Human Body is a Spiritual Teacher.


Observation of our own human body can be a source of detachment and make one  enlightened by realized spiritual knowledge. 



The son of Yayāti, Mahārāja Yadu, once encountered an avadhūta (a spiritualist who lives and recognizes himself as soul not body) who was traveling about, here and there, in great transcendental ecstasy and was acting unpredictably. The King inquired from the holy man about the cause of his wandering and his ecstatic condition, and the avadhūta replied that he had received various instructions from twenty-four different gurus — the earth, the wind, the sky, the water, fire, and so on. Because of the knowledge he had gained from them, he was able to travel about the earth in a liberated stateHe said his own body was one of his Gurus.

Presented here is translation of the verses explaining how human body can be ones spiritual teacher?

 The Holy man spoke -

SB 11.9.24 — O King, from all these spiritual masters I have acquired great wisdom. Now please listen as I explain what I learned from my own body.

SB 11.9.25 — The material body is also my spiritual master because it teaches me detachment. Being subject to creation and destruction, it always comes to a painful end. Thus, although using my body to acquire knowledge, I always remember that it will ultimately be consumed by others, and remaining detached, I move about this world.

SB 11.9.26 — A man attached to the body accumulates money with great struggle to expand and protect the position of his wife, children, property, domestic animals, servants, homes, relatives, friends, and so on. He does all this for the gratification of his own body. As a tree before dying produces the seed of a future tree, the dying body manifests the seed of one’s next material body in the form of one’s accumulated karma. Thus assuring the continuation of material existence, the material body sinks down and dies.

SB 11.9.27 — A man who has many wives is constantly harassed by them. He is responsible for their maintenance, and thus all the ladies constantly pull him in different directions, each struggling for her self-interest. Similarly, the senses harass the conditioned soul, pulling him in many different directions at once. On one side the tongue is pulling him to arrange tasty food; then thirst drags him to get a suitable drink. Simultaneously the sex organs clamor for satisfaction, and the sense of touch demands soft, sensuous objects. The belly harasses him until it is filled, the ears demand to hear pleasing sounds, the sense of smell hankers for pleasant aromas, and the fickle eyes clamor for pleasing sights. Thus the senses, organs and limbs, all desiring satisfaction, pull the living entity in many directions.
SB 11.9.28 — The Supreme God, expanding His own potency, māyā-śakti, created innumerable species of life to house the conditioned souls. Yet by creating the forms of trees, reptiles, animals, birds, snakes and so on, the Lord was not satisfied within His heart. Then He created human life, which offers the conditioned soul sufficient intelligence to perceive the Absolute Truth, and became pleased.

SB 11.9.29 — After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas God consciousness is possible only for a human being.

SB 11.9.30 — Having learned from my spiritual masters, I remain situated in realization of the Supreme God and, fully renounced and enlightened by realized spiritual knowledge, wander the earth without attachment or false ego.


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