NEEDS OF YOUR BODY

Articles In This Section:

· MEN AND WOMEN ARE LOOKING FOR LONG LIFE

· NEEDS OF YOUR BODY

· ABSOLUTE MASTERY OVER THE MIND AND EMOTIONS

· THREE MAXIMS TO KEEP IN MIND

· NOTHING BEYOND THE HUMAN REACH

So much for the needs of your body. As for rules of conduct, a Yogi, remember, expects to live by high standards. He must overcome fear, be honest with himself, be sincere, aware of others and must never hurt anyone. Self-knowledge is a most important goal. One of the objects of Meditation is to learn to see yourself as you really are, which isn't necessarily as others see you. Once you have reached this stage of understanding of self you will also have reached a far greater understanding of your fellow human beings. You will then experience a great sense of belonging, of oneness with those around you—something which in this age of isolation and alienation is the greatest possible boon.

Jealousy, anger, envy, hate are not only to be avoided—they are emotions unworthy of one whose philosophy attempts to encompass true understanding of others. As your own self-searching bears fruit, you will find these unwelcome emotions more and more foreign to you. For, knowing that the shortcomings of others are no worse than your own, you will look upon them with tolerance. And as you yourself tend more and more to be well-disposed toward those with whom you come in contact, they in turn will respond with greater good will and positiveness toward you.

Tolerance, charity, compassion are to be cultivated and soon will become a happy habit. This in turn will bring its own dividends. You will find yourself more and more at peace with the world, no longer permitting the imperfections of others to act as irritants. But of course this is not your prime aim in making yourself over. Few benefits are ever reaped from good will that is forced or faked in opportunistic fashion. In your relations with others as well as with yourself always remember you must be honest. Only then can you expect to know the joy of true serenity and be able to benefit from it. For there is no pretending with the inner man!

We hope that you have been practicing Concentration and Meditation—practicing them mechanically at first if need be —and that by now they have become sufficiently a habit to carry you a step further. Where at first the object of your concentration may have been a candle-flame and your meditation centered on the petals of a flower, now you should be ready to apply the same techniques to the solution of real problems. If you have a decision to make, consider the aspects of the situation at hand from all sides, weighing the pros and cons, projecting yourself into the future, trying to visualize how you would function under the circumstances that are being created. Do not day-dream—really concentrate on what troubles you—and the correct answers will come to you. For the answer to every question that concerns you deeply is within yourself, and you will discover what you must do if only you let the parts of the puzzle fall in place to form a whole. Use the tools of Concentration and Meditation for this.