Life in the Body

Our life is focused on the needs of our body – because we mistakenly think that without it we do not exist. In his book Autobiography of a Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda writes:

The reflection, the verisimilitude, of life that shines in the fleshly cells from the soul source is the only cause of man’s attachment to his body; obviously he would not pay solicitous homage to a clod of clay. A human being falsely identifies himself with his physical form because the life currents from the soul are breath-conveyed into the flesh with such intense power that man mistakes the effect for a cause, and idolatrously imagines the body to have life of its own.

Most of our life is spent paying homage to our body. How many hours of our life are spent in a kitchen preparing food and feeding the body; what about time spent cleaning and exercising it? How much money have we spent on clothing the body, and the other expenses we incur in its favour? These activities are all undertaken so that the mind can feel good in the body.

Our homes are a shrine to our body. Everything in our homes is there because of the body. Even our relaxation is geared to our body, so that we can chill out in a comfortable chair and watch TV.

And we may spend eight to ten hours a day working to earn the money to pay for all this. And then – after all this daily activity focused on our body – we sleep for six or eight hours a night to rest and rejuvenate the body, so we can go through this repetitive process again the next day.

And then, ironically, we might say simran is boring!

When we spend that amount of energy, time and focus on something, it is akin to worshipping and idolizing it. We idolize our body, thinking it has life of its own, but without the Shabd the body wouldn’t even be able to stand erect, let alone undertake all the activities we give it credit for. The body is simply the mechanism for settling karma, yet we focus more on the body and its needs than on the life-giving Shabd within.

Shabd is the heart of the spiritual path. In fact, the Great Master says, “it is the distinguishing mark of spirituality”, and Hazur Maharaj Ji says that when we are able to concentrate our attention behind the eyes, we will find the sweetest and most melodious sound reverberating there. This is the sound that attracts us and pulls us towards itself. It comes directly from Sach Khand, so by attaching ourselves to Shabd it will pull us back to its source. This is the only way we can ever find our way back to our true home. And yet, we spend more time focusing on our body – the vehicle that carries the Shabd – than we do on the Shabd itself. It’s like focusing more on the wrapping paper than on the gift it covers. Our true purpose in life is to be in tune with the Shabd, and this must be our focus.

Old age brings greying hair at my temples,
Which whispers that my date with death
Is drawing near.
O mind, wake up now
And know that your life’s objective can be achieved
Only through the practice of Shabd.
_{Tukaram: The Ceaseless Song of Devotion}