Swami Prakarshananda was invited by the Speaking Tree and TOI (Times of India) to address the children of Cambridge Foundation School Rajouri Garden as part of a their newly launched initiative, Roots and Wings. This is a series of Knowledge Workshops to help students build a strong set of values that will help them face the challenges of life.
As Swamiji arrived he was warmly welcomed by the school authorities and smiling children. They were soon joined by the TOI team and proceeded to the school auditorium where over 200 children awaited Swamiji’s talk.
The topic was ‘Exam Stress’, a very relevant topic for all students. He mentioned that he too had undergone the same stress when he was their age and therefore, knew what they were going through.
Swamiji went on to explain how stress is at two levels, the physical and physiological. Physical stress is due to lack of physical strength and physiological stress is due to lack of mental strength. The former can be overcome by proper rest but the latter needs a different approach. This stress is at the level of the mind. The mind is the bridge between the body and the intellect. When the mind is disturbed then one is not able to do what one wants. The mind itself is nothing but a flow of thoughts. When one has positive thoughts, the mind is stable but as soon as negative thoughts arise it is disturbed. So, stress is to be understood as a flow of negative thoughts
To help the children remain positive he gave them two powerful quotes by Pujya Gurudev: Plan out your work and work out your plan; Do your best and leave the rest.
The Q&A session saw Swamiji adeptly answer question raging from: How to control anger? How to increase concentration? What are the symptoms of stress? How does it manifest? Do family ties increase or decrease stress?
Swami Prakarshananda thanked the school authorities and congratulated the Speaking Tree team for this most needed initiative. He wished the students good luck and asked them to memorise Gurudev’s quotes and apply them in their lives.
