Body and Mind

It is beyond all doubt that there is an inextricable relationship between body and mind; body can affect the mind, and the vice versa. Psychologists believe that many of the sicknesses are not merely physical, but outcome of problems associated with the mental makeup. We cannot however say that all sicknesses are due to mental framework of persons; for instance if a person is diagnosed cancer or tuberculosis all of a sudden, it cannot be related to the mind of the person, or the mental problems he/she is going through. The modern day ‘saviors’ may claim that they have solutions to all the problems of the world and of humanity, but their claim has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

One of the greatest and most severe maladies of the modern age is tension; there is mental tension, and there is psychological tension. As a matter of fact, psychological tension puts stress on the mind, and that has an effect on the body. We might think that the psychological tensions are created by the world or the people around us, but if we observe the evolution of tension or stress in us, we would realize that the psychological tension too originates from the mind, and that in turn affects the body. Stress may also be the one of the most dangerous diseases plaguing the executives, beuorocrats and those men and women who had forgotten to rest. Those who give priority to their work over their bodies are bound to face tension sooner or later.

Just because there is a fountain of energy in our bodies does not necessarily mean that we have to exhaust it at will. We might realize one fine morning that the body is drained of all energy, and we might find ourselves helpless. It is like exhausting the natural resources. We realize more and more that the loss of natural resources is irreplaceable and irrevocable. The energy lost is lost forever, and we cannot hope to replace it by going through the best psychological tests and most sophisticated medication possible. Therefore it is important that we do not exhaust the energy of the physical and the mental area, but use it sparingly. The body can provide all the energy we need to turn the world upside down, but it would do it only at its own time and its own place.

While trying to make the best of technology and modern advancement, humanity has forgotten to relax; most of the people who run from pillar to post to make both ends meet know only one thing for sure, that they have to struggle hard to make a living; they cannot afford to relax, because that would mean they cannot have a bank balance at the end of the month. We are stuck with the idea that every family should have a bank balance for future, and for unforeseen expenses, or for any eventuality. We are almost sure that we cannot be happy without money kept in reserve for emergency expenses, but the fact is quite the contrary. When we have some money kept in the bank to manage the unforeseen expenses, our options in times of emergency are limited. Think of the possibilities when there is no ready-made answer.

When the mind is calm, then the body is relaxed. It is not too difficult to check if my mind is overly preoccupied or calm. I can stop all the work I am busy with for a minute, close my eyes and observe my mind – listen to the self-talk that is going on. What are the thoughts which flood my mind just now? I can observe the thoughts as they come one by one in the screen of my mind. That will give me a clue as to what I am obsessed with. Or another exercise, when I am drinking a cup of coffee, I should be able to really taste the coffee and the sugar; if I gup it in a few minutes, and don’t even make out if it was sugar or salt that was added to the coffee, then I am sure my body and mind are tensed. I need to find some ways of bursting my stress, so that I may enjoy life and all that it presents to me and to others.

Harnessing psychic power – Preparation

Going through some of the websites about psychic power, I realize that there is a sea of information on the topic, and many of them are categorized under the “new age” topics, as if taking a dip is something new to this age. No, it is not; it is as old as many of our civilizations. Even today in the remote corners of the world, we see men and women who are masters in harnessing the power of the human psyche, but this art had taken the form of a cult, and so traditions have not handed over the ancient wisdom to the subsequent generations. That is the reason why many of us find it hard to even understand that there is a tremendous power locked up deep within ourselves. Once we believe in the power, which we can name it also a spiritual power, we are ready to prepare ourselves for a dive.

One of the finest ways of preparing ourselves to harness the psychic power is to become familiar with ourselves, our bodies and the operation of our minds. Needless to say, most of us do not know our bodies sufficiently well. How many of us know where all we have moles in our bodies? Where do we have cut marks, and what are the distinguishing marks in our bodies? Believe it or not, we are all too shy to look at our bodies, like some of the ancient saints who refused to look at their genitals, for fear that should remind them sinful thoughts. If we are not familiar with our bodies, then it would be hard to harness the power locked deep within them.

This implies that we observe both the internal and external form, shape and texture of our bodies; it would take days to really explore the different parts of our bodies, and understand the complexities they impose. There should not be anyone who knows my body better than myself. We can practice a closer familiarity with our bodies, when there is a pain in a particular part of the body. Instead of saying my body aches, can I specify where exactly it aches? Instead of saying my body aches, can I specify that it is the second vertebra which is paining, or that the seventh? This implies a closer scrutiny of what is happening within our bodies. Once we start narrowing down the pain or ticklish feeling, we will get used to them.

The second thing that requires tuning and training is the human mind, and one of the excellent book which may help us to acquire the basic tenets of mind reading is Echkarte Tolle’s The Power of Now. It is a wonderful book which helps us to discard the many misconceptions and prejudices and help take control of the mind. If we can freeze the processings or the “noise” of the mind, then we would be in a better place to enter into the dynamics of it. But to freeze the thoughts which endlessly pour into our mind, it would take quite an amount of time and energy, but the trouble is worth. If we can enter into the “thoughtless” stage of the mind, which opens up for “silence”, we are entering into the domain of the divine, and that is also the domain of immense psychic power.

Focusing and concentrating on what is happening in me and around me is yet another important requisite in order to harness the psychic power. It is only the persons who are aware of how the body or the mind or the spirit is operating can really evaluate their operations. We need to listen to slightest noise that our psychic self makes; we should focus on even the slightest movement of our hearts, so that we may be able to harness what lies beyond promptings. One of the easiest ways of arresting pain or infirmity is to recognize where it is starting from, and where it is leading one to. Most of the doctors cannot diagnose the disease and so would require many tests, before they could make a few assumptions, often they also could go wrong. Once we are sure of the movements of our bodies, and know how to bring the mind to the stillness, and know how to focus and concentrate, then we will be able to enter into the actual harnessing of it.

Silence of the Spirit (3.c)

The modern world is so frightened of silence, of the outer silence, and all the more the inner silence, of the heart, of the soul! The noise around us some how make us think that we are safe and secure, and nothing untoward could happen to us, but the fact is far from it. We are most often so frightened of the "noise" outside, that we have to subdue it with out iPods, or MP3 players, or the FM radio, attached to our cellular phones. I find the trend contagious, and more and more people are attracted to this menace of running away from 'noise'.

Today as I come to realize the two layers of reality that I have fathomed, and now stand at the threshold of my being, what I become more and more conscious of the endless silence beckoning me to jump into the deep. The silence may be deafening, and it may even be dangerous, because it may make me come face to face with the reality of my being, but that is what I feel will make me authentic, to own up what I am without hiding anything of my past or present. I stand before the silence of my spirit, not knowing what is in store for me and how I am going to face it, but face I will.

Going beyond the layers of the body and the mind, today I wish to sink into the silence of my soul, of my Being; that is where I am sure I will encounter the Lord of my soul, but when I stand before my authentic self, what more would I need. I know for sure, that the other name of my Being is God! When I behold his beauty and splendor, I know I would recognize my own image on him. It is this silence which can give me a foretaste of living an authentic life, in communion with my being. The nagging doubt plagues me often, but will I be ever be able to be in touch with my Being all the days of my life?

As I behold the serenity of the silence of my soul, I realize that everything I have received from the world is rubbish in comparison to the precious jewel of this eternal silence; I would like to savor the sweetness of this silence, even as I sit quietly, firmly grounded on the earth I have been born into, establishing myself on the frameworks of the mind, I know I will get the glimpse of this silence at sometime or the other; if not immediately, at least in the not so distant future. To go beyond name and shape is something that is very challenging and difficult for me, but when I come to experience silence, I cannot hold on to the values of the world. I submit myself to go beyond name and shape in the presence of the limitless silence.

I have been taught many things wrongly from my childhood; even my faith had been misrepresented to me. I had been taught that I can taste of eternity only in the next world, but here I am at the threshold of eternity, a slice of eternity offered to me on a platter. When I enter into the eternal silence, am I not entering into the world of eternity, and that is where God dwells, that is where all the righteous and saintly persons and creatures live; even the music, I presume is, composed of silence! So are the Alleluiah and Sanctus! I know as I enter into this silence, I am entering into an altogether different world, the world where all of us are permanent citizens, for that is where we all belong to!

Sane Soul-mates (3.b)

Sometimes if we are lucky we may come across men and women who had managed to remove the obstruction which prevented them communing with their spirits directly and spontaneously. These persons may not be very difficult to identify, because even the ordinary persons would be able to take note of the glow surrounding them. They would radiate such a spiritual aura that anyone who comes in contact with them would experience the power of their spirit communication. Even if there is one single person in a thousand, the community is sure to experience the power of the soul, of the spirit, and they would be able to guide the community to greater spiritual heights.

One such person that the Indian sub-continent had witnessed some years ago was the Mahatma, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi of happy memory. If he was spectacular in nature, then we have the tribal leaders of Sidu Kanhu brothers, and each state would be able to identify such persons still living or dead. Even if they are dead, their spirit would be alive and active in a society. Today I would like to bring before my eyes one person who had remarkable ease to speak through his spirit. Gandhi was not merely a political force, who fought for the independence of India, but he was also a spiritual force, who taught the noble ideals of ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (search for truth), and thanks to his contact with his spirit, today India can boast of relative peacefulness.

I would like to consider the kind of qualities which mark the people who have access to the well-springs of their spirits, and are able to affect the world they live in : fearlessness, certain amount of daring spirit; no one can harm them, neither death, not killing, they can defy any human power; conviction which spring from life experience: they would stand by what they are convinced of, and no one can turn them from the path they have chosen; spiritual power: these people go beyond all that is material and human, and they put their trust in a power which is lasting, eternal and transcendental; people of the heart: unlike the people who are guided by their heads (logic) these people are guided by their hearts, instincts and inner dynamism.

I can also think of some persons who enter into this spiritual realm, when they are subjected to certain unique kind of experiences. I remember one of my very senior friends narrating to me about her younger brother, who had been informed by the physicians that he would live but for one more month – he had reached advanced case of cancer and there would be no remedy for it, but bear with it until the last day! But this man, I was told wished to defy the impending death by being happy, spending his time in the hospital as joyful as he could, cheering up his other companions and family members… and when the month has passed, I hear that the person has not died, and instead there is a great improvement in his disease… this man was able to frighten cancer, and that is the power of his spirit!

If I am not able to live by my spirit, then I need to take a good look at the four characteristics of persons who live by their spirits: fearlessness, conviction, spiritual power, heart-centered! I would like to ask myself what makes me fearful, why am I afraid of living by my convictions, what makes me give up the spiritual power and seek material and worldly power, and why do I resort to the head instead of the heart? I am also aware that I am not going to change into a person animated by the spirit all of a sudden; I will not become like Mahatma Gandhi or Sidu Kanhu over night; it would take me some years before I can live by my heart spontaneously, without anyone telling me, or myself being aware of it! But my long journey can begin today!

San(ct)ity of the Spirit (3.a)

The essence of my reflection, meditation and contemplation today, as I venture into deeper waters of the world of the Spirit, is taken from the sacred scripture of the Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 2, verses 16 to 21. These words spoken by Lord Krishna, addressed to his disciple Arjuna, who refused to fight the battle against his kinsmen, have words of wisdom. Each verse of this excerpt is worth spending ample time with, because what I find here is the essence of all religions and spiritualities, and if I am able to enter into the deeper realization these words can awaken in me, then I would look at reality with different eyes, and I cannot be the same man I was yesterday. The Gita invites me to enter into deeper waters to find the meeting point of my Spirit with the Eternal Spirit.

The invisible Spirit (Sat, Atma) is eternal, and the visible world (including the physical body) is transitory. The reality of these two is indeed certainly seen by the seers of truth. (2.16) The Spirit (Atma) by which all this universe is pervaded is indestructible. No one can destroy the imperishable Spirit. (2.17) Bodies of the eternal, immutable, and incomprehensible Spirit are perishable. Therefore, fight, O Arjun. (2.18) One who thinks that Atma (Spirit) is a slayer, and the one who thinks Atma is slain, are both ignorant. Because Atma neither slays nor is slain. (2.19) The Spirit (Atma) is neither born nor does it die at any time. It does not come into being, or cease to exist. It is unborn, eternal, permanent, and primeval. The Spirit is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. (2.20) O Arjun, how can a person who knows that the Spirit (Atma) is indestructible, eternal, unborn, and immutable, kill anyone or cause anyone to be killed? (2.21) [trans. By Ramananda Prasad, http://www.gita4free.com/english_completegita2.html].

What Lord Krishna refers to the Spirit is the very same one that all human persons possess; there are some who believe that animals and plants do not have Spirits, and that is a contestable issue and I am not prepared to enter into that area. But the spirit that I am privileged to have a peek into during the moment of ‘stillness’ between the noisy moments of my mindscape, is the same one which is present in all people, great or small, rich or poor, men or women. My spirit is part of the Eternal Spirit of the creator, sustainer God, and during the time of creation I am breathed into my body this life spirit, the birthless, deathless spirit. In other words, I see my life on earth as just one tiny phase in the life of the universe.

Unless I remove the obstruction created by the body and mind, I will not be able to see my spirit, and this spirit will be powerless under the shadow of the body and mind, and that is why I had tried to clear the layers of the body and the mind, so that I may have a clear look at the spirit. Some might prefer to call this soul, but I would love to call it spirit, because soul is something of a spiritual jargon, while spirit is a common word denoting a higher power, accepted by all religions, including the animistic and pantheistic ones. If everyone around me also possess the same kind of spirit which is animating and activating me, then how can I harm another person? When I harm a person, am I not causing damage to his/her spirit too?

Here I encounter a problem: the spirit is indestructible, and so when I try to harm a person, I can harm only his/her body, and I cannot do anything to the spirit. And when I try to kill a person or murder my rival, ultimately I lose the battle, because I will never be able to subdue his/her spirit, and it is only a coward who will try to harm the body and not the spirit. And that is precisely what Jesus had told his disciples : “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” [Matthew 10:28]. There are several men and women down the centuries who are proof to this, and as I contemplate their lives, I become more conscious of the power that is deep within me, in the form of the Spirit!

Slipping into Stillness (2.c)

All these years I had realized that one of the most difficult battles to win for a human person is with one’s own mind; it may be easier to control one’s body, but not so the mind. All the rishis and munis, who had resorted to the Himalayas to enter into austere tapasya were doing just one thing : to remove the opaque sheet of the mind that prevented them from encountering their Being, the Lord of the Universe. What I think, Lord Buddha did at the shade of the bodhi tree was also precisely the same, to bring the mind under his control, not consciously though, but through awareness of the interplay of thoughts, and distancing himself from them. Even if I begin a non-stop tapasya in order to control my mind, I may hardly pass the test even at the time of my death! This is a lifelong test, and very few could be said to have passed the test.

But I have nothing to worry, because having even a momentary glance of the Eternal is worth a million, for even a tiny fragment of eternity is equal to the largest section of it, and by partaking of the eternal, I become part of what I partake, and I would not want anything more. It is possible that after weeks of practice, of observing the mindscreen for a few weeks as an external viewer, I may be able to find a few seconds of quietness and stillness, and the mind may be back to its play soon. But those couple of seconds can do me a lot more good than all my mindgazing, and that is what I am going to do today: to catch my mind off-guard at different moments of the day.

I am not going to venture into doing something which even seasoned saints and sages have not been able to achieve after decades of their sadhana. I would do something which I can reasonably attempt. Starting from the beginning of the day, I am going to pause for a minute, say at every 30 minutes or one hour, to find what my mind is busy with, and will spend about five minutes observing it each time. Without entering into the scene, I would drop in as if I am walking into the cinema hall at different moments to see what is going on. It is rarely that I might find the mind preoccupied with the same thing, but what it is preoccupied with may give me a clue to what matters the most in life for me.

The exercise itself is not an easy one, because once I quieten myself each time, I have to close my eyes in order to slowly focus the attention on the movements of the mind. It is like focusing of persons through the lens of a video camera. I may not be able to find what the mind is busy with at the beginning, until I have narrowed the focus to the endless stream of thoughts. Here I am expected to move above the physical (and physiological) reality, body sensations, feelings… Thus if there is tension or disturbance in the body, that is not going to let me concentrate or focus on the mindplay. Thus, I need to relax and make my body comfortable before I enter into this realm.

I realize one of the most difficult aspects of this exercise is to separate myself from my thoughts; I am so mixed up with my thoughts, to distance myself from the mind’s game is tough; but as Tolle assures, with practice I may be able to experience the stillness, at least in bits and pieces. Even these bits and pieces of stillness can give me enough spiritual nourishment, enough to last a life-time. Let me savor the sweetness of these few seconds, for these are the greatest privileged spiritual fruits that the season of Lent can bring to me, and help me take a peek at what great treasures are there for the people who can persevere. When I realize that I am able to experience at least a few seconds of stillness within, then I know that I am ready to enter into the third phase of my inward journey!

Play and Pause! (2.b)

Eckhart Tolle is one of my favorite authors, and his seminal work The Power of Now put me in an altogether different mental disposition. I began to look at reality of the mental magic with a different perspective, thanks to Tolle’s inspiring words. Today I am going to put into practice something of what Tolle has recommended in his book, The Power of Now, because that would be the gateway to enter into the third phase of our inward journey, to the Spirit. I have already relaxed my body, and have become conscious of the magic and miracle that the human mind is capable of, but beyond these magic and miracles is another realm of the mindstream, by which I mean an endless flow of “noise” which can obstruct me from reality, and entry into the core of my being.

I would like to become conscious of how my mind works, because most often I take this for granted. I seldom pause for a while to realize what my mind does and how much of control I really have on my mindstream! I sit quietly in my room or any place where I feel comfortable, and close my eyes if that helps me, and remain still for a while. Then I begin to become conscious of what my mind is preoccupied with, without trying to control what it thinks. I will be an external observer, as if I am watching a movie of what is happening on my mindscreen. I would not make any value judgment if what the mind is thinking about is good or bad! I just observe the mind’s movements for about five minutes.

I realize that there is no better non-stop chatter-box on earth than the human mind, my mind. It moves from one thought to another, sometimes coherently, some other times incoherently. Sometimes it projects thoughts which are meaningful, some other times, sheer meaningless, useless thoughts. There are socially acceptable thoughts and other times, socially unacceptable thoughts. But I begin to realize as I witness this great drama, or movie on the mindscreen that most of the time my mind is busy and occupied with things which do not necessarily concern me, and things which I do not wish to be associated with. But do I have a choice? The moment when I try to make a value judgment, then I am only giving more power to the mind.

One thing is clear for me, so long the mind is busy and occupied, I have no access to my spirit, where I can encounter the Lord of my heart. The mind places a opaque film between me and my spirit, my Being, the really Real. Most often I become involved with the mindstream, and react to what goes on inside the mind, and it would be shown in my body response. When my mind imagines pleasant things, then my body is relaxed, but when my mind imagines and projects violent objects or events, then my body is tensed and stiff. Tolle suggests that I distance myself from my mind; I am not my mind. I remain outside of the mind, and just observe what goes on within, and there would be moments when I might experience absence of thoughts, and they are moments of ‘silence’, and they are the moments when this opaque plate is removed and I have access to reality.

I am quite used to star-gazing, and today I am going to do mind-gazing, observing my mind, all that is going on in it, without forcefully trying to enter into silence. As I become conscious of the thoughts from outside, the thoughts subside by themselves, and I may be able to enjoy absence of thoughts for just a few seconds, but if I continue to mindgaze regularly, these moments of ‘silence’ may gradually increase, and in this most precious moments I may become one with reality, divinity, and am not touched or disturbed by either pain or pleasure. It is at this moment that I become truly a child of God, experiencing the godliness that I received at the time of my birth. Once I begin to taste this precious moments of ‘silence’ I would be prepared to give up anything in exchange for it. I am slowly moving close to my being.

Temple of the Spirit (1.c)

I place myself in the presence of the Lord, and take a few moments to “feel” his presence; the aura of the Lord’s presence surrounding me. I sit comfortably in a position which I feel at ease with, and now become conscious of my body, the different parts which make it. Let me pay attention to the different parts which are tensed, and I relax them. I call on the particular part and ask it to relax… my right shoulder, relax! I loosen the muscles, and can feel the entire body becoming light, almost weightless. When I feel comfortable, then I bring to my mind that this body which I behold here and now is not only a fragile God’s creation, but is also a temple of the Spirit; it is here that God deigns to dwell. Therefore it is holy and sacred!

God has sanctified my body by breathing into me his own life spirit, and the air I breathe in is but his breath… it is his breath which nourishes me. Let me therefore turn my attention to my breathing, the cool air entering into my body, filling my lungs and come out with the impurities, warm! Close my eyes and feel the breath, become conscious of the air entering in and getting out. I will also focus on the heaving of my chest, the gradual filling of my lungs, and how it feels on the nostrils. Let me stay with my breathing as long as I can, because it is the life spirit of God that has been given to me, and this spirit makes my body holy and sacred. God is not only a passive craftsman, but he has shared part of his Self by breathing into me.

I also become aware of the different ways how this body is made to indulge in things unholy, contrary to his divine plan; the eyes which see evil, the ears which listens to gossip, the mouth which curses and abuses others verbally, gluttony through which I eat more than I really need, hands through which I harm others, my sexual organs which are sometimes subjected to unholy acts of self gratification, my flesh, about which sometimes I am too fastidious… My body is by itself holy and sacred and it is only the conscious I who subject it to sinful tendencies. I shall move from the top considering how different parts of my body become vehicles of defaming the creator who made me.

The human body has immense potentiality, and today I would like to become conscious of it. I recall to mind some of the most outstanding works that I was able to do during the past few years, and the body had been always the vehicle through which I was able to carry out these noble, beautiful works. It is like Alladin’s magic lamp, you rub it and the genie appears, ‘Your wish, my command!’ The body is there always to do what I wish it to do. I receive this immense potentiality and creativity from the creator, the omnipotent God. Let me also remember some of the achievements people around me had made using their bodies. The human body is capable of achieving far more things than the best computers can.

If my body is the temple of the Spirit, the house where the Lord of the universe dwells, then it is only proper that I keep it neat and tidy. Today I pause for a moment to recall the moments when I had abused my body, or different parts of it! I remember the moments when I had not cared for this body sufficiently, failed to listen to what the hands or legs had to tell me when I forced them to the point of collapsing, or moments when I had forced to cover the natural beauty with artificial materials, when I had not given opportunity for nature to cure the commonplace ailments but rushed to artificial means of arresting them, when I had not given enough rest to my body, but made it work for days without sufficient rest… Let me for a while listen to my body, what is it telling me now!

Living Creation (1.b)

Let me continue from where I stopped during the previous part (1.a). I had been looking at each part of my body, appreciating the contours and beauty of each part, chiseled by the master craftsman. Now it is time that I own up my body as it is, and not as I would have loved it to be. I have very little power or option to change the way I have been created (and even the best of plastic surgeons may not be able to give an original appearance to my body, as I have been created!), but it would do me good to accept my body as I behold it here and now, with all its proportions, shapes, and contours. Let me accept my body as it is, without wishing anything to be different from what it is!

I would like to apply the Ignatian application of the senses contemplation to “commune” with my body as I behold it here and now! I had already completed the first part of the contemplation, seeing each part of my body; now let me listen to my body, let me listen to every little sound that my body makes; the heartbeat, the heaving of my chest, the breathing in and out, the knuckles, the movement of different parts of the body… let me listen to my body. What does it say to me? Let me run down my body from top to bottom listening to each part, and maybe even in the stillness of their being, they may be telling me something profound; maybe the muscles may ask me to release them, the chest may wish to breathe in and breathe out at its own pace… Let me pay close attention to their “speech”.

I have almost forgotten how I smell? It is not that I have to smell my body only when I wear some fragrance or body spray; everybody has its own odour, and scientists may call this pheromones, which are supposedly responsible for love attractions, all that I am interested in here is to be aware of how I smell. Am I comfortable with the body odour of my self, or do I hate it, and wish to cover it up with an artificial body spray? The next phase of the exercise is to taste how my body is; new-borns and toddlers do it spontaneously. When toddlers suck their thumbs, what they do is taste their body, though Sigmund Freud would have a different explanation. Let me lick different parts of my body and see for me how I taste!

The last part of this exercise is to feel my body as it is; to be alert and conscious of what is happening to my body; if I am not going to be conscious of what is happening to my body, then who can? Let me close my eyes, and lying on the floor on my back (in savasana – dead body posture), legs spread apart, and both the hands about 10 inches from the hip… let me become conscious of each part of my body, and let me enter into a dialogue with each of them! What do they have to tell me here and now? Let me release every form of pain or tension and uneasiness, and relax all the muscles. Let me not hold any tension within, but leave them all slowly and joyously.

When I have relaxed my entire body, I might fall asleep, but I would appeal to my body not to fall asleep, and sure enough the body would respond to my appeal positively. There is no obedient subordinate to me than my own body. I continue to lie on my back in savasana position. Now following the exercise by Anthony De Mello, considering myself as dead, and my body placed before others, let me see how different persons respond to this body. Let me look at this body as if I am a third person; look how different persons look at the body. Let me listen to what they say, what they do. Is there anything which is striking to me in the way how they treat my body? Let me stay for a while looking at my body… Then I would be ready to enter into the third phase of the day’s journey inward!

Dust thou art! (1.a)

I am going to contemplate on the miracle of my body today, the gateway, as it were, to my encounter with the Lord of my soul. The body, which we are told, was created by God out of mud, and to earth we all shall return! How true it is! Let me begin to realize that whatever be my name and fame, social status, educational qualifications, the great and important offices I hold, the kind of influence I can exert in my community, the number of person who love to follow my words literally, without ever questioning them, the amount of riches and wealth that I have made out of sheer hard work and labor, what am I at the end of it all! A few kilograms of soil, that is what I am, and that is what all of us will ever be!

I would like to spend an hour sitting at the garden, or at a quiet place where I am alone with the earth! Let my feet rest on the ground, the hard earth, and let me walk on the earth consciously telling myself that I am treading on the lives of so many of human persons, who might have died hundreds and thousands of years ago. Let me close my eyes for a while and imagine a pile of human bodies strewn on my path, and I am walking over them! Let me continue my walk imagining that the soil on earth is nothing but the composite of human bodies. Let me also remind myself that one day I would be trodden upon by the future generations. That is what I am!

Now let me sit quietly in a corner of the garden, take a handful of mud and hold it tenderly, look at it lovingly, because that is what I am, and that is what I would be after some years. This is what the people I love the most on earth are and would be after some years. The best and the worst that the world can offer me is nothing but a handful of mud! The greatest possessions I can claim power and authority over are but a few hands full of mud. Let me continue to gaze at the mud, the color, shape, smell and the kind of feeling they create on my fingers; the coarse feeling! Let me smell it and consume the smell of it and fill my lungs with it. This is what I am, this is what I will be!

As I look at the handful of mud in my hand, let me see the mud being shaped by a master craftsman into my image and likeness, let me take a good look at the image of myself before my eyes; the image is lifeless, it is as good as a dead body; there is no life in it! Let me pay attention to the continuous fine tuning of this image by the craftsman, who keeps on improving it; the painstaking task of providing the much needed contours to the image makes the craftsman sweat his blood out, but there is joy on his face. When it is done, I witness him breathing into the lifeless image, and I am created! Once I am in full shape, I see the craftsman no more. I see the marvel of my body, though it is made of mud, it is but an exquisite work of art!

Now it is time for me to move to my room, carrying in my mind the body that had been created out of mud, and remove all the clothes, and stand in the middle of the room. Today is the time for me to take a good look at my body, the wonder machine far superior than any that human beings were able to make. I make take about an hour to really see every part of my body, starting either from the top or the bottom, moving gently from one part to another! I might use a looking mirror to have a look at my face… let me take note of the many things which are in my body, about which I had not been conscious of… the moles, scars, veins, … Let me look at my body as if I am watching at the best art work in a museum! Let me explore the wonder of my body, slowly and respectfully!

On 'Fast' Track

The lent is round the corner, and there are many who have begun their serious preparations to make the best out of this season of grace. There are some who would do the most ostentatious and outrageous penance for their sins, and some would go to the extent of mortifying themselves foregoing meals, rest, little pleasures of the world in order to feel one with the suffering Christ. It is hard to say where one should stop in these endless pieties and what would be more pleasing to the Lord than these external pieties, which sometimes may not have much congruence with the interior lives of persons.

It is possible to turn all one’s pieties and noble actions to religious intentions and orientations; for instance, skipping a meal (generally the breakfast for some, and for some others both breakfast and supper) is considered as a mark of mortifying one’s body, not yielding to the pleasures of the physical body. The Muslims are known to do the strict fast for 40 days, fasting from sunrise to sun set and I could see some of the Muslim friends and service persons, worn out by middle of the day. Are these pieties voluntary? There is greater danger if they are institutionalized and one feels obliged to practice it, even if s/he has no inclination to it.

It is understood that there are better ways of mortifying oneself, rather than depriving the body of the essential nutrients and sustenance to carry out our responsibilities. I have seen some of my friends, who would fast every day of Lent, but would not have enough strength to do some of the works which may be expected of them. I have realized that if these pieties, which are merely means, become ends in themselves, then they cease to have the meaning and significance they once had. Any piety which does not help a person to live an authentic transformative life, then it is not worth.

I was told that fasting is one of the most common religious austerities that many of the religions of the world recommend to their people. As the people mortify their bodies, their souls are expected to rise above the material world, into a world that brings them together as brothers and sisters of one Father. I have seen my mother fasting every Friday of the year, and even when there are Liturgical festivities, such as Christmas or birthday of a family member, she would still keep the fast. I had tried to explain to her the meaning and significance of fast and still she would not give it up; it is for her a serious act, and it cannot be given up under any circumstances.

We all care for our bodies more than they really deserve. There are people who are too finicky about the care for their bodies, that they would go to ridiculous extent to make sure they present their bodies as if it is a treasure they cannot touch. I remember one of my younger friends, who while undergoing training to become a Jesuit, would rush to the wash basin to wash his hands after every five minutes of the 30 minutes of manual work. He would be spending half his work time, washing his hands, because he could not tolerate dirt and mud on his hand. But if only we realize that the body is but soil, and soil is our body, then we would treat our bodies differently. Yet, there is a spirituality which places the human body as a temple of the Spirit, and that is an altogether different realm.

Caring for the Treasure House

We often realize the worth of things and persons only in their absence. A father may be the worst kind of person and notorious drunkard, and the mother may curse him each day, why God is not calling him; but look at the same mother after the untimely death of the father. She would not be happy to have lost her husband; she would feel the pinch only when he is no more there. Probably all these years, she was able to look only at his drunkenness, and not any thing else. But after his death, she realizes that he was much more than a mere drunkard; at least sometimes, when he was sober, he used to be affectionate and loving towards her.

The same is also true of our human body; we do not realize what a treasure house we possess in our bodies; maybe a whole life will not be sufficient to understand the minute intricate mechanism which is operative in our bodies; the crisscrossing of veins, bones, flesh, and all of them perfectly linked to the mind, the central processing unit. When one of the body parts is dysfunctional, it affects the entire body, and that is what is so very obvious, when we look at one of our senior friends, who has spoiled both his kidneys, and is frantically on the look out for a donor, and a nursing home which will conduct the transplant.

Life is not the same when these kidneys have refused to filter the waste; he has to go for four agonising hours of dialysis, twice a week. When he returns after the dialysis, he is half dead; he has not much energy, and each day, as his body weight increases due to the accumulation of urine, he feels uncomfortable, and so cannot engage in any serious work. Life has come to a standstill for him, and therefore whenever there is a ray of hope for transplant, he gets excited, and sincerely hopes that something good will come out of this desire. When he neglected the care of his body for several years, he did not realize what could happen to him one day, and today he regrets for neglecting the care of his health.

It is illegal to even indirectly convince a person to donate one of his/her kidneys so that this friend of ours may live a fairly healthy life, for atleast another ten or fifteen years. It is also unethical, to imply that our friend's life is more worthwhile than the donor, even if it is a friend who has come forward to do this great favor. The moral and ethical questions are not easy to resolve, though it is easy to cut short the arguments on the ground that all lives are equal, and if one has destroyed one's kidneys due to neglect, it is for the one to reap the fruits of what he had done, but humanly speaking we cannot stop at that.

Most of us falter in life, not out of willful, deliberate action, but out of ignorance and carelessness. If only our friend had known for sure that if he did not care for his health, and take necessary precaution, he may lose his kidneys, probably he might not have landed at this stage. But could he be given yet another chance to taste and see what life has to offer to him? It is a big lesson for us, to realize the worth of each of the body parts, big or small, all of them have a specific role and function. Yesterday I saw a middleaged man, whose both feet have been amputated. Yet he looked quite happy, walking on his knees. He may feel envious of us, but do we sufficiently care for our feet?

Subduing the Bull within

If I were to evaluate my performance as for as self-control is concerned, I would not be able to give more than 40 points out of one hundred! I understand that the points gained are rather low, which means in self-control, I am below average, and yet I might look quite in control over what is happening to me. It is difficult to assess how one is in control over one’s feelings and emotions, both positive and negative, because there are hardly any external criteria to evaluate a person; all the vital criteria are experienced interiorly. Therefore one might seem quite in control over one’s emotions, but in fact might be quite out of control regarding emotions.

Therapeutically several ways of approaches are suggested to achieve self-control, and one of the very ancient techniques is deep breathing. Often we breathe from the upper part of our chest, and seldom does the air go deep into our lungs, and come out. When we begin to breathe deeply, consciously taking the air inside, letting it rest inside the lungs for a second or two, and again consciously letting it out, we become aware of what is happening not only to our body, in our body, but also in the mind and the spirit. At that moment we become a third person, standing outside of our selves, and observing what is happening to our bodies, minds and spirits. This is a magic moment, when we are able to pick up many of the things which we would otherwise not be aware.

I am reminded of this anecdote which is told of in the context of the means of achieving self-control. Johny had been notorious in losing temper, and so his mother had taught him to take deep breath, close his eyes, and count slowly one to ten, whenever he would feel angry. So whenever he felt angry, he would close his eyes and start counting, and it was expected when he finished ten, he would be quite sober to take control over himself. But one day Johny returned home from school with a swollen face. When his mother asked what had happened, Johny said: You had told me to count one to ten, but Paul’s mother had taught him to count upto five, and so after completing five, he smashed my face and ran away!

That was only an anecdote, a joke, which should not be stretched beyond its length. But deep breathing can really help us get in touch with our inner self. Associated with this is meditation! Here by meditation I mean to imply, calming and quieting the mind. Eckhart Tolle would say in The Power of Now, that if we are able to overcome “thoughts”, then we are very close to the divine. The moments in between two thoughts is a sacred moment, and by placing ourselves as a third party, we may be able to stretch these moments, and meditation may help us achieve this. Like all disciplines, meditation will also need to be cultivated.

There is no quick solution to achieving self-control; one may have to undergo long hours of sadhana, discipline in order to bring an absolute unison between the body, the mind and the spirit. This has been one of the most often sought after salvation for many a rishis and munis. For the persons who had achieved perfect self-control can achieve anything they would wish. There is nothing impossible for them; even what is impossible becomes possible to them. It is possible that external reality has not changed much, but their minds have been moulded in such a way that they find it easy to accept whichever means takes them to perfect union of body, mind and spirit.

Into Eternity

Organ donation is still a rare phenomenon in our country; and the same is true of other nations as well. When we come across persons who have dared to donate their eyes and body, we raise our eye-brows; we find it hard to believe that there are persons who could so easily pledge their eyes, so that through someone else, they can see the world; their bodies would be used for medical research in medical colleges and research centers, so that students would be able to learn anatomy and be able to serve humanity better. There are so much organs in need each day, and probably only a fraction of the demand is met by generous souls!

I am coming back to Jyoti Basu, who had donated his eyes, and body; his body had been donated to the SSKM medical college and research center. That was Basu's last gift to humanity, truly a wonderful gift! We Christians believe in buying our bodies, so that they may become earth; Hindus cremate their bodies after death, and they too become earth. But when cadaver is handed over for the betterment of humanity, does it not serve a greater purpose than reminding us that we are earth, and to earth all shall return. After death, what else do we have to offer to the world, but our bodies, and that is what this great man has done, and I take my hats off for him.

We live in a society, where even ordinary blood donation is a matter of great rarity. There are sophisticated people who would reason out why they should donate blood, which may be sold for a big price! There is so much of blood is in want each day for either direct transfusion, or during surgeries that sometimes people lose their lives due to lack of blood stock. But, what do I lose by donating a unit of blood? I don't lose anything; the body is able to get back to normal within minutes, and still the stigma remains. We do not need to donate blood on every second month, to make a record, but if we can donate blood whenever we can, we are being responsible social beings.

There are such lovely words said of blood donation; this is something that all of us can do so easily, and it does not cost us anything. All that we require is a little courage, and a greater amount of generosity. Only about one in a ten thousand or million may die due to donating blood, and when we give blood to the needy, we are sharing the free gift of nature. This is something that we all of us can share without holding back, and it is this blood which makes us all one, going beyond distinctions of rich and poor, privileged or underprivileged. We do not need to worry about donating our eyes or our body, we can start with blood donation. If I can donate blood to those in dire need, I can be proud to be a universal citizen.

There is fear and prejudice against organ donation; this happens even between siblings and first degree relations. We are surely against commercialization of human organs, which are priceless gifts; but if I can pledge to give my body and the eyes, which is not at all going to affect the way I am, after life spirit departs from my mortal remains, it can contribute a lot to humanity. I know deep within that my spirit is calling me to fill in the form of pledge to donate my organs, eyes and the body, and still there is something which is stopping me, but I know after a few weeks or months, I would dare to fill in the pledge, and tell the world I care for her!