Reality as I see it: II - Dynamic competitive duality

The concept of the competitive duality between the Body and the Spirit coexistence within each living being has been enunciated earlier.
Body
Spirit

Any living Being is a combination of the Body and the Spirit - the ‘Spirit’ that is permanent and in a journey; and a ‘Body’ that is temporary and which belongs to the earth. The combination of these forces decides how a Being behaves and conducts itself. It is exhibited in every action, and decides the very nature and behaviour of each Being. We see people who are petty, greedy, jealous – these are led by the Bodily elements. In Chemistry, when we combine two elements in the presence of other enabling elements – in short, the WAY they are combined - give rise to different compounds. Similarly, the way the Body and Spirit is organised in each Being results in vastly different persons. Although the Spirit is the same, has the same origin; and all the Bodies originate from earth – when they are combined, they produce different personalities.

These differences are further accentuated by the origin of the Body on earth. Depending on where the body is originated, it come pre-filled with different desires. For example, although component of soil are largely same there are many variants of the soil. We see alluvial soils, black cotton soils, red soils and barren soils. We can grow only some types of crops in each of the soil. Without a major change, one cannot plant paddy in a barren land. Similarly, the place of origin of the Body counts in understanding how its behaviour would be. That however is only the base. The environment where the Being is raised would have substantial influence in shaping it up. For example, in the same barren land, if we drill a borewell and irrigate the land, yes, we can grow paddy there too. Similarly, a fertile alluvial soil can also be laid waste. What is crucial to understand is that the fundamental elements in all Beings are the same; the differences between them have lowly, earthly origin; whereas the unifying factors have high, heavenly origin.

Decides the general behaviour

This combination of the Body and the spirit in the presence of enabling factors decide the way a being behaves generally. That means we can slot a person as a ‘Bodily person’ or a ‘spiritual person’ depending on how the Body-spirit combination expresses itself. When we say a ‘Bodily person’, we need not mean that he is a bad person. He is only led by his senses and selfishly pursues pleasure-seeking activities. It only means that he can’t see the Reality and lives in ignorance that is bound to give him suffering in not too distant future. When we say, ‘he is a good person’, we are actually meaning that he is led by the spirit within rather than the Bodily elements. He is unperturbed by the disturbances caused by the earthly elements in the body. He tries to understand them, and channelises them in the direction that he wants.

Determines the actions

Behaviour is a collection of large number of individual actions and reactions in response to the stimuli from external environment. In both the individuals described above, there is a bit of both the Body and the Spirit. That is why we see some deviant behaviour in seemingly elevated individuals and some very spiritual actions by even the worst of goondas. In packing apples, let us say, our tolerance limit is 2% of defects. That means if a basket consists of 2 defective apples in 100, we say it passes. A basket that passes the quality test need not mean that ALL the apples are good. Similarly, a good person that we talked about in the previous Para has both Bodily elements and the spiritual elements within him. Although in each of his actions, he shows the predominance of the spirit over body, it does not mean that there are no bodily elements in him. In fact, some of his actions may even reflect the Body more than the spirit. Let us take the example of characterization of Krishna. If he has stolen the butter, acted in a way a bodily person has acted, that particular action is a reflection of the bodily elements within him. However considering the overall persona, we look at the power of divinity expressed through his myriad other actions.

If all Beings act both bodily and spiritually, what is the tolerance limit to slot a person? It is a very difficult question indeed! Even identification of all actions is a difficult process – leave alone decide whether it is predominantly Bodily action or Spiritual action. Unlike assessing apples, assessing actions of a living being is exceedingly complex since they reflect both the body and the spiritual elements in proportions that constantly vary, as the actions of the individuals are changing every moment in response to the environmental stimuli.

Since rating each individual action is impossible, we can try to understand which force is predominant in each of us while we generally act. Suppose a Child who is very overweight has been advised by the doctor to avoid chocolates. On the way back from the school, she is overcome by the urge to eat chocolates. She goes to the shop nearby, buys 5 chocolates and feasts on them. At that time, she is accosted by the father.
The father asks, ‘Why did you act the way you did?’
‘I felt hungry’.
‘If you have felt hungry, you could have had bread!’
‘But there is no bread in the shop!! and if I did not eat, I would have collapsed of hunger!!’
‘Okay, if that is so, eating 5 chocolates necessary?’
‘Actually no!’

Three questions

Quality Control has become a watchword in the manufacturing business. We now talk of Total Quality Management, the Six sigma – which underline the need to keep checking the product constantly, at every level – in order to deliver products that are virtually defect free. Six sigma means there can be only 2 defects per billion units produced! Sad that the same man who could think of such advanced concepts in quality management does not apply the same to his own actions in real life.

If concept of Six sigma is to be applied to the actions of the living beings, we can do so only when we are highly AWARE of ourselves and our actions. We therefore need to UNDERSTAND ourselves. We need to deliberate on each of the actions to decide whether it originated from the Body or from the Spirit. If it has originated from the body, we can reduce its influence and restore the predominance of the spirit. We can do that by asking three questions:

1. Why did we act the way we did?
2. Could it have been avoided?
3. Could it have been postponed, reduced or tempered?


The Body and the Spirit

‘That is fine, but how do I know what is the Body and what is the spirit within me?’

By Body, I do not mean the physical structure that we live in. It is that, and much more. It expresses itself in seeking pleasures, comforts which are highly temporary. So any expression of a Being which seeks things ephemeral is an expression of the Body. Body is that part of us which is rooted in earthly elements. It therefore demands fulfillment of earthly desires. It feels that raising a family, having children, earning for posterity – are real. It gets angry, feels upset if it does not get what it wants, and gets jealous if someone else succeeds. It wants to accumulate the physical possessions. It would vociferously argue that since we SEE these things, they are actually REAL. Body seeks evidence in physical form. True to its roots, it cannot see beyond what it can see with the physical senses. The problem with this feature of the Body is that its pursuits sap the spiritual energies.

The Spirit in us represents the cosmic force that caused us. It is calm, bright, sober, peaceful and is placid. It is in pursuit of permanent happiness that has no relation with the earthly presence. It wants to complete the journey from the source – through the earth, to the Destination and from Destination to the source - unsoiled by the earthly desires that Body, its vehicle, represents. If in the process of residing within the Body, it picks up earthly muck, it has to undergo a cleansing, washing process when it reaches the Destination.

Actions represent this Body-spirit continuum (BSC)

Both Body and the spirit represent themselves in varying proportions in each of us and in each of our actions. The proportion of body and the spirit in each of us is highly dynamic and keeps changing. This is the reason why we behave in ways contradictory at times. Suppose you get angry and lose temper - The body is asserting itself. When you regain your composure - the spirit is taking control. The person has moved on the Body-Spirit Continuum (BSC) from one end to the other.

In each of the activities that Beings indulge in – there is an expression of both Body and the Spirit.

Let us think of the most common occurrence, the attraction we feel to the opposite sex. This attraction is a mechanism devised by the Body - in order to ensure its continuity through creation. If there is no attraction, the Body will remain inert and inane; cannot express itself and would remain motionless (which is its primary characteristic). Attraction to opposite sex is therefore an expression of Body. Body element seeks the opposite sex for fulfilment of desires – the sexual desires, the desire to own, the desire to possess. This attraction can be seen across the living organisms and therefore perpetrates the Body. When a Being woos the opposite sex through various colours, various ways - the energy of the spirit is being used by the body for the purpose of sexual fulfilment.

But the Spirit, per se, is beyond sexual attractions. It might seek others, its fellow passengers in this journey, without any expectation and seeking nothing. Just as we converse with fellow passengers on a train journey without seeking anything in return, spirit converses with other Beings.

Let us see how this continuum works in a typical man-woman relationship. If the two Beings seek each other for fulfilment of desires, they are on the Body side of the continuum. All forms that have root in the bodily desires – the dreaming, fantasising, pursuing, wooing, loosing sleep, going crazy etc – are all expressions of the Body. When a person gets afflicted by this, he should realise that the Body is trying to use Me (the spirit) to fulfil its own selfish goal – of self-perpetration.

Suppose if the seeking is without any expectation or attraction those Beings are acting on the spirit side.

In reality, the Being acts sometimes by the Body and sometimes by the Spirit. If one flirts with the opposite sex, she/he is on the bodily side of the BSC; the moment she/he addresses him/her as a fellow traveller, she/he is moving on to the spirit side of the BSC.

In the above graph, the Y axis shows the Body-Spirit continuum (0 – pure Body level and 10 – pure spirit level) and X axis shows the series of actions a person exhibits.

Most usual occurrence is the movement along the BSC constantly in a zigzag manner. A person in this stage is a mix of the bodily wants and the spiritual control. Sometimes, the bodily pursuits take over leading him on the path of bonds and desires. When they lead to grief, he is repentant and vows to follow path of virtue. That is temporary. He goes again on the path of pleasure seeking. He is confused with his own feelings. He commits mistakes, does things he knows should not be doing. When he does the things dictated by the Body, he is troubled by guilt and returns to the spiritual side. But that State is again temporary. He returns to the pursuit of bodily wants and comes to grief all over again.

Only a person purely dictated by his bodily pursuits will remain placid on the lower end. He/she lives in happy existence – like the pig in the mud. In the feeling that he is happy, he does not realise that he is expending all his spiritual energy on pursuits which are purely temporary and which give grief in the long-run. He is living for the present, mortgaging his future.

On the other hand, the person led by his spirit remains stable at the top-end. He is not free of the bodily elements. But he realises and feels his bodily wants; and then he regulates, CHANNELISES them for the larger vision of the spirit. He does not suppress the bodily elements, he only commands them, and uses that energy in a positive direction.

The flowing stream

Let us take the example of the stream in motion. The stream is flowing through your land. If that water is left alone, it goes waste into the ocean. It also destroys, causes floods, and erodes the land around it.

The person following the Bodily pursuits and living in a bodily state watches the water flow by. He goes by the tide and flows the direction that it takes. For him, it is most comfortable to let the stream flow the way it does. No need to exert and no effort needed. No anxiety either. There will only be grief when the water of the stream is not used for cultivation; and when the stream drowns all that he has by flooding.

The middle person tries to use the water to irrigate the rest of the land. He uses a motor to pump up water. But that motor will only pump water when there is sufficient water in the stream. When the flow becomes thinner, he goes hungry. When it swells up, it takes the land and the motor along. He comes to grief and tries to buy another motor and restart his life. He is moving up and down as shown in the graph.

A person led by the Spirit tries to understand the flow and constructs a dam above his land to store and divert water. He is free from the travails of not having water for his needs. He does not despise the stream for running through his land. Nor does he deny the existence of the stream. He understands that stream exists, does go through his land, and tries to channelise the stream flow to meet his objective. The solution is accomplished after hard labour of understanding the flow and after painstaking construction.

Beings in pursuit of Bodily activities lose their energy levels. They use their spiritual energy in pursuit of temporary goals that bring only grief to them. They operate with a negative spiritual balance, in way, go spiritually bankrupt. By pursuing these activities, the spirit gets clouded like the burning coal gets covered with cinder. Unless the coating is blown out from time to time, the fire will extinguish. The Beings who zigzag on the BMC, also lose their energy since they keep coming to Zero every time they are overtaken by the bodily elements.

The effort should therefore be to remain on the spirit side of the BSC, which would be possible only with constant training of the spirit in the ‘spiritual gym’.