Dr Manoj Sharma and the cover of his new book. / Courtesy-Maneesh Pandya

Q1: Your book on Yoga is out for the public. Can you briefly take us through the key pointers for readers in this new publication?

The second edition of my popular book, “Introspective Meditations for Complete Contentment (Santosha)” is finally out after great public demand.  I was overwhelmed by the love, admiration, and respect shown in the first edition of this book, and therefore, I embarked upon the task of writing the second edition. The expanded second edition offers five new chapters and an update to the previous 25 chapters, making this book composed of 30 chapters.

The new chapters are on inculcating charity, practicing moderation, acquiring duty consciousness, purification of impurities, and applying yoga in life. The reader can read and reflect on one chapter each day and perfect the transformed introspective thinking or manan dhyana, as I call it, in a month that is designed to foster complete life satisfaction.  The roots of ruminations are based on the collective intelligence of modern and traditional thoughts, Eastern and Western worldviews, medical and physiological aspects, and social and behavioral paradigms.  I am confident that if sincerely practiced, the reader will find inner joy and bliss.

Q2: Given the stressful world we live in, how do you find that Yoga leads to contentment, and that leads to bliss?  

Many of us, most of the time, must endure miseries, sorrows, failures, and disenchantment. There are external events and internal processes called stressors that often disrupt the blissful state of mind. These stressors can be once-in-a-while life events (acute stressors), everyday occurrences (chronic stressors), or just things that do not happen (nonevents).

Acute stressors include things like death in a family, an accident, a divorce, a life-threatening disease, or other catastrophic happenings. Chronic stressors are everyday activities like waiting in a line, being a minority in one’s viewpoint in a majority, and not being able to wear multiple hats (such as being a son or daughter, a parent, an employee, etc. all at the same time), living in a high crime neighborhood, having a disability, and so on. Non-events are things like fighting boredom or not having something happen in life that should have happened, such as getting married by a certain age, and so on. 

All the time, even with external events, it is the internal thinking that is responsible for distress. Whatever happens outside only matters in internal analyses. The solutions do not come from changing external stressors but from changing our perception of those. Introspective meditations or manan dhyana facilitate that inner delving that strengthens our grit.

Q3: Can yoga and spirituality bind communities and cultures?

Yes, yoga and spirituality are indeed the only glue that can bind communities and cultures.  I have a utopian dream of a world where there is one world order and peace between all nations and humans.  I strongly believe that the process of inner travel through introspective meditations or manan dhyana will make every individual realize their true self and its linkage with the totality, underscoring the cause-and-effect system. 

This would usher in inner bliss and the need to see oneness all around.  This, in turn, will bring about global unity. It is on these lines that I have established a not-for-profit organization called Health for All, Inc., which is the publisher of this book. The vision of this organization is Societal change through Self-behavior change.

Q4: How can the East and West divide get merged with Yoga as a unifier?

Eastern culture has ancient roots and has a rich tradition in philosophy.  Its science was suppressed by the vile forces of invasions and colonialism.  The West is a newer force with advances in science and technology.  As asked by you, Yoga, particularly as exemplified in this book, where the emphasis is on introspective meditations or manan dhyana, can be the merger and a unifier between East and West.

The thoughts exemplified in this book are nothing but extensions of thoughts from the Bhagavad Gita and the Vedas, which have been supplemented by the research done in the West in medical, behavioral, and social sciences.  The paradigm used to help adopt these behaviors is the multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change, which is a fourth-generation behavior change facilitation theory.

Q5: Do you see yoga as a brand builder for the Indian American community in the US and the global Indian diaspora in the countries of residence to enhance the historical and heritage value of India? 

Yoga, as presented in this book in the form of introspective meditations or manan dhyana, is indeed a brand builder for the Indian American community in the US and the global Indian diaspora in the countries of residence to enhance the historical and heritage value of India.  This is something that is an extension of Indian culture and has been substantiated by Western scientific advancements in medicine, behavioral, and social sciences.

Q6: Could you elaborate on the relationship between Yoga and introspective meditations, and how that would result?  

As mentioned earlier, Yoga, particularly as exemplified in this book, where the emphasis is on introspective meditations or manan dhyana, entails extensions of thoughts from the Bhagavad Gita and the Vedas, which have been supplemented by the research done in the West in medical, behavioral, and social sciences. 

The paradigm used to help adopt these behaviors is the multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change, which is a fourth-generation behavior change facilitation theory.   I believe that through self-behavior change ensuing from introspective meditations or manan dhyana, societal change will come about.

Q7: How can India push for Yoga as a curriculum in the US academia?

There is no need for India to push.  There is already an impetus that is emanating from within the United States to learn and propagate more about Yoga. As an example, mindfulness and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and many other forms of psychotherapy are already using techniques from yoga. The only issue is that the West wants a monopoly on knowledge and tries to copyright and patent thoughts from the East for commercialization that are shared freely for the betterment of humankind by the East.