Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 7

THERE are, as we know, three elements in the culture of the body: first, the body must remain healthy; secondly, it has to become strong; and finally, it must be efficient.

First, the question of health. The body must remain free from disease, which means that all its organs must function without let or hindrance, as in the heart's function of the circulation of blood, the lungs in their work of respiration, the digestive system in its work of assimilation and elimination. Besides, if there is any defect or shortcoming in any part of the body, it too has to be remedied; if there is an irregularity or disfunction in the shape or movement of a particular limb, it has to be rectified, the disparity removed and the functioning made normal. For this purpose, there are special remedial exercises to serve the particular ends. No medical prescriptions can have the last say in this matter, the aid of the physical culturist is also called for. But even medical men are now prescribing yogic exercises like asana and pranayama for health purposes. Once the body is in good health, it needs to be made strong and given fitness and capacity. To this end we have recourse to special exercises known as gymnastics. The third stage of physical culture consists in making the body able and efficient; this may be described as the utilisation of the body's strength and capacity. This is where calisthenics or agility exercises come in, with their dexterity and beauty of bodily movements. The major games like football, hockey and cricket may also be brought within this category.

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All this is known to us all. But what I have in view is something different, something a little deeper. It concerns another phase or aspect of physical culture. What I mean is that the body must not only be healthy, strong and efficient, it must also become conscious. Ordinarily, our bodily functionings and movements take place mostly without our knowledge, as in an unconscious instrument or machine. The aim of physical exercises should be to render the body a conscious instrument, through a willed and conscious process. Such conscious movements of the body not only make the objects of the movements fruitful in themselves, but also ensure the results in a fuller, more perfect and speedy manner.

The Mother has said that the movement of going up and down the stairs in the course of our daily work could be made to serve as a fine exercise if, instead of doing it in an unconscious mechanical way, we could do it consciously and with full concentration. One must feel and know that the movement is being performed; the legs too should be aware of the work they are doing. Performed in this manner, it is a fine exercise for the legs.

Now there are two ways of becoming conscious. To be conscious implies becoming conscious of one's self. This self can be the "I", that is, there is not only the "I" who does the work, but there is also the sense that I am doing the work while it is being done; whatever the nature of the work I remain aware all the time that it is I who am doing the work. But the "self" that becomes conscious may also be the individual consciousness of the particular organ or limb that does the work; it too becomes conscious in the course of the work that is being done. When, for instance, I run, not only do I remain aware that I am running, but all parts of the body that are involved in this running become themselves conscious of their action. That adds greatly to the success of the result. Thus to make the body conscious by infusing in its organs and limbs the movement of consciousness and vibrations of light, what the scientist

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would describe as "energising" the body – this is the real aim, the true utility of physical culture and exercises.

But one need not stop with this; it is necessary to rise another step. The body must not only become conscious, it must become rightly conscious. My consciousness, the one that stands behind all my action, is not mine, at least not exclusively mine; it is a deeper, wider, higher, consciousness. What works and manifests itself through my personal consciousness is another kind of consciousness. Thus we find ourselves within the realm of spiritual discipline, yoga-sadhana, by following the line of physical culture.

For, we must realise that the body can become healthy, strong and efficient with any kind of true permanence and integrality, only when its self-consciousness can be changed into the right consciousness. By right consciousness I mean a true and harmonious consciousness. It can come, in the first place, from the depths of our inner and inmost being; that is the consciousness of the inner self, the indwelling inner Being. It may be called the inner consciousness. And secondly, the right consciousness can come, not from within or at least not primarily from there but from the environment, from a wider expanse, a universal wideness extending beyond the limits of the individual ego. This we shall call the environmental consciousness. The right consciousness may on the other hand come from above, in the for of a higher consciousness. The "above" too has many levels or planes. The highest of these is called the Supreme Consciousness. There may be added an intermediary level of the higher consciousness which we term in general the Supramental, a consciousness which begins the first step rising beyond the mind-planes including the Overmind.

These then are the main gradations or steps in the growth of consciousness: (1) unconsciousness, (2) consciousness, (3) active consciousness, (4) inner consciousness, (5) environmental consciousness, (6) Supramental consciousness, (7) Supreme or Transcendental consciousness. These correspond

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to the seven layers of our being, sapta-kosa, the seven worlds or the seven oceans; these are the seven tongues of the Fire-God, Agni, the seven horses of the Sun-God, Surya. Any of these planes of consciousness can take charge of the being and its principal knot, the ego, with attendant consequences.

A common function of all right consciousness is to drench the being in light by transmitting its light, bring in a purity as a result of which even the body down to its gross material elements becomes thoroughly washed and purified. For acquiring health which is the body's first essential need, there is no better means or a more effective medicine.

In this way, the farther we ascend towards the heights and gain a higher status in our consciousness, the brighter becomes the light in its purity and whiteness. Likewise, the deeper we take the plunge within, there too the consciousness gets more and more profound and intimate and true, full of an intensity and force. These two movements, one towards the heights and the other into the depths, in time become simultaneous, become one in the end. The consciousness thus perfected brings in its turn a perfection of the body as well.

There is another point to be noted. This state of being "conscious" is not a mere outer remembrance, is not an activity of the discriminating mind, nor the kind of memory we use in repeating a lesson; it is rather a deep self-awareness and knowledge. To try to keep this awareness with the help of the logical mind cannot help, it can only hinder the action.

We usually speak of getting "engrossed" or "immersed" in what we do; we forget ourselves in our work, and it is such work as is done with this kind of concentration, that alone can be flawless and perfect. But concentration does not imply a state of unconsciousness. A clock continues to give correct time unconsciously, plants and even the lower orders of the animal world work without knowledge, unconsciously, and in most perfect order. In man however the infusion of consciousness has brought about a distinction between the "I"

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and the work which the "I" performs; I want to do my work consciously, hence I look upon my work and consider it as something apart from me. But it is precisely this that makes for imperfection in work, hedges it with doubt. When this consciousness in work is changed to right consciousness, then I can get back the unity or identity between the worker and the work; in the true consciousness there thus comes a conscious identity between subject and object. To repeat what I have already said: When I run, my running, the goal of my running, and myself – these three become unified in a conscious integral whole; I am aware not only that I am running, but also that I myself am that running and myself the goal; these three elements become one in a mutual embrace. There is an experience and realisation of Brahman which describes the trio of Brahman, brahmanda and jiva, the Supreme Reality, the manifested universe and the individual being, as forming a single unity, one undivided Consciousness strung together in a triple thread. To be one-pointed like an arrow, sara-vat tanmayo bhavet, does not mean that the arrow ceases to be and only the target exists – not that, but the arrow and its target become one, gathered together and unified as in an indivisible consciousness.

I had to bring in all this in order to explain that to become conscious does not mean that one becomes mentally conscious, only with the external mind. This may serve a temporary need, namely, that of removing unconsciousness, but it is not the true consciousness. To be truly conscious, one has to be conscious with the inner self, and that implies a union or unification that preserves the sense of individuality, a new kind of differentiated monism.

Anyhow, for ordinary mortals like us, however far-off this realisation might appear, at least a first step or two are within everybody's reach. Even a slight advance on this path gives one astounding results.

So we see how the culture of the body can lead up to the spiritualisation of the body.

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