Body is a Rock of Offence
By Karmayogi
In our tradition, the body is
described as a repository of darkness. Psychologically, the body is the
subconscious. Sri Aurobindo says several religious traditions believe that the
Body is a Rock of Offence. To Him, the body is the crown of creation. All of us
believe we are GOOD. It is a universal truth. Occasionally we meet with someone
who believes himself to be not good or reliable. He is one who is aware of his
body or the subconscious. Such people will have a penetrating insight. Their
judgement of men will be unfailing. If you are one who in your inmost recess
believes you are truly pious, good, benevolent, pure and unsullied and if you
want to know whether your belief is true or to what extent it is true, it is
easy to know it. You must be ready for a small experiment in observation.
We often slip in talk. Really, there is no such slip. It is the subconscious
peeping out into the surface consciousness. In delirium or drunken state the
subconscious spreads its wares. When full freedom is sensed, one’s greed
appears. These are excellent circumstances for one to commit any type of felony
but no one can know. If you have been in any of these circumstances, recollect
your urges. If your urges were good, you really are good. That moment offers an
acid test. Try to catch yourself when your tongue slips in important affairs. It
throws light on dark recesses. You can safely judge yourself by those
standards.
There was a young man who endeared himself to everyone and earned the name of a
‘Perfect Gentleman’. He could never go against his father who was an important
man in the community. This boy became engaged to a 14 year old girl, twelve
years younger to him, attracted by her bloom. He did so without consulting his
father. The father frowned on it, wanted his son to scrap the engagement in the
Church, describing it as a promise made in infatuation. Everyone who knew the
boy expected him to honour the alliance.
When several of his friends gathered to discuss his situation, he took a
cigarette packet from a friend, and pulled a single cigarette out of the packet
from the bottom side. His friend, who noticed it, knew he wanted to escape the
alliance. His act expressed his subconscious intention to get out of the
commitment through the back door. He did give it up and married another girl.
The body harbours our dark side and reveals it by notations. Man is Good on the
surface. Down below is a cannibal and a brute. Sri Aurobindo’s yoga has set
itself the task of transforming the body.