Welcome to Day 31 of our 40-Day Retreat.
The last two days we have been dealing with a beautiful subject - the subject of love. Today we explore the ego in physical expression, and not just gross physical but also vital expression in the human experience at the lower levels.
See your body in a different light
I am speaking here about the lower areas as the navel area, the sacral area and the base area, in terms of the chakras or the energy centers. These are very important areas in the human experience, although in the spiritual journey sometimes they are not given the importance they ought to be given. The body is sometimes viewed as the lesser or lower part of us. Some people, through penance and austerities, try to conquer the body, as it were, and to dull the senses of the body, or to fight against the survival instincts of the body, the need for physical gratification in terms of the senses. It is the way of the body: to eat, to reproduce and to get involved in physical activity.
Today, as we explore the ego expression through the body, it is the beginning of viewing the lower centers. It allows me the opportunity to look at the holistic nature of the human being, that we are not just physical beings; we are spiritual beings in a human experience. Of course, the spiritual part of us is the more important. But the physical part of us is also vitally important in the human experience. It allows us to have the experience of the world, and if we are in a healthy body it allows for well-being on the journey.
On the spiritual journey keep a healthy body
You do not want to travel on a journey in a vehicle that is not travel worthy - shutting down all the time. More time is invested in looking after the vehicle than in actually enjoying the journey itself. I do believe that if you have the gift, and I say gift of a physical body, then you have the responsibility of taking care of it, so that the spiritual journey in the body will be an enjoyable one. The goal of the spirit, of course, is to discover and realize itself in fullness. But this is best done in a healthy body. It is unfortunate that in ignorance, people try to subdue the body: fasting, not speaking, creating a detached relationship with the body, almost as if the body organs and cells are not a part of them in the human experience. It is like when parents neglect children.
Physical body has organic intelligence
The lower centers allow you to energize the body and its functions. Today I want to help you to see the physical body perhaps in another light, a very important one. The physical body, though a vehicle of the spirit, is the dwelling place of the spirit. It also has an organic life of its own, and this for me is an extremely important point. Only when my consciousness reached a certain level, I was able to appreciate this distinction of the body as having an intelligence of its own, a life of its own, an individuality as it were, of its own.
Distinction between soul and body consciousness
In my opinion you see this in the womb of the mother. The body of the unborn child is a part of the mother. It is still connected by the umbilical cord to the mother, so it is fed and nourished by the mother. It also has its own little brain and its own little system. There it is in an organic form. Some say the soul is in the body then, but my personal belief is that it isn’t yet. It has organic life, organic individuality like an organ, fed and supported by the mother but has no soul consciousness to express.
This is not to say that organic consciousness is not without spirituality because every cell carries a spirit. Every cell is a fundamental expression of spirit. It still carries spirit but in the body cells. And it still carries a system intelligence because, though it operates with cellular intelligence, it is also operating like a system: the brain and heart. So it carries system intelligence; it carries cellular intelligence, but it does not yet, in my opinion, carry spiritual intelligence.
In hypnotic regression done, very interesting information has been given: that when the body is coming through the birth canal, the soul begins to descend. When people were regressed, they began to say that in the birth canal coming down, that’s where the soul enters the body. For me, the reason is that the umbilical cord is on its way to being cut, and there will be the separation from the mother, so it now needs a different support. It needs to be on its own, and so the spirit enters. The house or dwelling place is completed; the vehicle is completed. The owner needs to be there.
When the body comes out, then the soul consciousness comes into the body. This is my personal belief. This is how my personal experience feels: that I live in a body, I can appreciate my body as having organic intelligence beside my soul intelligence. When I think of “me, I” I think of my soul intelligence essentially, manifesting in a body of organic intelligence.
Sacral centre – its natural function
In the lower centers, for example, the sexual centre is a natural function of the biology of the body in reproduction. It is a natural function. The body was made to reproduce just like trees produce fruits and seeds. So at a certain age the body is naturally going to show sexual feelings. It is a natural part of human instinct. But the spirituality also supports that by having an energy centre associated with this area. And that’s an interesting function because it allows you to influence this area in a deeper or subtle level. (I will speak about this later on).
Navel - the vitality centre
The navel centre, which I will deal with today, allows the expression of vitality into the physical body from the soul consciousness. So besides the body having its own organic function through the food, through the brain, through the system being fed and nourished, the same consciousness can also super charge the body with vitality, subtle energy through the navel. This, for me, is the exciting part of it.
I can give my body more vitality, more personal magnetism, as it was, through the energy centre of the navel and the attention and intention of my soul power. That’s how I feel in the human experience. This is magnificent! I don’t know how to describe this for you. You have to begin to experiment and catch it. When that happens, it allows your spirit to magnificently manage the body. It is almost as if a new dimension is coming to you; as though you have new keys to open the doors where the controls are for this body.
Soul consciousness enhances the functions of the body
If you enjoyed my singing this morning, it is because of there. It was not just a physical voice. My navel centre was a central part of the whole thing. I was supercharging the whole body as I sang from the navel. That made the singing so much more beautiful, so much more energizing, so much more wanting to sing deeper and deeper. It was enhancing the energy of the satsang. It is all about the navel. Even as I speak to you now, the navel is giving me a wonderful power to enhance my voice, my vitality.
Again you see the distinction of the soul consciousness and the organic consciousness or intelligence of the body. When the body is in a coma, spiritual consciousness is not manifesting, so the body is there with cellular intelligence or organic intelligence. What does it do? It can’t do anything. It is a vegetable. Until and unless the soul comes back into it, it is a vegetable. That’s how the body is. But the beauty is that it has its own intelligence. It can repair itself. It can do things without your soul consciousness. But your soul consciousness enhances the functions of the body.
Beyond the gross energy of the body
With your emotional centre, for example, that we were discussing yesterday, you can actually hold your body in a loving emotional space. Then you are energizing your cells and organs, your system with subtle energy that comes from your love and your loving intention.
At the navel you can bring a vitality to the body that also comes from the breath that you take. When you breathe you are able to store energy at the subtle level, not the gross physical. You are able to store energy at the navel centre. So in yoga the breathing exercises associated with the navel are wonderful exercises to do and to begin to understand, because they give you a vitality that is beyond the gross energy of the body.
When you breathe into the navel area and if this centre is truly awakened, then you can actually feel that something is happening in the navel. It’s a great joy for me because no matter what I do, I can bring this centre into expression. And when I do so, the body just seems to come alive as though a light has been kindled inside the body. So when my body is ill or challenged physically and I begin to breathe into this area, as I focus into the navel area, I could see how the body begins to pick up more and give a different kind of subtle energy.
Eastern culture explores navel vitality
In the West we do not have this kind of wisdom, but it is there in Eastern culture. The Japanese have a whole culture around the subject of the navel. It is called hara. The Chinese have it as well. This is considered to be an energy storage centre in the Chinese teaching. It is called the Dantien centre, and it is one of the dantiens. There is one in the heart and another in the brow. But this is one of the energy centers.
In the system of yoga importance is of course, given to this centre. It is called Manipur centre, meaning the city of jewels. Here the jewel is really the vitality that allows the whole body to shine. This is therefore an extremely important centre, and you need to explore it. You need to begin to understand it. Breathing exercises can allow you to understand this centre a little more. When you focus here in concentration during your meditation, as you breathe this centre can be awakened if you have the guidance of a good teacher, a competent teacher.
Patanjali is a very famous teacher of yoga. In the book called Patanjali Yoga Sutrashe speaks about The Power of Concentration. Concentration, according to Patanjali, is not just focusing. It goes from broken to unbroken to complete absorption and that is called Samyana. He says that when you concentrate on the navel area, you gain knowledge of the body. For me, what he is saying is when you focus on the navel area, you create a more intimate relationship with the body, that you understand your body more and you have a better relationship with your body.
Cherishing the gift of the body
Focusing on the navel area gives a new kind of vitality to you. But I will need to speak about this more because my time is expired. It’s been an exciting subject and tomorrow I continue this with you. It is something for you to think about. It allows you to see your body in another light, as having an intelligence of its own, and being able to explore the distinction between your soul’s intelligence and your body’s intelligence. This for me is very exciting.
Just to say to you that coming out of the 40 Day experience in 1978, this became very distinct within me: that I and my body are different, and that I can enhance my body using my spiritual identity and power. Then of course, the wonderful relationship of loving my body in a different way, came. It is like having a child. You know it’s your child, and there is a love relationship between you and your child because this is a gift to you. And you have to take care of it. That’s how I feel about my body. It’s a gift. So in feeding it, exercising it, loving it I am really cherishing my gift.
I leave you with this today. 
