Body
Divine Words of wisdom by Sathya Sai Baba - With Body
1. Limited food intake is good for the body
Description
Man eats food in excess and thoughtlessly. “Na shreyo niyamam vina”, anything that is not bound by rules is harmful. Even for eating if there are no rules, not only does man fall sick but he may also be subjected to any number of troubles. Food is necessary in order to maintain the body, but this food too must be eaten in tune with the quantity required for the sustenance of the body. Upon exceeding the limit this body is subjected to numerous illnesses.
2. The Body is the Temple of God - Treat it Thus
Description
Whether you believe it or not, I never did these sadhana at all. But, this body which is 67 years old never experienced any kind of fatigue or tiredness whatsoever. The reason being, all the powers are latent in this body. The yoga shakthi (yogic power) and everything are present inside. Body is just like an instrument. Because of this yogic power, if anything is cursed it becomes stand still. If we say that this feeling should not leave, it stops there itself. Not only for Me, it is possible for everyone. The reason is, God is in every one. In this body, that body and in all bodies, the Self is same. Specifically, you should not have differences based on the body. The Self present in everything is one and develop that spirit of oneness. This body is a temple of God. ‘Deho Devalaya Prokto Jeevo Deva Sanathana’ – that is why it is said that the body is like a temple of God. But you should make use of this temple in a sacred manner. You call it a temple but you use it like a choultry. You construct a house and keep doors. You have the doors for going in and out of the house and also for the use of your relations, friends, family members etc. But just because we have doors, do we allow donkeys, pigs and dogs which are roaming in the bazaar to enter the house? Similarly we have senses; what for do we have the senses? It is for our own self experience. Just because we have these doors called senses, we allow everything that roams in the bazaar to enter inside and thus the body becomes a choultry. We shouldn’t do that. They should not enter into me; those dogs are to be driven out. Permit only what is needed. Through such enquiry, human being can become sacred to any extent. It is because there is scope for such sacredness, man becomes God. ‘Oh, where is God and where is man?’, thinking so, you should never give room to disappointment. Man is God. Strengthen that kind of a true feeling. You can experience this within three days time. If you do not have that firm faith and give in to bumps and jumps, even after thirty generations you can never accomplish it. Yogic exercise is too small and very easy; it is not difficult; there is no expenditure; you need not exert much and it’s an easy path. I will tell you much more later. In this easiest path, you can get the bliss however much you want and attain good health also.
3. Body is an instrument in realizing God
Description
The Scientists said, the place where the science ends spirituality begins. This is important. All the worldly activity belongs to science. The physical body is necessary. You have to maintain it, you cannot consider it permanent , eternal and dedicate your life. It is the body that helps you to realise the objective of life. With this body you can attain divinity. I am not the body. Body is an instrument given to realise God. This is my body, my intellect, my mind, my senses, Then who are you? No one is putting such questions. When I say this is my kerchief, I am separate from my kerchief. Similarly when you say my body, you are separate from the body. Then who are you? We don’t put a question of that sort to ourselves but we carried away by the scenario around. Body is an instrument that shows you the path and the truth. The body has got the divinity latent in it. All the material word is negative. You are the positive. And you have to consider everything positive and experience them. Don’t give scope for negativity. Negative gives you negative value. The main cause for restlessness in the world is because of this negativity. All this is matter, You are the Master. Master the mind, Be a Mastermind. You be a master that is true education, Bookish knowledge is not true education. It only tells you the ideal for this temporal world.
4. Use your body to do sacred acts
Description
Money that is lost can be earned again. Lost friends may be got back again. Even the loss of a wife can be made up by remarriage. But, if the present body is lost, it cannot be got back again. Hence, the body is highly sacred. For what purpose should this sacred body be protected? The body has to be protected because verily it is the primary means of achieving dharma. Human birth is a rare privilege. It is highly sacred and sublime. Having been born as human beings, if men do not realize the preciousness of human life, what is the use of being born as human?
5. Body is the temple, God is the indweller; Man should realise it
Description
‘Deho devalayoprocto, jeevodevah sanatanaha”—body is the temple and God is the in dweller. Why do people go to places like Tirupathi, Vaikuntha, Badrinath or Amarnath thinking that God is there in those places? Human mind has become very narrow. One is ready to undertake travel to distant places to seek God but is reluctant to seek Him within one’s heart. He who cannot see God within, wastes time by travelling to pilgrim centres. God is not anywhere outside; one is essentially God and one’s heart is temple of God. Hence body is the temple of God. Though man is gifted with sacred human life, he is not making proper use of it; he behaves more like an animal than like a human. Atleast animals conform to rules and regulations and discipline but man today neither has any rules nor dedication towards them. Man has put away dedication and follows his own likes and desires. What are man’s likes? Why does man struggle for the transient and low worldly existence? One must strive for God who is eternal truth, serve the society, and worship the living and not the life less rocks. Man today worships the lifeless idols but does not respect the human beings. A worship that does not make one respect fellow human beings is not worthy and cannot be termed as worship. Charity done without respect for fellow beings and without the element of service to others is no charity. Man is the embodiment of God and God resides in man, hence the vedas say, “Daiwam maanusha roopena”— God manifests in the form of humans.
6. Swami on Dehi and Deha
Description
It is said in the Vedas: Not by actions, not by progeny, not by wealth but by sacrifice alone one can attain immortality. Premaswarupas! Like clouds move away, all our material wealth, gold, prosperity and vehicles will leave us any moment. The physical body is made of the five elements. It is inevitable that this physical body will fall. The one who lives in the body is the eternal one. If you analyze, the indweller does not have birth or death is not bound by worldly ties. If we look at the truth carefully, we will find that this indweller is the God Almighty in the form of Atma. It is for the sake of this eternal spirit that we have taken this physical form. It is for HIM that we have donned this physical body. It is for the sake of the Atma that we have acquired this material body with five elements. If we forget the Atma, the indweller and GOD, the body has no value at all. Manifesting the indweller through this body, when we use the body for the purpose of doing selfless service, we would have done justice to the adage. The purpose of body is to do good to others.
7.Body is the temple of God
Description
Worship alone is not devotion. Just going to a temple is not devotion. Consider your body itself as a temple. What is the temple of God? The physical body is not a permanent or static temple, it moves. Wherever this moving temple goes, God resides there. Recognize this great truth. A number of difficulties and problems come to the body. This physical body is made up of five elements, we do not know when this is going to leave the world. This is not going to give perfume, being full of foul smelling excreta. You do not know where you are going to die, whether it is in midst of everyone or in the forest. The physical body goes on changing, moment after moment. Certain things happen to this body on account of the food and habits. On account of carelessness, certain things happen to this body. We should not give too much of attention to this body. We should make effort to turn our mind and turn towards divinity. This is the greatest message.
8. Human body should be put to work
Description
There is a machine, a pump set, and a generator. They are all made up of Iron. If they are not put to work, they get rusted. Our physical body also is akin to a generator or a pump set. Machines are made up of iron and human body is made up of flesh. If Iron could get rusted when the machine is idle, will not the human body get rusted when there is no activity? If one doesn’t take bath for a couple of days, the body stinks and scratching commences! It only means to convey that the idle machine and idle human body are prone to rusting if they remain static. Therefore, the body must be active with work. But there has to be a limit also. Food and water must be taken as necessary, lest the body becomes sick. Work must be done in such a way that body’s health is also taken care of. Human body also needs rest, at regular intervals, like the machines for their upkeep. Embodiments of Love! Rest doesn’t mean idle relaxing or sleeping in an Ac room. Change of work is rest. If one goes to the market, involving in household duties after returning home is also rest. Students, for example, after play may switch over to singing and other entertainments for some time. They may take to reading some good books when done with play. We can go on changing the nature of work. But for human body’s functioning, the twin attributes of inhalation and exhalation have to function uninterruptedly without any change or rest! This is a natural phenomenon, intrinsic in the human body by birth. This is the secret of Divinity. One must realize this truth. It is only through Service (nay Seva) that one can discern the innate Divinity!
9. Swami on five sheaths of human body
Description
The human body is encased in five sheaths: Annamaya kosha (the sheath of food or physical sheath), Pranamaya kosha (the vital sheath), Manomaya kosha (the mental sheath), Vijnanamaya kosha (the sheath of wisdom), and Anandamaya kosha (the sheath of bliss). Among the five sheaths, Vijnanamaya kosha (the sheath of wisdom) is present only in man and not in other beings. How can man think that the wisdom given to him as a mean thing. No no. We are thinking the human life as a mean thing and wasting our time not utilizing it. Man who is endowed with all virtues, meritorious deeds, man with tradition and culture, man with character. How can he be considered as so low and mean. This is the weak state of man. Forgetting all his immense potentialities and treating the physical as most important, man is leading a meaningless life. It is not the physical (Annamaya kosha) that is really important. As long as life is based on the sheath of food, Annamaya Kosha, physical alone, man can have no peace.
10. Human life once lost cannot be got back
Description
Embodiments of love, young man and women! Citizens of the future world! One can earn money back even if it is lost. One can make another friend even if one loses one. One can get married again if one loses one’s wife. One can again acquire land and property even if one loses it. But once the body is gone one cannot get it back. In this vast creation, the human being is the noblest and exalted one. Man is noble. He is endowed with character and nobility; if that humanness is lost, one cannot get it again.
