SERENE SLEEP JOYFUL WAKING

AUM
SERENE SLEEP JOYFUL WAKING
BY Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
Sleep indeed is a restorative break from stress. In the waking hours our minds are cluttered with numerous problematic thoughts that beggar solutions. Consequently, we live in a state of stress in our waking hours. Some men and women beckon sleep but remain bereft of it as our cluttered up minds do not let sleep come anywhere near us. Children, of course, are blessed with an involuntary action decluttering minds with a whiff of fresh air that brings sleep in its wake. The adults do not enjoy the bliss of this involuntary action. We acknowledge that cluttered up minds keep serene sleep at bay. Consequently, when adults leave bed after spending even six or seven hours there, they have a feeling of tiredness of body and mind.
Our aim is to have serene sleep of six to eight hours at a stretch so that when we wake up, there is smile on our face. The rare smile is a result of perfect sleep at night that gives on-the-top of the world feeling when we leave the bed. Is it possible in this world where life is full of care and we have no time to stand and stare as per the poet’s concept. Of course, it is possible. We have to prepare our body and mind for a serene sleep.
PREPARATION FOR SLEEP
Is your bedroom a place of peace? Is the lighting conducive to sleep? Is the bedsheet clean and the mattress not too thin or too thick? Is the music in your or neighbour’s house preventing you from keeping eyes shut? Are you tired enough to merit a night’s rest physically and mentally? Are you carrying worries of your office to your bedroom? These are some of the questions that you have to answer in a positive or negative manner before you are ready for a night’s sleep.
The bedroom like your mind should not be cluttered up. If the excess luggage of your house has been stored haphazardly under the bed, how can there be a good circulation of air? Let the surplus items of unwanted luggage find space elsewhere, failing which sell it to the Kabadi for whatever money he is offering in lieu. We in India have a tendency to store up unwanted items in our bedroom. For Pete’s sake, please abandon this harmful habit.
A walk in a nearby garden in the evening before dark is recommended. It means movement of limbs, breathing in fresh air in proximity of trees and shrubs and thinking of people and places that generate joy. A walk undertaken voluntarily in a peaceful place lends peace of mind to the walker and tires the body moderately. These are indeed conducive to sleep when you call it a day.
Mantra-meditation is a great help in putting a man to sleep. Ved mantras may be learnt by heart and recited softly to numb your mind to sleep. Chanting Ved mantras or singing simple bhajans also bring peace to mind. Please try it by buying a small booklet called Aryabhivinay by Swami Dayanand Saraswati from the nearest Arya Samaj and keep the book handy to be read at bed time.
Let there be a two to three hours gap between dinner and sleep to allow the food to be digested a little and not cause you bad dreams. I shall not forbid alcoholic drink completely but certainly say that it should be taken in moderately. An adult is mature enough to know what is limit of consumption of food and drink and he should act accordingly. Your bedtime is determined by your age, profession, social upbringing and the present company.
Bad dreams prevent serene sleep. Treatises have been written by psychologists on dreams, their causes and cure and it is not the place to analyze them in detail. Bad thoughts, bad food and alcohol, bad conversation bordering sexy chats forcing you to think of rape scenes and mutilation of genitals of sexual perverts must be avoided before bedtime. Peaceful thought for a peaceful sleep is highly recommended.
Well, assuming that the ideal conditions listed heretofore were achieved and you had a wonderful sleep in your cozy bed, a lingering doubt remains. A nagging question asked by septuagenarians pertains to interruption of sleep to ease yourself taking a couple of minutes or may be longer and the frequency nay be more than the desired number. Well, do answer the call of nature once or twice at night but going to toilet more often may call for introspection. Please do not drink too much water or any other fluid before bedtime. Do go round the corner before retiring for the night. Keep the room temperature comfortable, neither cold nor hot. If the bladder is too weak to hold urine for a few hours, please see a urologist before it is too late.
WAKE UP CHEERFULLY
Well, considering that you had a serene sleep and nothing caused you to leave your bed before prescribed six or seven hours, what about waking up with a smile on your face. Well to achieve that perfect condition, please remove the alarm clock from your bedside. If the alarm rings like a fire alarm, your serene sleep will not be a comfort. To be shaken up from sleep by an alarm bell destroys peace of mind and puts you in an emergency. So, Get up naturally when the required period of sleep is completed. Just say Good Morning or Namaste to Yourself and the first person you come across after leaving the bed. It will definitely put you in a cheerful frame of mind and you will be receptive to fresh ideas from both seniors and juniors.
When you are at peace with yourself and your Maker, recite a Vedic hymn, A Ved Mantra to put you in a suitable frame of mind to do good to Mankind. Answer the call of nature, take bath and be ready to face the world both friendly and inimical. One should know that all human beings are not at our beck and call. Some are friendly men and women and some are ready to pounce on you at the first opportunity. You should be ready to face the adverse situation too. Once you are in the proper frame of mind, the world is yours just for the asking.
How to handle the situation when things start going wrongly? It is as important as the rosy picture that you have already seen. Please do not press the panic button when adversity stares at you. Try to find a solution of the problem coolly. Since you had a good sleep at night, got up cheerfully with a smile on your face, there is no reason to panic now. Have self confidence and suggest to yourself that no difficult situation is insurmountable. There is a solution to every problem. Rishis of yore lived in deep jungles and tamed wild life around ashrams. Last but not the least, have faith in the Almighty Ishwar who will rescue you from the deepest of the Deep and highest cliff of the Himalayas. Never say DIE, struggle on and move forward. The Veda says : CHARAIVETI CHARAIVETI – MOVE ON AND ON.
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Email: aumchitranjansawant@gmail.com Mobile: 0091-9811173590