 Even the one who feels doomed
by destiny, is never truly lost.
"Mahakala, deity of Disgust "
by Pieter Weltevrede
(Click the picture for a larger image)
Some people in depression have psychological problems whose origin and therapeutic cure go far beyond the Rasas and the scope of this website.
The depression discussed here is the one that happens to many people now and then. As an emotional state, depression is rather complex because it involves the Disgust Rasa as self-contempt and dissatisfaction, but may also include the Sadness and Fear Rasas. The person in depression may then shift from self-pity to sadness to fear and back to self-pity. When each of these Rasas manifests individually, they may quite naturally subside after having run their course. If one shifts from one to the other however, one can only sink deeper and it is hard to get out of the resulting depression.
Nevertheless, it is important to realize that the Disgust Rasa - as severe dissatisfaction with oneself - is at the basis of depression. Many depressed people will disagree with that statement, feeling that nobody can understand their problem because they cannot understand it themselves. The reason for that confusion (which is typical for a state of depression) precisely lies within the mixture of Rasas, which makes it difficult to state that this or that is the cause of it.
Still, to tackle the basic issue of self-contempt is the best way out of depression. Hence for people in depression, the advice given for mastering Disgust is best : keep good company, enjoy uplifting sensory input, purify body chemistry and mind and most of all stop identifying with errors made in the past ! You may remain sad about the past or afraid of the future for some time longer, but do not take it personal. Do not feel like you are bound by those past errors, that you would be destined to make them again and again. Nobody is, everybody can change anytime. Depression is not anybody's natural state.
The above texts on Depression were extracted from the book "The Yoga of the Nine Emotions", which fully explains these subjects. |
