There was a businessman who was spiritually inclined. He was an avid reader of various scriptures. He regularly chanted too. His family saw all this and was very happy. His love ones did not have any anxieties about their future well-being. However, surprisingly, this man suffered from the malady of worrying too much, an ailment that can only end with the demise of the body (The Bhagavad Gita 16.11). One would wonder why he was thus stricken, since he was an intelligent spiritually man. Paradoxically, it is mostly successful, intelligent people materially, who are afflicted by this problem. They become proud of their bodies, power, ability, skills, etc. and misuse their mental faculties and time to think of all sorts of problems that might arise in future. They even consider this to be a wise as a practice and call it preparation for the future.

Obviously, all such real or imagined problems cannot be solved. Neither can one predict future scenarios. Nor is one equipped to handle just any eventuality. Thus people who constantly think about these only tie themselves in knots and suffer. This person in the story should have known better, especially since he was spiritual. But how many of practise what we know? In spiritual matters, our knowledge is mostly theoretical. How many of us identify ourselves as souls, that is distinct from our bodies?

What should this man have ideally done? Surely, any intelligent person inclined to think of consequences; only fools act without thinking. The problem arises when we begin to dwell on the consequences without taking appropriate action to ensure desired results. Let us take the example of the fear of getting a heart attack. An intelligent man, being aware of such a possibility, take steps to control his diet, activities, etc. He does not gain anything by worrying. Anxious people condemn themselves to a hellish existence which is worse than any misfortune that may befall them. Suffering comes and goes (Gita, 2.14) but how do you get away from a recalcitrant mind? No wonder Lord Krishna has advised us to restrict ourselves to do whatever we possibly can in our interest and not meditate on predetermining the shape of future events (Gita, 2.47).