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58
SHRAMAN MAHAVIR
Mahavira held the two separate and experimented accordingly He aimed at demonstrating the ascending order of inherent strength of gross body, subtle body, mind and soul respectively. His prolonged austenities were a part of that experiment
'It is a common belief that if food and drink are denied to man his days are counted and if respiration is denied it's a matter of seconds But by doing without food and drink for six months the Lord demonstrated that the proximity of self renders the bodily needs nominal Sleep, hunger, thirst and respiration lose the significance we grant them
'Should I, then, infer that the Lord suffered from anorexia or loss of appetite
'No When he suffered from no ailment how can one infer such a wild conclusion?'
'In that case should I think that he subdued his appetites for food and drink'
'That again is no correct reasoning' 'How should we interpret the phenomenon then?'
'He would be so much self-absorbed that his hunger and thirst grew imperceptible'
'Is it feasible ?'
'And why not? It is the experience of Patanjali himself that samyam or concentration on the gullet (kanthakoop) dispenses with hunger and thirst'
'What do we mean by the term Kantha'
'Below the tongue there is a vein If one traces it down the throat one comes across the gullet or Kanthakoop'
'Pray, what is Samyam or concentration ?
'It is the threefold activity of dharana, dhyana and samadhi or concentration par excellence The one who concentrates on his gullet in these three successively emerging higher degrees of contemplation gets over the urges of hunger and thirst'
The Lord never sought to torture the body by suppressing his physical needs of hunger and thirst In fact, by his intense concentration these needs were reduced to the minimum
