The Body as the Boat
Today we are celebrating the ninth anniversary of our hospital. The Maharani of Kutch has already told you how the three humors and the three gunas [qualities] are responsible for the physical and mental ills of mankind. You must first understand clearly why this human body has been given and for what purpose? It is to realize the unity of all this multiplicity, the prime motive power of all this change, the truth of your Self and of this universe. Until you realize this you will have to wear the body again and again.
You escape the burden of birth and death only after the truthis realized. That is the destiny, the goal, and the consummation of this entire struggle. The body is the boat that will take you across the sea of time, space, and change. Keep it in good trim; see that it is in good repair. Do not attach yourself to the boat but try to see the boatman. That is the atmatattwa [highest self]. If this object is not attained, it is a misuse of the body, as reprehensible as using Kamadhenu [the sacred cow of plenty] for the plow.
The body is a sublime instrument for sadhana [spiritual effort]; use it for that high purpose. The eye sees, the ear hears, the hands hold, the legs move, and the heartbeats—all due to the inner motivator, the atma. The same electric power operates through the fan, the bulb, and the microphone and makes them perform their distinct duties; so also the atma. Do not put your faith in the temporary garments that you wear; trust rather in the eternal, the never changing. It is the height of folly to waste life, pursuing objective pleasures and sensory enjoyment.
If you have sincere yearning to realize the atmic basis, then the Lord Himself will provide health and mental peace for you. Keep that faith untarnished—that is your only duty. You might ask me “If the body is subject to inevitable decay and if one must give up the attachment to the body, why have a hospital at all?”
For those who have surrendered to the Lord and who take everything that happens as His will, He will ensure the best condition for the success of the sadhana. For such, a little vibhuti [holy ash] is enough to cure all maladies. Some desire drugs; some find satisfaction in God. For those who desire drugs, the hospital caters; and through the hospital, they are led to God. That too is My plan.
But, take it from Me: illness is not cured by drugs or hospitals or doctors. It is cured by grace. So try to acquire that grace, try to understand the heart, the power, the mercy, the mystery, and the grace of the Lord. For this practice gentleness, moderation, self-control, and the sadhana of japam and dhyanam.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, October 1965
