Are we developing or just growing ….?

Everyone who takes birth grows… its natural in a way. Growth is one aspect often looked into & struggled for. Growth can be said as a stimulus to live life lively. But while concentrating on this aspect of life, many of us tend to muddle up the word DEVELOPMENT with GROWTH.

I really feel to share; what I learnt from ‘Vivekananda Kendra – a spiritually oriented service mission’; on these two quasi similar words…… growth & development. 

By growth we should mean net increase in the size, in proportion, disappearance of old features and acquisition of new ones. Growth takes place due to the multiplication of cells. Thus, the term is used in purely physical sense & the changes produced by growth are subject to measurement. They may be quantified.

Again, growth does not continue throughout the life. It stops when maturity has been attained. Most important thing is growth may or may not bring development.

So just growing is not & should not be the aim of our life. The name of the aim is DEVELOPMENT.

Development refers to a process of change in growth and capability over time as a result of maturation, experience and surrounding environmental exposure. Thus, development is a wider and comprehensive term and refers to overall changes in an individual. It continues throughout the life and is progressive. Development implies improvement in functioning & behavior and hence brings qualitative changes. Development may happen without growth.

It is believed that there are 5 steps or folds of development which can be achieved in our life. When all these 5 folds are successfully achieved, the human being can be said to be a Complete Human. If we really want to struggle to make us complete, we have to thus understand what all are the 5 folds of development.

The first fold is Physical development.

This is the initial phase of development but will always have some or the other changes every day as we start growing. It starts with the development of muscular control. Slowly our muscle tones and accumulates strength. The quality & range of movements improve and forms the base for overall physical development. 

Proper nutrition & exercise gives us health and fitness. So we have to be very curious about these two important factors i.e. proper nutrition & exercise. To understand it, we need to study our own daily routine & energy requirements. Basis that only, a set of diet & exercise should be chosen. Lack of physical activity at early ages surely brings negative impact in long term.

The second fold is Intellectual or Mental development.

It can be analyzed as one’s ability to think about and understand his/her world. Intellectual development also adds the ability to understand other people’s point of view, and makes us more open to other perspectives and ideas. The way in which we take and process this, relates to our past experience & surrounding. So analysis without prejudice is very important here.

Understanding a particular subject is very important before giving any opinion. It is just like identifying the gray areas between the black-and-white issues by using logic and reasoning abilities. Abstract thinking abilities to define the path of traverse should so be linked with the plan of action. Thus, apart from an intelligent talk, proper planning & implementation is must here.

Reading fuels this development. Reading helps us to think and have thoughtful discussions about any subject of our interest.

The third fold is Emotional development.

Emotions play very crucial role in our life. Decision making always has the factor of emotion intervening with the practical aspect. It is thus very important to learn how to exploit the positive side of emotion and at the same time deal with stress, anger, sadness, depression, over-excitement and over-confidence as excess of anything is always bad.  

It is very essential to express our own feelings honestly as well as respect others’ feelings when we are going out in public. Lack of emotional control might tend people dabble in more serious risk behaviors such as self-harm, drinking alcohol, trying drugs or even suicide.

Yoga, meditation & prayer make a person emotionally stable.

The fourth fold is Social development.

Human being is a social animal. We just can’t skip our society no matter what happens. Society plays fundamental role in building a personality. Socially developed person can & should develop strong conviction regarding social issues. ‘I don’t care’ attitude disappears when social development roots itself in the brain. Our each & every action in our daily routine should now add to the welfare of society. One may become deeply committed to service and social change. Some may even become activists for causes they believe in.

The feeling of ‘The entire universe is my family’ slowly generates as we start taking care of the society. The same feeling takes us towards the last phase of development which is known as Spiritual development.  

The fifth fold is Spiritual development.

As we mature, we spend time thinking about the meaning of life, why we are here, how we treat others and ourselves, and what we value. Our answers to these questions are always evolving, and they help shape our personal beliefs and personalities.

Spirituality has thus nothing to do with religion. Irrespective of the religious belief one has, spirituality runs common through all like blood. It is just a matter of observing our own thoughts by being more introspective and inculcating the feeling of oneness in all species. It’s important to remember that spirituality can be expressed in a multitude of ways, regardless of the religious tradition that our family recognizes.

It is spiritual development which makes us really humble & down to earth personality. The feeling of welfare becomes universal and at that point of time, our positive vibrations chant the only prayer that is ‘May the entire universe be happy, content & healthy. May the entire universe be full of positivity. May the entire universe be devoid of pain & grief.

This is the zenith of the development and YES; this can be achieved!

Thus a PERFECT & COMPLETE HUMAN is the one who is physically fit, intellectually strong, emotionally balanced, socially acceptable & spiritually oriented.