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Sant Tulsidas ji, the author of Ramcharitmanas (10902 verses), Hanuman Chalisa, Vinaypatrika,  was a 16th Century spiritual poet of Bharat (that is India) and his composition, Ramcharitmanas, continues to be the spiritual guide of Hindus all over the world till this day. He renounced his householder life after his wife once scolded his love for her by saying, if he was even half as devoted to God as he was to her body of flesh and blood, he would be redeemed.

Bharat is the oldest continuing civilization in the world. Bharat, etimologically, is made up of भा+ रत (Bha + rat). Bha means light/ gyan (knowledge). Rat means engrossed. Bharat is the land of people engrossed in seeking Knowledge. No surprise, Bharat is the land of Vedas, Puranas, Upnishads and Smritis. In Bhartiya literature tradition, manifest or observable is the field of science (Vigyan). Unmanifest or unobservable with the human eye is the field of gyan.  Indeed, manifest and unmanifest are the two realities of human life. And gyan and Vigyan are the two components of complete knowledge and wisdom. Modern education largely fails  because it doesn’t focus on gyan. It focuses only on Vigyan.

As per ‘Advait’ philosophy of Shankarcharya, human body is unreal, real is ‘Atma’ (Soul). Real is that never changes (like the Sat or truth).

Shankracharya says you are (your real self is ) atma and not body. That is self-realization. Indeed, it is a very powerful philosophy. Naga (as steadfast as rock) sadhus  are the best personification of that philosophy. We saw them in Mahakumbh 2025. (For more, you may please see Mahakumbh 2025- A Retrospect, www.kreately.in). For Naga sadhus  body is worthless in the service of Sanatan Dharma.

This philosophy that human body is secondary to Atma is restated in Ramcharitmanas also as

छिति जल पावक गगन समीरा। पंच रचित अति अधम सरीरा II

Meaning, body is made up of five elements of nature, namely, earth, water, fire, ether and air, and is lowest (nothing big or to be proud about; it decays and dies).

At another place, however, in Ramcharitmanas, it is stated that

बड़े भाग मानुष तन पावा, सुर दुर्लभ सब ग्रंथन्हि गावा।

साधन धाम मोच्छ कर द्वारा, पाइ न जेहिं परलोक सँवारा॥

Meaning, it is a rare fortune to get human body, that is rare even to devas, it is so stated in many holy scriptures. The human body is the entity to perform various endeavors, penance and sacrifices and the way to Moksha (detachment).

Body is the Vehicle of Atma

Indeed, body is the vehicle of Atma. You realize atma with the body. According to Hindu philosophy, there are 8.4 million species on this planet. Among 8.4 million, the topmost is human. Not because it is on the top of the food chain, but because, it is capable of four Purusharthas, namely, Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha.

Manusmriti

Manusmriti, the oldest Smriti written by a human, focused on Human as a class (jati, specie) among 8.4 million species. How should a human conduct himself/ herself for their growth and wellbeing? Manu offered his opinion/ suggestions.

The Narrative Building

The narrative building industry has been as old as the desire to colonize. English, Dutch, Romans, Portuguese, Muslims, have been well known colonizers of the last two millennium.

While prior to the last two millennium, there were manavs (humans) or sanatanis, Jain or boddh, from the advent of Christianity and Islam, colonizers divided human into Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikhs, Jain, Boddh and others. They created ranks and file, high and low, ruler and subject, elite class and ordinary masses. Mahakumbh 2025 negated all that non-sense. Visitors (660 million including 5 million from 73 foreign countries) to Prayagraj, a holy city in the State of U.P. in India, from all over the world walked together, bathed together, worshipped together, ate together, stayed together, travelled together.

Brainwashing by Colonizers

Colonizers  ‘brainwashed’ nationalist  natives through (noble sounding) educational scholarship. Economic aid till date is used to create national divisions and opposition. A smart native was one, highly admired by colonizers,  who abused his/ her heritage, culture and traditions. Mohammed Iqbal propagated two nation theory to divide India on muslim- Hindu basis. Dr Ambedkar burnt Manusmriti in 1927. The narrative industry called it the law of Manu whereas it was opinion/suggestion by Manu, based on his experience,  for the growth and wellbeing of humanity.

Beauty Parlors

There are 143343 Beauty Parlours in India as of January 23, 2025, according to https://rentechdigital.com. People are taking care of their (body) looks. The global beauty salon market size was valued at USD 155.60 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0% from 2023 to 2030, according to https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/beauty-salon-market-report.

Gyms

There are 96278 Gyms in India as of January 23, 2025, according to https://rentechdigital.com. Sweden and Norway have the highest market penetration rates with 22.0%; while India has the lowest with only 0.15% of the population being a gym member, according to https://runrepeat.com/gym-industry-statistics

If having a human body is a rare fortune, taking care of its fitness and living longer should be the goal of each human.

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