Indian Concepts in Health and Wellness: Published articles, The Economic Times 7

Article in The Economic Times, Feb 12, 08

Ayushmaan Bhavah used to be our original blessing for long life. A full life where you go through all life stages––student, bachelorhood, family/household man, societal & community do-gooder and then sagely detachment––was the basic and most ubiquitous desire and blessing. Embedded in this core definition of long life/healthy life was the concept of immortality. Youthfulness was a subtext.

If you think of Hindu mythology, two broad health archetypes come to mind. The first is around wellness that comes from discipline, not giving in to cravings and excessive desires. Intrinsic to this is not only disciplined food habits but also right behaviour. In fact, according to Hindu psychology, diet influences character and behaviour. Lifestyle, exercise, diet and faith blended together. If this was the sage archetype, then a different health archetype would be the mythological warrior, who would need to eat more heartily for the purpose of war.

For the real heroes, body building and physical strength was accompanied by focus and concentration in war methods as well as ultra powers acquired through prayer and penance. Perhaps Arjuna could be held up as this combination of great looks, great physical strength and a great focused mind as well as a symbol of spiritual inquiry. For women, of course, health was best demonstrated in the ability to bear many children with ease, and little else. Perhaps that’s why it has taken so many centuries for Indian women to start putting their own health on their priority list (but that’s another article for another day).

Getting back to food and behaviour, Hinduism recognises three broad categories called the gunas. Some foods leave us feeling tired and sluggish––the tamasic effect. Other foods leave us feeling agitated or over-stimulated––the rajasic effect. The third category belongs to foods that leave us feeling calm, alert and refreshed––the sattvic diet.

People with sattvic essence are said to be learned, pure, courageous, skillful, resolute, free from anxiety, endowed with sharp memory, having a serious intellect and engaging in virtuous acts. Sattvic foods are light (as opposed to heavy) in nature, easy to digest, mildly cooling, refreshing and not disturbing to the mind.
Whole, fresh, in-season and local foods, organic foods, fresh dairy and vegetables fall under this category. Also, the food should be fresh and freshly prepared. Leftovers are decidedly tamasic, as is meat. Salty, spicy food, onion, garlic and the like have a rajasic effect, which fuels desire. Rajasic people are active, passionate, excitable––selfishness, greed and restlessness included.

Coming to today. Through the ’90s health in India was about tackling illness. Science and allopathy rose. Today, ironically after the west discovered Yoga and alternative healing, health started getting redefined in India too –– ‘wellness’ is a new word and today tagged along with the word ‘health’ all the time.

Four trends emerge. One, spirituality as Prozac: religion got adapted as a relevant coping mechanism for today rather than the ‘before life-after life’ focus it had earlier. Two, physical and mental well-being as a composite is today becoming the order of the day. And modern medicine is trying to incorporate alternative treatments to offer a holistic way. We are beginning to hear of surgeons who are also into reiki or pranic healing; and physicians in leading hospitals incorporating aromatherapy into their recommended treatment.

Three, healthy habits are practiced alongside unhealthy habits! So, on the on hand, we don’t mind food stored overnight in the refrigerator (tamasic), but on the other hand it’s nice to say; “Oh, I just have a fruit for breakfast” or “I’ve started buying only organic (sattvic) vegetables.” Strangely, the magazines are full of advise on sattvic foods, but in our work sphere we are celebrating the rajasic spirit required for aggressive action and success.

Lastly, health & wellness today is not so much for long life but to realise and unleash your full potential––physical, mental and spiritual well-being; to help you cope with, or better still prevent, stress and illnesses and for youthfulness, beauty and vitality. So, today’s ultimate health icon would be a combination of a beautiful fit body, high potential mind power for large scale achievements, as well as spiritual strength to face the good and the bad with equanimity. This icon then combines the sage and the warrior... we could say, the return of Arjuna, as a corporate sage-cum-warrior who fights in the Kurukshetra of global business, runs branded marathons and attends Art of Living classes! “Global takeover bhavah”!

Chakra Watch 1: What do mothers, action movies and energy drinks have in common?/ Published Articles, The Financial Express 1

Article in The Financial Express, Feb 5, 08

Survival, Pleasure, Power, Love, Creative Expression, Transcendence, Spirituality: these are the seven basic life themes - based on the seven major chakras in the human body - that drive all human behaviour.


Seeing India through the seven chakras

Whether it is the student who is stressing about admissions. Or teenage girls with typical vulnerabilities of their age who are trying to reconcile the gap between what they actually are and the bold media portrayals of women today. Or lower SEC mothers who are pinning their every hope on their children to bring them better futures. Or the thousands of Indians striving to learn English so that they are not left behind. Large numbers of Indians are on self-preservation mode, looking for security, stability, grounding – these are the Muladhara, or Survival Chakra people.

These are the people who were particularly restricted in the past and had diminished self-images but have caught attention by their determined effort to redefine goals, raise the level of persistent efforts and have managed to raise their lifestyles and self-esteem despite inadequacies. Witness the endless stories on the rise of Indian women, the rise of small town people and the rise of the lower SEC. Rags to riches, sudden fame and wealth through hard won contests and revival or comeback stories capture public imagination.

People in this chakra are – naturally – deeply worried about the future. They are of two types – the Anxious Survivor and the Buoyant Survivor. While some remain anxious, get bogged down, and feel an inability to get out of circumstances, others are buoyant and lively with more faith in their abilities, and drive themselves to come out of adversities unscathed. Most consumers in this chakra are conscious of their strengths and weaknesses, tend to set manageable goals and hope that persistent effort in place of brilliance will see them through. Anxious Survivors choose stagnancy over risk, and find security in maintaining the status quo. They need the cushion of certainty and predictability, even if it is limiting. Buoyant Survivors, on the other hand, are determined to climb out of their current situation and are in search for positions of power and influence, almost with a vengeance. These are people who feel more pressured to keep pace with change and are not willing to accept things as they are. The “do tharah ke log” that the famous Bunty aur Babli dialogue described so evocatively.


A recent JWT Brand Chakras™ study, Mother India showed that many mothers are in survival mode, but the fact that they want their children to reach high positions of power and influence and make them famous, shows that they are wanting to move up to the Power Chakra. These are mothers who feel their husbands are unlikely to improve their lives any further, and pressured by fast upgrading neighbours and relatives, are pinning their hopes on their children to lift them from a life of oblivion and transform their fortunes. Children by nature are said to be in survival, as in the early years we are still learning our way around the world.

Muladhara brands can cater to these emotional needs with brand benefits and promises that enhance the will to live, offer energy, fearlessness, stability, freedom from drudgery, bring abundance and physical strength, and support the urge to survive. Brands offering physical strength and love of outdoors operate in this space.

Thumbs Up and Mountain Dew would be examples here, as well as health food drinks, energy foods, immunity and health protection or illness prevention brands. Insurance is mostly a survival benefit, with its promise of security and stability in case of misfortune. The diffident girl of the earlier fairness cream commercials, and some of the teary, self effacing characters in the soaps who never speak up and are forever victims of circumstance are excellent examples of Anxious Survivors or a deficient Survival Chakra. On the other hand, the WWF characters with their extremely well developed bodies and driven by aggression are examples of excessive Survival Chakra.

Action movies too operate in this space, in a totally different way. Malamaal Weekly, Gangster, Provoked, even Chak De for example appeal to our survival intincts, (as against Guru which clearly celebrates the journey of an individual from the Survival Chakra to the Power Chakra).

Therefore, key brand payoffs that appeal to and arise out of Muladhara people and their needs include payoffs like: fills me with a will to win, reflects my spirit of persistence, helps me to face difficult situations, makes me feel energetic and dynamic, and makes me feel safe and secure.

The interesting thing of course is that even the rich and famous – CEOs or cricketers, not to mention the Parvathis and Tulsis of our serials or our politicians or corporations struggling in the market or facing hostile takeovers - fight survival battles, even if it is at a totally different level and of a totally different kind!