[Advaita-l] Vedanta in Depression

[Divya Meedin]

Namaste Mahadevan-ji,

Thank you for this question. I can relate to this all too well. I cannot
call myself a student of Vedanta, but I think I can write to you about
little things I do that keep me afloat when such dejection rears its head.

I have this little poster on my wall that's titled 'My Circle of Control'.
It found me randomly one day on the Internet, so I wrote it down on a sheet
of paper and plastered it on my wall. The content looks like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Control-Teacher-Novelty-Meaningful-Motivational/dp/B08HJMNSZV
I take a long look at this poster and see if my problem fits into either
category. When I make up my mind about which one it is, I try and do
something about it, like apologize to someone or get back to working harder
etc. If it's something I cannot control, I pick up a book straight away -
mostly biographies or advices of great Saints and I read and re-read until
I feel lighter. If the pangs don't go away still, I pick up either
Tiruvachakam or Sundara Kandam and set a schedule for the next few hours/
days to complete a full chant. I recommend this routine highly - it has
never failed me.

It really helps to reach out to someone from your inner circle that really
inspires you. When I see the road they have traversed to get where they
are, I begin to feel that what I am going through is not so bad.

But mostly, I made some real progress when I finally told myself that it is
ok to feel bad sometimes. It helps me be a better person to myself and
others. I know none of this is Vedantic advice in the literal sense, but
these continue to work for me in various measures, and I thought I could
share the same with you.

Hope you feel better soon.

Regards,
Divya

On Sat, Nov 28, 2020 at 10:30 AM Mahadevan Iyer via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Despite learning & rationalizing Vedanta for many years, at times when I
> face the anxieties & shortcomings of Life, I forget all Vedantic knowledge
> & get severely depressed. At times I even question Vedanta. Have anyone
> faced something like this? Have anyone found perpetual peace?
>
> pranams,
> Mahadevan
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