HUMAN BIRTH IS THE RAREST of all living beings. Human body is most sacred, precious and wonderful. It is your foremost duty to keep it healthy and fit. The body is the means by which you can do what you want. Without the human body, you cannot perform even a small task. The body is more valuable than gold, wealth and other materialistic acquisitions. You must therefore sanctify it by putting it to proper use.

Body is Meant for Selfless Service

The days and nights that have passed cannot be retrieved. You cannot obtain even drops of Ganges  water once it has merged into the ocean. A fruit once consumed cannot be taken out. Similarly, if the body is lost, it cannot be regained. Men are more valuable than all the wealth of the world. It is man who lends value to wealth, gold, land and all other assets. What value can be attached to these items if man does not exist in God's creation? Human life is very difficult to obtain. That is why it is said Janthunam Narajanma Durlabham (birth as a human being is the rarest). There are many tasks to be accomplished in life. It is therefore most essential to understand the value of the human life. The body is your most possession as divinity itself is enshrined in it.

"The human body is like a iron safe, which protects the precious jewels of virtues contained in it. Safely placed in it is also the priceless jewels of Divinity."

Treasured in the iron safe of the human body are jewels of noble thoughts, lofty feelings and sublime virtues. Theses valuables, if lost, cannot be got back easily. It is the virtues that lend value to human life. Human life is valuable because of the presence of the human values like love, compassion, forbearance, sympathy, sacrifice, etc., in man. But today, man does not bother to understand the importance of these values. The human body is a clock in which the seconds hand represents days, the minutes hand, months and the hours hand, years. With each passing hour, clock tolls and warns us of the impending end. No one knows when it will sound the final toll, signaling the termination of life. So, you must make the best use of the human body while it is healthy and strong. It is the means by which one performs long journey of life. You have to face many trouble on the way if you do not keep this body safe and sound.

Man should strive to find answers to questions like: " What is divinity? What is purity? What is steadiness? What is selflessness?" Without making any effort to find answers to theses questions, man makes use of the human body for self-interest and for selfish ends. God has not given this body to man to lead a life of selfishness. Paropakarartham Idam Sareeram (Human body has been given for serving others). You should resolve firmly to serve not only yourself but also your fellow human beings. When you work selflessly for others, your needs will be automatically taken care or. Unfortunately, man does not know the very meaning of the words 'help' and 'service'. The essence of all eighteen Puranas is condensed in just two sentences: Help ever. Hurt never.

God has given the human body for the purpose of serving others. Devoid of the spirit of service, man is sunk in selfishness. All his thoughts, feelings and deeds are prompted by selfishness. Man has become a puppet by selfishness. How can one who is enslaved by selfishness ever be free? So, you must reject selfishness and accept selflessness. Then alone can the human life find fulfillment.

Real Meaning of 'I'

The human body has three important constituents - the heart, the mind and the speech. The heart represents Easwara, the mind, Vishnu and the speech, Brahma. Hence, man symbolises the Divine Trinity. It is rather strange that man, who is the embodiment of the Divine Trinity, is unable to understand his true nature. How can one understand others without first understanding oneself? One should first and foremost know the real meaning of 'I'. Once a devotee prayed to Swami, "Swami, I want peace". Bhagwan said to him, "Remove 'I' which stands for ego; remove 'want' which stands for desire. What remains is peace". Man identifies his 'I' with his body and gives name to it. But this is his assumed name and not the real name. Since he forgets his real name, he identifies himself with his body. When the body perishes, the assumed name also perishes as do all the names and forms of the world.

Made of five elements, devoid of strength, you do not know when this human body perish. Even though man's life-span is said to be a hundred years, one can never be sure still. Death may strike in childhood or in manhood or in old age. That is a certainty. One should strive to know oneself before the death overtakes one.

The real Self or Universal 'I' is eternal as it is identified with the Atma. It is this 'I' which you should strive to know by enquiring, "Who am 'I'?" 'I' is not the body; it is neither the mind nor the intellect. 'I' is not the Chitta (reflective mind); 'I' is not the Antahkarana (inner motivator). 'I' is just 'I'. Once you understand the true meaning of 'I', you will understand everything in the world.

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This site is hosted by Parimal Patel and was last updated on the 12-Feb-2002