The Mysterious Palace of Brahman

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The mason builds a house out of stones, small bricks, chunam (lime) and cement. He keeps big pieces of stones in the construction of the main walls and puts small bricks and pebbles to fill up the crevices in the wall, plasters the wall with chunam and eventually puts a layer of cement. He polishes the wall with finishing touches and gives a coloring in the end to attract the eyes. Even so, the Divine Architect, Ishwara, has constructed this human body with the help of Mother Prakriti. The bones represent the big stones; the muscles represent the pebbles; the fat the bricks; dermic or white skin the chunam; the skin or epidermis the cement; the pigment of the skin coloring matter. Look at the marvellous skill of the Divine Engineer, Engineer of all engineers. The muscles are fixed to the bones by means of tendons. The joints are kept intact by ligaments. Deposition of fat gives good shape to the limbs, trunk and abdomen and gives beauty. The pigment in the skin attracts the eyes of the onlookers and people are deluded by the false beauty of the perishable body. They cling to this body and through this clinging they are caught up in the round of births and deaths.

The body Is a mysterious moving palace. His Divine Majesty, Brahman, dwells here. Brahman is the immortal soul or atma. Buddhi or intellect is His prime minister. Mind is the commander. The ten indriyas are the soldiers or servants. The eyes are the marvellous windows of the palace. Mouth is the way out. Eyes and ears are the way in. The devatas who preside over the indriyas–eyes, ears, nose, etc.–are the gate-keepers.

The nerves are the wires. Brain is the receiver. It receives all messages. It contains a wonderful switchboard, also. Prana is the electricity. The bones are the mountains. Veins are the rivers. Bladder is the ocean. The bowels and urethrae are the sewers. Heart is the waterworks. Arteries are the pipes. The astral heart is the garden of Brindaban. Sushumna is the Kunigalli of Brindaban. The jiva is sweet Radha who wants to unite with Lord Krishna or Brahman through yogic samadhi. Sahasrara or the crown of the head is the place where Radha and Krishna or the individual soul and Brahma unite. The different chakras are the resting-places with Kadamba trees.

The body is made up of five elements. Bone is nothing but earth or clay. Blood or flesh is nothing but water. The shining in the skin and the eyes is nothing but fire. The prana that moves in the nostrils and lungs is nothing but air. This air rests on ether. Ether is the support for all the other four tattwas. Air, fire, water and earth have emanated from ether. When the body is buried, the bones become one with the earth. They go back to their source. Through the practice of layachintan if you reduce the earth into water, water into fire, fire into air, and air into ether, the body does not really exist. It dwindles into airy nothing. Through the mayic jugglery, you perceive this body. In reality the imperishable soul which is the support for this body and mind really exists.

The body is inert and insentient. It remains as a log of wood as soon as the prana leaves the body. It appears to be sentient through contact with prana, mind and reflected intelligence, just as a ball of iron appears to be a ball of fire through contact with fire. The reflected intelligence or chaitanya galvanizes the inert intellect first as it is very subtle and as the intellect is in close contact with it, and through intellect this inert body also is galvanized. So the body mortal feels and does various sorts of actions. After all, mortal flesh is clay; bone is only a modification of earth. O man: Do not cling to this body of flesh and network of bones. Give up moha for this body. Destroy ignorance. Realize the immortal self and be free.

The Lord is hiding himself in the inner chambers of this mysterious palace. He is playing the game of “hide and seek” with you. Find Him out. Search Him out. Search Him in the chambers of your heart by withdrawing the mind and the indriyas from the external objects and practising concentration and meditation.

More Articles on Vairagya:

• What is Vairagya?
• Miseries of Mundane Existence
• The Body
• The World
• The Mysterious Palace of Brahman
• Lord Buddha's Advice
• Happiness is Within
• Essence of Vairagya Shatakam
• Selections from Viveka-Chudamani Relating to Vairagya
• Here is an Answer for You!