Mystic teachings of antiquity have always taught that we are more than just our bodies, that we are divine sparks undergoing a physical experience through the medium of our physical bodies. The main thrust of mystic practices has been to transcend the physical in order to realize the divinity within and experience the supernal realms of existence. For most people, transcending the physical would mean denying many of the things that an ordinary person would consider normal, be it in terms of diet, material possessions, participation in everyday affairs, and so on. In this case, spirituality has been equated with self-sacrifice. For me though, while a certain amount of restriction and discipline is indeed necessary, living the life of an ascetic is not always the best path to enlightenment. In fact, too much withdrawal can leave a person ungrounded and out of touch with the needs and sensitivities of everyone else. This neglect can even lead to the failure to take care of one's own body.
However, everything in the universe has its place and this would include the physical world. This wonderful biological construct called the human body is a marvel of sacred geometry and the miracle of life, therefore it makes no sense to discard it while we are not yet done with our time in this world. While this may seem at odds with how many people would view spirituality, I found something interesting in the field of athletics that may help shed some light on the role of the physical in driving our spirituality forward.
We've all heard the saying that boxing is 90% mental and 10% physical. However, for anyone who has actually taken up boxing, it's very physically demanding to the point that one would say it's all physical. One boxing website I visited goes so far as to say that: Boxing is 90% mental and 10% physical. But that 10% physical requires 100% of your physical capacity.
Now here's the interesting point. According to the same boxing website I mentioned earlier, professional fighters have developed their physical capabilities and conditioning to the point that in the ring, they're not thinking or focusing attention on their physical body anymore, leaving their minds free to think of strategy and outsmarting the opponent. That's where the 90% comes in, after you've basically mastered your physical conditioning.
There's an interesting parallel in the selection process for special forces soldiers. If you've watched any of the military-themed shows such as Discovery Channel's Surviving the Cut or History Channel's Special Forces, you will see that prospective special forces candidates are run through a meat grinder of physical challenges such as forced marches with heavy loads or long distance swims, usually with little or no rest, lasting several weeks until only the toughest remain and earn the opportunity to be trained as a special forces soldier.
In one episode, one of the selection instructors was interviewed. The sergeant who was interviewed said that the selection process is structured such that physical fitness can only carry one so far. Beyond a certain point, pushing on becomes a mental effort. He said the physical body's limits can be pushed as long as you're mentally strong enough. And it's these soldiers that the instructors are looking for, those who can dig deep and push forward in situations when someone less mentally tough would have given up. Often it's not the big, muscular or athletic ones who make the cut.
In both the boxing and special forces examples, the way to transcend the physical is to fully engage it rather than to shun it. Again, the case of the famous Shaolin monks comes to mind. These monks develop themselves to the pinnacle of martial arts prowess, but only as a means to get to the next level.
Many modern esoteric authors categorize Eastern/Oriental mysticism as inward looking, or focused on detachment, while Western/Occidental mysticism as more focused on mastering one's surroundings and being participative. But actually, they are two sides of the same coin, because you can find elements of both inward and outer directions from both sets of traditions.
For instance, the several systems of Indian yoga develop particular aspects of the self. The more popular Hatha Yoga develops the physical/etheric body, and the early fame of Indian yoga comes from the extraordinary physical feats performed by certain yogis. Bhakti Yoga develops one's emotional body through devotion and this is furthered through Karma Yoga, or compassion in action. Rajah Yoga strengthens the mental body and increases soul contact. Every level is important, which is why the physical is not overlooked.
In the book A System of Caucasian Yoga by Count Stephan Colona Walewski, there is a passage that reads:
I am on this earth,
to reclaim the earth,
to turn the deserts into paradise,
a paradise most suitable to God and His associates
to dwell therein.
Like any mystic knowledge, there are several levels of meaning to the above prose. On one level, the earth refers to this physical plane and we should also work to improve our surroundings and help other people when they need spiritual nurturing. On another level, the prose refers to the perfection of the body that the I AM presence is working towards.
The Freemasons refer to the self as the inner temple, symbolized as Solomon's temple that was built "with neither sound of hammer nor iron tools." But as with any building, the foundation has to be strong which is why if you look at the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, Malkuth (Kingdom) whose planetary association is Earth, rests at the bottom. But immediately above Malkuth is Yesod (Foundation) and it is on this Foundation that all the other sefirot rest.
A Spanish proverb puts it nicely: A person too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.
As we go further on this spiritual journey of ours, we are called to realize the importance of every aspect of our being, and this includes the physical. Let us properly build our foundation lest we encounter instability on the path later on.
