Many of you will have read of the recent suicide of a Chennai police inspector, followed by the suicide of a police constable last week. What is striking is the deceased inspector’s colleague observing that out of 500-police personnel of his batch nearly 30 are no more, in under 2-decades of entering service! That is unusually high or rather short! I do not want to analyze the extenuating circumstances, what ever they may be, either official or personal. Nor do I want to defend or accuse any one. That is not the point.
That Rajasekar, the deceased inspector chose to interfere with nature and end his life is in itself sad. What is most apparent is that he was unable to cope with the work-related stress. In his case, his personal life also seems to have taken a beating, adding to the stress. It seems that only stress has driven him to the extreme step. Stress is probably sine qua non to suicides. The source and circumstances of stress may differ. A person’s inability to cope with it seems to lead to suicide. The factor common to inspector Rajasekar or the constable or any other person committing suicide is undoubtedly, stress.
Is it possible to avoid stress, especially in departments such as police etc? The answer will be an emphatic ‘NO’. But, the capacity to handle stress can be learned and ways to eliminate stress can be practiced, whether in the police department or outside.
Only by going through structured courses to learn highly effective yogic practices such as Sudharshana Kriya and Pranayama can people lead stress-free life. They need to be consistent in the yogic regimen too. Modern medicine backs this fact. Look at the huge amount of research on yogic practices and the beneficial effects on stress. Research shows that Sudharshana Kriya & Pranayama (SKP) lower typical stress-induced obstinate biochemical mediators. Another benefit is the cessation of addictions such as alcohol & tobacco with SKP, a bonus.
Can we, as responsible citizens, appeal to the policy makers to mandate proven methods such as SKP to police personnel and people in similar stress-prone departments?
Inspector Rajasekar was with me in the special courses that we gave the Chennai City Traffic Police a few months ago at the Chennai Police Commissionorate, Egmore, Chennai. There were many who quit alcohol & tobacco during the course itself. But, follow-up was virtually impossible, given the awful work hours and huge personnel shortages faced by the department. Initiating personnel into yogic practices and creating the environment to help consistent practice is the need of the hour
Filed under Life
The article is really amazing and but also painful to hear that inspite of plenty of knowledge (wisdom) availbale in india to address how to over come the emotional challenges, why people are ending their life. No time to go for a follow up class is ok and I can understand work load / stress and all but one can always sit in a silence for a moment or call their teachers for counselling before taking this ackward decision of ending precious gift called life given by nature