don't worry, be happy - चिन्ताज्वरो मनुष्याणां

the fever of worry snatches away hunger, sleep, strength, beauty, enthusiasm, mind, wealth and life itself - there is no doubt.

chintAjwaro manuShyANAm kShudhAm nidrAm balam haret |
rUpamutsAhabuddhim shrIm jIvitam cha na saMshayaH ||

चिन्ताज्वरो मनुष्याणां क्षुधां निद्रां बलं हरेत् ।
रूपमुत्साहबुद्धिं श्रीं जीवितं च न संशयः ॥

cintājvaro manuṣyāṇāṃ kṣudhāṃ nidrāṃ balaṃ haret ।
rūpamutsāhabuddhiṃ śrīṃ jīvitaṃ ca na saṃśayaḥ ॥

if you don't believe in the simple maxim made famous by the song 'don't worry, be happy', then here is the doctor's diagnosis of what all will go wrong by this fever of worrying, if not controlled. this gem comes from skandapurANa.

hunger
it is known fact that worry kills hunger. and this will explain why the most common solution americans have found to counter worry is to raid the fridge and get the ice cream bucket and finish it off while watching 'i love lucy' or 'friends' or 'everybody loves raymond'. you can fill in your favorite tv show here. so, if worrying kills hunger, eating binges surely should counter worrying! and some how it seems to work as well!

but, it works only to add new worries - about a wardrobe two sizes small that doesn't fit anymore! so worrying only makes it worse.

sleep
and how have you slept before the exams that you didn't prepare for? or your wedding night? or that job interview? or when he is not picking up the phone, or she doesn't SMS you back? well, maybe guys don't worry too much on that front :)

strength
and when you don't eat or sleep, your body loses strength, not just physical but immune system wise as well. that is when you get cold, and flus etc. but it is not just physical strength that you miss, you somehow find less confidence when you are worried. and without confidence what can you do? just make more mistakes and more worries!

beauty
and without your beauty sleep where is the beauty? sagging eye bags! bad skins, acne, colorless cheeks - all start to show up when your worrying reaches a little more worrisome stage.


enthusiasm
so now you are sleep deprived, lacking confidence, weak, hungry, and they expect you to have any enthusiasm left? how cruel! will someone do something about this or just keep expecting me to be all happy and smiley. i have no energy or mood to be happy or being a go-getter.

mind, sanity
are you seeing a logical sequence of effects of worrying. the deeper you worry is the longer it lasts and the more severe its effects start to show, impacting more and more aspects of your life. now you mind starts to play games with you. the border to insanity is not too far now. be this a romantic worry, job worry or any such severe case, when you keep worrying about what you have no control over, you simply worsen the situation.

wealth
with mind finally inflicted, you start to make wrong decisions and soon it will impact you financially. maybe you are not working properly, not paying attention to what the boss is saying, or when to turn the nuclear reactor off! maybe you are not thinking properly and investing in the wrong stocks, or going on shopping spree after the ice cream spree didn't work! you are only making matters worse with unstoppable worrying.

life
and it culminates into a chronic problem which gives rise to much more severe health issues, like headaches, ulcers, hypertension, or even cancer. they don't call it 'worried sick' for no reason!

so, you have one life, for the time being, and what you will remember. you can spend it worrying, and it will fly by quickly, or you can stop worrying. stop doing things that will lead to situations that need to be worried about, like abstaining till marriage or using proper protection; working hard; not being a jerk around her/him.

there is difference between wondering (contemplating) and worrying - the first one makes you better at work, the second one a beggar for work.

not worrying doesn't mean not planning! it just means not disabling your thinking itself.

anything sound familiar? post your comments, and when will you stop worrying?

like it? then become a fan of the blog. please rate the post as well.
how can this site be made more interesting, useful? share your comments, use the comment link or the comment box below

---

and now the language aspects of the shloka -

chintAjwaro = fever of worry
chintA = worry
jwaraH = fever, high (temperature), even high tide is called jwAra in hindi
here it is a tatpuruSha samAsa, jwara of chintA, fever of worry. when a vibhakti is missing from the compounding it is tatpuruSha samAsa.

manuShyANAm = of humans (-NAm suffix to mean 'of', plural)
manuShya = human. from manu, the first human of this era (after each deluge era), and all humans are his descendant.

kShudhAm = hunger (object, second vibhakti)

nidrAm = sleep

balam = strehgth

haret = snatches away, takes away

rUpamutsAhabuddhim = rUpam + utsAha + buddhim
rUpam = beauty
utsAha = enthusiasm. ut- prefix suggests 'up', as in up with enthusiasm.
utkaNThA = eagerness, as in raised necks to see what is going on. reminds me of a street show, and those who get late are standing in the back rows of the circles, and have to tippy toe, and then crane their neck up to get a glimpse, that is utkaNThA (kaNTha = throat)

shrIm = wealth, fame, prosperity

jIvitam = life

cha = and

na = not

saMshayaH = doubt

like it? then become a fan of the blog. please rate the post as well.
how can this site be made more interesting, useful? share your comments, use the comment link or the comment box below

(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
Practical Sanskrit. All rights reserved. Check us on Facebook