Our Body

"Body is that temple,in which mind is the devotee to the soul, life or God residing within" Our bodies reflect the story of our lives. Life is a ground of intelligence and energy in the form of matter and awareness. Our present structure in our personality, clearly reveals how we have been treating our body, and also the effect of mind on us. Our body and mind interact closely and influence each other to such an extent that one becomes the expression of the other. They cannot function separately, and as elaborated below, unless we respect both equally, we can never be wholly integrated individuals. In our journey of seeking awareness for the purpose of self development or balance, I feel the start should always be from the body. Body is the temple in which God resides. As per the age old saying, ‘Healthy, wealthy and wise’, first comes health, then wealth, and after that wisdom automatically follows. Every single cell of our body has its own intelligence, to carry out its functions and coordinate with related cells. DNA, carrier of our genetic code in these cells, has all the data and characteristics connected to our heredity, and acquired through memories and emotions. As is our DNA, so also our perception. From this perception, the mind handles the data and reveals its intention, which eventually comes out as action from the body. Today, most alternative therapies acknowledge the body-mind-spirit relationship for effective healing. Yoga and meditation are shining examples of how this fusion between the three is required to obtain a wholesome life. More than living forever, or even longer, we would all prefer to live well. Body intelligence is the subject which takes us onto this path of healthy and preventive living, rather than an abusive and curative one. We all know that most of the money spent on research today is more for curing than preventing diseases, mainly because profits are higher and easier, when there is imbalance and ill health. Our body has intelligence built over millions of years in mankind’s evolution. The autonomous nervous system controls some of our body functions without any conscious inputs from us, like breathing, digesting, and sleeping; it also maintains a body balance with its own intrinsic healing abilities. The miracle of our body intelligence is that it survives in spite of our abusing and bloating it. Further, in mind-body relationship, research shows that bacteria, especially in the gut, can alter the brain and behavior, meaning emotional states change with micro biome in the body. Also, in relation to health, newer studies are revealing that exposure to diseases in the body may have a huge effect on the IQ or brain power. The reason is that we devote a great deal of energy running our brains, and when diseases crop up, they start diverting this energy from the brain to elsewhere in the body. Our bodies degenerate with time and age, in spite of all our health supplements, antioxidants, mental or physical exercises, miracle herbs like French pine bark or super anti- age related telomeres. Telomeres are segments of DNA found at the end of chromosomes and every time a cell divides, its telomere gets shorter, making the cell gradually die. Even with all this research on replenishing the body with telomeres, it does degenerate with wear and tear, abuse, time, and individual genetic design. Due to heredity, certain diseases are already earmarked, and also the effect on our body of the pleasures and pain we go through in life, clearly certifies that if there is anything certain in life, it is death. Today, all we need to do is to send our blood sample to a DNA profiling lab. What we receive is a report on our genomic analysis, a list of diseases you might be at risk of getting, and a personalized dietary recommendation. Then what about day to day damage being done by pollution, wrongly acquired habits and various environmental factors? The only answer I have is, technology may increase our life span, but our bodies are bound to degenerate with time. So why not live well with the right perception, intention and action, that there be health, wealth and wisdom. The way to this awareness, consciousness or enlightenment starts only through the body, because lack of all the above are reasons for imbalance and ill health. Make peace with your body, listen to it, and become sensitive to its needs because, besides your innate intelligence and intrinsic healing abilities, it requires your love, care and appreciation. Only then will you be able to go beyond to start the journey into a state of nirvana, and reach somewhere in the limitless zone of self transcendence.