THE MIND & BODY BLOG

W hat we are living through is an unforeseen period. It is a trying time, both mentally and emotionally. Given the circumstances, it is natural to look for a de-stressing mechanism or turn toward spirituality. The ways in which we choose to do so may be different, but the end goal takes us through the route of ‘consciousness.’  To talk about consciousness is like opening a Pandora’s Box. Generally speaking, it would translate into ‘awareness’, but from a neurological point of view, consciousness would be the state of awareness of the self, environment, and one’s responsiveness to external stimuli and internal needs.  By the neurological benchmark, consciousness has two components — level of consciousness and the content of consciousness, the latter determining the spectrum of enlightenment of an individual. The level of consciousness defines the degree of variation from normal alertness, while the content of consciousness is defined by the quality and coherence of th...

Mahatma Gandhi saw this coming from a mile. Seems, India is going wrong somewhere, which is why its place has dropped in the Happiness index since 2013. Did you know India ranks lower than even Iraq and Pakistan on the World Happiness Index? India ranks 140th in the happiness quotient as per the latest report released in March this year . As a country, we are perennially on decline having dropped 7 notches from 133 in 2018 out of 156 countries surveyed. We stood at 122 in 2017, and with the latest drop our nation stands below Pakistan (67) China (93) and other immediate neighbours such as Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal. Looks like the entire nation, entrepreneurs and innovators have to buckle up their shoes to make the country prosperous and a happy place to live in. So, exactly why is India unhappy, despite the highest economic growth rate? A happiness index is not just statistics. It offers an insight into what’s on the minds of the peopl...