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example as in elephants and ants. I have seen the ants, dragging a grain of sugar at four o'clock in the morning. But the elephant lives in intoxication of grandeur.
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Release From Dehadhyas: 'I Am This Body'
Everyone in the world is stuck in the belief of 'I am this body'. They may claim 'this body is not mine', or 'this mind is not mine', but if someone were to call them stupid, they would not be able to sleep the whole night. This identification with the body cannot be broken until one acquires the knowledge of the Self. 'I am Chandulal', 'I am his uncle', 'I am her husband' or 'I am a father' are all connected to the belief of 'I am the body'. Unless this belief is broken, subtle and gross attachments remain along with the good and bad. The belief of 'I am the body' breaks the moment one gets the exact realization of 'I am the pure Soul'. After Self-realization, even if one's only son were to die, no feelings of gloom and grief would ensue. No sense of right or wrong or any duality would prevail.
Just as the sense of 'I am the body' had become established, the awareness of 'I am pure Soul' should become established. This awareness should prevail even during deep sleep. With the knowledge that I bestow upon you, the belief of 'I am the pure Soul' will prevail in every circumstance. This knowledge is exclusive and extraordinary. Just as the curd and the whey remain separate after the yogurt has been churned, so do the body and the Self, after Gnan.
Gnanis of the past had undergone the severest of penance and suffering. They put their bodies through severe penance under the premise that if the Soul is the real 'I,' then it matters little what happens to the physical body.
Three Stages Of The Body
There are three stages of the body: childhood, youth and
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old age.
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Childhood is a stage of constant happiness and natural joy. Children have no worries. The milk for their nourishment is ready and overflowing even before they are born. Do babies have to worry when and where their milk will come from? And yet babies get everything when they need it. The Gnani Purush is just like a child but the child is in a state of ignorance whereas the Gnani Purush is on the highest pinnacle of knowledge and understanding and yet He is just like a child. A child's mind and intellect are not developed, only his chit is at work and its extent is only limited to the object of his enjoyment. For example, if a child sees a toy, his chit vruti will remain absorbed only in that toy until he finds something else. Their chit vruti cannot remain in one object for too long whereas for adults the chit vruti will become occupied in two or more different subjects and will keep wandering amongst them and that is precisely why all the problems arise. A child will forget after a while and that is because a child's chit vruti does not become fixed on one subject for too long. As long as a child's intellect is not developed, happiness is inherent and natural for it. But as the intellect develops, a child's discontent increases.
The youth stage of a human life is like a blazing fire. During this stage arise circumstances, which defile the youth's external conduct. Therefore it is imperative to exercise caution and vigilance. The celestial beings are not subject to birth, old age or death. They are perpetually in a youthful state.
Old age is a stage of decline. It is very difficult to go through old age. All the body parts begin to break down and fail; the teeth tend to break, the ears will ache etc. Great care is needed in old age. If the karmas are not very serious or heavy, one will leave this world while sitting in an easy chair. But people still want to cling on to life a little longer even when all
