum of agr...

     West Asia has remained a bone of contention for quite a long time now. Conflicts in this region can have a global spillover if not contained. It becomes important for any country to have a global interest in peace for securing its own future.      Afghanistan has a geo strategic location in West Asia and is an oil producing State. For India, Afghanistan acts as a crucial link to Central Asian Republics and to counterbalance the influence of Pakistan and China in the region. The recent US-Taliban deal has left out India as a stakeholder and mainly concentrates on the western interests. The US is desperate to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan which was deployed after the 9/11 attacks. The deployment of troops has been widely resented by the US public. The US has ignored the civilian government and has made an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw its troops provided that the Taliban does not allow the Afghan soil to be used for terrorism activities m...

       Air pollution has become one of the serious concerns around the globe. In India, Delhi has been annually experiencing severe air pollution every winter threatening the health of its residents. The issue should be taken seriously as over a period of time, it becomes a matter of life and death.      There are many causes for pollution in the NCR region. The burning of stubble in Punjab and Haryana will send particulate matter towards the NCR. The vehicular emissions especially from diesel vehicles and unregulated construction activities add a lot of particulate matter to the air. Usage of conventional forms of cooking and garbage burning will also contribute its share.     T here is smog formation in the atmosphere during winter. When there is inversion of temperature, smog accumulates in the lower troposphere. The wind around the NCR during winter is very still and this leads to the stagnation of the accumulated pollution in the troposp...

       Pakistan has been acknowledged internationally as a hotspot of terror financing since it was put under the grey list of Financial action was force(FATF) in 2018. This was a major blow to Pakistan's international reputation.      FATF is an intergovernmental organisation formed in 1989, headquartered in Paris, which monitored and sanctioned money laundering. But since 9/11, the mandate of FATF has expanded to include tackling of terrorist financing. There is empirical evidence that money laundering is associated with organised crime. The Golden crescent is a region in Asia which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran popular for illicit drug production. The illegal money is then laundered to finance terrorism activities around the globe.      Countries that are considered as a safe haven to money laundering and terror financing are kept under the grey list. When a country is put under grey list, directives are given by FATF to tho...

       In the world of diplomacy, there are no permanent friends or foes. The relationship between each country and the world keeps on evolving with the hard and soft power exhibited by the countries over a period of time.      Quad is an informal grouping of 4 countries including India, Australia, US and Japan. It was formed basically to protect geo-strategic interests and the freedom of navigation in international waters in general and Indo-pacific in particular. The growing expansion of China through its "Belt and road initiative" and "The string of Pearls" has been seen in suspicion and as a threat to the freedom of navigation.      Malabar exercise is an annual naval exercise between India, US and the Japan. Till recently, India was reluctant to include Australia in this exercise as this would amount to a formal military grouping of the informal Quad. India was cautious not to give China, its neighbour, to see it as an active partic...

       Caste has been  discriminating people for various reasons since the later Vedic period. Originally one caste was attributed to a particular community based on their occupations which were then further subdivided into a number of jaatis.      Each jaati came to be associated with a particular occupation. This was also the time when the codification of Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras began and the upper caste began dominating over the lower caste to keep the latter in subservience. The process of discrimination has continued till this day.      The ace bowler, Muttaiah Muralidharan belongs to one such family of a caste considered to be inferior which migrated to Srilanka during the colonial rule to work in tea plantations as indentured labourers. These Tamil speaking people were termed as the hill people. The Srilankan Tamilians living in Northern and Eastern parts of Srilanka considered the hill Tamilians in Central Srilanka t...