With the following words our Master emphasizes again the importance that we are conscious of the fact that our body and our mind are the instruments through which we experience life on earth and that our body is the temple of God!
“The vehicles that the spirit uses in order to experience life must help the spirit to become natural. These vehicles are the mind and the body. However great the musician, if the instrument is out of tune he can do nothing with it. To say that only the spirit matters and the body does not count is not right. Therefore it is necessary that first both mind and body be fit vehicles for the spirit to use.
The difference between a pious person and a spiritual person is this, that the pious person makes his mind and body ready for his own spirit to use, and the spiritual person, after making them ready, gives them to God. Piety is the first step and spirituality the next. There is no exaggeration in the saying that cleanliness is next to godliness. The body must be considered as the temple of God, and this sacred house of God must be made pure in every way; then the light of God is reflected in it.
One’s body is of all things in the world the closest to oneself, and its influence has a great effect, and an immediate effect upon one’s mind and soul. A great many illnesses are caused by the lack of consideration of the necessary cleanliness of the body, which is a science and an art in itself. On the soul and mind one’s own body makes the first impression, all other things come afterwards. Yes, there are souls who have arrived at such a plane of spirituality that the condition of the body does not matter to them. But they are not to be followed as examples. It is the normal path which is safe and is for all. The question, “Would this not give one too much the thought of self?” may be answered thus: the thought of oneself exists when the light of God is absent; in the presence of every beautiful thing man forgets himself”.
The Sufi Message, Volume XIII revised: Gatha 1, Everday Life
With our heartiest greetings,
Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity
With our heartiest greetings,
Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity