C: I have a question regarding the satsang a few weeks back. You corrected and cleared up a misunderstanding of the mind controlling the body. The body IS IN the mind. Makes total sense.
Sundari: Yes, the body is ‘in’ the mind (Subtle body) in that along with everything else, it can only be experienced there. Without a functioning mind, you would be a vegetable and completely unaware of anything, or you would be six foot under. But even with a fully functioning mind, if you are not thinking about the body, and it is in good health, you are almost unaware that you ‘have’ one.
It is only when we think about the body or it is in ill health that we are acutely aware of it. A body in distress can be such a burden to the mind, making it almost impossible to think clearly, be happy or at peace. Yet the body has the same unreality that the mind has. It is an object known to you, Consciousness.
It is a great gift to be born with a human body as only through that can moksa obtain. However, it is not strictly true that the mind controls the body. The body (and the mind) belongs to the field and is not actually ‘your’ body. Isvara controls the body and gives us the Subtle and Gross body we get. Nothing belongs to the jiva. Some people are born strong and healthy, both mentally and physically, and some not. The Subtle and Gross body you are born with are the result of “good or bad” karma and Isvara keeps it going until your prarabdha is exhausted.
As you probably know, the Subtle Body pervades the Gross body, except for the fingernails and hair, which is why you can cut them without feeling anything. Although the Gross body depends on the mind (Subtle body) and not the other way around, a healthy body which is well taken care of nonetheless makes it much easier for the mind to be peaceful, sattvic. A body sick or in pain affects the Subtle body making peace of mind (sattva) very difficult.
Therefore, taking care of the body is not about the body. It is about peace of mind in the Subtle body (mind). It is not about longevity for the body, either because how long we live does not equal quality of life. Self-knowledge, particularly guna knowledge and karma yoga, give us the tools we need to manage the mind and therefore, the body.
The important point to understand in the discussion on the body and how it relates to the mind is this: the Gross body does not pervade the Subtle body. The Gross body is a piece of meat. However, even though the Gross Body does not pervade the Subtle Body, it can and does affect it. It’s not a one way street. For example, if the body is severely injured it will result in the death of the person (ego identity), even though the Subtle body does not die but gets subsumed back into the Causal body.
If the Gross Body gets sick, depressed, has a headache or an unhealthy lifestyle making it dull (tamasic) or extroverted (rajasic), we can take actions to remedy this which will affect the Subtle Body resulting in clear, calm, and peaceful (sattvic) mind. It is not easy to do this when the mind is very ill or the body in pain, but sattva is always available. Self-knowledge makes it possible to manage the gunas for peace of mind regardless of what is going on with the body.
C: I’m reading BKS Iyengars ‘light on the yoga sutras of Patanjali’, 11.36.
Final sentence ~ “it is not our mind, but the inner voice of our cells which has the power to implement our intentions” This is confusing. I am planning to attend a talk about this sutra on ‘truth’. This statement appears contradictory.
Can you explain?
Sundari: To my knowledge, and this statement bears it out, Iyengar was not a jnani and not a qualified teacher of Vedanta. First of all, what is he referring to when he says ‘the inner voice has the power to implement intentions’? Is he referring to Consciousness or Isvara – does he even know what they are, and how the mind (Subtle body/jiva identity) relates to them, the common identity between Isvara and Jiva being Consciousness? I highly doubt it.
It sounds like his statements are purely from the mithya perspective. Unless he is referring to Isvara (again, I doubt it) they imply a doer. Who or what is it that gives the cells the power to implement anything? It is the light of Consciousness that keeps the body going, but Consciousness is not a doer. It is only Isvara that could be called the ‘doer’, if Isvara was a person, which it is not. It is the intelligence of the field that arises from Consciousness that ‘powers’ the body.
If we look at the body/mind from the satya perspective (and remember – to be able to discriminate between the two orders of reality is what matters) the Subtle Body has a similar relationship to the Gross Body as Consciousness has to mithya (the apparent reality). There is an interdependence from the jiva’s perspective—but not from Consciousness’s point of view because the body and Consciousness exist in different orders of reality: The Subtle body, which contains the Gross body, is mithya or apparently real (not always present and always changing) and Consciousness is satya, real (ever-present and unchanging).
There is no way to understand this or discriminate Consciousness from the objects that appear in you unless other than to step out of Maya with Self-knowledge. I could be wrong, but it does not seem that Iyengar can do that. Our body does have an innate intelligence because the light of Consciousness shines on and in it, and Isvara controls it. We can manage the mind and therefore influence the body with dharmic lifestyle choices and with Self-knowledge.
I would not rely on any teaching outside of the incontrovertible teachings of Vedanta to resolve any confusion. Only by having solid knowledge of the difference between satya and mithya can you resolve any issue that arises from ignorance.
I hope this helps
Much love
Sundari
