It is often said that man is a union of body, soul and spirit. The nature of the body is clear; the word ‘soul’ denotes above all the mental make-up – feelings, thoughts – while spirit denotes the lasting part. Elsewhere it is put a little differently: man is a complex system of body, mind and soul. In this list, too, the nature of the body is clear; the mind is man’s subtler structure, where his thinking, his feelings and his willpower lie, while the soul is the transcendent, spiritual energy, the lasting soul-spark. If we examine earthly existence more closely, we find that on the subtlest plane of existence stands consciousness; from it springs energy, and from energy, in turn, matter crystallises.
On the physical level the survival of the material body is guaranteed by nourishment: that is, the organism takes in energy and food, and excretes waste matter. The in-and-out working of the alimentary canal is the key to survival. In the course of several years of study, a doctor is required to attend only a few hours of lectures on dietetics. Yet the quality of the energy you take in is the quality of life you can expect.
And on the mental level, do you catch this intake and output in the act? What energies of thought, feeling and will do you take in, and what do you give out? Do you take in, say, the faults of others and give out hatred? Or do you, as an energy vampire, suck the blood of others and so secure your own existence, and give out indifference or exploitation? Distrust in and malice out? Do you take in freedom of will and give out violence?
The wise say that the mind, sadly, is omnivorous by nature – it takes in anything, without choosing. We can perhaps agree that between a cannibal and someone who feeds on light the difference is not merely one of taste, and likewise it would be worth choosing the mind’s diet with care. If, for example, the mind swallows another person’s fault, then in a certain sense that fault is no longer in the other person at all, but in the mind, burdening it.
And we have not even spoken yet of the subtlest plane, the working of consciousness! What is the alimentary canal of your consciousness like – your intake and your output? From which plane of existence do you draw your nourishment? Do you take in angelic or hellish energies? As the man is, so is his food; but it is also true that as the food is, so is the man. The lamb takes in grass; to it the carrion of a fallen beast is no food, as if it did not exist at all. Bacteria and the countless organisms that serve decay thrive on the carcass, on the refuse; to them a flower petal is incomprehensible, inedible.
Ponder the following dietary advice, so that the subtler energy-exchange may work as it should! For refining thought, for example, it is good to read the right books (this is the taking-in of noble thoughts) and to communicate authentically, with speech faithful to the truth (as output); for the energy exchange of willpower, it is more useful to practise making conscious decisions, as opposed to merely impulsive reactions; and finally, as for our emotional responses, it is a blessing to practise right conduct, spiritual serenity and contentment, for it is the emotional reaction we show in a given situation that truly lasts. But if you raise all three levels and live your life at a high spiritual level, then instead of books you read thoughts, instead of speaking you radiate, instead of conscious decisions you reach the point where others gladly agree with you and follow your advice, and instead of mere contentment you will know the happiness of the soul in its highest degree.
Body, mind and soul are ever subtler planes of existence, and so ever sharper, weightier questions arise. Everything is decided at the highest level; that is, if a man is healthy in his soul, then his consciousness, his thoughts, his mental make-up, and consequently his moral sense and his conduct, will be healthy too. This is why spiritual life matters, so that in this spirit even material life may be a reflection of the eternal, conscious and blissful plane of being.