MYSTERIOUS BODY AND LIFE PRINCIPLE

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

MYSTERIOUS BODY AND LIFE PRINCIPLE
Salutations to the Lord who is the Creator of this body and life, who is life itself, who is the
indweller and ruler of this body and life, who is the source for the life, mind and this world, who is
Satchidananda, and who is the protector of all beings.
The Lord Himself has assumed the forms of body, mind Prana or life, organs, cells, tissues,
muscles, nerves, etc., through His illusory power, Maya, which is also known by the name Prakriti
or Nature.
The body is the mysterious palace of the Lord. This is His nine-gated city or Navadwarapuri
or Puriashtaka (city with eight groups). It is the most wonderful mechanism in the world. The
driving force of this body is the Lord because He gives force to the vital force itself. This body is the
moving temple of God.
It is a mysterious boat to cross this Samsara or the ocean of births and deaths. It was with this
boat that Sri Sankara, Sri Dattatreya, Lord Jesus, Lord Buddha and several others crossed this
formidable ocean of Samsara.
A spermatozoon, which is a millionth part of a drop of semen, and an ovum from the ovary
joined together give rise to the formation of this body. What a great mystery! That subtle power
which is the source for this semen and ovarian product, that subtle essence which sustains all these,
is thy own Self. That is Truth. That is Soul. Thou art That. realise this and free yourself from the
cage of bone and flesh.
The growth of the body with several limbs, organs, etc., from a tiny peck of semen, bespeaks
the omnipotence of the Lord. You will be struck with awe and wonder when you begin to think
seriously of the origin of this body.
In the embryonic stage when the child dwells in the womb of the mother there is no
difference between a male and a female child up to a certain stage. Both the male and female genital
organs are developed from the same Wolffian body which contains the female (ovarian) as well as
the male (testicular) tissue. By some unknown process of growth one of the tissues preponderates
and the distinguishing characteristics of sex are developed by about the third month. The testicles
are in the abdomen of the male child. They descend into the scrotal bag by about the seventh month.
What a great wonder! The Lord only, who is the source of all beings and the ruler of all creatures,
knows Himself by Himself.
This world is “Manomatram Jagat” or “Manah Kalpitam Jagat.” Only the mind has created
this world. In reality there is neither world nor body nor sex. The sex affair is a mere idea. It is mere
imagination. Male may become female and female may become male. Can a real entity change its
form? If testosterone or male hormone is injected in a female, she develops male characteristics.
Similarly, when testes substance is grafted on in a female, whose ovaries are removed,
masculination takes place. Conversely, the administration of estrogen or female hormones to
males, especially the castrates in whom the testes are removed, may produce feminization.
The partial feminine characteristics in a man are attributed to the persistence of ovarian
tissue in him and the partial masculine characteristics in a woman are ascribed to the persistence of
testicular tissue in her.
What is all this? Does this not prove that this world is illusory? How can a changing thing be
the ultimate Reality?
This body is made up of countless cells. The cell contains protoplasm, nucleus and other
inclusions. This was found out only after the invention of the microscope by about 1730 by
Leuwenhoek, a Dutchman. The magnifying power of the lens was something like 300 to 500
diameters in the beginning. He was able to see some comparatively big germs. With the use of the
microscope the cell-theory was formulated by Schwan in 1739. Now there is tremendous
magnification by means of suitable lenses. You can see the minutest microbe.
The house is made of pillars, walls, fittings, etc., covered by protective paints. Similarly,
this body-house is built up by bones, muscles, fat, etc., which are ultimately made up by
aggregations of various types of cells. The bones represent the stones and bricks, the muscles and
connective tissues the lime, and the skin the cement.
All the physiologists say that they have no knowledge of how living things first come into
existence. Starling, an eminent physiologist, says: “Life is indefinable for biological science, as
time and space are indefinable for the physical sciences. By this is meant that we cannot even
approximately define life without the idea itself being explicit in our definition. Our business is,
given living things, to study their phenomena.”
Claude Bernard, who is regarded as the father of physiology says: “Vital force directs
phenomena which it does not produce; physical agencies produce in living things phenomena
which they do not direct.”
Vital force is Prana. It controls and governs the different systems of the body. This vital
force itself derives its power from the Lord or the Indweller or the Inner Ruler.
The physiologists say: “We know only how urea is formed from the amino acids. We know
the gross processes that are involved in its formation and the formation of saliva, semen, etc. from
blood, but the actual formation by the living cells and the exact mechanism are still in the realm of
speculation only.” They will know this only when they realise the Lord who gives force to the vital
power or life and intelligence to the cells.