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!
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