SIGNIFICANCE OF BODY

 Of all the wonderful creations of Almighty in the universe the human body is the best and the most complicated! Of course, various forms of Nature, the magnificent mountains, mighty trees, dense jungles, cool flowing rivers, different kinds of birds and flowers, the blue sky above us, the oceans that blow their waves tirelessly day in and day out, and spectacular varieties of animals amaze us if only we think about them for a while. That is why William Wordsworth, the Nature poet of England said in one of his poems: “ Let Nature be your teacher!” Whenever we think about our body, a conglomeration of nerves, muscles, bones, tissues, blood, and the interconnection between all these with the vital organ the heart, we are astounded at the artistic brilliance of the master architect, namely God! The material is one and the same. But how many kinds of human beings have come out of His magic hand! Not a single person is similar to the other! Physical aspects are different, conduct and character are not the same, colors are not equal, attitudes, mentalities do not agree but all human beings , men and women  have the same organs adjusted to their biological functions! It is a kind of jugglery that the Providence indulged in for the sake of His Pleasure! 

Why does Good take up this onerous task of creating human beings? Is it for the purpose of enjoyment and suffering on the earth that God has created men and women? Our scriptures say that human beings are inextricably caught in the eternal cycle of life and death and Samsara or family life! Birth takes place according to ones good or bad deeds in his previous existence. Thus he enjoys or suffers as a consequence of his acts in the previous birth! Man is the Pinnacle of God's creation and hence there should be a definite purpose for which he is created. There is no point in being involved in procreation, eating and dying. Everyone lives, including animals and other creatures but man is totally different from these animals and creatures! He has reason and commonsense and cannot afford to waste his time in useless pursuits! Our scriptures have ordained that the body has to be preserved perfectly for all actions that it performs. What exactly is the duty of the body? “ Sareera madyam khalu Dharma sadhanam”  The body is given to perform Dharma or practice righteousness! It is not to enjoy and getwhile away time in material pleasures, and get oneself  drowned in the shorelees sea of Samsara or family life! 

Providence has endowed man with wonderful gifts to make his life comfortable, worthy, noble and happy. He has given the “ Karmendriyas” organs of action--Our limbs, eyes, ears, speech, nose, mouth and above all our mind, the seat of intellect. The Senses corresponding to these indriyas or organs are  “Sabda, Sparsa, Rupa, Rasa,and Gandha” These five senses correspond to the five elements—the sky, earth, fire, water and wind or air. That is why the body is called “ Pancha bhauthika”—made up of the Five Elements! The Karmendryas are  directed by the senses and involve themselves in various actions, good or bad. But Unfotunately, more often than not, man leans towards the bad rather than the good! Our indriyas are compared to horses that go into gallop! If we lose control over them, accidents cannot be avoided. Man's intellect or Buddhi comes into the picture and with this bridle chain he can control and tame the galloping indriyas! We see things that we should not see; hear things that should not be heard; do things that are not expected to be done, think what we shouldn’t think, desire forbidden things!! In short, God given sacred and beautiful body is being abused and misused! Man doesn’t think for a moment that he is using the body against the purpose for which it is created!

“ Man has to consider every limb and organ in the body given to him by God as sacred and make proper use of it!” declares Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. First of all, most of us fail to think that our limbs and organs are  sacred! We think that we can make use of our organs according to our will and pleasure!  God has also given us the Arishadvargas , our inner enemies. These unseen enemies are primarily responsible for the misdeeds and evil activities we do. Our desires can never be satiated and one leads to the other and there is no end! Our family ties and attachments lead us to more and more indiscretions.  Anger, greed, arrogance hatred add fuel to fire and we are easily led into the mire. Therefore we have to be very careful in protecting our body, mind and the senses from the onslaught of these hidden enemies. Great sages, seers, and many others have realized the significance of the body and used it for their spiritual upliftment and salvation! The job of controlling the inner enemies is a very formidable one. It requires amazing effort and determination but worthwhile in the end! How to achieve this  mastery over our enemies embedded in our nature? This is not impossible provided we persist in our endeavor!

 “ When you develop love for God, you will have fear of Sin and consequently there will be morality in society.” says  Swami in his discourses. Don’t have too many desires, less luggage more comfort makes  travel a pleasure.” All actions of ours should be dedicated to God. As Adi Sankara says all our acts of the body and the mind should be considered as worshipping God! “ Yad yad karma karomi tathadakhilam Sambho tavaradhanam!” The Azwars and Nayanmars in the south are good examples for unflagging devotion to God. They had completely surrendered themselves to the Divine Will! Sri Kulasekhara Azwar,  in his classic “ Mukundamala” clearly explains what every organ of the body is expected to do. “Jihve! Kirthaya Kesavam Muraripum chetho! Bhaja Sridharam  Panidwanda! Samarchayachyuta kathah Srotradwaya! Twam srunu Krishnam d lokaya lochanadwaya! Harer gacchanghri yugmalayam  Jighra ghrana Mukunda pada tulasim Murdhan! Namadhokshajam!  Sri Kulasekhara Azwar addresses every organ of our body and asks it to involve itself in the worship of God! “ O Tongue! Sing in praise of Kesava and  the enemy of Mura! O Mind! Worship Sridhara!  O the pair of hands!  Offer archana or puja! O Ears!  Listen to the stotras in praise of God! O Eyes! Look at Lord Krishna! O the pair of Legs! Walk along to the temple of Hari! O Nose! Smell the Tulasi at the lotus feet of Mukunda! O Head! Bow down and offer pranam to Adhikshaja!!” Let us understand the significance of our body and utilize it properly.  Let us not while away our time in useless pursuits and suffer untold miseries!

REDUCE YOUR WANTS

 “Reduce your wants to the minimum” exhorts Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. Easier said than done!  Is it possible for an ordinary mortal to limit his wants? It requires very great grit and determination to practice it. Even in doing so there can be many pitfalls! It is almost impossible to limit or cutail one's wants! One want leads to the other and that again leads to next and so on! It is absolutely impossible to live without wants! God has created human beings endowing them with certain tendencies that act against him if utilized wrongly! These embedded qualities in human nature are the inner adversaries that work havoc if not used judiciously. They are called “ Arishadvargas.” These are double edged and can make or mar man in society! These six enemies of man are Kama or desire or want, Krodha or anger, Lobha of miserliness, Moha or attachment, Mada or arrogance and pride and Matsarya or jealousy or hatred! There is no single individual in the universe bereft of these inner enemies! It seems that God has given these feelings to man to test if any one, at least, will be in a position to control these inner adversaries and rise above ordinary mortal!

The first and foremost  adversary of man is Kama or desire or want! There is no life if there is no desire or want. All actions are dependent on your desire! The child wants a number of toys. It is not satisfied and wants more. As the child grows up it wants better playthings. Next it requires a bicycle. Next the desire  for a two wheeler, and next for a four wheeler and next what? There is no end for one's wants! Man's life is inextricably intertwined with more and more wants good or bad! One important desire of man is to live for long! He wants to live for ever! No person wants to die Young! He wants to live with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren! Not only that- he wants to see his Grand and great grand children married and see their children!! But everyone is conscious that our life is short and we have no control over our longevity! Dharmaraja was asked to name the most surprising thing in the world. He said that despite seeing others die everyday, people think that they would live for ever! That is the most surprising thing!

Kama or Desire can be either for something good or bad! Choice is given to man to opt for the former or latter. Man has to exercise his intellect and choose what is good for him. Otherwise he will be doomed! If he is wise he will choose the good or else he will have to suffer. Desire for God, spirituality and company of sadhus and good people shall elevate him to the next higher level of existence! On the other hand, desire for an ordinary mortal existence with family, children and property shall drown him  in the eternal sea of Samsara! Desire or Kama or Want has multiple effects. Sri Krishna in the “ Bhagavadgita”. Explains how desire leads to the ultimate doom of the individual.  “ Sangath sanjayathe kamaha kamath krodhabhi jayathe krodhathbhavathi sammohaha sammohath smruthi vibhramaha smruthi bhramsath buddhi naso buddhi nasath pranasyathi”—(chapter2 sloka 62,63) Desire emanates on one's interest. When the desire is not fulfilled man grows angry. Anger causes attachment or vyamoha. This , in turn  destroys remembrance! Worst of all, that destroys the intellect! That leads to the fall of man!!

It is not as if modern man alone is the victim of these inner adversaries, particularly, Kama or desire! Our puranas and Itihasas are replete with incidents where great Kings and sages were undone because of their Kama or desire! It was a want for the  wrong thing that made them suffer! King Nahusha wanted to become the king of God’s Indra and performed sacrifices to become eligible for the post. His anxiety and desire to reach the place ruined him! He prodded one of the sages that carried him in the palanquin with his foot! The sage, infuriated, cursed King Nahusha to become a ‘sarpa'- python! King Trisanku had a  strange desire to reach Swarga or Heaven with his mortal body! He approached his Guru, Sage Viswamitra and expressed his wish. With his great power of penance, Viswamitra sent King Trisanku up into Heaven! But Trisanku was rejected and thrown down by the Gods as none can enter heaven with the physical body!! Legend says that Sage Viswamitra created a second Heaven to satisfy his disciple! This King Trisanku dangled between earth and Heaven! The story of Ravana in the epic the Ramayana is a classic example of desire annihilates the individual. Despite his erudition, devotion to Lord Siva, and  enviable power and position Ravana was mad after women! His lust for women didn’t allow him to leave any woman untouched! Thus he dug his own grave by kidnapping  Sita, wife of Rama! Evil desire when it becomes a passion destroys the person.

Thus desire or want for good things is preferable. When the want is for money, property and such material things it is better to limit it as much as possible. Unfortunately man has become a worshipper of Mammon! All troubles in society are because of man's mad rush for money! It is necessary for man to reduce his wants as much as possible. No doubt, it requires great determination and a sense of true detachment. The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi is an illustration of one who had almost reduced his wants to the minimum! His life changed completely after reading the book “ Unto the Last” by John Ruskin. Let us try our best to reduce our wants and live a happy and contented life without suffering and difficulties!

THE GOOD MAN

 Who is a good person? It is an interesting question. Every one considers himself or herself as good! But it is the other individual who should say whether the concerned person is good or bad. What makes a person good or bad? Is the one with property good? Is the rich and affluent a good person? Is the one with character a good individual? Is their any hard and fast rule that declares an individual as good or bad? It is surprising to note that no individual considers himself as bad! Man is a combination of good and bad, right and wrong, divine and asurac qualities! No human being is totally good or bad! When good qualities predominate he is called good! That does not mean the person has no bad qualities! When evil qualities dominate, the person is called evil or bad! But that does not mean he is devoid of good qualities! The full moon which is cool and bright has a dark spot on it! The butcher who is so cruel to animals and kills them mercilessly is kind and affectionate to his wife and children! Our society is thus  a great cluster of diverse variety of people who generally think that are all good! It is their actions, conduct and character towards their fellow beings that reveal their goodness or evil nature!

“ Love for God; fear of sin and morality in society, these are the qualities that you have to develop. Then only you will be called a good person. Be good, do good and see good” declares Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba! We can consider these principles as the criteria for judging people and decide if they are good or bad. Our society has progressed to such an extent that it denies the existence of God! Many have become atheists and agnostics! Scientific advancement and technological explosion have made man think that he is God! He lands on the moon and visits Mars and tries to settle there! His success in science and technology has made him arrogant and over confident! Where is the question of “ Love for God.” Idols are stolen, smuggled for profit in foreign nations and temple lands are encroached upon systematically! Debates go on to establish whether God exists or not! That is the nature of the present society! But still a small section of society is religious, full of faith in God, His Omnipresence, Omnipotence and Omniscience! They are a small minority!

 Absence of love for God has led to loss of fear for sin! People consider all their actions as right! All the religions they profess have not helped them in following the path of righteousness or Dharma. The mandate of the Vedas “ Satyam Vada Dharmam Chara”—speak the Truth, act according to Dharma or righteousness is more practiced in the breach than in the observance! Bhagawan has repeatedly insisted on these two things in every man's life. “ Bhagavath Preethi and Papa Bheethi.” ie love for God and fear of Sin. But unfortunately man has no love for God while he has, absolutely, no fear of Sin!! Again and again he commits sin with impunity! What is this sin or 'Papa?' According to the great sage Sri Vedavyasa helping others is a holy act or ' Punya' and troubling others is Sin or ' Papa. Man has grown so selfish that he is prepared to go to any extent to satisfy his wants through devious ways. His wants being limitless he deceives others, cheats them, speaks untruth, abuses others, commits fraud, strays from the righteous path and worst of all commits murder to realize his desire! There is nothing that he doesn’t do for attaining his desires and wants! He totally forgets the purpose for which God has created him!

When there is no love for God and no fear of committing sin, it is impossible to expect morality from modern man! Society is totally marred by the immorality of its people! A country's greatness is based on the morality of its society! Our ancient civilizations were noted for the morality and prosperity of the people! But today the picture is totally different! Rapes, frauds, forgeries, loots, and murders are reported daily! We have fugitives like Mallya who after defrauding banks seeks asylum in England!  Nirav Modi and Choksi emulate Mallya and try to protect themselves! Our Government is trying its best to bring then back to face law! Younger generation are adrift and do not have proper direction! Women are no longer safe in many states! Women themselves have lost their moors and become more independent than necessary! They do not care for our great tradition and are carried away by modern trends of fashion in dress and costume! Where will these trends lead us to?

Religion, instead of uniting people, has divided them. There is religious fanaticism among Muslims and language fanaticism in the South! Hindi is disliked in the South even as Sanskrit is hated! We are all children of God and the same God dwells in all hearts! This simple Truth is not realized by people and there is no proper understanding between them! Man has conquered almost everything but it is a tragedy that he has not conquered himself! He is the victim of the inner adversaries that egg him on to commit do several misdeeds and accumulate maximum sin! Love of God shall make man pious and religious! He will understand that God is manifest in all the human beings, animals and creatures and nature! By loving God he will love all creatures and understand them all! He will be afraid of Sin that shall doom him eternally! This love for God and the universe shall put him in the path of Dharma or righteousness! He will be morally strong and hate to stray away from Dharma! In other words he earns the name of being a GOOD MAN!!