9. The Body | Karmic Dress

How can we deny individuality? Look at all the individuals in this room. But then, it is to understand: are we the clothes that we wear? Is that what defines us, our dress? Well I mean, it does to a certain degree, right? What you wear defines you. So you can say, yes, dress defines, but shall that be the exclusive marker for defining an individual, is how they dress? No. That would be absurd to suggest that. If we look, that is literally clothes. Then we’re told, tamasā bahurūpeṇa veṣṭitāḥ karmahetunā [Ms: 1.49a]—the body is karmic dress. Shall that be the means to define an individual? Well, no. It should be, we can’t deny—someone is a human being, someone is a dog, someone is a tree. Right? And we are responsible for the karmic dress we are situated in at present.

But if we limit defining ourselves to that, that would be as if to limit defining ourselves to the clothes that we are wearing. Why should we do that? So this simple type of analysis, you don’t have to be a genius to follow this. If it is then not the body that defines the self, ātma, it is not the mind that defines the self, or the intellect, then we start approaching where the soul is located.So, how that soul should proceed on the basis of their individual position? How should they make progress and move forward? Where will they get that direction from? From the acquired tendency they have? The way they have been calibrated by their false ego and acquired prejudice and tendency to read environmental circumstances—will that be the best way for them to proceed? I don’t think so. They are getting false readings. False ego means the false read of the environment, who you are, and what your relationship is. And, for lack of a better word, it is unscientific. It wouldn’t be acceptable in science, you’d have to recalibrate.

So, spiritual culture is about recalibrating your position on the basis of your reality potential as a soul in self-expression; a dedicating unit; a unit that is capable of dedicating every atom of its existence to something higher. Not trying to devour, to acquire, control and consume things which are lower, to produce satisfaction, but to dedicate oneself to something higher as a means of achieving self-fulfilment, self-realisation, self-satisfaction.