|
Home
Doors
Essays2007
Essays2008
Essays2009
Essays2010
Wisdom
Gallery
Links
Bios
Contact
|
..:: The Body ::..
By
Alan Schneider
All that we know of experience and
consciousness either comes to us through the body, or in
relation to the body. What ever this existence may be, the body is
clearly the perceptual anchor that holds us in it. This even applies to
the great range of extra-personal, that is, spiritual, phenomena
of perception, and the subconscious realms as well frequently one and
the same perceptual region these occur locally in our personal
awareness, however altered that state of awareness may have become, and
regardless of the possible or probable origin of the stimulus in
question.
On a verifiable, scientific
level, the body is composed of various proteins and acids suspended in a
solution of water actually well over ninety percent water. This
intricate mixture of many chemical elements not only sustains a
metabolism, but sustains the electrodynamic central nervous system
referred to so often in these essays, which, in turn, sustains the
psychological mechanisms of perception including the self-perception
also often our subject in SYNERGY the ego. Beyond this,
science also indicates the operation in awareness of many unsensed
but still influential psychological states acting in the
subconscious region of the mind. To this day, the difficulty of
scientific observation of these states has frustrated the researchers
involved in the behavioral investigation of consciousness, resulting in
much long standing controversy and many diverse, and often conflicting,
theories of awareness and behavior.
Beyond the purview of
science, the landscape of consciousness becomes even more confusing, as
every manner of popular, pseudo-scientific, and spiritual interpretation
vies for out attention and certification. And the non-verifiable
context of most of these theories throws the door wide open to wild
conjecture of all kinds, further complicating the situation for the
human observer who must make sense of this world.
Now, some of the preeminent
spiritual theories of perception are notably more sensible than others,
at least in the admittedly subjective opinion of this observer,
most notably Hinduism and Buddhism, although these also have their
irrational and fantastic features, to be sure. In particular, the Hindu
cosmological system is quite sensible as a Monistic theory of
Creation. The emergence of the Trinitarian Godhead of a Creator,
Preserver, and Destroyer from an initial unmanifest condition
(the Brahman), seen as the seed ground of creation and manifest form, is
both wise and logical. Hindu cosmology would say that the body is, or
is an expression of, Karma, created by the Godhead through the
action of the Kundalini Energy the primordial energy of Creation as
is everything else we can perceive as a physical form. This Karma can,
and eventually completely will, be converted to another foundational
Hindu concept, Dharma, through devotion to spiritual duty,
living, ritual, and study. The more we live in Dharma, the
closer to God we become while still alive in the body this is the
action of Right Hand Tantra seen in meditation, Yoga, and Hindu
rites of spiritual Ascension. Right Hand Tantra is offset by Left
Hand Tantra, the action of genital sexuality and associated
procreation and family life. Hindu cosmology describes the balanced
evolution of consciousness through four fundamental stages of life as
Tantra progresses from largely Left Hand practice to exclusively Right
Hand practice with the advance of age and wisdom the stages of
student, householder, renunciant, and teacher, again, a profoundly
logical, sensible system of thought.
For the practicing Hindu, the
body, apparently made of flesh, is really made of the Divine
Substance of Karma, and constitutes Gods gift of opportunity for
spiritual growth, exploration, development, and ultimately reunion
with the Godhead through Ascension. In fact, this spiritual system
holds that we never really leave the Divine Presence, and that the life
shown to us in sense perception is fundamentally illusory Maya
caused by the turbulence of activity on the Physical level of
consciousness. The practice of meditation progressively calms this
external turbulence, eventually revealing the Truth of Consciousness
as Love, Light, and Supreme Being in the ecstatic state of Samadhi
full reunion with God and the Divine Essence. To the Hindu, Samadhi
is our natural state of existence and perception, while Maya is the
result of Karma, and specifically that form of Karma experienced through
sense perception as the body. Ultimately, everything in this paradigm
is an expression of the highest mode of Divine Existence the Brahman
radiating forth into manifestation as the Godhead, even the Karma and
the body of flesh. We simply must choose to look away from the realm of
physical distractions long enough, often enough, and persistently
enough to identify the spiritual truth underlying the material
illusion.
Buddhism is essentially an
outgrowth of Hinduism, one that occurred under conditions in which the
predominant Hindu philosophies of the time had become significantly
corrupt and materialistic. As a corrective to this spiritual malady of
those days, the Buddha (born to a Noble Hindu family as Prince
Siddhartha) prescribed a particularly austere lifestyle of renunciation
and spiritual devotion described as the Noble Eightfold Path,
still followed as the primary mode of Buddhist practice today. This
Path was conceived of as necessary to overcome the inherent
tendencies of the body to succumb to desire and Desire Action
the self-manipulative activities designed by the ego to gratify desire.
Such activities are seen in Buddhism as doomed to failure the
temporarily successful Desire Action only breeds addiction to the
senses, and is bound to fail with the advent of old age and infirmity in
any case. Yet, the body is prone to this fallen orientation, and
requires the sternest of corrective measures to turn it back to the Path
of Enlightenment. Buddhism perceives the body, nervous system, and ego
as the Dark Trinity of Materialism and Maya the collective enemy of
spiritual growth and development, and is significantly more severe than
its parent Hindu systems in that regard. The attainment of spiritual
grace and Enlightenment is seen as the only real hope of human beings
trapped in the storm of the senses and physical appetites created by the
body. Sadly, there is much spiritual justification for this viewpoint,
particularly when the many physical and mental addictions of the
flesh are considered indeed, it frequently appears as though we
born to be addicted creatures. The Buddhist is far less concerned
with the theoretical why of our manifest form than with the
how of treating its flaws and imperfections immediately, here
and now, in this life and this incarnation.
At the extreme of
renunciation, beyond even Buddhism, is the Jainism tradition.
Historically, the Jains would not even wear clothing, live in housing,
or accept anything other than the gifts of food they frequently would
not even voluntarily solicit for themselves. The original Jain
disregard and contempt for the body was truly remarkable, viewing it as
a chalice of filth, and appropriate only as a target of abuse and
degradation, since the spirit entrapped within it was unquestionably
afflicted by this prison of the flesh. The many physical
mortifications of the body seen in traditional India (and even some
quarters of India today), such as reclining on beds of nails, walking
and lying on hot coals, piercing and lacerating the limbs, and refusing
to eat or sleep, are traceable in many cases back to the Jain tradition,
where open warfare was declared on the physical organism without the
possibility of quarter or truce.
Of course, the West has its
many spiritual equivalents of the austere traditions of the East,
notably seen in the more severe sects of Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam, with equally, or perhaps even more, horrific abuses of the body
taking place. In the opinion of this author, such practices are heavily
psychologically motivated by severe childhood trauma, neglect, and abuse
that goes unrecognized and untreated, resulting in a life long hatred
for the body and the material condition of existence. As such, they
represent psycho-spiritual imbalances, not correctives.
There simply is no valid point in assaulting the body from any spiritual
or philosophical perspective for better or worse, this body is what we
have to work with in life, and assault does not equal
respect any more than does addiction or gluttony. How wise was the
Biblical admonition: All things done in moderation, and none to
excess! And, of the three Cabalistic routes to Ascension (Severity,
Mercy, and Mildness), the Middle Way of Mildness is by far the
most tolerant and appropriate one for most people to follow.
Although this cannot be
verified scientifically, the probable meaning of life seems to be that
we are intended to reach the highest level of awareness possible, a
process of psychological development that becomes increasingly
spiritual in character as successive levels of that process are
attained. The successful implementation of this meaning as a lifestyle
depends on respect for the body as the Karmic platform upon which
all subsequent perception is established. Yes, we can, should, and
do achieve much higher states of perception than the mere physical
gratification of desire, but if the terms of this achievement involve
significant levels of physical abuse and neglect, whether voluntary or
otherwise, the mantel of suspicion and scrutiny must be raised
regarding the personal motives of those involved. And, yes, the highest
states of spiritual bliss and radiance really do seem to
originate beyond the physical body, and point to a permanent realm of
existence beyond the flesh, but we still must take this on faith while
alive, without the comfortable assurance of science, and find
ourselves confronted therefore with the need to make whatever peace is
possible with our blood and bones as the known conditions of this
existence. As Buddhism has said, to Chop wood, and Carry water without
expectation remains the highest state of Enlightenment attainable!
- With Love, Alan -
(Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)
Return to Top
|