As we all know, four things are common to all the creatures, viz. food, sleep, fear and sexual union. In the case of man, he is endowed with a special faculty, viz. knowledge, with the help of which he can attain God-vision, which is impossible in any other birth. It is for this reasons that Gods envy man’s fortune and aspire to be born as men on earth, so as to get their final deliverance.
Some say, that there is nothing worse than the human body, which is full of filth, mucus, phlegm and dirt, and which is subject to decay, disease and death. This is no doubt true to a certain extent; but inspite of these drawbacks and defects, the special value of the human body is – that
- man has got the capacity to acquire knowledge:
- it is only due to the human knowledge that one can think of the perishable and transitory nature of the body itself, and of the world and
- get a disgust for the sense-enjoyments and can discriminate between the unreal and the real,
- and thus attain God-vision.
- So, if we reject or neglect the body because it is filthy, we lose the chance of God-vision, and
- if we fondle it, and run after sense – enjoyments, because it is precious, we go to hell.
- The proper course, therefore, for us to pursue is the following;
that the body should neither be neglected nor fondled, but should be properly cared for, just as a traveler on horse-back takes care of his pony on the way till he reaches his destination and returns home.
Thus the body should ever be used or engaged to attain God-vision or self-realization, which is the supreme end of life.
SSSC Ch-8
