A single human person is composed of two units, namely, body and soul. What is visible is the body and the soul is invisible, although it is the soul that is the engine pulling the body through all activities. The moment we forget this truth and behave as if it is the body with its five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste that propels us through the complexities of the world, we become sitting ducks for illusions and misery. We thus sow the seeds of disharmony in our system through lack of alignment between the body and the soul.
The great Indian system of thought has seen through this difficulty and has offered valuable suggestions for proper alignment of body and soul. Apart from the methods of ascetics, the venerable teacher Patanjali developed a system of Yoga to help people in properly aligning body and soul. The very first sentence of his Yogasutra states: "Chittavritti Nirodhaha" meaning to stop all thinking. We have to go beyond our mind and commune with our soul where God is encountered for putting everything right with us. Meditation is the method proposed for the same.
We see in the Bible too the importance of reverting to the deepest foundation of our being for proper appreciation of our life. Jesus proclaimed his gospel, i.e., the good news, by inviting people to repent as the Kingdom of God was at hand. The word used for 'repent' in Greek language, the language of the New Testament, is 'metanoia'. 'Meta' means 'beyond' or 'after' and 'nous' from which 'noia' comes means 'mind'. Going beyond even the mind, let alone the body and its five senses, and finding the soul as the powerhouse of our well-being is the secret of true happiness. This is the hidden treasure to obtain which we should be more than willing to forsake everything else. On the contrary, gaining the whole world at the expense of one's soul is sheer foolishness for the simple reason that what can one give in exchange of one's soul.
The right thing, therefore, is to have the proper balance between the body and the soul. When there is no such balance, we are not able to maintain the 'via media' recommended by Sri Buddha for a genuine life. Excesses in any field, material or spiritual, lead us to addictions whereby our freedom is compromised and we become pathetic slaves ruled by illusions. No wonder if such people gradually become depressed leading some to even commit suicide. Guarding our life in its entirety, body and soul, is essential for our true happiness.
The great Indian system of thought has seen through this difficulty and has offered valuable suggestions for proper alignment of body and soul. Apart from the methods of ascetics, the venerable teacher Patanjali developed a system of Yoga to help people in properly aligning body and soul. The very first sentence of his Yogasutra states: "Chittavritti Nirodhaha" meaning to stop all thinking. We have to go beyond our mind and commune with our soul where God is encountered for putting everything right with us. Meditation is the method proposed for the same.
We see in the Bible too the importance of reverting to the deepest foundation of our being for proper appreciation of our life. Jesus proclaimed his gospel, i.e., the good news, by inviting people to repent as the Kingdom of God was at hand. The word used for 'repent' in Greek language, the language of the New Testament, is 'metanoia'. 'Meta' means 'beyond' or 'after' and 'nous' from which 'noia' comes means 'mind'. Going beyond even the mind, let alone the body and its five senses, and finding the soul as the powerhouse of our well-being is the secret of true happiness. This is the hidden treasure to obtain which we should be more than willing to forsake everything else. On the contrary, gaining the whole world at the expense of one's soul is sheer foolishness for the simple reason that what can one give in exchange of one's soul.
The right thing, therefore, is to have the proper balance between the body and the soul. When there is no such balance, we are not able to maintain the 'via media' recommended by Sri Buddha for a genuine life. Excesses in any field, material or spiritual, lead us to addictions whereby our freedom is compromised and we become pathetic slaves ruled by illusions. No wonder if such people gradually become depressed leading some to even commit suicide. Guarding our life in its entirety, body and soul, is essential for our true happiness.
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