cont'd Amrta Upanishad written by Amma

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Aum Amriteshwaryai Namah,

 

Aum Namah Shivaya,

 

 

The body is the cause of sorrow. All sorrows are caused by the body, which is

nothing but a bundle of sorrows ensuing from the results of karma. We perform

every act egoistically, i.e. with the " I " thought. The ego is born from

ignorance. The body is sentient because of association with the effulgent Atma,

like a red-hot piece of iron in contact with fire. The Atma thinks 'I am the

body' because of association with Maya. This misconception is what ensnares all

beings in the meshes of samsara. Because of this, the mind does not reach the

path of Liberation. Depending on the balance of meritorious or sinful deeds one

performs, one gains a high or low birth. Actions, whether virtuous or not,

create a body. Some people, desiring to live in heaven, perform sacrifices and

charitable acts deemed virtuous. If they reach heaven after death, they can stay

there and enjoy heavenly bliss until the results of their virtuous acts are

exhausted. Thereafter, they will fall headlong into the lunar sphere, and from

there, they will unite with ice particles and fall on earth. Here, they become

edibles like rice grains that, when eaten by human beings, get converted into

blood. This becomes a man's semen, which is discharged into a woman's womb. It

is immediately enveloped by a sac of membrane and grows. A summary of this

process is as follows:

 

In one day, the semen and blood unite and become an embryo. After five nights,

it develops into a blob. After another five days, it becomes a lump of flesh. In

another 15 days, tiny drops of blood cover this lump. After the next 25 days,

limbs begin to sprout. In three months, the limbs will have joints, and in the

fourth month, fingers will appear. Parts such as gums, nails, the generative

system, nose, eyes and ears appear in the fifth month. In the sixth month, holds

develop in the ears. In the seventh month, the genital organ, umbilicus, arms

and mouth develop. In the eight month, the hair on the head and other parts of

the body will start to grow. In the ninth month, the fetus starts moving its

hands and legs in the womb. From the fifth month onward, life force will be

manifest in the fetus. The essence of the food eaten by the mother is drawn by

the umbilical cord placed at the mouth of the uterus and attached to thin

vessels that convey the food essence that nourishes the fetus. After the body

has become developed and the life force has become fully manifest, the child

remembers its past births and thinks, " O God! In how many different wombs I have

been born! How many evil acts I have performed!How much wealth I have

accumulated through unjust means! In those lives, I never remembered You or

chanted Your sacred names. O God! The suffering I am undergoing now is a

consequence of all that. When will I be able to get out of this hell? If born

again, I will never do anything evil. I will do only virtuous acts within my

capacity. "

 

With such elevating thoughts and prayers to the Lord, and on completion of 10

lunar months, the child emerges through the vaginal passage under the pressure

of the force of labor. However much loved and cared for by parents, the sorrows

of childhood are unbearable. Likewise, it is certain that people suffer miseries

in one form or another even in youth and old age. Why expatiate much? The body

is only a bag of sorrows. It is because of identification wtih the body that

beings experience pleasure and pain. It is a fact that the sufferings of birth

and death are caused by the body. The Atma is eternal and separate from the

gross and subtle bodies. Realizing this truth and giving up love for the body,

live as a Knower of Atma. All ignorance will disappear once you know that the

Atma-ever pure, ever peaceful, imperishable, ever awake, non-partial, beyond all

qualities, the one Self of the whole universe, the supreme Brahman-is separate

from teh phenomenal world of Maya. Bearing this principle in mind, live on earth

until all your prarabdha karma is exhausted.