Ramana Maharshi tells why scriptures recommend cleanliness of the body

[Guest guest]

The reason why the scriptures recommend cleanliness of the body [acharas] is

only to make one completely give up the attachment to the body through the

vairagya gained by knowing practically that, in spite of being repeatedly

cleaned, the filthy and fleshly body again and again becomes filthy.

 

A story illustrating the idea in this verse is given in The Path of Sri

Ramana – Part Two, appendix three, pages 224 to 228.

 

Those who happily take as ‘I’ their fleshy and filthy body, which converts

even pure food into rotten filth soon after it is taken, are worse than a

pig, which feeds on filth.

 

Those who take as ‘I’ their body, which takes in pure food and converts it

into filth, are worse than a pig which takes in filth and converts it into

filth.

 

Sadhu Om: Just as a man identifies his body as ‘I’, so a pig identifies his

body as ‘I’. Though both are equally wrong in identifying a

body as ‘I’, Sri Bhagavan points out how the body of a pig is superior to

that of a man! That is, the body of a pig eats only filth and

excretes it again as filth, whereas the body of human being eats good, pure

food and excretes it as filth. Therefore, Sri Bhagavan’s

verdict is that those who identify a human body as ‘I’ are worse than pigs!

 

Source: GURU VACHAKA KOVAI The Light of Supreme Truth or THE COLLECTION OF

GURU’S SAYINGS translated from original Tamil By Sadhu Om and Michael James

 

Guru Vachaka Kovai is the biggest collection of Bhagavan’s spoken teachings

that was thoroughly checked and revised by him during his lifetime. As such

it has a unique place in the Ramana literature.

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