Acharya Prashant responds to a question from a young man suffering from a psychosomatic illness that hinders his daily life and spiritual path. The speaker uses the analogy of the Olympics, where there are various sports like javelin, table tennis, weightlifting, and boxing. Winning any of these earns a gold medal of the same value. He advises that just as an athlete chooses a sport based on their body, one should choose their 'game' in life according to their physical and mental capabilities. If you cannot play lawn tennis, play table tennis; if not that, play chess. The shine of the gold medal, the ultimate achievement, remains the same regardless of the game. The key is to choose a game that suits you and play it with complete dedication and justice. The speaker addresses the questioner's stress, explaining that the problem is not the stress itself but the stress about having stress, which creates a feedback loop. He clarifies that challenges and a certain level of stress are necessary for the mind and body to remain sharp. Without challenges, the intellect becomes dull and the body becomes weak. He advises being non-resistant to stress, allowing it to come and go without creating an internal alarm. The issue is not the stress, but the belief that stress is a terrible thing, which then causes more stress. Acharya Prashant further explains that the physical illness is one thing, but identifying oneself as a 'sick person' is a more profound problem. The illness should remain confined to the body and not become an illness of the mind. He states that the body is inherently a house of diseases, and what we call health is merely a state where the disease is limited or latent. One should not wait for perfect physical, mental, or financial conditions to start living or doing the right work, as such a perfect time never comes. He gives the example of Stephen Hawking, who achieved great things despite severe physical limitations. The message is that the body may be sick, but life should not be sick. One must do what one can, right now, with full dedication.
