CHINTA - CHINTAN (from worry to contemplation)

CHINTA (Worry) is known to all as easy company, being occupied in a cycle of inefficient thoughts circling endlessly around fear creating stress and wasting both imagination and energy. Nothing weakens the body and spirit like worry. Yet with a single added letter -N- CHINTAN (Contemplation) transforms the same restless mind into a source of peace and wisdom.

CHINTAN (Contemplation) is the practice of deep reflection and observation. It helps understand ourselves, face life’s challenges and grow inwardly. Through mindfulness meditation and introspection, one cultivates clarity, awareness and a willingness to change limiting habits.

Many people slip naturally into contemplation during quiet tea or coffee moments when the mind pauses and turns inward. Just as digestion allows the body to draw nourishment from food, contemplation helps the soul draw meaning from knowledge and experience. Life's true value is not measured by survival alone, but by the power of awareness and reflection.

The wise man knows how to run his life so that contemplation is way of being. It does not pull them away from the world but equips them to engage with it more deeply.  A contemplative spirit makes one curious, creative and present.  When joined with action contemplation matures into wisdom.

Spiritual contemplation goes even further. It is the stillness in which the soul opens to the Divine. It involves internalizing spiritual truths, dwelling on divine qualities and becoming receptive to God’s presence. In such moments the sense of separation fades – the seer and the seen are one. This silent infusion of God’s love sets the heart aflame with devotion.

Gurbani guides us through this journey from Chinta to Chintan with profound simplicity.

“Chinṫ achinṫaa soch asochaa sog lobʰ moh ṫʰaakaa.”….. “I was anxious, and now I am free of anxiety; I was worried, and now I am free of worry; my grief, greed and emotional attachments are gone. By His Grace, I am cured of the disease of egotism, and the Messenger of Death no longer terrifies me. Working for the Guru, serving the Guru and the Guru’s Command, all are pleasing to me. Says Nanak, He has released me from the clutches of Death; I am a sacrifice to that Guru”. SGGS Ang671

“Oothaṫ sukheeaa bæthaṫ sukheeaa”….. “Standing up, I am at peace; sitting down, I am at peace. I feel no fear, because this is what I understand. The One Lord, my Lord and Master, is my Protector. He is the Inner knower, the Searcher of Hearts. I sleep without worry, and I awake without worry. You, O God, are pervading everywhere. I dwell in peace in my home, and I am at peace outside. Says Nanak, the Guru has implanted His Mantra within me”. SGGS Ang1136

The difference is clear: those who worry may know the truth, but those who contemplate learn to love it. Whatever crisis one faces, the greater challenge is not to create a crisis of oneself.

Contemplation ends loneliness by dissolving the gap between self and life. It deepens awareness, nurtures creativity and reveals simple truths sooner than years of struggle.

More than survival, it is the loving sense of life, presence and eternity.