This document discusses four progressive stages of traditional stress management: 1. Baddha, where one is oblivious to their true self and lost in their subjective self. 2. Mumukshu, where one begins to feel restless and searches for their self without direction. 3. Sadhak, where one receives guidance and refines their efforts, facing ordeals that destroy subjective frameworks. 4. Siddha, marked by final dissolution of individual self into cosmic self, beyond comprehension through language. It warns that during the first three stages, one is vulnerable to the skepticism, cynicism and sarcasm of others, which can be devastating and lead to loss of memory of

1. STRESS
SARCASM
CYNICISM
AND
SKEPTICISM
DR.
SHRINIWAS
KASHALIKAR

2. From time immemorial; life is inseparably associated with stress
and therefore stress management. Various philosophies,
ideologies, religions, traditions, customs, conventions; and in
short; different ways of life; actually constitute the process of
traditional stress management.
This path identifies four progressive stages in traditional stress
management, which take us to the perfection, self realization,
objective existence, eternal truth, sacchidananda, ishwar,
paramatma or parmaeshwar. These are baddha, mumukshu,
sadhak and Siddha.
Baddha means completely oblivious to one’s true self and totally
lost in one’s subjective or petty self. One can say, totally and
unknowingly individualistic.
Mumukshu means a baddha who has just begun to get;
ambiguous but haunting “wake up” calls or promptings; from
the core of his or her heart. There is restlessness. There is search
of the “self” without direction or clarity. There are doubts,
distractions, disturbances and frantic activity; like that of a
beginner in swimming.
Sadhak stage begins when the mumukshu gets the guidance and
direction for the search. The efforts keep getting rectified and
refined. The pace, the swiftness and the momentum keep
increasing. The progress however is full of subtle, conflicting,
confusing, harrowing, dreadful spells of ordeals in physical,

3. instinctual, emotional and intellectual realms of an individual.
These are often destabilizing, uprooting and violent in nature.
These are essentially the ordeals which destroy all kind of
subjective frameworks of an individual and bring him closer to
objective state of existence.
Siddha is a stage; marked by the final and extremely subtle
processes of dissolution of subjective or individual self into
cosmic self. The struggles in this stage are often beyond the
comprehension through language of digits and letters. This stage
is beyond the comprehension of different levels of individual
consciousness and also beyond three dimensions.
When we are in the first three stages of traditional stress
management; we are tender and delicate within. We are
amenable, accessible, vulnerable and susceptible to damaging
and harmful inflictions; coming from within us; and from the
baddha people.
The powerful inflictions or onslaughts of skepticism, cynicism
and sarcasm of the baddha individuals are stupefying,
disorienting, distracting, distorting, dragging and devastating in
nature. The baddha individuals knowingly or unknowingly
manifest these; and energize, expedite, facilitate the process of
dementia, amnesia i.e. loss of memory of our self called
VISMARANA; and suck us in the hell of destruction called
VINASHA!

4. VINASHA can be compared to the fire setting in; due to short
circuiting.
Hence it is said; “To prevent VINASHA; avoid the company of
those, who forget, deny or denounce God i.e. self; and/or malign
their motherland, guru, mother and father! Such avoidance;
whether physical, mental or intellectual; is possible; only through
the unshakable and steadfast persistence in the practice of
NAMASMARAN.
Is it not possible to successfully tread through the four
progressive stages of traditional stress management and prevent
VINASHA in some other simpler ways and/or through some
short cuts? This question is more difficult than; “Is it possible to
shorten the period of gestation in womb?”