IF JUNK GOES IN, ONLY JUNK COMES OUT

Pic.: Sheela Krishnamony

In the stamp-duty office today, I met a gentleman after, almost, ten years. He had migrated with his family to Melbourne many years ago. Today, when he came to greet me, I was’t able to recognize him. When he introduced me, I was pleasantly surprised! He was overweight and shapeless in those days. Now, he looked slim and dashing. There was a glow on his face and he looked a lot poised.

“I can’t believe it is you,” I said holding his hand, “It is a total transformation… What is the secret?”

“A junk-free lifestyle,” the gentleman was bang-on.

“More about it,” I was curious.

“You feed your body and mind with junk, you end up with a 'junky' body and mind,” the man told me, “I mind what I eat, think, watch and speak.”

I did not hear him say, “I walk, exercise, gym, do Yoga and meditation…” and all that. I did not ask him if he did all those things, either.

But, now, when I reflect on what the gentleman had said, I understand this: If we eat, think, watch and speak sensibly, we do not have to do anything else, at all!

Junk goes in with the junk we feed our body and mind… And, when we feed only such junk to our body and mind, we can’t expect but junk to come out of them!

Millions of us watch the news channels – so many of them – just before we go to bed in the night. Arnab is the loudest of all. I don’t know about others, but, if I listen to him and his panelists – and they call it ‘debate’ – something happens in my body and mind both. So, I switch over to other channels with the hope that my body and mind wouldn't respond the way they did to Arab’s. Alas, most of them do the same to me!

So, last night, when I heard Sonia of NDTV saying, “You don’t have to shout to be heard,” I thought she and her channel, probably, are the most harmless… I find, them so!

So, does a life-style change include a change of news channel, too? To me, yes. Probably, not watching any news, at all, before I go to bed would be an even better proposal.

If you carry junk in your mind when you go to sleep, what can you expect yourself to wake up with? Likewise, if you feed your body with junk, what kind of shape can you expect it to assume?

Whether it is Mumbai or Melbourne, the rule remains the same: If junk goes in, only junk comes out!”

GERALD D’CUNHA