Your Body is God’s Place

Human Body does not resemble a palace; body resembles a temple in which the Ethereal Divine particle of God resides. Human body is indeed a work of art, a masterpiece, a geometric marvel, because it is a fine symmetrical combination of Tetrahedron, hexahedron, Octahedron, Dodecahedron, Icosahedron which are the geometrical simple equation patterns of Panchamahabhootas (The five great spirits)

Creation has many aspects and among the various beautiful creations of God, the human body stands out prominently as His most wonderful creation. Swami Sivananda calls the body a mysterious moving palace within which God dwells. Buddhi or intellect is His prime minister; mind is the commander; the ten indriyas or senses are soldiers; the eyes are the windows of the palace; and the devtas who preside over the indriyas -- eyes, nose, ears, for example -- are the gatekeepers.

Subtle manner in which the muscles are attached to the bones by tendons; the joints are kept in balance with the help of ligaments; deposition of fat imparts good shape to the limbs, trunk and abdomen; the pigment in the skin makes the body look attractive, one cannot help wondering at the marvellous jugglery of the Divine Engineer. Despite the body being full of impurities like urine, faecal matter, puss, etc., people cling to the false beauty of the perishable body, and get trapped in the vicious circle of the unending of the process of transmigration.

The human body is therefore without doubt a work of art. Observing the artistic manner in which all the muscles are attached to the bones by tendons, joints balanced with the help of ligaments, fat deposited in a manner that imparts good shape to the limbs, trunk and abdomen; the skin pigment that makes the body look attractive – looking at all of these, one cannot help marvelling at God’s creative output.

God makes use of the five elements of nature while creating the body: bone is nothing but earth or clay; blood is water; the radiance of skin and eyes is fire; and the prana or breath that moves through the nostrils and lungs is nothing but air which derives its support from ether. The four elements -- air, fire, water and earth have all emanated from ether.

Swami Sivananda says that after demise of the body, all the elements get dissolved. What happens is that the bones merge with the earth and by doing so they go back to their source. When the body is placed on the funeral pyre, mantras are chanted with the purpose of invoking the blessings of the Lord so as to ensure that the body gets dissolved with its five material components of earth, water, fire, air and ether from where it originally emanated. The body is then offered to the fire.

It is rather ironical that despite the Lord dwelling right within the innermost chambers of one’s heart, people remain unaware of His presence throughout their lives. Under the influence of maya or illusion, the power that deludes, people tend to cling to the perishable body even though it is filled with impurities like urine, faecal matter, puss, and so on and they get trapped in the vicious circle of the unending process of transmigration.