Sharanagati

Concerning the body or health – usually we do not talk too much about this, that’s right. Because naturally by following the vaishnava life-style you avoid many reasons, many sources of risk. Дefinitely we should not neglect the body. But compared to the average, at least the basic energy input of the devotees is quite good. Because for example if you don’t smoke, if you don’t drink and if you don’t take meat –almost 90% of the possible risk sources are finished! At least in Hungary the first death reason is cancer, which is very directly connected with smoking, drinking and wrong type of eating. Second is circulation problems – but it’s all connected with your wrong life-style. So we are safe, so to say. If you follow this diet and these principles, you are safe from most of the problems.

But at the same time we should take care of the body, because there might be some specific necessities, that should be taken care of. What is the solution, if you have a house, you have a home and the bills are coming – what you will do? Ъou pay the bill. You don’t destroy your house in order not to pay the bill. In the same way, if we have a body, we have to pay the bill – we have to do this and that and satisfy this level and that level – to take care, not to destroy.

So we should take good care, but we should not have bodily consciousness – it is not our main concern, the body. But at the same time if you neglect something, which is very easy to cure at the beginning, when you neglect, then it’s very difficult to cure. We should not be fanatic about torturing the body. Why? Because this is not our property. If you surrender to Krishna, to guru, then you had given everything – even your body you offered in His service: “I’m Yours, my body is Yours, take it as an instrument.” And how can you neglect the possession of somebody else? You can break your own car, but never break the car that you borrow. If your body belongs to somebody else, you should take good care. So, basically this is my answer. But little fasting or not eating – that’s good, that’s for health, that’s not unhealthy.

If you have some bodily pain, immediately the level of your bodily consciousness is raised. Extremely! A little toothache… o, then you understand how much limited you are. So better we avoid these difficulties in order to focus more on our spiritual ideals. Even in “Bhagavatam” it is supported that you can desire for a healthy body, it’s no problem. For example when you are sick, what do you do? You go to your spiritual master and ask: “O, can you help me?” That’s good to consult, but when he says “go to the hospital”, you should go. Because he is curing the soul and not the body.