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Torturing the Body is an act of Demonic Tendency
April 16, 1988
Gurudev Shri Ramlal ji Siyag
Founder and Patron of AVSK, Jodhpur
Go to Sketch ‘Gurudev's Divine Writings’
Bhagwan Shri Krishna has described three kinds of people in the Bhagwat Geeta. While describing them, HE says
yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣha-rakṣhānsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūta-gaṇānśh chānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ (17:4)
    Gurudev Ramlal Siyag's speech

  • Those in the mode of goodness worship the celestial gods; those in the mode of passion worship the yakṣhas and rākṣhasas; those in the mode of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

    • aśhāstra-vihitaṁ ghoraṁ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ
    dambhāhankāra-sanyuktāḥ kāma-rāga-balānvitāḥ (17:5)

    karṣhayantaḥ śharīra-sthaṁ bhūta-grāmam achetasaḥ
    māṁ chaivāntaḥ śharīra-sthaṁ tān viddhy āsura-niśhchayān (17:6)

    - Bhagwan Shri Krishna

  • Some people perform stern austerities that are not enjoined by the scriptures, but rather motivated by hypocrisy and egotism. Impelled by desire and attachment, they torment not only the elements of their body, but also, I who dwell within them as the Supreme Soul. Know these senseless people to be of demoniacal resolves.

  • While keeping the above in mind, if we observe the spiritual practices prevalent today, we will find that most of these are motivated by the ‘Tamsik’ tendencies.

    • Explaining the three types of tendencies, Bhagwan Shri Krishna has said:

  • āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ
    rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛidyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ (17:8)

    Persons in the mode of goodness prefer foods that promote life span, and increase virtue, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, succulent, nourishing, and naturally tasteful.

  • kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣhṇa- tīkṣhṇa-rūkṣha-vidāhinaḥ
    āhārā rājasasyeṣhṭā duḥkha-śhokāmaya-pradāḥ (17:9)

    Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, very hot, pungent, dry, and full of chillies, are dear to persons in the mode of passion. Such foods produce pain, grief, and disease.

  • yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ pūti paryuṣhitaṁ cha yat
    uchchhiṣhṭam api chāmedhyaṁ bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam (17:10)

    Foods that are overcooked, stale, putrid, polluted, and impure are dear to persons in the mode of ignorance.

    • It has become a norm to torture the body in modern spiritual practices. Swami Vivekanand Ji once said:

  • “In today’s world, skinny and lean people are considered as high-class spiritual practitioners whereas spiritual practice has nothing to do with it. If the spiritual power even passes by a weak person, he will not be able to tolerate it. Hence, it is necessary for a spiritual seeker to be healthy in body, mind, and intellect. In the absence of it, a person cannot do ‘Sattvik’ spiritual practice.”

  • A practitioner of ‘Sattvik’ spiritual practice should take care of his diet and health. We find that nowadays people of the spiritual world are addicted to different kinds of intoxicants which make them lazy, inactive, and dull. How can anyone do spiritual practice in such a state? To justify their actions, they have spread the wrong notion in society that it is compulsory to use these intoxicants for spiritual practice. In this way, by fooling the society in the name of spirituality, thousands of such people are having fun all over the world. This is the reason why people’s faith in God and religion is continuously decreasing.

  • Hence, it has become necessary to bring about change in the spiritual world. People are not ready to accept any religious act which fails to bring about any result. The spiritual realm is also in the wave of revolution. The time is not far when the spiritual world also will be lit up by the ‘Sattvik’ light.

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