The Stress Market!
By Jasdeep Singh
June 8, 2008
“Take a free Stress Test” was the board on small makeshift table , at this busy market in my city. I ignored it for few days . But my friend got lured by the stress meter, books and the girl counsler.So he took the test , She asked him to hold too cannes connected to the ‘Stress Meter’ and asked some common psychometric questions . Then she interpreted the meter readings to him and hats off to he skills , She sold two self help books to my friend who is hard core non-reader. I too tried my hands with the stress test,but i refused to buy the book she highly recommended me.
Any how , I looked through the books my friend had bought from the “The Stress Test Shop”. They were the same old self help books with some exercises to do better at workplace. Then i came to know it was distributed by the local Scientology outfit. Image of Tom Cruise came to my mind, as he is ambassador of Scientology. I have no offenses against Scientology. But some days later i read this ad in newspaper.
[
So it is quite lucrative profession to be a Scientology counselor.
So the question raises is Stress another niche market?
Yes, I think it definitely is.
Another brand in this category is Art of Living.
Endorsed by Swami Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. I again have no offenses against Art of Living. It has done good humantarian work. Its satsangs might have helped many of us live better. More over Art of Living has become a status symbol. But the question is ,
Is Stress a market in new India ? Are we consumer of this market ?
The changing India has resulted completely different environment for us , than What it was used to be for our earlier generations. We have our 8 hour plus corporate day jobs , Which require to put in extra effort to be ahead. To unwind we have weekends Which generally are ‘consumed’ in going for a movie, going for shopping or going for a party . We hit the bed to sleep, which has no regular pattern, We ‘consume’ sleep too, and often we are sleep deprived.
The living culture/pattern we follow has given birth to the Stress phenomenon. So how to take over stress bye ‘consuming’ medical pills, by ‘consuming’ art of living satsangs.
Do we have some leisure time , Time for ourselves only ? Without TV,Internet When we are in the pure relax mode. When we don’t ‘consume’ anything.
Lets be peaceful persons by not being consumer to the every market segment. Lets think carefully how we can adapt to the ever demanding living / work culture.
Crossposted from https://jasdeepsingh.wordpress.com/2008/06/08/the-stress-market/
Comments:
Harmeet Singh -
yes this is true we dnt have that free time… even in my free time i use to come to internet so this cannot be counted as free… no relaxation before life ends… had harkomal bought that books ? :)
Jasdeep -
@Harmeet Singh , No, It was not him :)
Manpreet -
Well, of course, stress IS a market. If we can make money out of food crisis, petro-crisis, why would we have qualms about earning from life-crisis. Else so many Baba’s would die of hunger in the dearth of as many ‘religious’ channels. Ironically, even being stres free, that is having a so-called relaxed time when we are not doing anything-is a market too. Otherwise the resorts and cruises etc wouldnt be making fortunes. What is the end of it?
Jasdeep -
Manpreet Ji, My point is , creation of a virtual phenomenon related to work stress. Which leads the market consumerism.
Matt Wilson -
Namaskar! I am not certain that I understand what you mean when you say “market”. Do you mean that spiritual enlightenment is turning into a competitive activity? For example, we all want to be conspicuously more at peace with ourselves than our peers?
Jasdeep -
Namaskar Matt, I meant that spiritual enlightenment is turning into an commercial entity actually. The corporate culture has arrived some years back in India and so are its ills . Earlier spirituality was not practiced or pushed by such means as i have described in the post. It was spontaneous activity and individualistic choice. Now with changed work culture , which has given rise stress and other psychological problems. People tend to find solace in practices like Art of Living satsang. It might have helped many. But the way they operate is like yet another corporate entity ,which has profit as much as there concern.Which has creating consumers its main concern also. So the term ‘Market’ is related to market segment which basks on psychological problems of consumers.
Matt Wilson -
OK, now I understand. Our religious leaders in the west have been operating as commercial entities for at least since the Roman empire collapsed. The Catholic church used to have its own army. It is hard for me to imagine large religious/spiritual organizations that are not obsessed with profit and not riddled with corruption, because that is all I have seen. Matt